Dallas or Austin? Where should I move to? (Houston, Plano: fit in, new home)

[NiceJohn]

I got job offers from both cities. The pay is about the same. In term of raising kids, weather, career opporunities and life quality, which city is better between Dallas and Austin? Help me to decide. THANK YOU. John

[TexasHorseLady]

What are your preferences in raising kids, what career field are you in, and how do you define life quality? The answers to those questions are critical to answering your question.

[llkltk]

Quality of life in my opinion is Austin. Price of housing, Dallas unless you want to live in the northern burbs of Austin like Cedar Park, Round Rock, housing is still pretty pricey though. You need to provide more info, what do you like to do. If you like theater and big city shopping, go to Dallas. If you like smaller towns or a laid back area, come to Austin. The two are polar opposites. I moved to Dallas from Austin and came running back to Austin, hated it! Some people love it though. If you want to wear flip flops to dinner, come to Austin. If you want to dress up and pay for valet parking, go to Dallas.

[Geo-DT]

Good responses so far. I only want to add that the best way to decide is to visit both cities with an open mind, then decide which one fits better. We like to pretend that our major life decisions are very rational, but we usually tend to tailor our rationale to our gut instincts. If you like one place more than the other, go with the one you like. We could throw books of information at you but it wouldn't tell you what YOUR experience would be like in either city.

I know people who grew up in Austin and have moved to Dallas. They would never consider coming back. And I know a lot of Austin residents who are happy to have escaped Dallas. There is no "right vs. wrong" here, the only question is how YOU feel about each place. And you cannot figure that out by looking at statistics or the opinions of other people who might be totally different from you.

Best wishes! You're in a fortunate situation because you have choices, GOOD choices.

[imaterry78259]

Austin is a mid size metro and Dallas is a monster metro with huge diversity amd variety

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by NiceJohn

I got job offers from both cities. The pay is about the same. In term of raising kids, weather, career opporunities and life quality, which city is better between Dallas and Austin? Help me to decide. THANK YOU. John

Having had homes and jobs in both cities, I can give you a little insight from our situation, but with you had given more info like what you expect in a home for what price, and what your personal preferences are regarding extracurriculars and weather, and how you define quality of life!

PAY...From my perspective, pay will go about the same in both places. Lots of people say that Austin is more expensive, but really we found that the less expensive new homes on the outskirts of Dallas were so far out, that the time and gas money (PARTICULARLY with the gas prices today) you spend commuting in Dallas pretty much makes it an even bet.

HOUSING IN DALLAS...about 5 years ago, we built a $230K brand new 2300 s.f. home in a somewhat upscale burb from David Weekley (a popular and reputable builder) 30 miles north of Dallas. We found that the homes in Plano and Richardson and some of the other popular family burbs in Dallas were more expensive and required some work, so the choice for us was to go further out. Frisco and McKinney also have some reasonably priced homes, but they would be 30 miles north of downtown Dallas.

HOUSING IN AUSTIN... for about $230-250K, you can get an older 1800 s.f. house in northwest Austin about 10 miles from downtown, or a larger newer home more north in Cedar Park or Round Rock (about 15-18 miles from downtown). Same price will buy you a larger home in Pflugerville (about 2500 s.f.).

RAISING KIDS...you're going to be able to find great public schools in either city, just do your research first. Obviously, since Dallas is larger, you're going to have more choice regarding extracurricular activities for the kids (more dance studios, soccer leagues, etc. to choose from).

WEATHER...It's a little more variable in Dallas...a little colder in winter (sometimes snow)...a little more humid...a little more crazy in the spring with thunderstorms/tornadoes, etc. Austin is a little drier climate (though not totally devoid of humidity). Austin's gardening and landscaping tends to be more desert-like - grasses, sages, plants that can handle heat, whereas you can grow more water-loving plants in Dallas.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES...you didn't say what field you were in. Austin will offer a lot of tech opportunities. Once you're in "the know" and connected here, you will have few problems finding jobs in tech. Again, Dallas will probably offer more choice in general just because it's bigger. Anecdotally, people have said it is hard to get a job here because lots of people go to UT and then stay, so there are a number of people with graduate degrees waiting tables, etc. Now, I think there are a few reasons for that...perhaps those people just love Austin so much and fit the Austin vibe so much (very laid back) that they don't really search very hard for jobs. My personal experience is that it was hard to break into the market when we moved here (I have a variety of business background) and I had to take a lower position than I was accustomed just to get my foot in the door...however, I am now well connected and have been able to get jobs subsequently. I think Austin is a "who you know" sort of town.

QUALITY OF LIFE...again, you didn't state how you define quality of life. Dallas residents in general care more about what they drive, where they live, what they wear, etc. There's definitely an "air", but not everyone is like that. Dallas is definitely more conservative and there are a lot of church-goers. Dallas is flat and the highest point is probably an interstate overpass. If you are a homebody and like shopping and eating out and doing things close to home, you might like Dallas. Austin is more laid back, parts are a little Bohemian, there's a huge live music presence here so creative personalities are attracted here. There is a small portion of Austin (mainly western/southwestern) that is a little into the "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude, but it's much less pronounced than Dallas. The burbs are a little more conservative, but Austin proper tends liberal (I won't say "very liberal" because I've lived in San Francisco and I KNOW "very liberal").

Ok...have tried to be objective to this point. Subjectively, my hubby and I call Dallas "a great big place where people live"...meaning, there's nothing more exciting to say about it than that. There's no topographical variety, it's fairly homogenous in many respects (including the people). However, because it's a big city, it does offer more than Austin does in the way of major amenities - like museums.

Hope that helps.

[Mckellyb]

MJinAustin, having been born-and-raised in Dallas, I finally escaped when I was 28, I agree with your take on comparing the two cities.

There is such a huge difference in size, attitude, culture...everything, it's similar to if you tried to compare Chicago and Springfield, IL, or Miami and Jacksonville, FL, or NYC and Rochester, NY, or LA and Sacremento, CA...though, to me, all of Cali is on the same train to stupidville.

[texastrigirl]

I agree with MJinAustin. We lived in both places and we preferred to raise our kids in Austin (until a recent move to Seattle) though Dallas is not as bad as some Austinites make it out to be. We lived in the White Rock Lake area of Dallas though...which is as close to an Austin feel as you will get in Dallas. But you need a network in Austin. DH got an MBA at UT and it saved us in the tech layoffs in 2001 - 2003 because he had connections to keep him working.

[el jefe]

Dallas is worse than most Austinites make it out to be. Image driven and vapid. I lived there for 2 years and hated every minute of it. I'd live in Houston before I lived in Dallas again. The museums are better, the restaurants are better, there's more stuff to do. The only thing good about Dallas is that it is the only other spot of blue (outside of Austin) in a sea of political red. Go figure. Lots of churches and strip clubs... I'd live in Ft. Worth before I lived in Dallas again.

[TexasHorseLady]

I've lived in both, and have family in both.

They're different places. Dallas is also big enough that it's hard to pin it down to one "kind" of place - a lot depends on where in the Dallas area you live what you'll think "Dallas" is. I lived in Highland Park and in Oak Lawn - family lives in Mesquite, I've had and have friends from Farmers Branch and Plano to Oak Cliff. You'd be hard pressed to make all of those places fit in the same box.