Dallas versus Southern California (San Diego, Utopia: transplants, real estate, custom home)

[califantastic]

I have lived most of my adult life in Southern California and I plan to move to Dallas for a while.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on the pros and cons of living in Dallas versus Southern California.

Your opinion is appreciated!

[socketz]

Didn't you get the memo. They aren't letting any more of us Californians into Dallas/North Dallas. All the quotas have been filled for 2007.

Seriously, there are tons of transplants here on the board and the pros and cons have been discussed to almost levels of exhaustion in prior threads. let us know if you have any specific questions.

For me, the biggest one was trading this:




for this:



But now that I'm here, it doesn't seem that the ladder is that prevailant in our parts, mostly alot of scares and small twisters that touch the surrounding areas.

Once you see the type of home you can buy here for 300k, you'll forget alot of the weather related stuff.

[sonshinelife]

I love Southern California but honestly cost of living I think is less in Dallas. I honeymooned in SanDiego and although it was a wonderful experience it was quite a costly trip all in all. I also have friends that have moved from S. Cal and they have mentioned the housing as a major difference for them. I think they mentioned the taxes as a plus in Dallas vs. S. Cal.

[socketz]

Originally Posted by sonshinelife

I love Southern California but honestly cost of living I think is less in Dallas. I honeymooned in SanDiego and although it was a wonderful experience it was quite a costly trip all in all. I also have friends that have moved from S. Cal and they have mentioned the housing as a major difference for them. I think they mentioned the taxes as a plus in Dallas vs. S. Cal.

For a home like I posted in the picture, in a good area that's safe with good schools, you'd spend about 900-1.1 mill.

So roughly 3x the cost. And forget building a new semi-custom home in Socal...unless your a professional athlete and failed to disclose that :-)

On the flip side, the property taxes are 2-3 times higher here, but there is no state tax. So fo me in my price range, it was a wash.

[FarNorthDallas]

I've lived in both, but I am a native Texan who went to San Diego for a bit and then came back.

Texas is more spread out, more conservative, more religious. The people are nicer in Texas. There is less pollution in Texas in the air, but allergies may kill you - allergies you've never had before. Texas lacks the obvious - ocean.

San Diego was prettier, there was more to do, when you had visitors come from out of town you could think of a ton of things to do, everything was closer together, traffic was worse, there were a ton of homeless people around, you had to wait in line to get gas (a car or two) no matter when you went to go get it. San Diego was more progressive, more liberal, more open minded. They have state income tax and Texas doesn't.

Big city Texans are often very materialistic, drive way too much car, eat out a lot, use housekeepers and lawn people even on the smallest incomes and even if the mom stays home. Our malls are indoors. Air conditioning in your car is a requirement.

It's cheaper to live in Texas. You can buy a house. That is the only reason you are coming, right?

[LastDallasNative]

The Californians who move here prefer California over Texas once they come out here and realize that they are Californians and that North Texas is not California.

There is an ocean in Texas, but it is quite a drive. There are some Texans, but lots and lots and lots of transplants.

Saving money is not everything.

[lh_newbie]

A coworker of mine moved here from San Diego. He loved golfing, so he commented many times that he loves the courses here - less crowded, less expensive. He said that the wind here in winter was pretty brutal for golfing, but it made him a better golfer (we're talking a guy with an average of -1, so he's awesome). After about 18 months, he did move back to California. He missed the ocean. He was really torn - as he had always dreamed of being a country club member and owning a home - two things he would be able to afford here in DFW. We went over his finances, and he was totally capable of doing both. He even started checking out country clubs. One club was funny, they set him up with a member to play. They played the two courses and went to the pro shop afterwords, when the member told the guy at the pro shop that the potential member just shot a 70 on one of their courses (par 72). They wanted him pretty bad. Unfortunately, the lure of the ocean was too much for him.

We still work together and talk. He says he misses it here in TX. He knows he took a financial hit to move back, but feels it is worth it in the end. For what it's worth, and we talked about this in great detail, he knows this is going to greatly affect his retirement since he rents there and has had to drastically cut back his investments compared to what he was doing here.

It's a choice that is different for some people. My choice is that I can't deal with the high real estate prices in CA. My wife and I both love the weather and ocean that CA offers, but have decided that living in TX, which we love, is totally fine. We can eat out more often, whcih is something we love. We also have access to one of the best airports in the country. Flying anywhere in the US is relatively cheap and relatively close, so we'll absorb our ocean time through vacations. We're doing a cruise this fall and a trip to Napa Valley in the spring... and we'll retire many years earlier in TX. Screw working!

[midnightbirdgirl]

Sockets, if I lived where those pictures were taken, I think I might consider staying, but most of us Californians don't. So the trade off is not so big a deal.
I will gladly trade this for Texas:

San Andreas Fault






You do not have to talk me into leaving this. Not my cup... BTW these homes are no where near $350...
MBG

[socketz]

Yep Midnight, I agree that DFW is a step up from what's presented here.

Newbie - excellent post. It is all about choices and tradeoffs, which is what I keep alluding to....there is no hands-down better place because people will always be at different places in their mind and life, which in turn leads them in different directions.

I've said this in the past and I'll say it again (LDN also mentioned it above). If you move here for nothing more than to buy a less expensive home, then you probably will not be happy because this will never be where your heart is...

[midnightbirdgirl]

Originally Posted by socketz

Yep Midnight, I agree that DFW is a step up from what's presented here.

Newbie - excellent post. It is all about choices and tradeoffs, which is what I keep alluding to....there is no hands-down better place because people will always be at different places in their mind and life, which in turn leads them in different directions.

I've said this in the past and I'll say it again (LDN also mentioned it above). If you move here for nothing more than to buy a less expensive home, then you probably will not be happy because this will never be where your heart is...

Well put!! There is no Utopia, each of us has to decide what makes home to us.
MBG