Why did you come to Dallas (Austin, Roma: apartment, to rent, loans)

[aceplace]

Since this is a relocation forum, perhaps your answers will be of help to others...

Why did you migrate to Dallas?

[lizziebeth]

Because my dad was transferred here and since I was 13 at the time and wasn't a teen pop sensation, I had to follow...

Why did I move back after grad school? Because most of my family is here, because the job opportunities were relatively plentiful, because it's a fun city with a lot of opportunities and, tell me if you've heard this before, because it was affordable then just as it is now as compared to other cities where I'd consider living.

[SouthDallas40]

Moved to Dallas seven years ago for a great career opportunity.
Life has been nothing short of wonderful ever since.

[aceplace]

I guess I'll contribute to my own thread.

I moved to Dallas from the San Francisco Bay Area. There were some factors for life in the Bay Area that were problems for me and I found that the Dallas area was different...

The Bay Area is too far to the ideological left for me. The people seem to me somewhat short of bizzare in their thinking, and I couldn't stand them any longer. Dallas is far more diverse in its ideologies. A local newspaper proudly reported that the Bay Area had the most extreme views on a host of social and cultural issues.

The Bay Area weather is cold and damp... you can expect bone-shilling winds in July, and continuous rain or fog or overcast almost constantly. The day I left town, it had been drizzling rain for 31 continuous days. Dallas, by contrast, has "normal" weather.

The Bay Area has a lower standard of living than Dallas. Consumer goods and services that are plentiful in Dallas, such as affordable and upscale restaurants, housing, consumer goods in shopping malls, even wait times when you schedule a doctor's appointment, are basically rationed by scarcity over there. I felt like I was living in a Communist economy in the 1960s.

Housing was scarce and expensive over there, whereas in Dallas, a house is priced according to what it costs to build. In the Bay Area, there was such an abysmally low rate of building that prices were bid up almost to the sky. This eventually caused a lending industry to invent basically unsustainable loans, and was the root of our recent economic crisis.

San Francisco is ugly. Yes, I know it has a magnificent physical setting and a lot of dramatic scenery, but the physical city of ugly streets and rattletrap buildings are like something you'd expect in a third world country.

I made a good move. Dallas is not perfect, just good enough to be better for me than anywhere else I'd consider.

[stan4]

Because my dad was transferred here and since I was 13 at the time and wasn't a teen pop sensation, I had to follow...

Why did I move back after grad school? Because most of my family is here, because the job opportunities were relatively plentiful, because it's a fun city with a lot of opportunities and, tell me if you've heard this before, because it was affordable then just as it is now as compared to other cities where I'd consider living.

Wtf? Those are exactly the same reasons I moved here. Dad transferred when I was 13. Moved back after finishing advanced schooling b/c of family, money, great town with lots of opportunties and activities...

I, however, was a teen pop sensation...

[ebuch]

Great thread, I can't wait to visit Dallas, I'm trying to decide between being LAPD or Dallas PD in the next 6-8months...

[aceplace]

I was interested in starting this thread because I have been reading a book by Richard Florida about the differing personalities of cities, and how a city with a certain personality can have long range success. He also talks about the qualities in a city that attract people.

Richard Florida is the fellow who originated the idea of cities being supported by an influx of the "creative class".

In the author's opinion, the most succesful personality a city can have is to seek out and be open to new experiences, in terms of innovation. He includes Dallas and Austin in that category. And Dallas seems to be open to new ideas and can be pretty innovative, qualities that attract people who want to come and succeed. That's how Jack Kilby came here and developed the microchip, for which he won the Nobel Prize, and why someone like Mark Cuban can flourish and prosper here, instead of stagnating in the Rustbelt.

Aside to ganjaqueen... if the Pacific Northwest looks good to you, especially for its semi-radical leftist politics and social ideology, if you think its people and way of thinking is compatible with your own, then Dallas is definitely not a good fit for you. The longer you're here, the more antagonistic you'll feel toward the people who don't believe in and dismiss your values. Good luck elsewhere.

[lh_newbie]

Moderator cut: orphaned

My brother moved to DFW about 16 or so years ago. I came to visit and liked the area. About 8 years ago, I had the opportunity to move here and to escape the cold winters of Michigan. Michigan is a pretty state and if you're into hunting, fishing and boating - there isn't a state that compares. Unfortunately, hunting and fishing aren't interesting to me and I'm too darn cheap to buy a boat. So I was Dallas bound. While Dallas is certainly not perfect, I feel it's got a good balance of jobs, things to do, decent weather and inexpensive housing. For me, that all adds up to a high quality of life.

We have way more home than we need, but have the ability to have my parents or mother-in-law move in with us if needed in the future. We have a beautiful home with character. We are heavily contributing to our retirement plans. We both have good paying jobs. We have nice neighbors, fun friends and a great church. Life is basically good for us in Dallas.

Brian

[momof2dfw]

Well it started when my daddy was born at Parkland and my mom's family moved from a small country town to the big city. They met at church when they were teens, got married and had me. So I was born here

I've had the chance to move to other places but the cost of living, the "dog eat dog" attitude, horrible weather in some places offered, no chance to even afford to rent a decent apartment on my own because pay was horribly low and rents were horribly high and a few other determining factors kept me here. Same goes for hubby but he was dragged here when he was 2 from a Southern state (shhh, I didn't marry a Native Texan ). We both look back and see we made the right decisions in staying here and have prospered and done very well. Now we enjoy traveling all over the country and to other countries. Experiencing new things but coming home and appreciating what we have going for us here.

[ebuch]

Do you guys like the winters in Dallas? Also would you said the city is mainly conservative? And what type of religions are prominent? I am Roman Catholic, a lot of Catholic churches in the areas?