What is attracting California and west coast folks to DFW? (Dallas: place to live, price)

[CalGal953]

Originally Posted by twojciac

Equal footing for TX or CA? I'd choose TX hands down... even if it were twice as expensive. Granted my exposure to CA is the Bay Area... and my exposure to TX is the DFW area (having just moved here), but I honestly don't think you could pay me enough to move to the Bay Area.

I know I'll come off sounding like an ass, but I wish home values in CA were affordable. Too many people from CA are moving elsewhere bringing their politics and problems to other parts of the country. To me CA is like a different country... and most days I wish it was...

Hey, I'm a Californian and I too wish homes there were more affordable so I could finally return. I don't hate Texas, but I just have not felt welcome here, and I didn't move here by choice. And though I'm left-of-center politically, I'm not an activist, I'm just live-and-let-live. (And I too sometimes wish CA was its own country, though probably for different reasons than most people here.)

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by DWong

Must I even touch on how many Texans are in CA now on vacation?

I was at Hearst Castle the other day and I was surprized by the large number of Texas license plates I saw in the parking lot. If you took an area like that, filled it with a bunch of housing subdivisions and commercial stuff ... yeah, the cost of living would be cheaper but the area would be completely ruined.

The latest controversy was putting a couple of cell phone towers in a nature preserve so people could have better cell phone reception but ... they didn't allow it because they were worried that the wildlife could be killed. In Texas, of course, they wouldn't give the towers a second thought.

As I was having lunch on Monterey Bay the other day watching the seals and the sea lions play in the water just a few feet away ... I totally understood why they're extremely careful to not let anything disturb the beauty of the area because ... this is the reason why people come from all over the world to see it.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by socketz

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 ever truly leave behind in your heart, even if your body resides elsewhere.

Very well said.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by DWong

Wow, guess that kinda cuts off your credibility. So much for objectivity. But sorry if that is your opinion, but hey I will agree, parts of CA that are affordable do suck

You know, I was just prodding you. Your posts in bold and post-after-post-after-post back-to-back is getting old. You love California. We get it. Drop the subject.

SoCal, near the coast, has great weather. We get that. It gets hotter when you get further away. CA has state income tax; TX doesn't. Some people love CA. Some people love TX. Housing is cheaper in TX. How many times can we rehash the same crap over and over? Some folks argue that TX housing, being so inexpensive, is the reason to live in TX. Some folks argue that in CA, you can make a bundle on housing by following the history of cyclical housing prices in the state. In the end, there are personal reasons and personal preferences that will cause people to like one state over the other. If one state was clearly better than the other - it would have everyone living in it. Different strokes for different folks. Can we agree to disagree and drop this stupid thread? Can we ban any further threads? These threads crop up all the time. It gets so old.

I don't like California. I go out there several times a year for work (Bay Area, but I have went to San Diego and other cities several times). Nothing you can say can change my mind that even if the prices were the same as TX - I wouldn't move. Now, would I move to another area of the country, or for that matter, another country? You bet. There are other areas in this world that I really enjoy - I wouldn't mind living in Seattle, Rome or Paris. That's my preference, but I don't see Paris -vs- Dallas threads anywhere...

Is there a function on this forum to simply block out certain threads so they don't show up on the list? Threads like this are like a train wreck and I can't stop looking at them.

[momof2dfw]

Hmm, wonder how many people that live in California can afford to go on a vacation? Whereas us Texans LOVE our vacations. Just the other day a neighbor was telling me about their cruise they had just gotten back from. They ran into many fellow Texans on their cruise out of Florida. The staff on the cruise told them they LOVE the Texans as they are the friendliest bunch and will talk to anyone. They also mentioned that us Texans tend to be the best tippers.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by sheri257

I was at Hearst Castle the other day and I was surprized by the large number of Texas license plates I saw in the parking lot. If you took an area like that, filled it with a bunch of housing subdivisions and commercial stuff ... yeah, the cost of living would be cheaper but the area would be completely ruined.

The latest controversy was putting a couple of cell phone towers in a nature preserve so people could have better cell phone reception but ... they didn't allow it because they were worried that the wildlife could be killed. In Texas, of course, they wouldn't give the towers a second thought.

As I was having lunch on Monterey Bay the other day watching the seals and the sea lions play in the water just a few feet away ... I totally understood why they're extremely careful to not let anything disturb the beauty of the area because ... this is the reason why people come from all over the world to see it.

NOT! This is soooo inaccurate it is not even funny. You try putting up a cell tower anywhere around here and you will have holy h e l l going on if you did not put it thru the city council, p&z and past the people that live around it first. There have been many proposed cell towers that have been turned down. They ARE "given a second thought" here in Texas. One reason why we can not get very good cell service down at our lake house - no one wants them down there to spoil the natural beauty.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Hmm, wonder how many people that live in California can afford to go on a vacation? Whereas us Texans LOVE our vacations.

I live in Monterey County so, my vacation is right here. I used to vacation here a lot and finally decided I should just move here.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by sheri257

I live in Monterey County so, my vacation is right here. I used to vacation here a lot and finally decided I should just move here.

In other words you never get out of your bubble to explore this GREAT BIG world we live in and experience other cultures. I have a vacation paradise in my own backyard as well with the very nice pool, lush landscaping, etc. Also have the second home an hour away on the lake. I still like to go and see as there is way too much out there to not experience. I do like to see how the rest of the world lives instead of trying to put whole areas into ill-fitting pigeon holes.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Hmm, wonder how many people that live in California can afford to go on a vacation? Whereas us Texans LOVE our vacations. Just the other day a neighbor was telling me about their cruise they had just gotten back from. They ran into many fellow Texans on their cruise out of Florida. The staff on the cruise told them they LOVE the Texans as they are the friendliest bunch and will talk to anyone. They also mentioned that us Texans tend to be the best tippers.

Like I said in one of my posts, it may be tough to start out in CA now but if one has lived there for many years, they really do have it made financially unless like so many do, they are inept when it comes to matters of money.

I have many friends who still live in the city where I grew up, and none of them are short of money. One owns a house in GA (I know, whoopee ~ I thought the same thing, but north GA isn't cheap) and one in CA. They are both huge houses with the one in CA having a pool. Another owns a house in CA and one in CO, again houses that are really nice. They fly to CO in their own plane. I could go on and on about how well my friends and relatives are doing financially, but it would be boring to those who don't care who owns what and how many one has of this and that.

You mentioned the poor Californians not being able to enjoy vacations. They are constantly going anywhere they choose to go because they can afford it and like to travel. Personally, I'm not into traveling hither and yon. I'm too much of a homebody. Sometimes I get quite bored with the discussions of their trips to Europe and their Alaskan cruises but if it makes them happy, so be it.

One thing about Californians is they don't have to travel far for beauty. Within their own state, they will find everything they need in gorgeous scenery and if they so desire, they can save more of their money and stay "close to home."

So for all the "WE Texans" who really care, Californians can also enjoy the life of Riley. Don't forget that property taxes and home owners insurance are cheaper than in many parts of Texas. My friends are astounded at what I pay for electricity in Texas, and I'm not referring to how much I have to use to stay cool in these ungodly summers but how much the cost is per kwh. Even my friends whose children are my children's ages are doing quite well financially in CA but my two children in TX are doing well too.

Tipping.....I'm not impressed who tips more. My children were incredulous when I would only tip 10% and now when I'm with them, I go "all the way" with 15%, but 10% it is if I'm not with them.

Friendly Texans. Yes, there are many, but there are friendly folks everywhere and absolute rudeness everywhere as well. Maybe the staff on the cruise told you Texans were friendly to "butter you up" for more bucks. It could be so you know, sad but true. People will say anything for the almighty dollar.

I know I could never afford to go back, hence what I'm saying is true that unless one is quite well off, he or she would have a hard time starting out in beautiful California. I could choke my dad for ever suggesting to move to Texas and worse yet, convincing us to follow. He turned up being the one who cursed this place for the almost ten years he lived here before passing away. None of us thought that badly of it as he even though my mom didn't want to go in spite of having another child who lived here. Not many of us want to start over at the age of 67 as she was. I can't believe my dad did what he did. Grrrrrr! I'm not blaming him totally, but we were just fine out there. Actually, it's really my sister's fault for marrying a Texan and leaving us. Just kidding but..............

[CalGal953]

I wish I had lived in CA for many more years than the measly 11 I had.