Need advice: Boston or DFW (Houston, Dallas: renting, buy, schools)

[RoeTheRoamer]

Can you go outdoor to do anything in the summer in DFW? Or you need to stay inside most of times during the day? I checked on the temperature and it seems to me it doesn't cool down at night until after midnight.

Originally Posted by BayTexan

I'll take the less lush DFW over freezing my ass off in Boston winters and the mountains of brown snow piled up for months on end with a short couple of month respite from more freezing weather

To each their own

[BayTexan]

Yes you can. I am a long distance (marathon) runner and train during the summers (early in the morning mostly and sometimes after the kids go to school around 9 am and sometimes in the late evening) and it's mostly fine (though the humidity is tougher than the heat sometimes). And I see many people walking, biking in the morning and late evening (and kids in the park after 630 pm playing etc.). I also golf and have been out mid-day many times and not had an issue - the key is to hydrate really well. During the middle of the day and early afternoon (when it's hottest), it's best not to do anything too strenuous outside but people are still out and about in their yard etc. Really depends on your tolerance to heat.

Yes, we have hot summers and it's not 6 months like some people here exaggerate - probably June, July, and August and September sometimes (though it's supposed to be in the lower 90s and upper 80s for highs and low 70s for lows next week which is fine). That's why we have swimming pools and air conditioning!

I will take the heat any day over the bone chilling cold (with the humidity in the east coast), black ice, and blizzards. Used to live in Northern Virginia and could not even take that and have been to Boston many times in the winter (which seems never ending - was stuck in a freezing blizzard in late April and early May once!) and regretted it each time.

Like I said, 'To Each Their Own'. You should come down and visit (if possible in September before it cools off) and see how you like it.

Originally Posted by RoeTheRoamer

Can you go outdoor to do anything in the summer in DFW? Or you need to stay inside most of times during the day? I checked on the temperature and it seems to me it doesn't cool down at night until after midnight.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by RoeTheRoamer

Can you go outdoor to do anything in the summer in DFW? Or you need to stay inside most of times during the day? I checked on the temperature and it seems to me it doesn't cool down at night until after midnight.

That's right, it's pretty warm at night during the summer. You *can* do things outside in the summer, it just isn't very pleasant and you'll end up drenched in sweat after being outside about 5-10 minutes.

If you visit you should really visit in the summer. You won't understand it if you visit in October after its cooled down.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by RoeTheRoamer

The kids are having fun in their sports teams but I don't think sports will be their career. They are at the top of their classes academically (but not in high school yet). They don't want to move at all.


The housing price is insane around Boston area in the last few years. We do see DFW has much nicer houses at the same price than in Boston area, but with the same price of houses, the monthly payment in DFW is much higher than in Boston area (higher taxes, higher homeowners insurance, HOA fee).



I probably will get the whole family down to DFW to have a feel as some of you suggest.


Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions.

I think that's the best idea, family visiting DFW area. I was born and raised here, lived in Boston for eight years. Very different places.

[mSooner]

While I agree that I'd still take this horrific heat over a Boston winter, it is pretty horrible and you should experience it before moving.

I also run and it has suffered a lot this summer. I used to run with a group a few mornings a week before sunup, but I can no longer do that and my running has suffered this summer as it has been difficult to find a time to go when it isn't miserable. For me, it pretty much needs to be before 7am (best) or after 8pm (still pretty miserable, but doable). It is significantly better in the shade, but that can be pretty hard to find around here in some neighborhoods.

For me, it isn't so much the heat, it is how long it is hot. You can expect to be hot June-September and downright miserable mid-July-September. October will also be pretty warm. By the end of August I'm just done with it and we still have 1.5 months to go before it will start to feel pleasant again. Something to keep in mind.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by RJ312

Stay in Boston. Uprooting children is majorly traumatic.

Oh please. I am a former military brat and military wife. Living in various areas of the country can be great for a family and for kids.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Have you ever been to New England? It's orders of magnitude more lush and green than DFW.

It's also much more congested, much more expensive, and the winters are long, cold, icy, and wet.

Personally I'd never want to live in New England but I also don't really care much for Dallas, though if those were my two choices I'd choose Dallas.

Life is what you make it. A good life can be had in either Dallas or Boston, complete with sports, outdoor activities, good schools, etc.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Focus. We're not comparing Denver to DFW. We're comparing Boston to DFW, and Boston is considerably more lush than DFW. I've been there. Have you?

Sorry but out of all the metro areas in the US, Boston is not one I prefer at all. "Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Sorry but out of all the metro areas in the US, Boston is not one I prefer at all. "Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

Meh, I disagree. Given unlimited budget, I still wouldn't want to live in NYC, San Fran, LA, but Boston? In a heartbeat. But I'm also from New England so maybe that matters. Having said that, Quincy is not Boston.



As for the conversation about what you can and can't do outdoors here, so much of this depends on what you actually want to do and how often you want to do it. We camp within a 2-3 hour radius N Texas at least a dozen times a year. We've done tent camping as hot as 100+ degree daytime weather this current summer, and we've done screened shelters in weather where it got below freezing overnight and remained so until about 9-10am. Personally I enjoy them all in different ways. And there is certainly no comparison between New England outdoor possibilities and DFW - within a couple hours Boston has mountains in NH/VT, coastal Maine, gorgeous lakes in both Maine and NH, nice sandy beaches in Mass and Rhode Island. Only OP can know how important those things are to their family and whether you can live without close proximity to them. If you would be unhappy not being able to take a day trip to the beach and then returning home, you will not be happy here. If when you say "outdoors" you simply mean being able to go for a day hike in a wooded area every once in a while, or use a park or nature area, then DFW is perfectly suitable to that need. You've got places like Cedar Hill within the metroplex itself, Glen Rose which is just under 2 hours, the piney areas near Tyler in 1.5-2 hours - these are all great outdoor spaces and you will enjoy them unless the entire time you say "well it's not NH, it's not Colorado, it's not California". The same is true with the camping. When we moved here I wondered if we would be doomed to camp only during yearly trips to places like Colorado (otherwise known as North North Texas), but if you allow yourself to enjoy what you have rather than focus solely on what this area doesn't have, you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

What? That's why God invented swimming pools and hot tubs!

Hot tubs? Who uses a hot tub in the summer, those are for the fall/winter/spring.