What was not taken into consideration before you moved to Dallas? (West: 2013, apartments)

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by new2sa

I'd say he's coming along rather nicely

I didn't mean that to sound so snotty. I just can't figure out how someone could be spending more money to live here than in California with the exception of an electric bill. How much more expensive could clothing and food be here than in California. Plus, there is no state income tax. If someone is spending like that here I'm just saying the problem is in how and where she is spending, not that somehow things are so expensive overall in Texas.

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

I didn't mean that to sound so snotty.

Didn't take it that way at all! Just seconding BlueSkies' opinion that you make a very nice "Honorary Texan"!

[RobertsGirl]

I live in So Cal (unfortunately), and we are strongly considering moving to the Dallas area. I've been comparing notes with our friends there, and here's what I've come up with. In Dallas area:

Housing - lower (duh).
Property Taxes - lower, considering the drastic difference in real estate prices
Gasoline - cheaper by up to 40 cents per gallon
Electric in the summer might be higher - maybe - our energy costs keep going up, 'cuz they keep cramming more and more people into the area, with no improvement in the infrastucture.

I think clothing, groceries, etc. are close to the same; at least when I shopped with my friends there, we spent the same amount on groceries (I might actually spend a little less for a family of four, same as them).

I am so freakin' sick of living here.

And I've said it before, but I will be the best darn Texan you've ever seen! In a very short period of time, you won't be able to tell me from the natives, accent and all!

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by RobertsGirl

I live in So Cal (unfortunately), and we are strongly considering moving to the Dallas area. I've been comparing notes with our friends there, and here's what I've come up with. In Dallas area:

Housing - lower (duh).
Property Taxes - lower, considering the drastic difference in real estate prices
Gasoline - cheaper by up to 40 cents per gallon
Electric in the summer might be higher - maybe - our energy costs keep going up, 'cuz they keep cramming more and more people into the area, with no improvement in the infrastucture.

I think clothing, groceries, etc. are close to the same; at least when I shopped with my friends there, we spent the same amount on groceries (I might actually spend a little less for a family of four, same as them).

I am so freakin' sick of living here.

And I've said it before, but I will be the best darn Texan you've ever seen! In a very short period of time, you won't be able to tell me from the natives, accent and all!

I'm from L.A. Don't kid yourself. Your energy bills will be higher than SoCal. It is in the 100's here in the summer and this past week has dipped down in to the 20's. That means your A/C runs non stop in the summer and heat is on during winter frequently.

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by RobertsGirl

And I've said it before, but I will be the best darn Texan you've ever seen! In a very short period of time, you won't be able to tell me from the natives, accent and all!

ha ha!! That's cute!

Originally Posted by rb4browns

I'm from L.A. Don't kid yourself. Your energy bills will be higher than SoCal. It is in the 100's here in the summer and this past week has dipped down in to the 20's. That means your A/C runs non stop in the summer and heat is on during winter frequently.

Yes, you do need to take the energy costs into consideration. It helps in the summer if most of your windows face north and south. Also helps tremendously to keep the blinds and curtains closed in the summer. Some people put coverings on the window pane to keep out the sun.

As far as heat in the winter, yes it has been in the 20's at night the past few days but it is climbing back up again. It doesn't stay so cold continuously during the winter. We'll have a couple more episodes of cold/freezing weather that may last a couple days to almost a week but mostly our winters are mild.

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by RobertsGirl

And I've said it before, but I will be the best darn Texan you've ever seen! In a very short period of time, you won't be able to tell me from the natives, accent and all!

Okay, YOU can come!

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

I'm from L.A. Don't kid yourself. Your energy bills will be higher than SoCal. It is in the 100's here in the summer and this past week has dipped down in to the 20's. That means your A/C runs non stop in the summer and heat is on during winter frequently.

Most of Southern California is hot in the summer, very hot. Yes, if you are a few miles from the coast, the ocean will cool the temps down, but the coastal fringe is not typical of Southern California in general.

For example, you can start a drive at the beach, say, Topanga Canyon drive. The air will be cool, almost chilly. As you drive north on Topanga, you enter the canyon area, and when you once again descend into the flatlands, you are in the San Fernando Valley. You feel like you're in an oven.

Note... I've nothing against Southern California, but I want to help deconstruct the myth that Southern California is cool in the summer. It's not... it's a hot, dry semi-desert.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Most of Southern California is hot in the summer, very hot. Yes, if you are a few miles from the coast, the ocean will cool the temps down, but the coastal fringe is not typical of Southern California in general.

For example, you can start a drive at the beach, say, Topanga Canyon drive. The air will be cool, almost chilly. As you drive north on Topanga, you enter the canyon area, and when you once again descend into the flatlands, you are in the San Fernando Valley. You feel like you're in an oven.

Note... I've nothing against Southern California, but I want to help deconstruct the myth that Southern California is cool in the summer. It's not... it's a hot, dry semi-desert.

I lived in Southern California the majority of my life, I'm familiar with the topography. Even in the valley it does not get consistently as hot for as long (meaning it cools relatively in the evening).The only real comparison to a Dallas summer is when the Santa Anas blow in, and that is only for a couple weeks out of the year.

[lh_newbie]

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) gather statistical data on the weather over the years. There's a stat called "cooling degrees days", which takes the high and low temp, averages them and then subtracts 65 - anything remaining (that's a positive number) is added to this "cooling degrees days" statistic. This is a good indication of the amount of cooling a home would need to keep the home at a constant temperature. I could only get the data for LA, Fresno and Dallas on this list:

Cooling Degrees Days for CY 2007:
Los Angeles, CA = 684
Fresno, CA = 2168
Dallas, TX = 3125

Likewise, they gather data on "heating degree days" in the same manner - this is an indication of the amount of heat you need to use to maintain a constant temp.

Heating Degrees Days for CY 2007:
Los Angeles = 439
Fresno, CA = 873
Dallas, TX = 695

So, as you can see from this - if you live in Los Angeles proper, you'd use less energy to heat AND cool your home by a good amount in comparison to Dallas (not to mention you'd only have 1/3 to 1/4 the home area to heat/cool, due to high home prices in CA); in Fresno, you'd use less energy to cool your home but more to heat it (again, comparing to Dallas). There are other areas, as was indicated above, in the Valley, like Blythe, CA, that is definitely hotter than in TX:

Blythe, CA
Cooling degree days = 4607
Heating degree days = 486

Hope the data helps you to atleast know where to look to get good info to make a more informed opinion on this subject, not to just blindly say what everyone else does.

Brian

[SoCalTransplant]

Originally Posted by CUDavidBanner

And knowing what you know now would you still have moved to Dallas?

No.

My reasons were already addressed, and subsequently dismissed. So I won't feed the natives. I just wanted to say I feel for you, socketz.