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.
Reason for moving, my wifes family is there and is very close to them...
So if anyone can tell me where in TX where is the best place to live? If I had to choose one... which would it be? (Keeping in mind my like and dislikes) Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio? Are they anything like SoCal? Can they offer anything similar? I definitely live to play and try to work as little as possible to give my life a lot more fun and enjoyment (for the family as well) than just living anywhere....
From all I've read on the area please tell me if I'm misinformed or
just reading things from people who are completely biased. I'm tired of hearing people are rude or traffic is bad... that's just life. I want real details...
Oh and quick question.. living in SoCal my whole life I think we have it all or almost everything every close.... can someone name me something we don't? This way I can begin to think outside the box and maybe see what's out there.. I must say though.. TX does have better Mexican food...
Oh and unless you've lived in SoCal the past 20 years alot has changed...
If you look anywhere near central cities of SoCal there is no development or sprawl.. it's moved 75 miles away.....Well, fact is now that the downtown areas are the place to be. We did have sprawl in the 80's, but people look at it now and can't stand the commutes. The more desire able places in SoCal are within a 5 mile radius of downtown, the further away you go... the less people care. Less to do, less to see, cheaper big house... WHO CARES! It's not quite San Francisco, but they're trying to follow them....
Here's what
I've read from people who are from there or talked to.....
1. Texas cities are a sprawl cities. Large sub developments and big houses are
what is the "cool" or more pleasant places to be? It's definitely the trend....
2. Weather is ok. Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer?
3. There are things to do ie nightlife, however nothing in comparison to say NY, Chicago, MIami or LA/SD
4. Crime is moderate, not horrible or bad, but not exactly safe.
Safer then houston I've been told and Dallas? Where is the safest (I've kept in mind that TX itself crime is high so where is the least?)
6. Electricty and property taxes are expensive?
7. Is traffic really that bad? In what major city isn't? But if
you've traveled throughout the US in comparison how bad it is?
8. Its not very scenic? Obviously no beaches or beautiful mountains? It has hills, but probably not the ones I'm used to seeing off the California coast?
10. I've been told the beaches in TX are nothing like those in CA or florida?
Now why I think TX is general is growing fast..
People move where??? Jobs and low cost of living.. question is though... all things being equal.. is it that great? Say my place here in SD 5 miles from the beach on a hill was the same price as - would it be worth leaving or better said... will I feel like I have things to do and keep my plenty occupied?
Larger more advanced areas are losing population bc of cost of living... simply put they probably didn't have great jobs. Texas can grow as much as it wants... southern cali is land locked.. physically! Can't build south, Mexico is there, can't build east bc of rugged mountain and can't go west... the ocean! Find an empty lot anywhere.. it doesn't exist. We live thousands to a sq mile only bc most of the land is unhabitable, or government owned (1/2 the land in CA if gov owned). And it's not the job per se, but lifestyle... will I be bored... is everything that I could want there?
now this Baffles me... TX being the 2nd largest state in terms of land and population... why in the top 20 places to visit in the US are there NO TX cities? Places like, LA, Chicago, NY, Boston, SF, SD, Miami are there, but for fun why isn't TX as big as I thought? Living in a tourist town like SD does make for a different feel.... Is it boring??? Or is it just mostly for native texans? Fact is though I see ALOT OF TEXANS IN FLORIDA AND CA during vacation times... wonder why?
In TX cities what's the commute? People commute on average here probably 60 miles each way (those that live in the "burbs").... now in TX or San Antonio is that "normal"? Plenty of people that I know of live and work in any of these areas, SD, LA, OC, Riverside and San Bernardino.... a mega network of freeways and 20 million people.
I also guess that I'm very Anti-suburb! Big house away from the city... so what? People who live in the cities of SoCal, we have a very Anti-suburb feeling about those who move away to get the bigger home and cause us all more traffic. Ask anyone who lives in the "city" the largest growing part of SD is Riverside/San Bernardino but we have kinda a bad sterotype of them. Riverside we call Rivertucky, San Bernard... that's where the crime is... and that's a fast growing suburb... the cities themselves.. are SAFE. In fact, there is more crime in the suburbs than in the city... yes the burbs in CA are less desirable... and guess what where do they go to have fun... go to the "city" as any other town....
I prefer urban areas. But urban to me might be different than urban in TX. And why is it housing is so cheap? Supply and Demand? Low demand and high supply = lower prices? Then if that's the case, the demand to move there isn't that great indeed? San Diego does have a small town feel to it which I love, however greater southern CA is nearly 20 million people (yes, 20million nearly the population of all of TX- and that's not adding up the God knows how many illegals we have)... and we all go from one place to another and commute here and there...
Putting money aside that yes SD is pricy, but you DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, what's the big deal bout everyone moving to TX (again I try to leave low cost of housing and jobs out of it).
Ok here's my reasons why SD is tough to leave....
1. My wife is a elementary teacher and the pay in tx is horrible! The max
she'd make would be high 50's. I went to some local school
district site and checked it out. Whereas here in her max would be
95k (yes as a teacher!) Heck break it down... $3,000 more a month? That difference does get you the nice house w/ ocean view... well not quite..
2. Ok san diego now.... Weather is the best, year round it can't be beat.
75 high in the summer, 65 in the winter. Lows 50's and 60's. Never
hot, never cold. My electric bill mind you was 55 dollars this past
month. With 3 large tvs, 3 computers and everything else a house has.... I
thought that was a good price. Summers when electricity can be at a premium, we'll pay 150ish.
3. Now the scenery is just amazing. Beautiful beaches, mountains w snow
and plenty of things to do recreation ally. Guess ill put it this way,
if u start at the beach drive one hour east you'll hit a forest w
mountains and snow,then a sand dune desert all in an hours drive.... Where
else in the world is that possible? Foreign travelers were asked what US state they'd like to visit most.. CA was #1, by far.
4. My weekends I never spend doing nothing. I want to live life to the fullest and leave nothing behind. I'm not a surfer, but I can't pass up goin to the beach all summer. In the winter, snow boarding and skiing are just 2 hours a way and if I wanted to, go offroading in the sand dunes on a dirt bike I could. LA is just an little more than an hours drive and orange county is 45 minutes away. I'm also very random and sporadic, but bc we're so close to everything sometimes ill just say let's go to las vegas (4 hours
away), or just go to disney land, sea world, or snorkeling, go to a
hollywood awards show, see a tv show being filmed live... Etc etc.
I'm not very much into the arts and SD isn't an art town, even though
they're trying to make it that way. SF is far better for that, but I
guess the city w the weather and recreation just isn't that into it. I
guess look at places w crappy weather, they tend to be more artsy,
southern cali isn't very artsy to say the least..
Ok 5 bad things about SoCal/SD
1. Pricy, pricy... but you DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you want to live anywhere near the coast... $1,000,000 minimum for 2 or 3 bedrooms and 1,300 sq ft. Most real prices are 5-10 million... keep in mind that's for anywhere near hundreds of miles of coastline.....
2. Traffic.. well if you live in the city.. you're going 70mph to work... I live in the north central part of town and commute 12 miles... it takes 12 minutes on the freeway during "rush hour". if you live in the burbs.. you're going 35 and you should pray you don't have an accident on the way to work...
3. Jobs are few and far between. My wife when she moved here w/ several years teaching exp and graduate degrees took years to find a teaching job. For every good paying job here, expect hundreds of applications per job. My brother who works in HR in a school district said it is nearly impossible to land a job here... too many people want to come here, but we can only give so many jobs. If you got a Master's PhD, good luck... so does everyone else here....But he said we can be more selective... so you do get the best of the best....
4. Cost of fuel.... again, if you're in the city you don't feel the pinch.. right now we're at 3.89 for the cheap stuff...
5. NO ONE IS FROM CA anymore! Everyone really left and NO ONE is having kids bc it's too $$$. Only kids are immigrants kids now. There is NO CA pride b/c it's a transient area. Take my closest friends... NONE HAVE KIDS and NONE ARE native San Diegan's. Finding someone that was born and raised here is like finding a diamond. Unlike Texas, you have that "Don't mess w/ Texas" attitude which I love. Here no one cares.... bc they're from everywhere else. Heck LA doesn't even have a football team and they left... bc no one cared! If Dallas left to play in Las Vegas... it would never happen!
I guess I saw this ad in a magazine and it
made me think twice (looking through a window overlooking the pacific
ocean), most people have to go on vacation to get a view like this....
You merely go home....
I'm just want to know bout TX... of course on paper I love SD, but I'm sure TX has good things and I want to know more.
I truly think San Diego/OC does have pretty much everything you could want. (just put cost of housing aside...)
I was in the Navy and spent most of the 90's in SD. You would be miserable leaving there for here, trust me.. If you have a house and a job and are financially set, don't even think about it.
To drive from San Antonio to Harlingen (where your wife's family is) takes between 4-5 hours depending on how many bathrooms breaks the kids/dogs need. To fly from SD to Harlingen via El Paso or San Antonio takes only slightly longer. If your only objective in moving to Texas is to be closer to family in the Valley, yet you love San Diego, I say stay where you are happy and invest in more plane tickets. Just my $.02.
I agree. Sounds like you're pretty happy where you are and from what I read (and maybe I read "into" it too much) it sounds like you might already have some reasons not to want to move to Texas.
Call me stupid. I'm going to answer every one of your questions. [Your questions in plain text followed by answers in bold.]
So if anyone can tell me where in TX where is the best place to live? I'm sorry, Texas is no longer accepting new residents.
If I had to choose one... which would it be? See answer to first question.
(Keeping in mind my like and dislikes) Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio? See answer to first question.
Are they anything like SoCal? Houston is almost as bad as LA. Austin is a mini-San Francisco; think pot and liberals.
Can they offer anything similar? See above answer.
Oh and quick question.. living in SoCal my whole life I think we have it all or almost everything every close.... can someone name me something we don't? Yes, you do have it all. There is absolutely no reason to move to TX. You have everything.
Oh and unless you've lived in SoCal the past 20 years alot has changed...
If you look anywhere near central cities of SoCal there is no development or sprawl.. it's moved 75 miles away.......[various and assorted ramblings related to Cal 20th century history]......The more desire able places in SoCal are within a 5 mile radius of downtown, the further away you go... the less people care. Less to do, less to see, cheaper big house... WHO CARES! I can't think of anyone.
what is the "cool" or more pleasant places to be? SoCal
Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer? Yes, although yankees think our winters are hot.
Safer then houston I've been told and Dallas? Houston ramped up its LA impersonation after the influx of Katrina refugees.
Where is the safest (I've kept in mind that TX itself crime is high so where is the least?) SoCal
Electricity and property taxes are expensive? Electricity - yes. Google "Rick Perry electricity deregulation free market failure". Property taxes - yes, but we have no state income tax. You can avoid high property taxes by buying a small house in a non-premium area.
Is traffic really that bad? Yes, but nothing like LA.
In what major city isn't? Don't know.
But if you've traveled throughout the US in comparison how bad it is? New York
Boston
LA
SF
Chicago
DC
Austin
Houston
Denver
Dallas
[skip a few]
SA
[gotta go to the restroom. be back in a few minutes]
[OK. I'm back]
Its not very scenic? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Obviously no beaches or beautiful mountains? Of course not. That's silly.
It has hills, but probably not the ones I'm used to seeing off the California coast? Yes, but our hills don't fall into the ocean after a 1/2 inch rain. (and if they did, we wouldn't be stupid enough to build on them.)
I've been told the beaches in TX are nothing like those in CA or florida? The water is much warmer than the water off CA. TX summer water does not require a wetsuit. Yes, Florida beaches are better.
People move where??? Not to Texas.
Jobs and low cost of living.. question is though... all things being equal.. is it that great? Yes, "it" (whatever "it" is) is great.
Say my place here in SD 5 miles from the beach on a hill was the same price as - would it be worth leaving ? Yes! I love word problems! If you live 5 miles from the beach on a hill it would not be worth leaving. After the hill starts sliding into the valley, you should reassess the situation.
or better said... will I feel like I have things to do and keep my plenty occupied? There are plenty of things to occupy your plenty.
And it's not the job per se, but lifestyle... will I be bored? Yes.
... is everything that I could want there? No.
now this Baffles me... TX being the 2nd largest state in terms of land and population... why in the top 20 places to visit in the US are there NO TX cities? Incorrect. I could not fathom SA not being on that list.
Places like, LA, Chicago, NY, Boston, SF, SD, Miami are there, but for fun why isn't TX as big as I thought? Because Alaska is bigger.
Living in a tourist town like SD does make for a different feel.... Is it boring??? Yes.
Or is it just mostly for native texans? Whoop! Ding Ding Ding!
Fact is though I see ALOT OF TEXANS IN FLORIDA AND CA during vacation times... wonder why? Lots to do and see in CA and FL.
In TX cities what's the commute? The commute can be described by a normal distribution with a mean of 20 minutes and a standard deviation of 5 minutes.
People commute on average here probably 60 miles each way (those that live in the "burbs").... now in TX or San Antonio is that "normal"? No.
[taking a water break]
[ok. I'm back]
I also guess that I'm very Anti-suburb! Big house away from the city... so what? Big house away from city > little house in city
yes the burbs in CA are less desirable... and guess what where do they go to have fun? Vegas
And why is it housing is so cheap? Housing in socal will be as cheap as Texas real estate in a couple years. Have fun with that.
Supply and Demand? That has something to do with it.
Low demand and high supply = lower prices? Texas has much more open land.
Then if that's the case, the demand to move there isn't that great indeed? Indeed.
Putting money aside that yes SD is pricy, but you DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, what's the big deal bout everyone moving to TX (again I try to leave low cost of housing and jobs out of it). Everyone is not moving to Texas, although this might be wishful thinking on my part.
Whereas here in her max would be 95k (yes as a teacher!) Heck break it down... $3,000 more a month? Any Math majors out there?
Guess ill put it this way,
if u start at the beach drive one hour east you'll hit a forest w
mountains and snow,then a sand dune desert all in an hours drive.... Where
else in the world is that possible? Any geography majors out there?
Last edited by TexasWeatherman; 05-13-2008 at 08:40 PM..
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.
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.
sorry!
