Moving From Culver City/Santa Monica

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by Sean12345

Buying a home in California is becoming a dream now, thats why after 15 years I have decided to move to Dallas. I have lived in Culver City , surrounded by Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey, which are nice and family places to live. If I arrive in Dallas, I may get impressed right away with certain areas like Mickenny, Frisco, or Plano, but some who is living there can really give me the true picture. So please tell me what area would you suggest which may be same as Santa Monica?
And the most important thing is how is the job market for an Accountant (myself) and Proxy Voting Specialist which is in Investment or Money Managers Company (for Spouse).

Thanks
Sean

There are no direct equivalents but if you're talking about the Santa Monica of 3rd Street Promenade and Main Street -- full of shops and restaurants and walkable streets -- the closest might be Uptown/West Village and Knox-Henderson areas.

[BIGinDallas]

I agree with Debsi. We use to live in North Dallas and all the houses looked alike (in red brick). Though we tried very hard to find one different and it was. It was contemporary and of white. Still the neighborhood was more of the problem than the house itself. People were a little cold/at least not friendly...they looked the other way when you walk by.

So we moved to Richardson last year and I must say that it is a better neighborhood with older homes. Bigger tree with shade. Oh and there are walkable sidewalks. Friendly neighbors and met more in the first 2 weeks than we did in 4 years in the other neighborhood. I described our house to friends back in LA as "Pasadena-ist" with woodfloor. I told my husband if we bought this house, I would not complain about wanting to return to LA. Well, I don't complain...as much... anymore. Richardson is a smaller city and you get their newsletter and makes you feel part of the community.

You will not get to see the ocean or mountains. I don't care for shopping, but if you like shopping, you'll probably like Dallas. Traffic is not like LA and polution isn't like LA.

Watch Subdivided Subdivided - Isolation, Community, Urban Sprawl, and The McMansion, a Documentary Film by Dean Terry and you will get a little sense of how it is if you decide to live in the suburb.

[galore]

I'd rent an apartment for a while before deciding on the neighborhood. Some of the areas in Dallas follow a self-fulfilling prophecy that isn't always backed up by reality.

The metroplex is very diverse. There is new suburbia in Frisco/N Plano/Allen/McKinney on former prairie land, where you can get a nice impressive brick house for little money compared to CA.
There are older, established neighborhoods (very expensive in the Park Cities or more affordable around White Rock Lake) that are totally different. Some lots have many huge impressive established trees. Houses are much older, some ranch style, some colonial, some mediterranean etc. Lots are typically much larger than in new developments.
There are also some run down areas, of course.

I strongly advise to rent for a while before committing to a house. Also, drive around away from the major throughfares. Just yesterday, out of curiosity I decided to go east on Breezwood drive off 78 east of White Rock Lake and was awestruck by the properties there.

[socketz]

In summary:

-TX and CA are both very different,but each nice in its own way
-Land a job before settling into an area. There are 3-4 employment hubs here and around all of them is nice housing
-Rent for while before buying. I've lived here 9 months and my mind regarding where to live has changed 5x. Again, there is so many nice areas to live, that narrowing it down to one is typically the most daunting task you'll face once your here.

[BIGinDallas]

yup, LA and Dallas has both it's goods and bads...

Finding a good neighborhood is hard. We didn't research that much the first time and ended up in a neighborhood that wasn't really friendly and felt cold. It was a subdivision built 1987 and we dread living there (but we did like the house!) Now we are in an older (1968), more established neighborhood and really like it a lot more.

Talking to people around the neighborhood and driving around is a good start. If you drive around and see people, but they look away, then stay AWAY from that neighborhood. If they wave or at least look up at you, then it's likely a more friendly place.