Considering to moving from Edison,NJ to Dallas,TX (2015) (Denton: house, private school)

[nycalien]

Hi All,

Me and my family currently residing in Edison,NJ. I work from home and have the option to work from anywhere in US and keep my NY/NJ salary. Therefore I'm considering to moving from Edison,NJ to Dallas/FTW,TX area. Don't take me wrong, Edison is a nice area but kinda expensive due to proximity to NY City, specially housing.

Could anyone please give any advice? How is the cost of living in Dallas compared to NJ area? I know there are cost of living comparison sites I can look up but not sure ow accurate they are. Also there are previous forum topic moving from NJ to TX but they are 1-2 years old.

I'm originally from South Asia and would like to get input from you guys. Please help and your input is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

[jdallas]

If you could work anywhere in the US and keep your NJ salary, why in the world would you choose Dallas?
cost of living is about 10% less here for most things other than housing but there are so many other options.
what factors do you place highly on the quality-of-life scale?

[nycalien]

Thanks for your reply. My scale of QOL,

1)My Kid's education
2)housing and cost of living
3)Weather, I don't like snow!!!

Those 3 are my main considerations.

Also when I mean my NJ salary, it's around 120-125K. Not sure how far it will go in Dallas. Also what other options would you recommend?

[numberfive]

Strange, a coworker just announced that they're moving from Chicago to Edison, where he'll be working remotely for the same company. I'm considering the move to Dallas for a similar arrangement, and just posted my impressions of the Dallas area from a Northerner, it might be worth a read for you.

There are some definite pluses to moving to a state like Texas, like no state income taxes. Right now you're paying an effective rate of about 4.6%, so if you moved to Texas, you see an additional $5.5k/yr in your paychecks. Not too shabby.

If you forsee working for the rest of your career remotely, you can pick any town you like in any state. You may be better off asking this in the General US forum though, since you can work anywhere. No snow in Arizona is different from no snow in Florida, how do you define a good education for your kids, what's your threshold for cost of living, etc...

[mSooner]

Cost of Living is going to vary greatly within the cities and towns within the metroplex. What sort of environment are you wanting? You could definitely have a nice life on $125k here.

That being said, if you don't mind a smaller city, there are other places where it would go even further. Totally depends on what you are wanting.

[nycalien]

Thank you all for valuable input.

numberfive - Yes the income taxes savings is just 5.5K but then that can go to the property tax unlike here in NJ I have to pay that 5.5k state tax and another 8-9K for property tax. You're correct, there are other cities that I can live as I'm WFH. But the reason I picked Dallas/Metroplex surrounding is that it's still a major city but less expensive than other major cities. Also the convenience of having a major airport (DFW).

mSooner - Yes, When I mean Dallas I didn't meant Dallas Dallas, lol. I was mentioning Dallas/Matroplex, Lantana, Denton areas.

I think it's much better to travel to Dallas for a weekend and look around.

[numberfive]

That's exactly what I did two weeks ago: traveled to Dallas to scout the area. Glad I did. If you go, please post your impressions too.

What do you think about the home growth factor? 10% in one season is pretty huge. If it continues for the next year or couple (as many analysts are predicting), that $400k house from last year becomes a $480k house next year. Ouch.

[WorldKlas]

How about Montclair NJ? I hear they have much better schools than in The Dallas area.

[veuvegirl]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

How about Montclair NJ? I hear they have much better schools than in The Dallas area.

Montclair is beautiful, but expensive and the taxes are insane.

We moved from the NJ area to Texas and are settling. It's definitely less expensive, you get a lot more house for your money.

The culture is different here. Not as many people outside, most people (where we live) keep to themselves. Everything is cookie cutter. You can live in any suburb around Dallas and they all look the same. (exceptions of course).

We couldn't take the taxes in NJ and paying for private school for the kids. I am happier here than I thought I would be. However, I do miss the ability to go to NYC, PHL or the shore easily.

Working from home, I think Dallas is a great place to move and provide for your family.

[nissan]

DFW definitely is a lower COL vs where I used to live in northern NJ (Wayne & Caldwell). Yes, property taxes are high here, but they're pretty high in NJ as well, so that is not as big a factor. Home prices have risen here, but what you see for $400-500K here is going to be much, much better than what $400-500K gets you in NJ.

Because you have flexibility, definitely visit Dallas and the surrounding 'burbs to compare. Have you considered Atlanta? It's also a lower COL vs NJ and has the better weather + a major city w airport. My wife is from there and she finds Dallas to be similar in a lot of respects to ATL.

I was looking to change jobs after being in the NE all my life (tired of weather and traffic). I chose to look in Dallas and FL and, after 1.5 yrs, I'm sure I made the right choice in moving down here. We're pretty happy here despite all our friends and family still in the NE/ATL.