relocating to dallas from cali (Austin, Fort Worth: appointed, apartment, condos)

[tertesh]

My family is planning to relocate to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I have done some research on Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, and Crowley, can anyone give me some feed back on these cities, which is better, I have 2 kids so an area w/decent schools would be nice. Also if anyone knows any home builders/communities that gives you a decent size lot, knowing that it gets HOT there, we will need a pool in the back yard. Can anyone offer any advice??

[Guingirl]

My advice is that this board has a TON of really good information on it about those areas. This is the right place I guess the first question is where will you be commuting to and what is important to you? What area are you in now? (Northern CA, LA, SF, Valley, SD??) Why are you moving and what is it that you are looking at?

I moved from CA (Sacramento area) and for us, it was important for us to be in a little slower area, so we are in Fort Worth, but we have a lot of convenience that we are used to.

There are other people on here from CA from different areas and they have different opinions of what they are looking for and why they chose the area to move to.

All in all it is wonderful here, there are trade offs...as long as you understand that it isn't CA and those are the things that make Texas in and of itself a wonderful place to call home.

Everyone is really nice here so I am sure you will find great information!!

Take care!

[tertesh]

We are from Southern Cali, the LA area, and actually we're looking for a change of pace, something a bit slower. We don't want to be too far out where you've got to make a drive to do something, like the movies, shop or even eating out but I don't want to be in the heart of things, if that makes sense. I'm planning to come within the next two months to ckeck things, intially we were looking at Atlanta, it's cool but just not enough diversity. So far on the research I've done, it appears to be more diversity in Dallas/Ft. Worth. The housing is also cheaper which is a huge plus! We will have to find jobs, my husband is plumber for the school district and I've noticed there are TONS of school districts in Dallas. I do case work for the welfare dept so hopefully I can do the same there which leads me to say that HOPEFULLY we can find work not too far from where we buy. Hey thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it.

[momof2dfw]

If you don't want to be on top of things and in the thick of it then avoid some of the so-called popular places like Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney. While McKinney is not "in the thick" of things it is still more congested than other places as everyone moving there has to commute to other areas of the metroplex and it is also bursting w/ development. That large yard would not be an easy find either.

I'd say find a job first as you do not want to buy a house over in the areas you listed and your job is east of Dallas or even north of Dallas. YIKES!!! If you have a good map of Dallas/Ft Worth get it out and just look to make sure you don't live in an area that would require you to travel all the way to the other side of either city. Being that your husband may look for a job w/ a school district you may be able to live in the same city/town he works in. Same goes for you if you have more options like working at one of the childrens advocacy centers or such. Then you may be able to find a job that is not in the heart of Dallas or Ft Worth.

[osjo73]

Originally Posted by tertesh

... intially we were looking at Atlanta, it's cool but just not enough diversity. So far on the research I've done, it appears to be more diversity in Dallas/Ft. Worth...

Sorry to break it to u bu DFW is not diverse! Sounds funny, I know, but coming from CA., you will be disappointed with the lack of *culture* here. Atlanta is far more diverse in the sense of *culture* than DFW. I hear that Austin has a much more culture as well. Some even say it is the California of Texas. Also, people tell me that Fort Worth is lot more culturally diverse than Dallas...but other than downtown fortworth, and the art festival I havent' spent much time there.

Other than that, you'll do fine. there is another thread a bout the materialistic nature of people in Dallas, and being from northern Ca. I found this a shock as well. There are more people that have 500 series bmw, live in an apartment(2000/month yes, here in dfw when you can get a NICE apartment for ~1000), and shop at the galleria with a 45K salary...go out to eat EVERY night! And if you roll up in a 95 camry they will think you are crazy! (I even thought about getting a new bmw. When I told a co-worker I wanted the 300 series...he scolded me saying, that's crazy; Get the 500 series and you will wow your friends. He said, at least get the XXX engine type if you get the 300 series because of some torque mess or ability to ride smooth at 90 mph. I didn't say anything, but I was thinking...when am I going to be driving 90mph?)

I drove a 89 camry for the better part of 9 years bought a shoebox, uhh...condo...in the east bay and never thought about buying a new car much less a luxury car. And none of my friends bragged about their cars, some with lexus, some with accords....just a different mentality. (And we couldnt brag about our houses...uh...condos....not much to brag about but how much debt we incurred and the price of gas after driving 2 hours to work

Be very careful in this environment especially if you have kids. In another thread I listed the article in dallas morning news about the materialistic nature of Collin County. It something to be aware of. I am sure there are people all over with this attribute but it does seem to be a bit of an issue if the major newspaper covers it as a special report! Cheers! Dont analyze too much...just do it

[kaykay]

Yeah, there can be kind of a materialistic aura around some areas of Dallas and its suburbs, but I think people make it out to be worse than it is! (Maybe none of the people I hang with make enough money to be too materialistic, ha! ) Seriously, even if you see other people placing too much value on what they drive, own, etc., you don't have to necessarily get caught in that mindset yourself. Frankly, when someone seems too caught up in that, I tend to think that they are probably insecure in WHO they are, apart from their job , money, etc. I do realize it can be hard to raise children to put money in its proper place when their peers may not, however, but I believe it can be done-it's just tougher!

[seahawksweetie]

I'm pretty aware that materialism happens everywhere, Dallas, LA, Miami, etc. It's the parents' job to instill in their children that material things do not make you a happier person. Are they nice to have, sure they are. And I buy them when I can afford them. But there are days when although we make a decent salary, I choose to buy the less expensive item over the more expensive just because it works better or lasts longer or maybe I just like it more. Point being, you can have nice things and not be a pretentious snob.

If someone buys something that's more expensive just because it's more expensive, my thought is, well they earned it, I guess if they want to throw their money away, not my issue.

All that being said, I can't wait to get to Dallas and get out of CA. What's the temp. there today anyway?

[momof2dfw]

Right now it is 80 degrees and 62% humidity and partly cloudy. Small breeze, ssw 10 with a heat index of 82. I've been out and just came in prepping myself to plant some flowers I bought today and yesterday. I'm pretty sweaty already. As you can see I've found some other things that needed my attention more Okay, I'm gonna throw on the smallest white article of clothing I have and go plant. Tried laying out by the pool on Sunday afternoon which was great but I had put on a black tank top . Quickly realized the er of my ways and went in and found a white spaghetti strap tank. whew, much better.

[seahawksweetie]

lol, thanks for the update. Doesn't sound too yucky there yet (humidity-wise). That will be the hardest thing for me to get used to again. I grew up in OK so I understand that ooh yuck, why did I bother to take a shower cause I'm still wet syndrome.

I've been trying to prep my family for it, lol. As with anything, it takes some getting used to

Good luck on your flowers

[tertesh]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

If you don't want to be on top of things and in the thick of it then avoid some of the so-called popular places like Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney. While McKinney is not "in the thick" of things it is still more congested than other places as everyone moving there has to commute to other areas of the metroplex and it is also bursting w/ development. That large yard would not be an easy find either.

I'd say find a job first as you do not want to buy a house over in the areas you listed and your job is east of Dallas or even north of Dallas. YIKES!!! If you have a good map of Dallas/Ft Worth get it out and just look to make sure you don't live in an area that would require you to travel all the way to the other side of either city. Being that your husband may look for a job w/ a school district you may be able to live in the same city/town he works in. Same goes for you if you have more options like working at one of the childrens advocacy centers or such. Then you may be able to find a job that is not in the heart of Dallas or Ft Worth.

So what's your opinion on Mansfield, South Arlington or Grand Prairie, or is it better to stay north of Dallas like in McKinney or elsewhere nearby?