Torn between two cities Dallas or San Antonio (Austin, Detroit: employment, transfer)

[Vikki903]

Hello,

I am a married 33 year old female. My husband and I are really considering moving to Texas. We currently live in Detroit, MI and just do not want to be here anymore. We just want a new start. Together we have three children, ages 3,3, and 1 month. I can transfer my job down in ay part of Texas but my husband will have to find one there. We are still young and have young children. Our ideal place will be somewhere that has a good school systems, very diverse, reasonable housing, and employment. We are a young couple so we are looking to enjoy our time together as well as things to do with the kids. We both have done some research on both cities and still cannot decide on what is best for us. So if you can give me some insite to narrow the search down because this will be our permanent destination. Thanks for your response in advance!

[bencronin04]

Dallas has a large hispanic population, but I feel that San Antonio is more geared towards a Mexican culture and flair. If you're looking for that, I think San Antonio would be a great spot.

[aexchange]

Although San Antonio has a larger hispanic population, I've found it to be less diverse than Dallas in other aspects. For instance, the asian population is quite a bit higher here in Dallas than in San Antonio and from a foodie perspective, the variety and diversity of food here puts San Antonio to shame.

[bencronin04]

Yes agreed with the above poster. Dallas is more diverse for sure in almost all aspects. San Antonio is an Americanized Mexico to me.

[Transplanted99]

Don't know what you mean by diverse, and in many ways that is in the eye of the beholder. Three factors to consider: 1) Jobs - Dallas is doing very well relative to SA and the nation (except DC). Might also consider Austin, if SA is in your scope, as it is doing phenomenal, last I heard, and a short drive away from SA. If you cannot afford to be unemployed for very long, best put the odds in your favor and move to where it is stronger; 2) Schools - this is a bit dated, but we used it on our recent move to TX supplemented by greatschools.org and other sites ( Texas School Performance Maps ). Every city, including SA, has its good schools. The difference might be where you want to locate for your job. Dallas has many more good schools (relative to its size) but they are all towards the north side; 3) Housing - don't know which is cheaper, but my guess is SA by a slight bit, just driven by relative economics. How either compare to Detroit...probably close to suburb prices vs prices within it's city limits.

[Squirl]

Dallas has more good schools to choose among, but many of the highly rated schools require paying high rents--min. $1600/mo

SA is really a nice small city, with less employment opportunities. But housing is cheaper.

[bencronin04]

I thought San Antonio had a larger population that Dallas. Not the entire metro just the city limits.

This is another thing you want to consider OP. San Antonio has about 1.4 million people. Dallas is at 1.3, but the DFW Metroplex is just around 6 million.