What is attracting California and west coast folks to DFW? (Dallas: crimes, Home Depot)

[caligurltotx]

Finally! Soccersupporter is saying what I have been trying to get across about Lake Elsinore. People move there out of need not a true want or desire of the area!!! GEEZ!

If Dwong is in San Diego why not make comparisons to housing in DFW using San Diego area??? I know why.

[caligurltotx]

Originally Posted by DWong

way out there? Hey there are jobs in Temecula, Ontario, Norco, RC, Ontario, Fontana a plenty - keep in mind riverside/San Bernard are a metro of 4 million alone.. I would be quick to say there are no jobs there...
... LA/SD/OC are pushing 60 miles.

I swear I wanna stop replying to these post. There are jobs everywhere. My last buyer that bought in Lake Elsinore out of necessity and commutes 60+ miles one way to work would love for you to tell him where he can find a job in those areas. He is in electrical work, not a licensed electrician. He has gotten job offers but with a pay cut of $4 -5 and hour. Seeing that he has a mortgage now, 4 kids and one on the way it wouldn't be a good move.
So it's not as black and white as you make it.

[socketz]

I tried reading through this tome of a thread, but I'd need to take a day off work to finish.

I also lost interest among the CA bashing.

If this has been said, forgive me.

But sorry guys, but there are a ton of reasons to live in CA.

You know me, I made the best of the almost 2 years I spent in Dallas, and to this day defend it on almost a daily basis (people do not think much of TX here other than the housing is inexpensive - contrary to the beliefs of those within this thread that think people are fleeing CA). It remains a place I'd recommend to people that are looking for a start in a place that is family friendly with opportunities across multiple careers.

First off....

1.
Affordable housing.

San Diego has dropped quite a bit in the last 2 years, so 550k will get you a decent home there in a good area with excellent schools. I know this because I look at the MLS almost daily. No, you will not be able to buy in a posh suburb 3 miles from the Pacific ocean, but there are tons of nice areas in San Diego that are becoming affordable in great areas of town.

Then drift north to the Bay....

Prices have come down here as well, but not as much as Socal because of the United Nations affect this place has on the world. Honestly, there are few people I meet on a daily basis that are from this country, let alone the Bay Area. This area attracts the world's best and brightest and will continue to do so as long as a bulk of the VC in the US remains here. The sheer amount of wealth here is staggering.

If you go to the East Bay, you can live in say Pleasanton (25 miles, so similar to a McKinney commute) and have excellent schools and a great family environment just like Plano. Yes, a home will cost about 650k and be smaller (just under 1.8k sq/ft), but let's not forget.

Property tax is 1% here, closer to 2-3% in TX.

Climate control is needed about 5% of the time vs. about 80% of the time in TX.

There are a ton of things to do here that are in driving distance, so no longer a need for 3-4k a year set aside to take trips to Mexico like many of my friends did in Dallas, annually. Here in CA, you basically live where others in the US vacation to….

Housing has historically always been a better investment here, so if you can buy in one of the 5-7 year cyclical dips, you stand a chance to create some decent wealth based on just your asset value. I know this is a heated subject, but the facts are the facts. Wealth can and always will be created in the CA RE market, but timing and patience are key.

2.
Schools

Schools are hit and miss in CA. Some of the best in the country, and some of the worse. Most people in Dallas on this board are within Richardson, Plano, Frisco....etc., and yes, those schools are good. But there are plenty of really poor schools in TX as well. Just like CA. But yes, to live in a good school district in CA, you will pay about 20% more for your home than someone in a mediocre district.

Many, many successful people have gone on to create and run some of the largest companies in the world out of the CA public school system.

3.
Crime

Not sure where you guys lived in CA, but aside from Oakland, East LA and South Central LA, I can’t think of anyplace in CA that has a lot of crime. In cities like San Diego, I’m not sure if there are even bad areas anymore that would compare to South Dallas.

San Diego and San Jose remain some of the safest cities in America for their size. The next rung down on the ladder is Irvine/Orange County, which has been the safest city for its size for some time now.

One thing I do never see here in the papers are the bizarre types of crimes that I saw in Dallas. Someone running along side cars stopped at lights and spraying lighter fluid on people and sitting them on fire, a man pouring gas on his family and sitting them on fire, a man cooking body parts in his house….and the list goes on. Maybe it was just my timing, but the wife and I were blown away by the ‘types’ of crimes on the news.

In CA, the crimes are normally gang related or crimes of opportunity.

4.
Commute

Dallas wins here because you have Tammy Dombeck doing your traffic reports.

CA has nothing close to Tammy.

In all seriousness, CA is probably worse in many ways because like someone else mentioned, the infrastructure is liberal here and building is looked at as taboo. So people commute on crummy ole neglected roads to the nice burbs. But it is still not as bad as say Seattle/Tacoma.


5.
People

Dallas wins for better looking/better dressed people. While I agree that Dallasites may worry too much about how they look, people here take the ‘laid back’ thing too far. I’d prefer somewhere in the middle.

I never thought people in CA were not friendly, so when I moved to TX, I didn’t see much of a change there. I like the people in both places.


6.
Salaries

For the line of work I am in, there is not a big difference, so your money does go a lot further in Dallas

However, for my line of work, CA is Mecca. So while opportunities may exist in other markets for me, the Bay Area is the benchmark for my industry and opportunities are sorted through and filed here, not counted on one hand.

Because opportunity creates options, and options are of course freedom in this guy's mind, I guess what pulled me back here was that sense of internal optimism this place has always had. It's also what I think makes CA part of your DNA, so its hard to every truly leave behind in your heart, even if your body resides elsewhere.

7.
Weather

Been beat to death, but we know who wins here and why. It is nice to once again not have to think so dang much about the weather like I had to do in TX.

Today was the 1st day of June and I had to wear a flannel shirt to the market at 8am.

I actually find that I wish it was hotter here. But not 90s.

Also, tornadoes, or even the thought of tornadoes scare the snot out of me. I know it sounds contrived, but Earthquakes are just not nearly as terrifying if you live and work in less dense surroundings. Earthquakes are the most dangerous when they hit very dense areas, like those which were affected in China.


8.
Topography

Also been beat to death. I have to say that the Bay Area is one of the most gorgeous areas I’ve been too, let alone lived. My car’s brakes don’t like all these hills though, so they want to go back to Dallas ASAP and squeal regularly to remind me.

As for Socal, I could take most of you to parts of the coastline between San Diego and Malibu and your jaw would hit the floor. It's paradise and it's there for almost everyone to enjoy.I don't think anyone can contest this point. It's just another one of the tradeoffs.

Speaking of tradeoffs, I hope this puts the CA bashing to rest.

Obviously people choose where they live for a multitude of reasons/tradeoffs based on where they are in thier life/career. To attempt to rationalize your selection as correct and somebody else's as irrational, you are ignoring the very premise that makes us all unique creatures.

Peace...

[caligurltotx]

Very good post Socketz!

[Canine*Castle]

Excellent to the max, Socketz. Posts don't get better than that one.

Ditto to an ex-Californian that earthquakes aren't nearly as terrifyng as tornadoes. One really has to have been exposed to both to truly understand that statement.

One hasn't lived until one has visited the CA coastline, absolutely gorgeous. Gosh, I miss it but once when I was young, I made a mistake. Oh well, it's okay now that I'm old except every year, the heat bothers me more and I dislike it even more. Give me a cool CA evening any day and the ideal weather during the year. That I miss and always will not to mention the delightful people that crossed my path for years. They would do anything for anyone and meant the world to me. I still keep in contact with those wonderful jewels of friends, non-pretentious, loving, and very real.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

The city of Dallas interactive crime map at City of Dallas Interactive Maps is probably the best tool one can use to see actual occurances in a given area during a given time period. The user can draw his/her own conclusions. This is much more effective than looking at an empty ranking list of cities based on overall crime rates.

That interactive tool looks worse than the number stats to me. It's rather confusing too albeit I only spent 5 minutes trying to figure it out. When I get a chance, I'll delve into "the fun" further.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by socketz

3.
Crime

Not sure where you guys lived in CA, but aside from Oakland, East LA and South Central LA, I can’t think of anyplace in CA that has a lot of crime. In cities like San Diego, I’m not sure if there are even bad areas anymore that would compare to South Dallas....In CA, the crimes are normally gang related or crimes of opportunity.

Socketz I usually agree with most of what you write, but not here. Those of us who have lived in LA (and who grew up in SD and went to college in the Bay Area) know that bad neighborhoods/crime areas are sprinkled throughout the city and state far beyond the media/rap music perceptions that most people have. West L.A alone has Palms, Venice, Mar Vista, etc. Plenty of areas that compare to South Dallas. San Diego still has plenty of problems in its urban core and the areas south (National City down to the border for example) are still rough.

The San Joaquin Valley areas also have serious crime problems. Fresno, Modesto, etc. And the North Bay area is nasty along with Hunter's Point in SF.

Whether crime is gang related ro not is not overly relevant.

Anywhoo...

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by caligurltotx

Finally! Soccersupporter is saying what I have been trying to get across about Lake Elsinore. People move there out of need not a true want or desire of the area!!! GEEZ!

If Dwong is in San Diego why not make comparisons to housing in DFW using San Diego area??? I know why.

Lake Elsinore, Henet, Menifee, etc. are below the status of armpits. There is no comparison here to D/FW that I think anyone is goign to take seriously as an option.

[galore]

I am sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane from SFO to DFW after a vacation in San Francisco. It was gorgeous but the weather was brutal for end of May. Low 50s and WINDY. Actually felt like after a day of snow skiing. But the vistas are just breathtaking!

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

That interactive tool looks worse than the number stats to me. It's rather confusing too albeit I only spent 5 minutes trying to figure it out. When I get a chance, I'll delve into "the fun" further.

It's really not hard to figure out. Use the cursor to draw a square/rectangle over any section on the map and it gives you the exact number of each type of crime in the area you have chosen.