Moving from Cleveland to Dallas-- what's to like? (Richardson, Grapevine: real estate, how much)

[Joannewebx]

We're in our late 40s, kids away at college and my husband is thinking of accepting a job in Dallas. I've been reading tons of posts about Dallas and so far, in a nutshell--
Good Things: low cost of living, shopping, friendly people
Bad things: property taxes, hot in summer, ugly/flat/dry/brown landscape, not centered on culture or festival-type things, conservative, materialistic McMansion mentality, mold, termites, foundation problems, no basements for storage, not a "walking" city, and bad traffic.
Moving from the midwest, knowing nobody and reading all these posts, it actually sounds rather horrible. One thing for sure, it has to be a step up from Cleveland, but it's all relative. Luckily, I do like hot weather and can make the best of things. Please tell me something else to look forward to if we move! Thanks!

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

Originally Posted by Joannewebx

ugly/flat/dry/brown landscape, not centered on culture or festival-type things

Just a few - there are many, many more.

Dallas Arboretum Home Page and http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...um-photos.html
Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival- City of Richardson
Main Street
GrapeFest - Grapevine Texas - September 6, 11, 12, 13 & 14, 2008
Nasher Sculpture Center - Home

[turnbun]

Dallas is a great place. If you are interested in culture, festivals, outdoor beauty, you can certainly find it here. I suggest you look in Lakewood for housing - you will find lots of outdoor beauty, less McMansions, more laid back, artsy, live and let live types.
So much of liking where you live depends on the people you surround yourself with. You can find people from all walks of life here, you just have to know where to look!

[vseale]

Check out the Official Photo Thread at the top of the Dallas forum to get a good feel for what Dallas looks like.

You put so much emphasis on your "Bad things". Most of the items listed are debateable (and we do!) as to the how much they really exist. Sometimes I I beat my head against the wall before replying to a "discussion'. There are some OF THE SILLIEST RUMORs repeated as gospel.

(Hmm, maybe we need a new thread on silliest rumors about Dallas!)

Is your concern really about Dallas or the fear of moving so far from the familiar? It's a big leap. Is it the first time you've moved to another city? What's your timeframe on the move? If you can afford to come down for a weekend to check it out, I think you'd realize how great Dallas is.

Let us know your timeframe, where the job is located, your budget, and things you like so we can give you specific answers.

[needsomeinfo]

Originally Posted by Joannewebx

We're in our late 40s, kids away at college and my husband is thinking of accepting a job in Dallas. I've been reading tons of posts about Dallas and so far, in a nutshell--
Good Things: low cost of living, shopping, friendly people
Bad things: property taxes, hot in summer, ugly/flat/dry/brown landscape, not centered on culture or festival-type things, conservative, materialistic McMansion mentality, mold, termites, foundation problems, no basements for storage, not a "walking" city, and bad traffic.
Moving from the midwest, knowing nobody and reading all these posts, it actually sounds rather horrible. One thing for sure, it has to be a step up from Cleveland, but it's all relative. Luckily, I do like hot weather and can make the best of things. Please tell me something else to look forward to if we move! Thanks!

I lived in dfw for 30+ years, so let me take a crack at these...

good things- all true.

also no state income tax, great restaurants, parks, great schools (though not a concern for you), lots of fine arts (symphony, dallas summer musicals, nasher sculpture garden, and in over ft. worth, the zoo, kimballl art museum, bass hall, etc.)

the bad things-

property tax and heat- true

landscape- partially true. it's green if you water. there are some really pretty areas with trees (turtle creek, lakewood, highland park, etc.)

not 1 cutural center- true, but not a drawback, imo. unlike south texas, where you can feel like you are almost living in mexico. and the state fair is great.

conservative- generally, but there are more diverse pockets (*not* in the burbs- the closer you get to downtown, the more diverse it gets)

materialistic- depends on where you live, but often true

mold/termites- never had a problem. also, water your foundation, and you are fine. general preventative maitenance will take care of all of these.

no basements- true, which is a shame. the soil here does not allow for basements. storage is in the attic or garage.

not a walking city- true. although, there are places more "walkable" than others. m streets and uptown come to mind off the top of my head.

bad traffic- true. live as close to work as possible or look for a reverse commute (going the opposite way of traffic).

I hope this makes you feel a bit better about your potential move. take a look at some of the picture threads as well, so you can see dallas is not a barren wasteland.


ps- come visit, if you can. I think one visit to dallas blooms at the arboretum would change your mind.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by Joannewebx

We're in our late 40s, kids away at college and my husband is thinking of accepting a job in Dallas. I've been reading tons of posts about Dallas and so far, in a nutshell--
Good Things: low cost of living, shopping, friendly people
Bad things: property taxes, hot in summer, ugly/flat/dry/brown landscape, not centered on culture or festival-type things, conservative, materialistic McMansion mentality, mold, termites, foundation problems, no basements for storage, not a "walking" city, and bad traffic.
Moving from the midwest, knowing nobody and reading all these posts, it actually sounds rather horrible. One thing for sure, it has to be a step up from Cleveland, but it's all relative. Luckily, I do like hot weather and can make the best of things. Please tell me something else to look forward to if we move! Thanks!

You have to consider if what you are reading comes from a source in the city of Dallas or the suburbs. A lot of people will whine about some of the items on your "bad things" list and, as it turns out, they don't live in Dallas or even Dallas County. The city alone contains 385 sq.miles. The countless suburbs surrounding the city combined are much larger than that and they are VERY different than the city in appearance and vibe. So, when someone says Dallas is this or that, you have to clarify what area they are really speaking about.

Thoughts about the items on your "bad list" from the perspective of someone who lives in the city of Dallas:

High property taxes: agreed

Hot in summer: agreed

Ugly, flat, brown: Disagree (see Turtle Creek, Lakewood, Bluffview, Kessler Park, Forest Hills for trees, creeks, hills, beautiful neighborhoods)

Culture/festivals: Disagree (see the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Dallas Arts District Alliance, BigTex.com, Dallas, Texas Festivals and Events). There are just too many things going on to mention on this list.

Conservative: Disagree (Obama won 66% of vote in Dallas). We have a huge and politically potent gay community in Dallas if that tells you anything.

Materialistic: Depends on the 'hood. Park Cities & much of North Dallas, yes. Oak Cliff, Oak Lawn, East Dallas, no.

Mold: Agreed. This is not a great place for allergy sufferers in the spring or fall.

Termites: Not necessarily. I've lived in lots of Dallas houses and I've never had a problem with termites. You can have a termite inspection before you buy a place anyway.

Foundation problems: It depends on the area. Marsh Lane didn't get that name for nothing. Foundation problems are not necessarily an issue in a lot of the city though.

No basements: agreed

Walking city: It varies. Areas like Uptown, Downtown, Knox-Henderson, Lower Greenville are very pedestrian friendly. Most other areas, not so much.

Bad traffic: If you live and work in the same area, then you can avoid that issue. The traffic can get heavy flowing into or out of downtown during rush hours and the traffic on LBJ (I-635) freeway can be awful at almost any time. Choose carefully if you want to mitigate time spent in traffic.

You should definitely come check out Dallas (the city of)! Good luck to you

[TXNGL]

Materialistic: Depends on the 'hood. Park Cities & much of North Dallas, yes. Oak Cliff, Oak Lawn, East Dallas, no.>>

Well I know lots of laid back people (myself included!) in North Dallas. ;-) We probably just don't stick out. I also know some pretty laid back, non-materialistic types who live in the Park Cities, but to be fair, they feel out of place there sometimes.

[aceplace]

One thorny problem in reading a forum for information is in deciding if the information is true. Any disgruntled crank can post a derogatory claim. Disgruntled cranks are not usually known for their nuanced, balanced and well-founded opinions. It's like listening to someone ragging on about an ex-spouse.

On the property tax question, one good way to look at the property tax burden is by the percent of income the property tax consumes.

I'm guessing that Cleveland is Cuyahoga county. So in that case, the median property tax takes 4.3% of the people's income. The median income is $61,144, the median house price is $142,000 and the median tax is $2,615.

For Dallas county, the median property tax also takes 4.3% of the annual income. The median income is $62,593, the median tax is $2,713, and the median house price is $129,800.

These figures are from http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/p...e-20080923.pdf

One caveat... many people who move to Dallas from a place with higher house prices end up rolling the proceeds from the old house into a new Dallas house, substantially upgrading their housing. You have to realize that if you substantially upgrade your house, you will also most likely upgrade your property tax as well. Basically, you're putting yourself into a higher property tax bracket.

[Joannewebx]

"Is your concern really about Dallas or the fear of moving so far from the familiar? It's a big leap. Is it the first time you've moved to another city? What's your timeframe on the move? If you can afford to come down for a weekend to check it out, I think you'd realize how great Dallas is.

Let us know your timeframe, where the job is located, your budget, and things you like so we can give you specific answers.[/quote]"

We would be moving in Aug. or Sept., and my husband's job is in Dallas around the Children's Hosp. area. We're looking for a townhouse for about $700,000. We did visit and look at real estate last month and would love to live in Knox-Henderson (love the idea we could walk to everything), though $700,000 probably isn't enough. Also liked Oak Lawn, but the turnaround there is less established, and possibly it's not as safe. Definately want "city" type living like this. I did like Dallas when we visited-- but I'm just trying to picture my place there. Thanks for your help!

[Joannewebx]

To Aceplace-- yes you are very up on your tax info. I am in Cuyahoga County and our property taxes are very high, so the Dallas ones won't be a shock!