Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is why I mentioned Tyler, Texas - close to Dallas, warm and friendly people, similar weather, but without the Dallas traffic!
Good luck and keep us posted. And by the way, Texas is CHOCK FULL of California transplants, who have moved here to get out of California with it's high cost of living.
And those Californians in Texas have moved to Atlanta to get out of Texas.
Maybe somebody can answer this.
Is California really so expensive and is it really in big financial problems? Regarding funding for research.
Other then that. How is the Boston area? I also was thinking about Florida. Mainly because I like warm weather.
But my number one priority are friendly and welcoming people.
Florida could be a good option too and certainly more livable than most Texas in terms of summer weather since triple digit temperatures are extremely rare (versus Texas) and you'll get an ocean breeze in much of Florida (near the coast). In terms of friendlier places in the state (I live in FL) I would avoid South Florida and Orlando. The Tampa Bay area tends to be hit or miss. I find the St Petersburg/Clearwater area friendly while Tampa seems much like Orlando which isn't. Cities like Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Pensacola are considered fairly friendly and less uptight than other areas of the state. There are a number of research opportunities in Jacksonville if I'm not mistaken, and most likely some in Gainesville due to the University of Florida's presence as well as in Tallahassee due to Florida State University's presence there.
The cities that are most similar to Dallas are Houston and Atlanta.
Barring topography, I find Dallas and Atlanta to be very similar. Even the neighborhoods mirror each other in the sense of where they are positioned relative to their downtowns.
Last edited by Iconographer; 10-09-2013 at 08:30 AM..
I've only met a handful of Texas transplants here. I think I read somewhere that Texas and North Carolina have the lowest rates of native born egress in the US. You must be doing something right.
I've only met a handful of Texas transplants here. I think I read somewhere that Texas and North Carolina have the lowest rates of native born egress in the US. You must be doing something right.
I think we are! Actually I'm not a native Texan, but since I've lived here for over twenty years, I consider myself a Texan - and the nice thing is, other people do too. Texans are a varied lot, and many hail from other parts of the country, but there's just something about this state that grabs hold of the heart! "Deep in the heart" - sorry, couldn't resist!
(By the way, I lived in Georgia for ten years and graduated from high school there, in Pine Mountain! Love me some Georgia folks. GO, DAWGS!)
I agree with you that Atlanta and Dallas seem very similar. Atlanta (and most other Deep South cities) has a higher percentage of African Americans, and Dallas (along with most other Texas cities) has a higher percentage of Hispanics, so this does have some influence on local culture and food, art, entertainment, etc. This doesn't bother me, as a native Southerner and transplanted Texan. In fact, I love the unique culture of Deep South, and Texas, cities.
One interesting thing I've noted is that my husband, who is a native Texan, always remarks - not negatively, but with some surprise - about how many African Americans live in many large Southern cities. It's interesting to me to note that the instant one crosses the Texas state line into Louisiana, or even Arkansas, the percentage of AA population goes up. I used to work for a large Southern based bank that is predominately in Deep South cities and areas, with Texas being it's farthest flung locations. Whenever I'd go to company conventions and meetings with other managers, I was often in the minority as a white woman. Like I said, I don't consider this a negative - after all, as a white person in Texas, I'm actually a "majority minority" and am very used to it. I only point this out because some people who are not that familiar with the demographics of southern cities may be surprised by this - either positively or negatively, or just, well, simply surprised.
My mother nailed it rather poignantly after she visited me when I lived in Germany. She told me, "I was so glad to get back home, to see all those familiar brown and black faces mixed in with the white faces." I love that there is such a comfortable mix of ethnicities and races throughout the South (I'm including Texas in there, especially eastern Texas which seems very southern to me). Many people who aren't familiar with this region think that there's a lot of racial tension, when actually I've found that to be generally very untrue, in rural areas, small towns, and big cities.
Houston by far, only differences are the skyscrapers are more scattered around the city, its hotter and muggier, less walkable/urban in the core, and less attractions, other than that its Dallas by the gulf
Houston by far, only differences are the skyscrapers are more scattered around the city, its hotter and muggier, less walkable/urban in the core, and less attractions, other than that its Dallas by the gulf
Dallas with a beach - and close proximity to New Orleans. One could do worse!
Houston is a another Dallas with a bit more of a southern and Latin influence, and yes higher moisture and precipitation, a port, and a big attraction know as the gulf. Most all the sunbelt metros are quite similar.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.