Why's Texas so huge. Help me out with some place suggestions. (Houston: sales, renting)

[jason0111]

My family and I are seriously contemplating a move south, and Texas is at the forefront of our choices. The only issue is that as large as Texas is, we don't even know where to begin looking. It's not like we could even reasonably see things if we came and spent a week traveling the state looking for places and cities, so I'm hoping to get some solid suggestions from the city data members.

Originally, we were thinking DFW area, maybe Austin or Houston. That's entirely up in the air, though.

We'd like a small town feel, but still within 30-40 minutes drive to a major city, if we should need one. Small town, but still with places like Target, Walmart, etc.

While we will be renting a place for the first year or so, we would like a place with the low housing costs I keep hearing over and over about Texas. Not that we'll have a huge budget, but something in the $150k or below range. 3 bedroom house with a yard for our kids would be quite fine.

I'm in my early 30's and my wife is in her 20's. We have a 1 year old daughter now, with plans for a second within a year from now. With that, school district isn't AS important, but it will become important, and I'd rather not have to move into a good school district, I'd want to just live there already.

Jobs are important. I work in car sales, and I have a good record, so I'm not too concerned about finding a job, but if Texas is different than Ohio in that regard, please, chime in. I sell Hyundais, for what it's worth. It was very easy for me to walk into a "starter" dealership here in Ohio to learn about sales, and then once I learned, I found it even easier to walk into a dealership that treats their employees better and with good hours. However, I know that this is a completely different part of the country, so I don't want to think the same rules apply. I would HOPE they do, but I don't know for sure.
My wife doesn't really work.

So with this info, I'm open to suggestions on where to move. We are willing and able to move as soon as possible, or up to 6-8 months from now. I'e read that it's easier to get jobs with a local address, but I've not seen a way to get a local address without physically living somewhere, so I'm open to suggestions on that, as well.

Thanks

[ETex2]

I think you have a multitude of choices here, since there are car dealerships everywhere. Rather than get the biased reviews of individuals here, I'd suggest reading these forums extensively. In your price range, I'd stay away from the trendy northern suburbs and stick to areas like Rowlett, Garland, Mesquite, etc.. Of course there are tons of other burbs to choose from; Realtor.com will give you a good idea of home prices in your range.

As for the question in your thread title - I think Texas is the size it is, because God knew a good thing once he made it so he gave us plenty of space.

[jason0111]

Thanks. I've found a few places that look promising. Taylor is one that is sticking out specifically. It seems like a decent place.

[Studier]

From the description this sounds like the Lake Ray Hubbard area on the east side of the metroplex. Shopping is really booming in Rockwall, there's lots in Mesquite and Garland already. Most of the dealerships are in Garland, Mesquite and Rockwall along I-30 and I-635. The further east you look, the cheaper the homes and the smaller the towns actually are.

[centercab]

FWIW - I'm not sure I would work for Vandergriff Hyundai in Arlington. My wife and I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe there in '07 and were treated very well..and we also liked the vehicle. We went back last year to trade it in on an Elantra and were treated like total crap. The salesman (a different one...our previous salesman no longer worked there) was a lying idiot. He told us things that he could do and then denied any part of it to his boss. We promptly left and went to a Chevrolet dealer in another city and bought a Cruze.

We were trying to be repeat customers, but no car is worth being lied to and treated like crap in general.

[jason0111]

Originally Posted by centercab

FWIW - I'm not sure I would work for Vandergriff Hyundai in Arlington. My wife and I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe there in '07 and were treated very well..and we also liked the vehicle. We went back last year to trade it in on an Elantra and were treated like total crap. The salesman (a different one...our previous salesman no longer worked there) was a lying idiot. He told us things that he could do and then denied any part of it to his boss. We promptly left and went to a Chevrolet dealer in another city and bought a Cruze.

We were trying to be repeat customers, but no car is worth being lied to and treated like crap in general.

Thanks for the review. I couldn't agree with you any more. I've never been a car salesperson that will lie simply to get a sale. On average, I make between $250 and $800 in commission on a car, and that's just not worth being on my conscience. That's a big part of why there's so much turnover at car dealerships, too. IF you're honest, people tend to be happy when they come back. If you lie to people, it backfires. It's been a standard for me that has helped me to make a good living, with plenty of repeat and referral business. My sales managers don't always like it, but they can't argue that I still sell cars, so...
Hopefully you're enjoying the Cruze. They're a nice car. I bought a new Honda Civic from a competing dealership a few months back, and a Cruze was near the top of my list, but Honda REALLY wanted to sell a Civic to the saleperson next door, so I got a stupid good deal on it.

[jason0111]

Originally Posted by Studier

From the description this sounds like the Lake Ray Hubbard area on the east side of the metroplex. Shopping is really booming in Rockwall, there's lots in Mesquite and Garland already. Most of the dealerships are in Garland, Mesquite and Rockwall along I-30 and I-635. The further east you look, the cheaper the homes and the smaller the towns actually are.

My wife is thinking of going to school, but the school she's looking at is in West Dallas. I know mapquest isn't always good with real world travel time, but how long would it take typically to go from one Garland, Rockwall or Mesquite to the west side of Dallas, factoring in things such as traffic...

[ETex2]

Originally Posted by jason0111

My wife is thinking of going to school, but the school she's looking at is in West Dallas. I know mapquest isn't always good with real world travel time, but how long would it take typically to go from one Garland, Rockwall or Mesquite to the west side of Dallas, factoring in things such as traffic...

Too long for me. You might consider Irving, or looking for a different school.

[centercab]

Originally Posted by jason0111

Thanks for the review. I couldn't agree with you any more. I've never been a car salesperson that will lie simply to get a sale. On average, I make between $250 and $800 in commission on a car, and that's just not worth being on my conscience. That's a big part of why there's so much turnover at car dealerships, too. IF you're honest, people tend to be happy when they come back. If you lie to people, it backfires. It's been a standard for me that has helped me to make a good living, with plenty of repeat and referral business. My sales managers don't always like it, but they can't argue that I still sell cars, so...
Hopefully you're enjoying the Cruze. They're a nice car. I bought a new Honda Civic from a competing dealership a few months back, and a Cruze was near the top of my list, but Honda REALLY wanted to sell a Civic to the saleperson next door, so I got a stupid good deal on it.

Maybe I'll need to track you down the nest time we are in the market for a new car!

My wife absolutely loves the Cruze. We've had it for a year now.

Good luck on your decision about coming to Texas. My wife and I (and our two children) were born in Fort Worth. You'll like it here, although I recommend looking at some of the smaller towns around D/FW. I prefer a little bit of acreage..not in a house a couple of feet from my neighbor!

[jason0111]

Originally Posted by centercab

Maybe I'll need to track you down the nest time we are in the market for a new car!

My wife absolutely loves the Cruze. We've had it for a year now.

Good luck on your decision about coming to Texas. My wife and I (and our two children) were born in Fort Worth. You'll like it here, although I recommend looking at some of the smaller towns around D/FW. I prefer a little bit of acreage..not in a house a couple of feet from my neighbor!

Definitely.
I'd prefer at least a half acre, but more acreage is better. She just doesn't want to be in the middle of nowhere. Me personally, I'd prefer it. She likes amenities.