Bostonian considering relocating to Irving area, thoughts? Parts 1-2 (Dallas: houses, to buy)

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by catsnmusic

Wow, that's quite a review. Food choices are a big factor of course. I don't know if bad winters here or bad summers there are a trade off. Either sucks in my opinion. Hate shoveling snow though. Guess I have a lot to consider. THanks.

eatZi's Market & Bakery ? Chef-Crafted European Food for the Taking

[odinboy]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

eatZi's Market & Bakery ? Chef-Crafted European Food for the Taking

yum!!!

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by catsnmusic

Wow, that's quite a review. Food choices are a big factor of course. I don't know if bad winters here or bad summers there are a trade off. Either sucks in my opinion. Hate shoveling snow though. Guess I have a lot to consider. THanks.

I have had excellent luck in finding good ethnic food here. This is coming from a guy from LA so that should count for something. The Indian food here is better than what I had in LA.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by catsnmusic

I live in Norwood near Dedham.

Norwood isn't exactly a happening urban center with lots to do, it's basically suburbia. Dedham might be slightly closer to the city but still fairly quiet place with some shopping.

I second Grapevine for you, take a ride through next time you go down. Its got a good location to your job and to downtown and has a nice balance of shopping etc downtown. It's kind of like a Norwood or Dedham really.

[Photography]

You'll have no trouble fitting into your new home here in Irving, and you'll likely be readily welcomed. Please ignore bungcisco's false review of the area, and come here with a smile.

[R1070]

People around Dallas are from all over the world and love to hear about you and where you're from.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by catsnmusic

Been living in Boston my whole life. Kinda sick and tired of being sick and tired and need a change. May have an opportunity to take a job in the Westlake/Southlake area. Took a trip out last week and a realtor showed me Las Colinas based on me saying I'm a 46 year old single woman, don't have kids and don't wanna be around just families. Any thoughts on how a lifelong Bostonian might be received in this area and if you think I'd like it? I like peace and quiet but want some nightlife within close proximity and want to get away from the noise when I'm all set for the night and go back to the peace and quiet of my apartment. So what I mean is I want the best of both worlds within a short commute. I get mixed opinions of whether or not I'd like it there. Some say super friendly people, others say forget it, they hate New Englanders. I hate winter here, that I know. All input greatly appreciated.
Bostonian Lady

As another transplant to TX on this thread, I'm pretty certain you will love it here. I HATE snow. I live in San Antonio, but have been to Dallas, Houston etc. enough to tell you that based on your positive ovcerall attitude, you will be fine here. The biggest difference is the lack of authenticity with restaurants, and there are a lot of strip malls on the access roads. If you can get used to seeing that every day, you'll be happy here. Grapevine has been mentioned, which will be at a premium because it is so convenient and is a nice overall city. You won't have much of an issue with that because you're coming from eastern MA. Few towns in DFW have as much green as Grapevine. P.S. There are enough transplants in DFW that being from the north won't be such a big deal.

[Terry1960]

There is plenty to offer here including lots of smiles.

You won't get much snow, but when there is snow you'll learn what a Texas Snowman looks like: He has grass sticking out all over while his yard has been wiped clean of all whiteness.

You'll see lots of flowers but most will be growing wild or on trees. I have noticed in Boston and on up to New Hampshire and Maine that EVERYBODY plants flowers in their yards. When you see a lot of flowers planted in a yard here, there is a good chance that the home-owners are retired or can afford to pay a gardener.

We do football, including Friday Night High School Football. I don't do football, but they let me stay because I'm good at preparing the snacks for Super Bowl.

It's hot, but days hotter than 95 F are OK because the humidity gets low. I've heard northerners say that the first summer is brutal but then they get acclimatized.

Many public places are abusers of air conditioning. You freeze there in winter; you freeze here in summer.

There are less trees than in the Northeast. Some people from up north like the way this opens up the sky. The night sky is as bad here as anywhere due to city lights.

If you are here and are missing the New England Fall, hop in your car and drive to the Oachita National Forest (Oklahoma and Arkansas) around mid-October. It's known as "The Little Smokie Mountains", and you can get there from Dallas in about 5 hours.

If you are here and are missing the Atlantic, you are out of luck. Head for the Gulf Coast (5 hours to Galveston, 8 to Corpus Christi and Port Aransas) but do not compare; these are two completely different ecosystems.

San Antonio (5-hour drive) makes for a great weekend trip if you want to see historical sites and experience Mexico without having to fear the drinking water.

When you need a weekend of even better night life than you find in Dallas, Austin is only 3-hours away. Every night is Friday night in the downtown area of Austin, particularly 6th Street. If you want to talk to people from all over the world, meet them on the Congress Avenue Bridge as you all wait together for the bats to emerge. You could talk to people from all over in the clubs, but the noise makes that tough.

If you've never seen the beauty of a desert in spring, a trip to Big Bend National Park is just a 10-hour drive away.

We love our northern transplants, but we try to teach them the proper way of speaking. Most of them catch on early to "Y'all", but they often refuse to adopt "Fixin' to" and can't possibly understand the correct pronunciation of "Pecan."

[catsnmusic]

Thanks, what's got me curious is winter vs. summer. So for those that don't know Boston, winter absolutely without any question is HORRIBLE here. Snowbanks EVERYWHERE because there's nowhere for the plows to put all the snow so it goes up against the buildings and houses. I flipped my AWD Infiniti G35X last winter on Interstate 95 because I skidded and went sideways up a snowbank like a skateboard on a curved ramp and went 360 degrees upside down and landed on all four wheels facing 4 lanes of oncoming traffic. It was NOT fun and the car got totalled. Thank God my passenger and I were not hurt but still. This is what I've been dealing with for 46 winters. I love sunshine so much. I get depressed when weeks like right now, it's been doing nothing but raining and temps are in the low 50's. No sun in sight for a week does a number on my cheerfulness factor or lack thereof. I want warm sun and I always think FL is the obvious choice but there it's humid. So maybe Dallas will be a nice alternative. Thanks

[Terry1960]

Our winter's have more ice than snow. There are almost always warm days in between cold days. You can be hanging outside in 70 F in January, then a cold front drops the temps down into the 20s overnight. Ice makes the roads bad and takes down power lines.

Two things for you to consider:
1) We are in Tornado Alley.
2) People with allergies have problems here.

The last two or three winters have been strange the same as all the weather world-wide has been strange. Some parts of DFW, Southlake included because I was there that day, had a White Christmas Eve 2 years ago (or maybe it was 3) and sometime later we had a wide-spread 14 to 18 inch snowfall that had everybody going nuts. That was like fairy land for us. This past winter was barely cold at all, and we fear what that means for the insect population this summer