Moving from Long Island and need a starting point (Houston: foreclosed, mortgage) - Dallas - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Marbleann · 10-20-2007, 07:51 PM

I don't know where to start so here goes I currently live on Long Island. I don't even have to tell the cost of living here but to make a long story short it will be a virtual ghost town here if the taxes do not go down. I have a 1200 sq ft ranch and my taxes are 14,000 dollars a year and that is on the lower end for my neighborhood. LIPA the utility company has the highest rates in the country and even my cable bill is 250 a month.

I was looking to move to Houston but I am not not sure I am crazy about the weather. I do have friends there so I am more familiar with the area. I am now thinking about the Dallas area. Can anyone steer me is the right direction where I can even start looking.

I am retired, but I just turned 50. So I am not looking for a retirement community. I do not have any children, but I want a area with a good school district because the house values tend to stay higher. I am looking for a area that is not in the urban area . I would like to have a nice backyard and a pool, I have dogs. One story and at least 3 bedrooms. I would like to be near stores and hospitals but not next to them. I do not mind older houses. I actually prefer them, and I do not want neighbors right next to me. I want neighbors though I do not want to be isolated. But a community with bigger yards and set backs . I do not want to spend more then 250,000. I am not looking for a mortgage so that is not a problem. And I would also know about the average for taxes. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks

MaryS80 · 10-20-2007, 09:14 PM

There are several very nice developments just outside Dallas for active retirees. The first one that springs to mind is Robson Ranch, which is in Denton. There are other similar communities but I can not recall any by name.

Marbleann · 10-20-2007, 09:48 PM

Hi thanks for your reply. I am not looking for any type of retirement communities or developments. Just regular neighborhoods. I am not the planned community type. lol I just mentioned I was retired as to explain I am not looking for a job so communting is not important.

rb4browns · 10-20-2007, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marbleann

Hi thanks for your reply. I am not looking for any type of retirement communities or developments. Just regular neighborhoods. I am not the planned community type. lol I just mentioned I was retired as to explain I am not looking for a job so communting is not important.

My wife grew up in Far Rockaway and the 5 Towns. The first thing to do is get yourself on a plane and come down and see the area for yourself. If you come here only for the cheap housing chances are you will find yourself not so happy. We love it here, but for us we like the many other aspects of Dallas besides the lower cost of living.

We live in North Dallas within the city limits. Look in to this area, and I would suggest checking out Richardson and PLano. Others can probably suggest some nice areas in others parts of the metroplex.

Marbleann · 10-21-2007, 01:14 AM

Thanks. Yes I was thinking about Dallas and Houston and I think I might like the climate better. But I have been reading about it a lot and it seems to be a place a person who is use to living near a city from the Northeast could transplant to without such a cultural shock I plan on coming down there and checking it out, It does seem that Dallas is a little bit more money then Houston. But as far as cheap housing I am not looking for that I am looking for reasonable houses and taxes. Nothing good comes cheap. lol

Also I was talking to a friend of mine who moved to Houston, but liked Dallas better So she is going to give me her number. I just want to keep a open mind and eye to both places.

CheyDee · 10-21-2007, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rb4browns

My wife grew up in Far Rockaway and the 5 Towns. The first thing to do is get yourself on a plane and come down and see the area for yourself. If you come here only for the cheap housing chances are you will find yourself not so happy. We love it here, but for us we like the many other aspects of Dallas besides the lower cost of living.

We live in North Dallas within the city limits. Look in to this area, and I would suggest checking out Richardson and PLano. Others can probably suggest some nice areas in others parts of the metroplex.

I found your post interesting! I also grew up in Far Rockaway and in the 5 Towns and relocated to North Dallas. I loved it there! Unfortunately (for me), hubby acquired a need to live near his aging parents, so we relocated to AZ. If/when the time comes when we no longer have to be here, I will be the first one on a plane back to Dallas. Did I say I love it there?

FarNorthDallas · 10-21-2007, 08:27 AM

McKinney or Plano, perhaps. Maybe Richardson. The hardest part will be finding a house in that price range that has some room between the houses. They tend to build these houses right next to each other and the newer ones are really close to the street. Even the older houses are right next to each other. Maybe in Wylie, Murphy, Sachse you could get more space in an older house.

Lakewooder · 10-22-2007, 11:45 AM

Urban here does not really mean the same as urban up there - most of the neighborhoods close to downtown in Dallas are developed in a suburban way and the older houses are great - very close to shopping and all the cool restaurants and hip places to go..also you can take classes at SMU, University Center downtown or at El Centro and the other community colleges are not far away. Most of the newer houses out in the suburbs are two-story, I believe.

mightymight · 10-22-2007, 11:54 AM

I lived in Houston and now live in Dallas. While houston is a nice city, it is very humid. Dallas is so much nicer. Yeah, it's hot in the summers, but only for 3-4 months out of the year. Sept/Oct is just perfect--cool,no humidity and just enough sun to keep it warm.

Plano, TX or Richardson, TX bordering Plano is a great area to live in for several reasons:
1. Resale value--because they have great school systems, people want to live here.
2. You get a suburb feel but our next to everything!!! Including hospitals.
3. You can get a nice home with all the fixin's for less than $250, but certainly even nicer for $250. Figure 10% of the purchase price less $100 as being your monthly mortage AND property taxes combined. A realtor told me that and he's pretty on the money. The exception is if you were to buy a foreclosed home at $500K for $250. In this scenario you would then have to pay taxes on a $500K home even though you paid less for it. Your mortgage w/taxes would obviously be ajusted to make up for the higher tax bracket the house falls in.

So with that said, start in Dallas, TX not Houston. The job market is great in Dallas too. Good Luck!

blueskies49 · 10-22-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightymight

I lived in Houston and now live in Dallas. While houston is a nice city, it is very humid. Dallas is so much nicer. Yeah, it's hot in the summers, but only for 3-4 months out of the year. Sept/Oct is just perfect--cool,no humidity and just enough sun to keep it warm.

Hm, maybe you have a higher tolerance for heat than I do!

It's way warmer than that in Sept/Oct, mostly 90's but some 80's, too. I'd say that's hot. May can be very warm/hot some years, 80-90's. So in a typical year we get about 6 months of summer with the hottest, of course, being July and August.