So I'm in a very large dilemma, should I leave san diego for Dallas (Houston: real estate, crime)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Reason for moving, my wifes family is there.
From all I've read on the area please tell me if I'm misinformed or
just reading things from people who are completely biased. I'm tired of hearing people are rude or traffic is bad... that's just life. I want real details...
Here's what
I've read from people who are from there or talked to.....
1. Dallas is a sprawl city. Large sub developments and big houses are
what is the "cool" or more pleasant places to be?
2. Weather is ok. Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer?
3. I've read this a lot, its a vanilla city.... Kinda bland, typical
of any large american city. Not cultured per se for being such a large
city. Compared to LA, SF or NY
4. Large malls and restaurants are what its known for and are
everywhere
5. Crime is moderate, not horrible or bad, but not exactly safe.
Safer then houston I've been told.
6. Electricty and property taxes are expensive?
7. Is traffic really that bad? In what major city isn't? But if
you've traveled throughout the US in comparison how bad it is?
8. Its not very scenic? Obviously no beaches or beautiful mountains
or hills?
9. Its a work to work town, not live to play place
10. I've been to the beaches in tx and I must say wow.... Its very
different from california or florida beaches....
Well that being said I know there are jobs there that pay well and
housing is cheap. However, if I'm paying 3% property tax and my electric
ty is high it almost offsets the cost of a nice house (in some parts of
So Cal).
I have a pretty plus city job here, make decent pay, almost free
medical and dental for the family, 8 weeks off per year (yes 8 weeks and
becomes 10 if I stay for 10 more years!). Granted my house isn't big on
any nice size lot, but living in an urban area I've found that bigger
isn't better when it comes to a large house. Unless I need 3500 sq ft or
5 beds/4 baths why? 2500 sq ft 3 beds and 2.5 baths will suffice for a
family of 4.
My wife is a elementary teacher and the pay in tx is horrible! The max
she'd make would be high 50's or low 60's. I went to the plano school
district site and checked it out. Whereas here in her max would be
95k (yes as a teacher!)
Ok san diego now.... Weather is the best, year round it can't be beat.
75 high in the summer, 65 in the winter. Lows 50's and 60's. Never
hot, never cold. My electric bill mind you was 55 dollars this past
month. With 3 large tvs, 3 computers and everything else a house has.... I
thought that was a good price.
Summers when electricity can be at a premium, we'll pay 150ish.
Now the scenery is just amazing. Beautiful beaches, mountains w snow
and plenty of things to do recreation ally. Guess ill put it this way,
if u start at the beach drive one hour east you'll hit a forest w
mountains and snow,then a sand dune desert all in an hours drive.... Where
else in the world is that possible? My weekends I never spend doing
nothing. I want to live life to the fullest and leave nothing behind.
I'm not a surfer, but I can't pass up goin to the beach all summer. In
the winter, snow boarding and skiing are just a few hours a way and if I
wanted to, go offroading in the sand dunes on a dirt bike I could.
LA is just an little more than an hours drive and orange county is 45
minutes away. I'm also very random and sporadic, but bc we're so close
to everything sometimes ill just say let's go to las vegas (4 hours
away), or just go to disney land, sea world, or snorkeling, go to a
hollywood awards show, see a tv show being filmed live... Etc etc.
I'm not very much into the arts and SD isn't an art town, even though
they're trying to make it that way. SF is far better for that, but I
guess the city w the weather and recreation just isn't that into it. I
guess look at places w crappy weather, they tend to be more artsy,
southern cali isn't very artsy to say the least..
Then I think, DFW being home to a large population, why isn't it a
tourism place? So ask yourself, people in the US always talk about the
cities they'd wish to visit overseas, London, paris, Caribbean, etc etc.
Now reverse the tables, people overseas who take vacation and come to
the US visit where? ( I actually got this off a travel site)
Vegas, NY, disney world, LA and SF. Tx being the largest state in area
and 2nd largest in population never cracked the top 20! So there
must be a reason why... And I want to know why it is.....
Now w all that said, should I consider making the move (leave aside
personal reasons) or is dallas not the city for me and my lifestyle. I
wouldn't mind retiring there since the family is there but for now, I'm
just dreading that I would be bored. I do love good food, but any large
city will have great food. I guess I saw this ad in a magazine and it
made me think twice (looking through a window overlooking the pacific
ocean), most people have to go on vacation to get a view like this....
You merely go home....
When you say "Dallas", do you mean the city or the suburbs? There is a huge difference. You really don't sound like you want to leave San Diego. I spent a year there a long time ago and it is nice. Dallas has more of a "big city" vibe though. If the best reason you can come up with for leaving San Diego is that your in-laws are here, I don't think that justifies uprooting your family and moving. Dallas is what you make of it. If you were bored here, it wouldn't be for lack of things to do. Yes, your electric/gas bills will be higher in Dallas. Your real estate taxes might be higher as well, however the house that you will live in will be much less expensive than in San Diego. I agree with Lakewooder. Spend some time here before you make such a major decision.
Reason for moving, my wifes family is there.
From all I've read on the area please tell me if I'm misinformed or
just reading things from people who are completely biased. I'm tired of hearing people are rude or traffic is bad... that's just life. I want real details...
Here's what
I've read from people who are from there or talked to.....
You're wise to try to discount the personal and biased opinions you read.
Quote:
1. Dallas is a sprawl city. Large sub developments and big houses are
what is the "cool" or more pleasant places to be?
Every American metro area is sprawled. DFW probably has more truly urban area than San Diego.
Quote:
2. Weather is ok. Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer?
Yeah, it's hot in the summer. Most people in the northern tier of states say Dallas winters are warm. Actually, they're cool, IMHO.
Quote:
3. I've read this a lot, its a vanilla city.... Kinda bland, typical
of any large american city. Not cultured per se for being such a large
city. Compared to LA, SF or NY
No, not as much culture as NYC or LA or Paris or London. Much more culture than smaller metros. We've got a dozen art museums and a dozen or so symphony orchestras in the metro, and plenty of film festivals, art house theatres, wide diversity of musicals and concerts, many ethnic groups represented. We have a Vietnamese radio station, a South asian FM station, things like that.
Bland? No, I think Dallas has some pretty unique center city neighborhoods such as Turtle Creek, West Village, Victory, and others. It looks very different from comparably-sized metros such as Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, even Houston.
Quote:
4. Large malls and restaurants are what its known for and are
everywhere
5. Crime is moderate, not horrible or bad, but not exactly safe.
Safer then houston I've been told.
6. Electricty and property taxes are expensive?
7. Is traffic really that bad? In what major city isn't? But if
you've traveled throughout the US in comparison how bad it is?
Major metro areas everywhere have malls and restaurants everywhere, not just Dallas. The metro has tough, crime-infested neighborhoods and safe neighborhoods, just like anywhere else. Property tax in dollars per capita are lower than more expensive cities because the cost of providing local services is lower. Would you rather pay 1% of $675,000 or 2 1/2% of $170,000?
Traffic? It's probably no better than other metros of comparable size. Better than Atlanta, as good (or bad) than Miami, etc., etc. Worse than smaller metros with fewer places to go to.
Quote:
8. Its not very scenic? Obviously no beaches or beautiful mountains
or hills?
9. Its a work to work town, not live to play place
10. I've been to the beaches in tx and I must say wow.... Its very
different from california or florida beaches....
No mountains visible from the city, but rugged hills to the west of the metro. Many large lakes (and beaches) ringing the metro, typically filled with boaters. Landscape is much greener and wooded compared to SoCal. More diverse weather patterns.
Work-to-work? I see a lot of people partying after work, recreating themselves.
Quote:
Well that being said I know there are jobs there that pay well and
housing is cheap. However, if I'm paying 3% property tax and my electric
ty is high it almost offsets the cost of a nice house (in some parts of
So Cal).
What you pay $500,000-$600,000 for costs $150,000-$200,000 in Dallas. What's the property tax on a $600,000 house? About $6,000, right? And yes, power would be higher in Dallas.
Quote:
I have a pretty plus city job here, make decent pay, almost free
medical and dental for the family, 8 weeks off per year (yes 8 weeks and
becomes 10 if I stay for 10 more years!). Granted my house isn't big on
any nice size lot, but living in an urban area I've found that bigger
isn't better when it comes to a large house. Unless I need 3500 sq ft or
5 beds/4 baths why? 2500 sq ft 3 beds and 2.5 baths will suffice for a
family of 4.
My wife is a elementary teacher and the pay in tx is horrible! The max
she'd make would be high 50's or low 60's. I went to the plano school
district site and checked it out. Whereas here in her max would be
95k (yes as a teacher!)
Ok san diego now.... Weather is the best, year round it can't be beat.
75 high in the summer, 65 in the winter. Lows 50's and 60's. Never
hot, never cold. My electric bill mind you was 55 dollars this past
month. With 3 large tvs, 3 computers and everything else a house has.... I
thought that was a good price.
Summers when electricity can be at a premium, we'll pay 150ish.
Now the scenery is just amazing. Beautiful beaches, mountains w snow
and plenty of things to do recreation ally. Guess ill put it this way,
if u start at the beach drive one hour east you'll hit a forest w
mountains and snow,then a sand dune desert all in an hours drive.... Where
else in the world is that possible? My weekends I never spend doing
nothing. I want to live life to the fullest and leave nothing behind.
I'm not a surfer, but I can't pass up goin to the beach all summer. In
the winter, snow boarding and skiing are just a few hours a way and if I
wanted to, go offroading in the sand dunes on a dirt bike I could.
LA is just an little more than an hours drive and orange county is 45
minutes away. I'm also very random and sporadic, but bc we're so close
to everything sometimes ill just say let's go to las vegas (4 hours
away), or just go to disney land, sea world, or snorkeling, go to a
hollywood awards show, see a tv show being filmed live... Etc etc.
I'm not very much into the arts and SD isn't an art town, even though
they're trying to make it that way. SF is far better for that, but I
guess the city w the weather and recreation just isn't that into it. I
guess look at places w crappy weather, they tend to be more artsy,
southern cali isn't very artsy to say the least..
I don't think you really want to leave SD because of the specific things you do there. Those things are pretty site-specific.
Quote:
Then I think, DFW being home to a large population, why isn't it a
tourism place? So ask yourself, people in the US always talk about the
cities they'd wish to visit overseas, London, paris, Caribbean, etc etc.
Now reverse the tables, people overseas who take vacation and come to
the US visit where? ( I actually got this off a travel site)
Vegas, NY, disney world, LA and SF. Tx being the largest state in area
and 2nd largest in population never cracked the top 20! So there
must be a reason why... And I want to know why it is.....
In terms of dollars spent, Texas is maybe the 2nd or 3rd state for the tourism-hospitality industry. DFW has no interest in promoting itself as a tourist trap, but still sells an enormous number of hotel rooms. And in spite of this, in 2007, it had the largest increase in population of any American metro, setting it as the 4th largest metro, after NYC, LA and Chi. All those people moving to Dallas chose it because it was better than anything else.
Quote:
Now w all that said, should I consider making the move (leave aside
personal reasons) or is dallas not the city for me and my lifestyle. I
wouldn't mind retiring there since the family is there but for now, I'm
just dreading that I would be bored. I do love good food, but any large
city will have great food. I guess I saw this ad in a magazine and it
made me think twice (looking through a window overlooking the pacific
ocean), most people have to go on vacation to get a view like this....
You merely go home....
If you're happy where you are, and are adjusted to the limited options of a mid-sized American metro, why should you move away? Actually, why are you asking us?
Whenever I talk with people who have some obvious bias against DFW, who criticize it for one shortcoming or another, my answer is that it is growing quickly, whereas other, supposedly more advanced metros are losing population or just hangong on.
They usually answer something like... jobs. It's all about jobs. That's the only reason they come.
And my reply is.... but dozens of other metros have jobs too... yet they want a Dallas job more than some other town's job. Because Dallas is better.
Hey, I grew up in Carlsbad and lived all over SD (OB, La Jolla, Encinitas also). Here's my 2 cents worth:
Quote:
1. Dallas is a sprawl city. Large sub developments and big houses are
what is the "cool" or more pleasant places to be?
Others can point in you in this direction, but the suburbs are, well, suburbs. Think Poway or Rancho Bernardo.
Quote:
2. Weather is ok. Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer?
Very hot in the summer, chilly (which i like) in the winter. Wonderful in the spring and fall.
Quote:
3. I've read this a lot, its a vanilla city.... Kinda bland, typical
of any large american city. Not cultured per se for being such a large
city. Compared to LA, SF or NY
San Diego is also known as a vanilla city. Dallas has a little more spice to it with its Texas heritage. I would argue there is more culture here than SD but that is a judgement call.
Quote:
4. Large malls and restaurants are what its known for and are
everywhere
Everywhere yes. WHat it is known for I don't know. To each their own.
Quote:
5. Crime is moderate, not horrible or bad, but not exactly safe.
Safer then houston I've been told.
Same as in any other city of its size. The bad area are bad and the nice areas are nice. There is absolutely no way to make a generalized statement about a city/metro area of 6 million people.
Quote:
6. Electricty and property taxes are expensive?
You use more electricity here because of the heat. Central A/C is the norm. As far as property taxes, rates are higher but actual costs are lower because homes cost 1/3rd what they do in SD.
Quote:
7. Is traffic really that bad? In what major city isn't? But if
you've traveled throughout the US in comparison how bad it is?
Comparable to SD. Not as bad as L.A. but not good.
Quote:
8. Its not very scenic? Obviously no beaches or beautiful mountains
or hills?
Not very scenic overall.
Quote:
9. Its a work to work town, not live to play place
San DIego is fairly unique in the outdoor mentality. Dallas is to me a work-to-spend-time-with-your-family kind of town. But you will find people who play and people who don't. It's not dull here if that is what you are asking.
Quote:
10. I've been to the beaches in tx and I must say wow.... Its very
different from california or florida beaches....
Ok.
Quote:
Well that being said I know there are jobs there that pay well and
housing is cheap. However, if I'm paying 3% property tax and my electric
ty is high it almost offsets the cost of a nice house (in some parts of
So Cal).
Um, do the math. 2.2% on a $200k house or 1.2% on a $800k house. Then add in what you pay for your mortgage. What does that add up to?
Quote:
I have a pretty plus city job here, make decent pay, almost free
medical and dental for the family, 8 weeks off per year (yes 8 weeks and
becomes 10 if I stay for 10 more years!). Granted my house isn't big on
any nice size lot, but living in an urban area I've found that bigger
isn't better when it comes to a large house. Unless I need 3500 sq ft or
5 beds/4 baths why? 2500 sq ft 3 beds and 2.5 baths will suffice for a
family of 4.
I'm not sure what you are asking here. You have a cushy job living off the SD taxpayers. Are you asking if you should give that up?
Quote:
My wife is a elementary teacher and the pay in tx is horrible! The max
she'd make would be high 50's or low 60's. I went to the plano school
district site and checked it out. Whereas here in her max would be
95k (yes as a teacher!)
OK.
Quote:
Ok san diego now....
Now w all that said, should I consider making the move.
Yes you're right is is true... people move to where??? The jobs are. However, if it weren't for the jobs now what? Funny, Southern California is filled w/ people who don't work! Who have all the $$$ in the world and had to choice to live anywhere... they pick here. We even have an area of town called lottery row... nothing but lotto winners!
Growth and size doesn't mean good though.... b/c w/ growth comes alot of negatives as well...
Larger more advanced areas are losing population bc of cost of living... simply put they probably didn't have great jobs. IKeep in in mind Dallas metro can grow as much as it wants... southern cali is land locked.. physically! Find an empty lot anywhere.. it doesn't exist. We live thousands to a sq mile only bc most of the land is unhabitable, or government owned (1/2 the land in CA if gov owned). I'm not leaving to take a lesser paying or less desireable job either. I want lifestyle I guess... substance, jobs are jobs.
I'd say stay in SD. Personally I love the outdoors, hiking, skiing/boarding, nature photography, etc. Living in north TX, I have to substantially travel (several hours by car/air depending on the activity) to do these anywhere remotely scenic. Yes the housing is cheaper here than CA, but I preferred living in a smaller space that was within an hour of better year-round recreation. I'm not a native Texan so maybe it just doesn't have that sentimental pull for me. Anyway, moved here for education & work. Hope to be moving on from north TX in the next 3-5 years and living somewhere that is better suited to my interests. Deciding to move/where to move can be stressful. Best wishes with your decision.
Yes you're right is is true... people move to where??? The jobs are. However, if it weren't for the jobs now what? Funny, Southern California is filled w/ people who don't work! Who have all the $$$ in the world and had to choice to live anywhere... they pick here. We even have an area of town called lottery row... nothing but lotto winners!
Growth and size doesn't mean good though.... b/c w/ growth comes alot of negatives as well...
Larger more advanced areas are losing population bc of cost of living... simply put they probably didn't have great jobs. IKeep in in mind Dallas metro can grow as much as it wants... southern cali is land locked.. physically! Find an empty lot anywhere.. it doesn't exist. We live thousands to a sq mile only bc most of the land is unhabitable, or government owned (1/2 the land in CA if gov owned). I'm not leaving to take a lesser paying or less desireable job either. I want lifestyle I guess... substance, jobs are jobs.
I'm not really sure exactly what your whole point here is or even what your question is. If your wife wants to be here and you move then you either man up and accept it for what it is and learn to be happy or you have a miserable life. If she doesn't need to move here to be happy than stay in SD. It doesn't seem to be a very large dilemna to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
