NJ to Dallas (Houston, Plano, Garland: rent, houses, job market)

[fwsavemoney]

Originally Posted by carebear621

Thank you for the responses so far.

In NJ we are making $180,000 a year.

I tried to research salary in the area and it seemed around $40,000 less collectively which concerns me. We will not have any children in daycare at the point of moving so that is a huge cost savings.

I have heard a lot of negative things but at the same time I am sure you have heard the same about NJ. There are a lot of misconceptions in the world and I was hoping by asking people actually living there I would get the facts to help me decide.

Bottom line I have lived and grown up in the same area. Our families are extremely controlling and judge mental. We are looking to move away and start over focusing on our family and making new friends that will become family.

I have actually never been to Texas. I do have family in Dallas but they are distant cousins and I do not know what part of Dallas they are in. They are not the reason we are choosing Texas. My husband had said NC, SC, FL or TX for a move and from what I found the best place for our way of life would be Texas.

I hope this helps clarify and I am so thankful for all of you who took a minute to respond.

This helps. All I'll say is that if you come with an open mind and embrace the place, you will enjoy living here.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by texstout

That said, if you are looking for proximity to a Temple...I am doubtful there in the Far North suburbs. The Dallas jewish community is quite vibrant, but more centrally located to Dallas proper. (Apologies if I mistake here, but this is based upon my friends.) I'd contact the JCC (https://jccdallas.org/) to get a better idea though.
.

There is a large Jewish presence in West Plano as well as several temples. And temples all up Hillcrest in Dallas / Richardson from Northwest Hwy to 190/Bush.

One of my best friends from work is Jewish - they live in W Plano, temple in W Plano, kids went to the Jewish preschool in W Plano and then into their neighborbood PISD schools. Her brother lives in Dallas by the JCC so they do JCC stuff too but I think mostly for the kids to see their cousins.

[carebear621]

Dallas
Family nearby
Better job for hubby
More our vibe
Only temp jobs for me

Houston
My dream job

This is so hard. Dallas seems like the clear choice but finding a job might be challenging since it seems like the job opportunities for me are more based around the Houston Area.

The only other thing about Dallas is my husband is a huge NY giants fan were from NJ. The cowboys are the biggest rivals

[jpushiys]

Originally Posted by carebear621

Hello, My family and I are looking to start over and we have picked Dallas due to family proximity, employment opportunities and housing opportunities.

Must have temple nearby (I know this is the bible belt)

This will help:
https://www.ohrhatorahdallas.org/eruv

Originally Posted by carebear621

Welcoming to transplants

Generally yes. Political leanings seem to be becoming more important than I ever remember them. I am seeing more hate on Next-door than I believed existed. As long as u keep ur beliefs to yourself you should be fine.

Originally Posted by carebear621

Concerns:
Safety I read that there is corporal punishment in schools and frequent shootings. Not sure if this is just an opinion or a fact.

what nonsense ! where did u hear this ?

Originally Posted by carebear621

Will my kids fit in? its a culture shock for sure are people welcoming

Reading this forum should tell u that DFW is full of transplants and the person u run into is almost as likely to be a transplant as not. Also - The urban Dallasite is very similar to the generic urban American. Midwest transplant here - attesting to the fact that we saw little cultural difference. Some for the better and some not so much but really overall it wasn't like moving to Japan or something....

If possible, please visit. Nothing else can put your mind at ease.

[Capitalprophets]

Concerns:
Houses are more expensive - You can get a new contruction 3000 sqft for 400k in a good iSD.
Salary is lower - That depends on what you do.
Can we afford a more expensive house here than we had in NJ? You will get more of a house for your money than you would in NJ if that is what you mean
Safety I read that there is corporal punishment in schools and frequent shootings - That sounds like a fake rumor
Cost of Living increase- groceries are a tiny bit more expensive but rents and mortgages are less
Everyone has guns, will my kids be safe? You'll feel safer here due to everyone having guns. Bad people think twice due to that reason.
I read everything is very cookie cutter - New home constructions are cookie cutter. But you have many options on floor plans, elevations to pick from. Its all due to HOA and high city standards.
Will my kids fit in? North Texas is full of NJ, NYers, IL, Californians. We all get along really well.

Overall I am wondering if it is worth moving our young family across the country to start over. We just want a better quality of life. Right now we work so much we hardly see the kids. They are in extended school hours. There is a ton of things to do here as we are close to NYC, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, The beaches really anything we could want but we just don't go there. I have been but it's nothing appealing to us. We would prefer more things like zoo's, aquariums, family friendly activities, hospitality. We can always go to these places when were home visiting family.

You mentioned you work so much so you hardly see the kids. How will your moving here impact your work and life balance?

Does the hot summer months counter the horrible winters here? Are there a lot of tornados or any other major weather issues? Summers are barable and you will get used to high winds and tornado warnings but nothing to worry about.

Best move we made for raising a family. Personally my biggest reason for the move from NJ

[carebear621]

Please tell me about living in Allen
How is it for young families
Do they have sports, dance, gymnastics
How is the community feel?
Is it close knit?
Are the people welcoming?

Any photos or comments.

It’s one of 2 towns we have narrowed for a move.

[carebear621]

Please tell me about living in Murphy
How is it for young families
Do they have sports, dance, gymnastics
How is the community feel?
Is it close knit?
Are the people welcoming?

Any photos or comments.

It’s one of 2 towns we have narrowed for a move.

[Bamaman1]

I like Dallas very much. Even people there in high society are secure enough to have one pickup truck in their famlies.

But don't think that there aren't many other cities between Dallas and New Jersey that cannot give your family exactly what you're looking for--at far less cost of housing and less property taxes.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Capitalprophets

Concerns:
Houses are more expensive - You can get a new contruction 3000 sqft for 400k in a good iSD.
Salary is lower - That depends on what you do.
Can we afford a more expensive house here than we had in NJ? You will get more of a house for your money than you would in NJ if that is what you mean
Safety I read that there is corporal punishment in schools and frequent shootings - That sounds like a fake rumor
Cost of Living increase- groceries are a tiny bit more expensive but rents and mortgages are less
Everyone has guns, will my kids be safe? You'll feel safer here due to everyone having guns. Bad people think twice due to that reason.
I read everything is very cookie cutter - New home constructions are cookie cutter. But you have many options on floor plans, elevations to pick from. Its all due to HOA and high city standards.
Will my kids fit in? North Texas is full of NJ, NYers, IL, Californians. We all get along really well.

Overall I am wondering if it is worth moving our young family across the country to start over. We just want a better quality of life. Right now we work so much we hardly see the kids. They are in extended school hours. There is a ton of things to do here as we are close to NYC, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, The beaches really anything we could want but we just don't go there. I have been but it's nothing appealing to us. We would prefer more things like zoo's, aquariums, family friendly activities, hospitality. We can always go to these places when were home visiting family.

You mentioned you work so much so you hardly see the kids. How will your moving here impact your work and life balance?

Does the hot summer months counter the horrible winters here? Are there a lot of tornados or any other major weather issues? Summers are barable and you will get used to high winds and tornado warnings but nothing to worry about.

Best move we made for raising a family. Personally my biggest reason for the move from NJ

Only quibble I have with your answer is the housing budget.
$400K for a 3,000 square foot NEW CONSTRUCTION home in any of the "hot" suburbs might be difficult (Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Coppell, Southlake, Flower Mound, Prosper etc). Now if the OP is willing to go with pre owned homes then it will be easier.

If new construction is the goal, then I would say he/she needs to be looking in places like Wylie, Sachse, Rowlett, Little Elm. Maybe Melissa and Anna but that would depend greatly on job location.

[Mershu]

You've spammed the forum with asking the same question when the towns are right next to each other practically. A simple search of the forums (or google maps) could find most of your answers.