Beware..I Moved to Dallas and afterthought..Might helpful for others to decide (Fort Worth: sales, new home)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by nycalien

Really??? Your reply sounds like it's coming out of a teenager. Are you comparing COL data from internet? Do you believe they are to be accurate? Comparing to Edison to Flower Mound,TX

Cost of Living Indexes Edison Township Flower Mound
Overall 80.4 120.6
Food 121.2 95
Housing 0 162.4
Utilities 130.3 107.5
Transportation 112.1 101.2
Health 109.2 103.2
Miscellaneous 120.8 102.4


Comparing to Plano, Tx

Cost of Living Indexes Edison Township Plano
Overall 80.4 114.7
Food 121.2 95.7
Housing 0 146.5
Utilities 130.3 105.5
Transportation 112.1 101.1
Health 109.2 103.6
Miscellaneous 120.8 98.7

Look at overall score.

The info. I sent you is accurate and reliable. What you posted above is incorrect.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

State income tax is just one portion of what constitutes state and local taxes. According to the ITEP "Who Pays?" report, which calculated state and local tax rates by income brackets, New Jersey has a lower tax burden for those whose income falls in the lowest 40%. In the middle, Texas and NJ are about equal. Texas really only has a truly low tax burden for those with high incomes. It has one of the lowest tax burdens for the top 1% (2.9%), whereas the lowest 20% pay 12.5%.

I think the OP is probably wrong in a lot of his or her analysis, and I'd be surprised if NJ is actually significantly cheaper to live in than Dallas, but the state income tax thing is often wildly overblown.

Texas | The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

New Jersey | The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Just to be clear the percentages you noted are non-eldery family income share percentages. Not the share of taxes paid by each group.

It's also of note that ITEP is generally leftist in orientation.

[Exult.Q36]

Dallas has gotten expensive. The OP is not telling a myth.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by kdogg817

Dallas has gotten expensive. The OP is not telling a myth.

Expensive relative to where?

[karenw729]

I don't think we should be rude to the original poster. If that's their perception then I'm sure there is some reality involved. I've also lived in NY/NJ and now in Dallas for five years. I've also lived in a few other metropolitan areas. I find Dallas to be not cheap. The cost of real estate is escalating quickly if you want to live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with good schools and have a reasonable commute to work. The property taxes are indeed outrageous and cancel out any benefit of no state income tax. But the job market here is good so security has its rewards. I think the real argument here is who has the worst Governor...

[octo]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I don't doubt you at all. But comparing DFW traffic to Northern Jersey is the topic.

The topic is Dallas.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by karenw729

I don't think we should be rude to the original poster. If that's their perception then I'm sure there is some reality involved. I've also lived in NY/NJ and now in Dallas for five years. I've also lived in a few other metropolitan areas. I find Dallas to be not cheap. The cost of real estate is escalating quickly if you want to live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with good schools and have a reasonable commute to work. The property taxes are indeed outrageous and cancel out any benefit of no state income tax. But the job market here is good so security has its rewards. I think the real argument here is who has the worst Governor...

My issue with all of this is straightforward. Most people do not understand micro-economics very well and marco-economics even less. In the internet era if one knows where to look we can find nearly up to the minute COL data comparing state vs. state and city vs. city.

1. I'm not sure anyone has called the DFW area COL cheap. There is no way the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country is going to be cheap. What DFW is - is right in the mix, even accounting for our recent real estate run-up, with Atlanta, Houston and Detroit for the lowest COL among the largest several metropolitan areas.

1A. As an example, I'll DM you the link, according to one of the COL services with Prague as the world wide reference set to 100. Dallas is 182 (meaning Dallas is 82% more expensive than Prague exclusive of taxes), Atlanta, Austin, Orlando, New New Orleans and Detroit area all either 180, 181 or 182. Miami is 205, Philadelphia 209, LA 219, Boston 227, SF 270, NYC 278.

2. For most people who are not poor or those who have overbought home-wise the overall tax burden here is lower than most any other large state. As a percentage of income Texas ranks 44th in state and local tax burden per The Tax Foundation.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by octo

The topic is Dallas.

Clearly the OP was comparing traffic here to traffic in Northern Jersey.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Clearly the OP was comparing traffic here to traffic in Northern Jersey.

Not to mention that Edison is clear on the other side of Staten Island and is ~35 miles from midtown. That'll take over 50 minutes at ten at night. I can't even imagine the commute during rush hour.

Is DFW more expensive than the OP hoped/expected? Almost certainly, from the sound of it. Is DFW more expensive than many people think? Maybe. Is it more expensive than it used to be? Sure.

Is it even IN THE BALLPARK of NYC or SF or DC? God no, not even close.

I have long stated that I'm not a fan of DFW for various reasons, but seriously, it is less expensive than almost any vaguely comparable major metro area outside of...well, Houston and Atlanta, I guess, and I know almost zilch about Atlanta.

And traffic? I've lived in Chicago, Boston and NYC (and EDS is, IIRC, currently splitting time between here and Manhattan). Traffic in Dallas is nowhere near as bad as those cities (or anywhere near the Bay Area, based on my limited time there and comments from my friends).

That said, I would never recommend anyone move to DFW (or anyplace) because "it's cheaper". Move somewhere because it has things that appeal to you and you WANT to live there (alternatively, I suppose, if you're really bribed to be there, but even then it may grate on you. Er, not that I have any knowledge in that arena ). Also, usually if someone decides to move somewhere because "it's cheaper", their thought process is "my life would be better IF ONLY I didn't have to spend SO much on [insert item(s) here]". It's like people who are convinced they'd be happy in a marriage IF ONLY their spouse were taller/shorter/talked more/talked less/etc. Usually the problem isn't the outside factors, it's the person complaining.

DFW is less expensive than most metro areas of anywhere near comparable size. Whether or not the whole package it has to offer is attractive depends on personal preference. But again, any vaguely objective source will reflect lower cost. We can argue about the degree to which it is lower depending on individual circumstances, but overall. Less expensive, certainly than anywhere near NYC that's analogous. Shorter commute times. All of that.

Worse pizza and bagels? Well, yeah, duh, it's DFW not NYC.

[4eversearching]

I know nothing about Jersey, but I live in one of the pricier parts of Dallas, and it's still cheaper than any other city I've lived in (except Little Rock, but..you get what you pay for). I'm looking to move elsewhere to be near family, and I'm getting major sticker shock for the housing in those cities where I'm looking. Texas is way cheap! Every city is going up in price. Dallas is too, but is still much cheaper than most any other city.
Also, public transportation here isn't perfect, but it does exist, and I use it on a regular basis. If one lives in the city, it's very easy. If you live out in the boring, sprawling burbs, then of course it doesn't exist out there. So, the OP can't speak for all of Dallas on that one.