a few vacation and relocation questions... (Dallas, Mesquite: truck rental, apartment, rental)

[luvmykids08_10]

ok my questions are:

1. Do you think $1000 would be enough for the ride down to Dallas, Texas from Westland, MI and have to spend on a one week vacation? (Just my husband and I). (we're driving a 2004 dodge neon srt 4cyl)

2. Is there a certain way/area we should avoid while driving that whole way? (we will only be stopping for potty breaks).

3. Are there any good/fun things going on the third or fourth weeks in august?

4. What hotels or area should we avoid renting a room from for that week?

we are making this trip because we are planning to move down there for good this time next year and we're going to site see and check out several different areas.

5. Do you think we will need to schedule another trip down there closer to the time we're planning on moving next yr? If so when do you think?

6. Do you guys think $9000- $11000 would be enough for our official move? we will only be renting a trailer to attach to my car. And we will be renting a house or duplex with 2bedrooms.

[jennifw]

$1,000 total for a week including hotel, gas, food and entertainment?
I think you would easily eat up $700+ just for a decent hotel.

Not sure if you have lived in Texas before, but the 3rd and 4th weeks of August are probably the hottest here. HOT like you have never felt. Given that it has already hit 100 degrees this weekend, August should be quite a beast. I would take that into consideration for whatever you are planning while you are here.

My only other thought on your move is to ask if you already have jobs lined up? That really will affect where you should live, rent, etc. DFW is a HUGE area and if you pick it wrong, your commute can be pretty awful.

Enjoy your visit and best of luck with your move.

[FarNorthDallas]

The best thing to do in late August in Dallas is to stay inside. It's too hot to move around outside. Your Dodge Neon has air conditioning, right?

[Squirl]

If you are planning to move to DFW then I do think you have picked the ideal time to come because you will experience the area at the most intolerable time. That way, you can gauge your ability to live here, as the weather is like what you will witness about 30-40% of the time. There is a Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine that, if you have kids, would be a big winner. It has an indoor water park. Otherwise you just might enjoy going to theatre, and a rodeo at Mesquite Rodeo and just drive about. Hampton Inns are good for travelors.....

[Handsome Stranger]

I've made the trip to Dallas several times recently house hunting and visiting.
I'm closer to DFW than you are, but you'll need 2-3 tanks of gas to get there and the same back - I'll guess your car will need ~$30 for each fill up.
I use sites like Priceline and Hotels.com for hotels, I stayed in Allen last time at a Best Western that was better than I expected - $60 a night thru Hotels.com. I was satisfied completely.
You'll need to eat - figure $25-30 for each meal - that's at decent restaurants if you're careful about what you order.
The Dallas area is huge and you need to know where you want to live....read some of the other threads about people moving to Dallas.....heed what the people that live here have to say.
Oh yeah, August is very hot.
Good luck!

[TurtleCreek80]

To answer your questions,

1. No, $1,000 is not enough. Your drive is 2,400 miles round trip. Assuming your car gets around 20 mpg and you burn 2 tanks driving around Dallas, you'll be spending at least $500 on gas. Are you spending 1 week in Dallas or 1 week total vacation? It will take 2-2.5 days to drive down here and back. Figure minimum of $100/night on hotels once the 20% tax is included. That's $700 for a 1 week vacation or $1100 if you're spending 1 week in Dallas plus 4-5 travel days. Food at a bare bare minimum is probably $50/day for your family- that's fast food and ice chests, not going to any sit down restaurants. $50/day x 7 days is $350, more if your trip is going to be longer.

So just for gas, food, and hotel for a 7 day trip (4 days driving, 3 in Dallas), we're up to $1,550. And you havent eaten 1 restaurant meal or done anything fun that costs money (zoo, water parks, etc).

It sounds like a $2,000 trip budget would be more realistic.

2. Not sure. And if you really think you're going to drive 1200 miles straight with only potty breaks (no overnight motel stays), you're asking for trouble...or falling asleep at the wheel at 3am. That's just not a realistic distance to drive with no breaks.

3. Honestly, not much. Most people who can afford to get out of town in August because it's so hot. School starts the 4th week of August. I can't think of any fun festivals or events in late August. Be prepared that it will probably be over 100 every single day and only dip down into the 90's overnight. It is so hot in August that a pool doesn't feel refreshing anymore because the water is so hot.

4. avoid the hotels in the industrial corridor of Dallas- along I-35, north of Inwood Road up to 635. Also anythingalong 183 between I-35 and Las Colinas. Do not stay in any hotel along I-30 east of Downtown Dallas or anything along I-35 or I-45 south of downtown. generally any hotel along the Dallas North Tollroad or US75 is going to be in an ok area.

5. You guys need to focus on your job search before planning the move and a second trip down to Dallas. Once one of you has a job offer, then one of you can fly back down and find an apartment to rent the first year. I would even argue it's useless to visit this summer because what if you can't find a job here? Or what areas are you even going to explore since your job could end up being a 2 hour drive away in another part of the metroplex? It's better to come down with a job offer, that way you can focus on the neighborhoods and suburbs that are commutator to your offices, visit schools in those areas, etc.

6. As for how much money you need to move, if you come here with jobs, probably $3,000 to move (truck rental and gas) and $1,000 or so for apartment deposit and electricity/cable/water/etc hook-ups. If you come without jobs, the $4,000 above and 12 months of living expenses in case it takes a year toget jobs. If you don't have a college degree or a lot of experience, it could very well take a year or more to find decent paying jobs.