How far is too far? (Houston, Dallas: home, employment, living in)

[brock2010]

We all know that the DFW area is growing like a weed but do you feel that there is a limit as to how far out the area can grow and sustain it? Also, what are your thoughts on places like Gainesville, Whitesboro, Valley View, Bridgeport, Decatur, Collinsville etc and do you think they'll benefit from Metroplex growth or are they too far out?

[mastershake575]

I don't think it's too far for 3 reasons. 1. In my experience a good chunk of the rural city population have been occupied by retirees who want to be close enough to where they can travel inland especially on weekends but still want the peace and quite for most the time 2. More people than ever are working from home and I see that number increasing, and 3. Jobs and headquarters in the last 10 years have been branching out to near outskirts level. Living in a rural area now doesn't necessarly mean your far from employment (it's not like 30 years ago where in some fields you really needed to be close to downtown dallas)

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by brock2010

We all know that the DFW area is growing like a weed but do you feel that there is a limit as to how far out the area can grow and sustain it? Also, what are your thoughts on places like Gainesville, Whitesboro, Valley View, Bridgeport, Decatur, Collinsville etc and do you think they'll benefit from Metroplex growth or are they too far out?

The answer here is as in most cases, it depends
If you are a retiree who doesnt need to commute in for work, then all those places you mentioned should work just fine. The problem is when you need to come in on a regular basis for a job.

The great strength and equally great weakness of the metroplex is that there are several job centers spread out all over the area. Which is a strength because it then allows people to live all over the place as they are not forced to commute to one particular area for jobs. The problem then becomes if you change jobs and also now have to change job centers. So there is another thread about Anna, which is a town located in the extreme northern tip of Collin County. A job in the Legacy area of Plano would be a reasonable commute. But if you now have to change jobs and the new one is in Uptown Dallas, then what was once a great commute can become a nightmare. Some would say just only pick jobs that pop up in your preferred area, but that is not always possible. Sometimes you have to pick whatever job you can find and that may often involve an unpleasant commute. So I work at the 635/75 intersection and we have several people commuting in from Prosper, Frisco and McKinney, all terrible commutes. But this was the job they found so they have to suck it up.

All that means that you are better off being closer into the metroplex with reasonable commutes to at least two or three job centers. All those extreme far flung exurbs limit this option for those still working and thus are not going to be top choices for many relocating here, especially if they are still working.

[brock2010]

You both bring up great points! Now that the Sherman/Denison MSA is now part of the DFW CSA, I wonder will Sherman/Denison began to attract more jobs and become a major job center? Would a company locate there just because it's now in the DFW CSA/ close proximity to the area?

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by brock2010

You both bring up great points! Now that the Sherman/Denison MSA is now part of the DFW CSA, I wonder will Sherman/Denison began to attract more jobs and become a major job center? Would a company locate there just because it's now in the DFW CSA/ close proximity to the area?

There's already some pretty big employers just south of Sherman, Tyson Foods has a plant there, as does TI. Kaiser Aluminum is there too.


We have some land just south of there, values keep increasing every year even though it's undeveloped. Will either keep as an investment or build a barndominium/ranch out there to enjoy a bit of a rural escape, but it's only about 30 minutes north of our current home in Prosper.

[timtemtym]

I imagine eventually it will resemble Southern California where these edge cities become job centers and allow further growth away from the core.

DFW has been good about building a web of freeways/tollways in the network rather than the Houston style of loops connecting spokes all pointing towards the center. It also has a lot of good roads and rail connections heading towards the main airport. That puts it ahead of LA where the big airport is pretty much inaccessible most times of the day (severe traffic on the 405, only two freeways going there, and no train connection).

I don't see the growth slowing down anytime soon.

[As Above So Below...]

This is a pretty big difference between how things are in DFW vs. here in Houston.

I remember when we used to live in Plano and we thought it was so far from everything, but then the Shops got really huge and the amenities Plano, Frisco, Allen, and McKinney offered were amazing so there was no need to really go to Dallas or Fort Worth. We rarely went in.

In Houston, all that is worth doing is in Houston. Outside a few unique restaurants and the Waterway in the Woodlands, you have to come to the city if you want to do anything. Instead, the city focuses on infill.

DFW is doing a race to the Oklahoma border and shows no signs of stopping. Houston goes out a certain distance and then stops. I always tell people if they desire a suburb, DFW has the best in the country, but if you want to live in a city Houston.