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hi all! I currently live in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Born and raised in Miami in South Florida, but it is definitely time for a change. My boyfriend, our dog, and I are looking to move either to the Dallas/Austin areas in Texas or to the Raleigh/Durham area in North Carolina. We are both in our late 20s. Primarily I will be moving for graduate school and have found great programs in all cities.
We are very used to palm trees and beach life and year long summer down here and quite frankly we want a change. We wouldn't mind actually having a real fall and winter season. We live in suburbia right now so a change to living scenery is welcome. Ideally it would be nice to be living somewhere that I can walk out my front door/downstairs and walk to restaurants or bars. Somewhere with a nice view of the city or the mountains or anything really than just looking across the street to your neighbors houses.
I recently visited Austin and while I really did enjoy myself, I am worried the few days I spent there may have given me the wrong idea that the city just kind of felt like a really big college town almost. I visited North Carolina and Dallas several years ago and will be making visits there again soon.
Does anyone have any insight that could help? Anyone else move out of Miami? Anyone live in any of these cities an can weigh in here? I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
Hi. I would really suggest Austin or Dallas, depending where you find work, and your budget. You cant go wrong with Texas, I am from CA originally but have lived in both Austin and Dallas. (Austin for the longest). They both have good jobs, good weather (I like the heat) friendly non-judgemental people and overall good quality of life. Austin and Dallas are more similar than not IMO, so I wouldnt get caught up too much in which one would fit you better.
Austin is more laid back and casual, and there really is a festival for every time of year and event. You can stay busy just about every weekend if you have the time and money. It has more than just college town activities and sports....but you have to check out the 'horns though.
Dallas has every pro sports team and the Texas State Fair. Dallas seems a little more diverse and classy though. Just today, I took the train to work downtown (West End) and couldn't help but notice that even the street people were dressed up and had style....Bums with fashion sense?? I had to laugh...
Both cities have good parks and lakes, Austin having more in the city and closer vicinity. Dallas is more urban, the lakes are spread out in the metroplex outside the city limits.
However, as far as mountains and trees, you wont find anything comparable to North Carolina in Texas. Not even the coveted Texas Hill Country can compare to the real mountains and forests of the Appalachian Mts. I have family and friends from California that used to visit me in Austin and they were completely disappointed with the terrain in Texas. Even after a full hill country tour week from Llano to Boerne, they were not impressed with the 'scrubby oak and shaggy cedar', that cover our gentle hills. They were expecting the Sierra Nevada i guess. I also realize that Californians have a very biased opinion when comparing anything non-Californian. Something that makes me glad I moved to Texas a long time ago....
Culturally speaking, I think Raleigh would be more like Ft. Lauderdale (if that matters), both having southern influence. Don't expect Dallas or Austin to be cowboyish or redneck either, country accents are not very common in these cities.
We are very used to palm trees and beach life and year long summer down here and quite frankly we want a change. We wouldn't mind actually having a real fall and winter season.
If this is somewhat important to you, TX in general will surely disappoint due to the lack of change of seasons and endless summer.
Hmm, for an urban lifestyle Dallas would have the most to offer. By far the largest metro, largest urban core, and most walkable neighborhoods. Of course it depends where your school is cause it's entirely possible that in mega-sprawling Dallas the urban lifestyle would be way too inconvenient for your classes.
Raleigh-Durham is your only option for possible mountain views. There are certainly nice things about the area but if you think Austin is like a big college town then I think you might describe Raleigh-Durham the same way. Good luck!! Definitely visit the schools and surrounding areas!
I lived in Boca for years, and I can assure you that, as a native South Floridian, just about anywhere outside of Southern CA or maybe Central AZ (i.e., Phoenix/Scottsdale) will be too cold for you. Over the years, I've seen so many FL natives move to states like GA, NC, and TN, only to return after a few years because they couldn't acclimate to the much colder, icier winters of those states.
Also, I've noticed that FL natives have difficulty acclimating to landlocked cities/states. Almost all of the major cities in NC and TX, sans Houston, are landlocked and very distant from saltwater. Out of your choices, Raleigh is the closest to the beach, but it's still a 2-3 hr. drive away, which is not -- by any means -- "close." Growing up in coastal FL, the beach and saltwater is such an integral component of your life and development, so it's very difficult to part with the ocean, consistent with how it's difficult for Californians to part with varied terrain like someone mentioned up-thread.
Regarding TX in particular, you really have to appreciate the local culture to fully enjoy living there, IMO, because it's so polarizing and woven into the fabric of everyday life. If you don't particularly care for TX culture, then TX is going to be a difficult place to live and, more specifically, navigate socially.
Last edited by CaseyB; 12-11-2014 at 01:27 PM..
Reason: off topic
If this is somewhat important to you, TX in general will surely disappoint due to the lack of change of seasons and endless summer.
Austin might, since it's down in Central Texas, but Dallas---which gets extremely cold in the winter and gets ice and/or snow pretty much every year---won't disappoint somebody from Miami who wants to experience a change in seasons.
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