best option for a move to usa out of tampa, charlotte or dallas (Spring: to rent, home)

[London_knowledge]

Hi,

Im considering a move to usa with my partner. She is American I am a UK citizen age 31. The visa side of things is pretty much all done. So just need to decide where to move to. After extensive research Ive narrowed it down to Charlotte, Tampa or Dallas.

I would like some level headed advice from people on here please. I am 31. An IT professional. No kids for next few years. Partner is 29.

Im struggling to decide on these 3 places. They have made my short list based on their weather as ive lived in London for 31 years and ive done my time with freezing dark grey 5 month winters here. I want mild to warm winters and hot summers.

Some criteria I would like advice/opinions/ feedback on...
-safety of city centres of each
-quality of suburban neighbourhoods just outside of city centre
- quality of bars and nightlife of the city
- things to do (sports teams, parks, lakes) im from london and appreciate the city's mentioned arent as big in population as london but id still llikea big city feel
- cost of living in each (groceries, average rent, public transport prices etc)
- IT job market
- friendliness of fellow citizens there to an englishman lol.
- traffic into city

Budget not a big deal. Both professionals so don't want a cheap dangerous neighbourhood. Would like somewhere decent.
Appreciate you guys taking time. If you ever want any feedback or advice on london just let me know
Sports teams are also important to me.

Cheers guys.

[Hollytree]

If you move to any of these places, just rent for a year and use some time to travel more. My opinion of all three of these cities (having been to all) is that they are pretty boring and soulless. They are not bad/awful but I would not live in any of them- I think there are much better choices based on climate.

[London_knowledge]

Thanks I appreciate your input. Any suggestions would be welcomed

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Hollytree

If you move to any of these places, just rent for a year and use some time to travel more. My opinion of all three of these cities (having been to all) is that they are pretty boring and soulless. They are not bad/awful but I would not live in any of them- I think there are much better choices based on climate.

Souless maybe, but Dallas is anything but boring. The nightlife, cuisine, and sports teams which he would be interested in are extremely plentiful. Besides, the OP says hes looking for a suburban neighborhood. Based on his criteria, I dont think he is looking for a lot of grit and soul. Otherwise he would be looking at places like New Orleans.

[Hollytree]

Didn't say they wouldn't like it- just said to rent first- that will give some flexibility. Texas weather, for starters, will be an eye opener for someone from London. 100+ degrees F. for months.

I have to admit I'm prejudiced- don't care for cities that are largely developed post WWII. Just don't meet aesthetic requirements. Too many cookie cutter subdivisions and endless boring apt complexes. The historic cores or neighborhoods in these types of cities can be very expensive because those are the desirable sections. However, it is no doubt cities mentioned are cheaper to live in, than say, a place like New Orleans, Savannah Ga., or Charleston SC.

If you like a lot of modern, recently built subdivisions and don't require soul, Tampa, Charlotte, or Dallas would certainly work.

PS Dallas is loaded with football fans- (American football- not European football which is our soccer)

[GBCommenter]

L_k,

I lived for a short time in St. Petersburg (which isn't Tampa, but close) and now call Dallas area home (Addison, to be exact, so a suburban kid). Here's my thoughts to the extent they may be helpful on these cities. (I cannot comment on Charlotte, never been...)

Both cities, weather wise, will be somewhat similar and probably especially to a Londoner. Often hot, though Tampa will be more humid. Dallas can be a bit hotter though, and I found the real kicker through the worst of summer is the nights really don't get at all cool. By that I mean the coolest it seemed to get (and that was around 3AM) was about 85F. That's hotter than probably Tampa at night, but Tampa is more humid.

That said, Tampa and the St. Pete area in particular will have the advantage of the Gulf an hour away drive at most versus a minimum 4-5 hour drive so if that is an interest to you Tampa is definitely a bit of advantage there.

Both Tampa/St. Pete and Dallas offer you a pro (American) football, baseball, and hockey team. Dallas will offer basketball. That said, the Dallas area is probably more known for being a sports town over Tampa/St. Pete.

Dallas will definitely have better job prospects over Tampa.

Dallas will also have (relatively) more urban and younger feel than Tampa/St. Pete. That is maybe because I happened to spend more time in St. Pete for it's proximity to the Gulf, but definitely on that side you have more retiree feel than youngish crowd. That said, I still think you have a larger city feel and more nightlife options in Dallas area over Tampa/St. Pete.

Cost of living is probably similar, with Dallas having a bit of an edge due to job availability. Both states have no state income tax, so more of your paycheck goes home with you. Texas, however, has higher property taxes if/when you buy a home. That said, I think housing is less expensive in Dallas due to more options and also not the premium of being near the Gulf.

Traffic - if you are in Tampa itself is not great but somewhat manageable. If you have to cross the bridge over Tampa Bay between Tampa and St. Pete it will not be fun on a daily basis. As far as Dallas, I am quite pleased to be within walking distance of work. My biggest complaint of Dallas is the traffic. You can do it, but most of the threads here warn to find a job first and then home so you don't have to travel a lot on the freeways. Dallas is growing so fast there is usually construction in many places, which causes grief.

I think either city will be relatively Brit friendly, though Dallas has a bit more "big-city" feel IMO.

All things considered, other than the proximity to the water and Gulf (which is definitely very nice and something I definitely miss...) edge goes to Dallas on the things you mentioned you were interested.

[innovator82]

I live in Dallas suburbs and have lived in Charlotte suburbs, and I stayed in Tampa for a few months on a job several years ago. My first thought is to narrow down your search to Dallas area vs. Charlotte area. I think you could make a case a strong case for moving to either Dallas or the Interstate 85 Corridor (of which Charlotte is a major center) for the IT job markets in each, but not so much Tampa. That's not to say you wouldn't be able to find an IT job in Tampa or any other large city for that matter. Personally I think the general Dallas and Charlotte areas are both cleaner than Tampa and have more appealing suburban neighborhoods. Also both Dallas and Charlotte have reasonable costs of living with better property value sustainability that many parts of Florida have had in the past 10-15 years. In Charlotte you have NFL and NBA teams while in Dallas you get all four major sports - however there is also minor league baseball and hockey in Charlotte. Downtown Charlotte's nightlife have drastically improved over the past 10 years with lots of new development and Dallas has several different neighborhoods known for local nightlife. Charlotte has a lot of newer safe suburban neighborhoods outside of downtown but still within Charlotte itself while in Dallas you might have to drive slightly farther from the city center to get to these types of area which are in suburban towns surrounding Dallas. I think both Dallas and Charlotte are great areas to target especially looking at tech/IT job markets.

[BCB]

Dallas, Charlotte, Tampa.

[CTnative07]

I live in Dallas, but I would tell you to go to Tampa. Beautiful beaches, seafood restaurants on the water, boating, very comfortable winters. Summer in Dallas is too extreme, FL at least gets a breeze.

[GBCommenter]

The beaches, water, boating is definitely a huge plus for Tampa vs. Dallas (or Charlotte) and if you include that into the judgement of parks/lakes is an obvious plus, but I wonder if Tampa can hit the other points? I am divided on this...

OP mentioned sports are important to him. Tampa will offer American football through the Buccaneers, hockey through the Lightning, and baseball if willing to travel to St. Pete (which is about an hour drive without traffic from downtown Tampa), though considered more or less one metro area). Note that drive if you want to hit them all, however...you'll be driving one way or the other depending if you ultimately pick Tampa or St. Pete. Also note IMO the Cowboys enjoy a better reputation for football than the Bucs. Also, while the Rays (baseball) did fairly well this year, their ballpark is not recognized as a great ballpark to watch a game, at least compared to other ballparks - and definitely not compared to Rangers Ballpark. However, in the spring you would have the baseball options of Spring Training either in Tampa for the Yankees (much as I hate to ever promote them) or not a terribly long drive to other teams in the area.

Though I have yet to make a Dallas Stars game to judge the venue in comparison to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, my guess is the two might be somewhat similar in terms of teams and experience? Others thoughts welcomed.

I do think, however, in terms of finding nightlife and big-city feel Dallas will win out more so than Tampa (and definitely St. Pete). Either city is relatively spread out compared to London and I imagine much more car-centric, for certain, but I think you'll see more options in Dallas. Also, while I cannot say much specifically to the IT field, in general Dallas is going to have a better job outlook and likely higher pay. I remember seeing complaints on the pay and job outlook front from some Tampa forums on this site. Also, some complained about Tampa having a bit of a culture that was resistant to much change in the Tampa area by long-time residents, which in the estimation of those posters led to Tampa being viewed as somewhat undesirable by the younger crowd for lack of opportunity.

That all said...the Gulf and Bay - and easy access to lots of beaches and beach-related activity - is a huge plus. Our friend from across the pond will need to decide what is most important...