Transplanters/those who have moved to Dallas...advice (Plano, Rowlett: sales, car registration)

[lovinlife04]

Hello,
We are moving from the midwest to somewhere around Dallas. We would like to hear from those that have moved for advice; what you could of/would have/wished you would have known, things to think about (like where do you store your storage without a basement)?

Any/all advice from a family of 6 who has never been there would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Terri

[Big G]

Before you move, go through all your basement junk. Sell or toss 80% of it, including anything too heavy to lift up attic steps.

Get used to tiny, fenced-in yards. The concept of Texas as wide open space only exists on TV (and west Texas).

You will be expected to acknowledge complete strangers at all times with a "Hey, how ya doing?" If youy do the standard Midwest head-turn ignore move, you will be considered rude.

[FarNorthDallas]

What kind of stuff do you store in your basement?

[Debsi]

A lot of people store stuff in the garage.

But I think a huge garage sale before moving is a great idea.

[KittySkyfish]

A few things:

Plan for property taxes. The DFW area has rates that average about 2.6% and our escrow pmt. takes up a large portion of our monthly mortgage.

I haven't lived with a basement in years so we're used to storing extras in a spare bedroom and the garage. Stuff that isn't sensitive to heat can be stored in an outside shed or attic.

We were told by locals to avoid certain areas of town because they were undesireable but after moving in, we found that many of these bad areas weren't high-crime, but just old. I passed up on a few really cool properties in East Plano/Murphy area because we were told it was one the wrong side of town (east of 75 - how ridiculous!). Even though I accessed crime maps and found no problem with the area, my husband and I took too much stock in local opinion.

[bookworm2768]

I love these posts

We moved from just north of Indy . .. as mid west as you can get!

Here's what we did not expect:

Property taxes are very high in the area

Fire Ants and Termites are a nuisance and you may need a quarterly monitoring service for you home

When you first register your car you will pay a percentage of the value of your vehicle to the state - if you're driving a newer car this sucks big time!

There are no state taxes on your income (woo hoo) but the other things you will end up paying for will make up for that.

Yards are tiny and, depending on where you buy, towering 8 foot fences box off the property. If you want a 'reasonable' size yard it is going to cost you.

Alleys! Depending on where you buy there is this odd little back road between properties to allow for access to your garage from the back. Older properties do not have front entry garages. this of course chops into the size of your usable back yard.

The highway on and off ramps are often really really short so watch out until you get used to them

The electric bills are insanely high.

Your water bill is insanely high.

Frontage roads - if you don't already know what they are- run alongside many of the major highways and can be confusing at first.

The sex offender and crime maps will scare your pants off initially

You get used to all of it and barely notice it after a year.

As to storage, You aren't going to need a whole slew of winter stuff (assuming you are upper midwest) so that whole winter wardrobe will get a lot slimmer. Have a massive garage sale and get rid of whatever you won't need (e.g SNOW SHOVEL!!). The garages tend to be a bit wider than the standard two car garages in Indy so there is room to put in a nice amount of shelving. We made sure to get a house with storage space in the attic (floorboards to walk on were already laid down).

[badr]

This happened to us when we were "apt. shopping"... My wife and i recently explored east plano (around the area were Fry's is), that area just looks old but its not rundown or BAD... (Not baltimore bad anyways).

We live in west plano and we love it, but east plano was not that bad.

But like you, we took a lot of opinion in what locals said...

Originally Posted by KittySkyfish

We were told by locals to avoid certain areas of town because they were undesireable but after moving in, we found that many of these bad areas weren't high-crime, but just old. I passed up on a few really cool properties in East Plano/Murphy area because we were told it was one the wrong side of town (east of 75 - how ridiculous!). Even though I accessed crime maps and found no problem with the area, my husband and I took too much stock in local opinion.

[bookworm2768]

oh oh oh and FOUNDATION ISSUES!!!
again, depending on where you buy, the ground here swells and shrinks. Kind of like Frost heaving but worse. So, in this dry old state with its water shortages . . . you WATER the foundation!! Hilarious, I know. And the high cost of water doesn't make this any funnier.

Do a quick search on foundation issues in DFW to get more information. The idea with watering the house is to keep a standard amount of moisture in the ground so that there is no major shrinking when it dries out which would cause foundation problems.

[LQQKOUT]

I live East of the 75 and I love it. As for the small yard quote, not completely true. I live in Rowlett and I have 1/2 acre lot.

As for the basement thing, uh learn to live without one. Garage, shed, extra BD.
Property taxes are high, but you don't have state tax.

Texas is a great place to raise your kids, schooling system here is great (just do your homework on the schools)

And yes have the biggest yard sale you can, get rid of everything you can live without. The expenses to move it, store it and then move it again will out weight the whole effort. Sell, sell, sell!!!

Rent first, then buy.
Car registration is cheap.
Avoid 35E North, my opinion don't purchase in that neck of the woods. The freeway traffic is horriable! Love the areas, but not worth the driver if you working in Dallas and driving.
Weather changes often!
Car must have COLD AC working.
Everyone (for the most part is friendly)
Texans driver like idoits! And they know it.
Oh, and if the speed limit is 60 Texans drive 90 so watch out.
Truckers can drive in any lane on the freeway (dangerous)
A lot of cultural and local events all year long.
People are genuine.
Yard sales are usually on Thursday, Friday and Saturday...Sunday is for Church. People like me work for a living but love garage sale miss out on good stuff


Good luck to you and Welcome to Texas!

[Debsi]

What lot size is considered a small yard?