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I've read a lot of excellent threads in this forum that give great information about prepping for relocation to the Dallas area from other parts of the country. What I'd like to know though, is whether those who have made the move and have lived in the Dallas area (let's say at least 6 months now), are still happy with their decision. I'm especially interested to hear feedback from people that moved from California, and were either native to CA or lived there for at least 10 years (basically to the point where you would consider yourself Californian).
Here's a little background on me and my family to help set context to my question. My family and I are heavily considering relocating to Frisco, TX. I am a Dallas area native (Duncanville) and go back to visit family and friends all across DFW yearly, so I know what to expect if we were to move there. But my wife is from San Francisco and has lived in the Bay Area her entire life. She's been with me on trips back to TX and she seems to like it, but I think that could change once she lives there for a bit. I think she may be taking the beautiful varied landscape, mild weather, cultural and ethnic diversity, etc. of CA for granted, just because she's been here all of her life and doesn't know anything different. She's Korean American as well, and there are tons of Koreans, Korean markets, restaurants, churches, communities, etc. in CA as well, which again, she grew up in and around as if it's a normal thing.
The reasons we'd be moving are for housing affordability (of course), housing size, being closer to my family, better schools (2 kids - 2 years old and 3 months old), and to just escape a lot of negative things about CA as a state (trust me, it's screwed up here). I know the grass is always greener, but on paper the move seems completely justified. Unless we're willing to drop $1.5-$2M on a "house" here (which would be a signficantly smaller home than we could get in Frisco), there is no way we could settle in a city that actually has comparable public school systems to Frisco, Plano, Southlake, etc. That outprices us from getting our kids a good education, and even a lot of the private schools here are suspect (and we'd rather put that extra money into a home). Our 1,300 sq ft. CONDOMINIUM (for crying out loud), in a very average school district, is costing us $600k, and it just makes me sick knowing we could get a 3,500 sq ft home with a front and back yard for half of that price in an awesome school district in TX.
Anyone enough with the rant, but this is our scenario. I'm just really worried that if we do make the move, my wife will end up hating it there after a year and being severely home sick... because as much as I love TX personally, I grew up there and have family and friends there so it's different for me. And I do admit that you cannot beat the scenary, landscaping, weather, overall entertainment, and cultural/ethnic diversity that you'll find in the Bay Area, which again, I think she won't know she'd miss until it's gone.
So again, for those transplants that moved to the Dallas area from California, how do you like it now? Are you guys loving, regretting, or just OK with your decision now that you've spent some time in TX? Now that you know how it really is, are you planning to settle down there till the end, or do you want to run back to CA one day? Thanks in advance for all of your insight!
"Love" may be too strong a word for this Cali-native turned North Texan but I like it (though I'm in Dallas, not Frisco). Your wife may suffer pangs of withdrawal regarding weather, beaches, mountains and the like. But with the money you can save here (assuming the higher property-tax rate doesn't affect you too much), you can afford trips back to CA a couple of times a year to do all those things you can't do here. And there is a growing (though small by California standards) Korean community (and, by extension, Asian community) in the area.
We love it here. We have made so many good friends with the friendly people, and been able to realize our dream of an affordable home with a roomy yard.
Also it's wonderful to live in a state that isn't bankrupt - the schools offer programs that California lost to budget cuts even before my high school years (early to mid 90's), we have numerous well-kept parks with tennis courts, and a lot less potholes. One culture shock for us was going to our first high school football game - wow! You've got to see the spectacle of hundreds of kids for each school performing - drill team, flag wavers, marching band, etc. We had a 5-10 person drill team (it was club and they had to pay for everything) and maybe 20 cheerleaders. Band didn't exist either - those budget cuts again.
I was homesick for about 2 years - it didn't help that my husband went back to school shortly after our move and was arriving home at 11 PM every night while I worked 9-5. We have resigned ourselves that we will never like the food here as much. The no ocean/mountains stuff is obvious. The topography is far less pretty here, but I find the neighborhoods in many cases to be more beautiful, because I despise tract homes that all look alike - so common in southern California where I grew up. Frisco is actually full of such homes because it's mostly newer construction, so we never even considered living there.
My wife (who is Thai) and I are natives of Los Angeles, but both of my parents are natives of Texas. For that reason, I spent a month of every summer between Waco and Longview, TX. So when I got laid off and Dallas was an option, I knew about what to expect. My wife on the other hand had never been to Texas at all.
So my company paid for us to come to Dallas to have a look around. I felt at home very quickly just because I have family here, my wife liked it better than the other cities we looked at (Houston and Phoenix), so here we are.
No that were are here, I would say that I love it and my wife likes it. My wife does get homesick alot, but what she misses is people (her friends), not LA, California, the weather or anything like that. I love it because its cheap, the people are very nice, it is diverse (not as muchso as LA, but there are alot of nationalities represented here), the food is good, the economy is much better, and we both make much more here than we did in LA (and spend less). It also helps because I travel so much for work having DFW (in LA, I used to have to make connections to get to places like Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Caracas which have nonstop flights from DFW).
Now then, does you and your wife want to be around alot of Koreans? Believe it or not, when I moved here, I was shocked at how many Korean there are here (its not exactly Vermont and Wilshire in LA, but still).
There are around 40,000 Koreans in the DFW metroplex (vs. about 75,000 in the San Francisco/San Jose area). Most of them live in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, and Northwest Dallas (Carrollton is the big one). There are lots of Korean ammenities in that area. There are many Korean churches (if you and your wife are into that), Korean resturants of every kind, cosmetic stores, lots and lots of Korean grociery stores (KoMart and H Mart are the big ones), there is even a Koreatown off of Royal and 35 between Harry Hines and Las Collinas. Off of Old Denton Road and George Bush turnpike there is 3 or 4 really big Korean Strip malls. In Garland on Walnut road, there is another area of about 2 blocks of Korean shops, stores, and resturants.
My biggest piece of advise is this. Do not move to Texas expecting it to be California. Move here expecting it to be Texas. There are lots of Californians here (of which my wife and I are two). I came here with minimal expectiations and I am very happy here too. My wife is too. Dallas and DFW are becoming more diverse faster than probably anywhere else in the country. There is a substantial Korean community here, but it might not stick out as much as it does in the Bay Area.
If you feel I can be of any help. Feel free to PM me.
TrueDat - thx for the link, that is actually a really informative site. We thought the same thing about being able to save more money and take nicer trips out of the area. That is definitely a pro.
Debsi - It's great to hear that you were able to survive those first 2 years, that sounds tough having to get acclimated to a new environment while your husband was at school. I know what you mean about the track homes. We would prefer a newer home though so we're okay with being in a somewhat cookie cutter neighborhood. We're absolutely used to that in CA as you mentioned. I think the big difference I noticed is that in CA, your neighborhood will consist of only 4 models over and over and over, while in Frisco or other new communities in northern Dallas, there might be more like 10 models. So it makes for less "cookie-cutter-ness" imo, which we can live with. We would also consider West Plano but again, it really depends on what houses would be available and if we decide we'd rather have our kids in smaller schools. I'm really glad to hear that you "love" it there though. I seriously think she'll miss the topography and weather (especially since she's not really into high temps), but I guess that's really her call to make.
LAnative10 - Wow, excellent post - it really seems like you guys went through the same situation we're going through now. Really good info about the Korean community too - I had no idea it was actually that large and thriving there. It does sound like it's significant enough that if she wanted to cook us a traditional Korean meal, she'd be able to run to a Korean market and buy all of the real ingredients for it. It's funny how much Koreans love eating at Korean resaurants as well, so having a good selection of those would be comforting to her. We're actually not into the whole Korean church thing, though she was raised in one as a child. We'd definitely be looking for a vibrant multi-ethnic non-denominational church if/when we move there though. Another big thing for us that I didn't mention is that since our children are half Korean, we think it's important that they'd be able to have places where they're exposed to that culture so that they don't lose it, which is another reason why I asked about all of those Korean things. Your last piece of advice is one we'll just have to keep reminding ourselves. I think as long as I can realistically set her expectations about the pros/cons and differences, she should be able to adapt. Having minimal expectations sounds key actually, I never really thought of it that way. I have high expectations just because I do like the area, and I love my Cowboys and Mavs so I'm expecting to have a lot of fun being back as well =). But with her, I think it'll end up having to be more about always remembering the reasons behind moving in the first place, and then maximing those benefits.
Either way, all of you are really helping temper my concerns about her not liking it, so thanks a lot. If anyone else out there has other stories/feedback, please share!
My wife (who is Thai) and I are natives of Los Angeles, but both of my parents are natives of Texas. For that reason, I spent a month of every summer between Waco and Longview, TX. So when I got laid off and Dallas was an option, I knew about what to expect. My wife on the other hand had never been to Texas at all.
So my company paid for us to come to Dallas to have a look around. I felt at home very quickly just because I have family here, my wife liked it better than the other cities we looked at (Houston and Phoenix), so here we are.
No that were are here, I would say that I love it and my wife likes it. My wife does get homesick alot, but what she misses is people (her friends), not LA, California, the weather or anything like that. I love it because its cheap, the people are very nice, it is diverse (not as muchso as LA, but there are alot of nationalities represented here), the food is good, the economy is much better, and we both make much more here than we did in LA (and spend less). It also helps because I travel so much for work having DFW (in LA, I used to have to make connections to get to places like Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Caracas which have nonstop flights from DFW).
Now then, does you and your wife want to be around alot of Koreans? Believe it or not, when I moved here, I was shocked at how many Korean there are here (its not exactly Vermont and Wilshire in LA, but still).
There are around 40,000 Koreans in the DFW metroplex (vs. about 75,000 in the San Francisco/San Jose area). Most of them live in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, and Northwest Dallas (Carrollton is the big one). There are lots of Korean ammenities in that area. There are many Korean churches (if you and your wife are into that), Korean resturants of every kind, cosmetic stores, lots and lots of Korean grociery stores (KoMart and H Mart are the big ones), there is even a Koreatown off of Royal and 35 between Harry Hines and Las Collinas. Off of Old Denton Road and George Bush turnpike there is 3 or 4 really big Korean Strip malls. In Garland on Walnut road, there is another area of about 2 blocks of Korean shops, stores, and resturants.
My biggest piece of advise is this. Do not move to Texas expecting it to be California. Move here expecting it to be Texas. There are lots of Californians here (of which my wife and I are two). I came here with minimal expectiations and I am very happy here too. My wife is too. Dallas and DFW are becoming more diverse faster than probably anywhere else in the country. There is a substantial Korean community here, but it might not stick out as much as it does in the Bay Area.
If you feel I can be of any help. Feel free to PM me.
I hope that helps.
"(in LA, I used to have to make connections to get to places like Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Caracas which have nonstop flights from DFW)".
Strange but again, what you claim is not true. A quick Google search finds that there are many "direct" flights from Los Angeles to Madrid, Buenos Aires and Caracas. Are you for real? Were you really born in Los Angeles?
"(in LA, I used to have to make connections to get to places like Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Caracas which have nonstop flights from DFW)".
Strange but again, what you claim is not true. A quick Google search finds that there are many "direct" flights from Los Angeles to Madrid, Buenos Aires and Caracas. Are you for real? Were you really born in Los Angeles?
Look, I work as an airline consultant. This isnt something Im unsure of. The fact that you go on google to find out if there are nonstop flights to a place, shows that you have no clue what about this. There are NO nonstop flights to those places. If you dont believe me, just look at the list:
Look, I work as an airline consultant. This isnt something Im unsure of. The fact that you go on google to find out if there are nonstop flights to a place, shows that you have no clue what about this. There are NO nonstop flights to those places. If you dont believe me, just look at the list:
And yes, I was born at Torrance Memorial Hospital.
Here Buenos Aires: Do you want the schedules to the other cities you claim can not be reached directly from Los Angeles
Date of departurePriceAirlineDeparture AirportArrival Airport
6 April 2010 331€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
7 April 2010 329€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
9 April 2010 320€ Taca Intl Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
10 April 2010 320€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
14 April 2010 310€ Aeromexico Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
15 April 2010 237€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
19 April 2010 274€ Copa CompanÃa Panamena Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
21 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
22 April 2010 317€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
23 April 2010 322€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
24 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
25 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
27 April 2010 286€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
1 May 2010 807€ Copa CompanÃa Panamena Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
5 May 2010 310€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
7 May 2010 338€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
10 May 2010 328€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
20 May 2010 1151€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
23 May 2010 301€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
2 June 2010 336€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
3 June 2010 350€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
4 June 2010 349€ Aeromexico Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
7 June 2010 331€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
10 June 2010 342€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
14 June 2010 337€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
15 June 2010 351€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
Here Buenos Aires: Do you want the schedules to the other cities you claim can not be reached directly from Los Angeles
Date of departurePriceAirlineDeparture AirportArrival Airport 6 April 2010 331€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 7 April 2010 329€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 9 April 2010 320€ Taca Intl Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 10 April 2010 320€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 14 April 2010 310€ Aeromexico Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 15 April 2010 237€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 19 April 2010 274€ Copa CompanÃa Panamena Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 21 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 22 April 2010 317€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 23 April 2010 322€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 24 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 25 April 2010 302€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 27 April 2010 286€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 1 May 2010 807€ Copa CompanÃa Panamena Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 5 May 2010 310€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 7 May 2010 338€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 10 May 2010 328€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 20 May 2010 1151€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 23 May 2010 301€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 2 June 2010 336€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 3 June 2010 350€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 4 June 2010 349€ Aeromexico Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 7 June 2010 331€ Mexicana Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 10 June 2010 342€ Lan Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 14 June 2010 337€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires 15 June 2010 351€ Continental Airlines Los Angeles Intl Airport, Los Angeles Pistarini, Buenos Aires
Dude, NONE OF THOSE FLIGHTS ARE NONSTOP!!!
LAN is via Lima/Santiago
Copa is via Panama City
Taca is via El Salvador and Lima
Continental is via Houston
American is via DFW or Miami
Mexicana is via Mexico City
Delta is via Atlanta
etc.
Ill try and say this nicely. You should quit this arguement now. This is what I do for a living. I am not unsure of it. If you would like, I can give you the report I gave a client on why a LAX-Buenos Aires flight wouldnt work (VFR, low yielding, too many tourist, little high-yield business traffic, no plane economical to operate with as the 777 is too large, the 767 doesnt have the right fuel economy, the 757 doesnt have the range no do their airbus counterparts).
My reasoning was that I go to alot of places in Latin America and it was easier to get there from here. To Asia it will be harder, but I dont go there as much.
Last edited by Cowboys fan in Houston; 04-02-2010 at 04:08 PM..
LAN is via Lima/Santiago
Copa is via Panama City
Taca is via El Salvador and Lima
Continental is via Houston
American is via DFW or Miami
Mexicana is via Mexico City
Delta is via Atlanta
etc.
Ill try and say this nicely. You should quit this arguement now. This is what I do for a living. I am not unsure of it. If you would like, I can give you the report I gave a client on why a LAX-Buenos Aires flight wouldnt work (VFR, low yielding, too many tourist, little high-yield business traffic, no plane economical to operate with as the 777 is too large, the 767 doesnt have the right fuel economy, the 757 doesnt have the range no do their airbus counterparts).
My reasoning was that I go to alot of places in Latin America and it was easier to get there from here. To Asia it will be harder, but I dont go there as much.
Oh, I see your point. I was confusing "direct" for "non-stop" sorry!
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sorry!
