Market for accountants (Dallas, Plano, Allen: apartment, rent, headhunters)

[somedesi]

Greetings,

Due to personal family reasons, my wife and I are considering relocating from Chicago. I am an accountant and my wife is doing bachelors in Computer Science. We are considering west coast (Seattle) or Dallas, TX because many of my coworkers have moved there and said very good things about Dallas. But they are all different major then accounting, so my question is how good is the job market for mid-level accountants in Dallas?

My experience consists of long term verifiable contract work that adds up to 5 years of Staff Accountant experience and I am CPA candidate. Personally, I like the dynamic aspects of contract work and keeps accounting fresh for me.

What would be good area for south asian couple? And what kind of rent range should I expect in good area for one bedroom apartment?

[TeamLynn]

I don't hear much about the business environment in Seattle, but I would think it is not a lot different than many of the mid-level accounting jobs in CA are moving to Texas.
If I remember right something like 200 companies have announced moves to Texas this year.
I think salaries are not that much different, maybe slightly higher in Seattle, but the cost of living is significantly less here in TX.

The exception might be tech....lots of small corp campuses in Seattle area...so you want to work for Microsoft, Amazon or probably one of the 100 spin offs or suppliers Seattle might be the place to be.

Deloitte and Cap Gemini have big offices here in DFW area, lots of fortune 500 companies have either HDQ in the area, or major presence.

Have you narrowed a list of companies who you want to work for? Have you talked to headhunters?

[amindu]

Originally Posted by somedesi

Greetings,

Due to personal family reasons, my wife and I are considering relocating from Chicago. I am an accountant and my wife is doing bachelors in Computer Science. We are considering west coast (Seattle) or Dallas, TX because many of my coworkers have moved there and said very good things about Dallas. But they are all different major then accounting, so my question is how good is the job market for mid-level accountants in Dallas?

My experience consists of long term verifiable contract work that adds up to 5 years of Staff Accountant experience and I am CPA candidate. Personally, I like the dynamic aspects of contract work and keeps accounting fresh for me.

What would be good area for south asian couple? And what kind of rent range should I expect in good area for one bedroom apartment?

In the DFW market there are more jobs for accountants then accountants available. You should have absolutely no issues finding a job. Contract work might pose some issues, however some of the smaller firms might be open to that. The Mid-large accounting firms will want you to come on board as a full time employee. If your looking to join industry then there are good positions there as well with many companies constantly looking for resources, again might be full time position vs contract.

You will find most of the south asian/desi population to be in around Plano, Frisco, Allen and Mckinney. Rent for a 1 bed will probably average $900-$1000 depending on where and how nice you are looking for.

[somedesi]

I don't have specific preference, I am mostly moving due to personal reasons. I was just wondering if the market is as good as Chicago for accounting but from what it looks like it might be better than Chicago. I have crossed out Seattle because of cost of living and other issues.