Second Thoughts...moving from SF Bay to Dallas (Paris, West: real estate market, condo)

[gstar]

Having second thoughts on moving to Dallas. My husband has an opportunity to move to Dallas for his work. At first I felt it would be a great opportunity to get out of the Bay Area. We both have lived our entire life in the Bay Area and it's not the same. It's very congested, crime has increased, everything is very expensive and pretty much both my husband and I have to work in order to live a comfortable life. We are selling our house even though everyone has recommended us not to sell our house. They say, once you leave California it's very difficult to return. We decided to move for a better life for our girls (age 6 & 3) and feel this is the best decision for our family. We have officially told all our family & friends and they tell us these horrible stories about weather (hail the size of melons, rain, heat, tornado's). We have visited Dallas in the middle of summer to experience the heat and I feel we can get acclimated to the heat. I am not worried about the heat.

What other great benefits would I inherit moving from California to Dallas? Would love to hear from families that have moved from California or other states.

[Squirl]

The greatest benefit will be the cost of housing. If you are able to find a place you like on one salary and Mom can dedicate full time to being home with the children....well, that's huge. Then, of course there is no state income tax here. Property taxes are high, but CA is not that low either. I do agree that if you sell your house it will be hard to return if CA's real estate market rebounds to its historical trend. The hot weather and the general lack of unique character between towns will make you long for home. Also just the natural beauty, the wonderful fresh fruit and so many outdoor activities will not ever measure up here in the DFW area. My family lives in the Bay area and I love visiting, the convenience of the BART, and the many gorgeous hiking trails. If I lived there, it would be hard to leave.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Squirl

The greatest benefit will be the cost of housing.

My family lives in the Bay area and I love visiting, the convenience of the BART, and the many gorgeous hiking trails. If I lived there, it would be hard to leave.

COL is the biggie we offer here. My Texas son is in SF and it's difficult to compare DFW to the area. I always have trouble bragging about TX to people from the Bay.

But we have great people, the arts, great food, less expensive housing & taxes.
We have true Tex-Mex, Beef BBQ, Blue Bell Ice Cream and Shiner Beer.
Also we are on Central Time which makes life somewhat easier when you watch football and the news.

[BigDGeek]

The main advantage is the cost of living. There aren't really any other advantages.

[frenzyrider]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

The main advantage is the cost of living. There aren't really any other advantages.

^^^ This. Plain and simple! There is a reason why land prices are such a higher ratio to the house price!!!

[styron]

I moved from the Bay Area to Dallas. I was in Noe Valley, the sunniest part of San Francisco, and it was still cold ALL the time. Very scenic, but I was always freezing. I like the climate better in Dallas. Except for when it gets to be above 95ish, which lasts through 4ish months of the year, it's temperate and livable, and during those times when it does get hot, there is real, working air conditioning - not pitiful little window units - everywhere you go, so you don't really get affected by the heat. (I also lived in the South Bay, and while the weather was generally great there, those couple of months when it got summery-hot were excruciating because no one has air conditioning.)

It's easier to get around here in Dallas, and it's cheaper to go out, so these two things in combination mean you get out of the house and do things far more painlessly. I could never park when I went out in SF. The BART didn't go anywhere, and the J-train was terrible and unreliable. My commute from Noe to the Embarcadero, though only a few miles, took absolutely forever -- upwards of 30 minutes, which is the same as my 20 mile commute now.

I travel a lot, and living in Dallas makes most of the country accessible to me in a day trip, which means I have to stay overnight for business much less often. I can catch the 6am to most major cities and be back on a night-time flight, and though it's a long day, it means I can sleep in my own bed and wake up and get my kids to school in the morning.

It's not just cost of living and cost of housing -- it's quality of life for what you can afford. I imagine I would be able to buy a nice, small townhouse or condo, probably <1,000 sq ft, in SF right now. Here I can have a house of 4-5,000 sq ft, with a good yard, and a great swimming pool. Now that my kids are a little older, they spend the entire summer in the swimming pool and have a blast. We live in a great neighborhood with a lot of kids! I never saw any kids in San Francisco -- only babies and toddlers in Noe Valley, before their parents wised up and moved out of the city. Here, my kids can have playdates and walk to their friends' houses in the neighborhood, and I don't even worry a little bit. I can also send my kids to public school, which saves $25K per kid per year. We use that money to have terrific family vacations and to save for college instead.

I love raising a family here. Probably half of my friends still live in the Bay Area, and they are struggling more than I am with family life. I think California and San Francisco life are structurally very difficult for families.

[skyao]

I think this sums it up well. The cost of living is the main factor - this is even more crucial if you have children and you value having a big home.

It also depends what line of business you are employed in. If you are in tech and switch jobs or get laid off, Dallas wont have as many opportunities as the Bay Area. That alone causes many tech focused people from leaving the Bay Area.

Otherwise go for it..

Originally Posted by styron

I moved from the Bay Area to Dallas. I was in Noe Valley, the sunniest part of San Francisco, and it was still cold ALL the time. Very scenic, but I was always freezing. I like the climate better in Dallas. Except for when it gets to be above 95ish, which lasts through 4ish months of the year, it's temperate and livable, and during those times when it does get hot, there is real, working air conditioning - not pitiful little window units - everywhere you go, so you don't really get affected by the heat. (I also lived in the South Bay, and while the weather was generally great there, those couple of months when it got summery-hot were excruciating because no one has air conditioning.)

It's easier to get around here in Dallas, and it's cheaper to go out, so these two things in combination mean you get out of the house and do things far more painlessly. I could never park when I went out in SF. The BART didn't go anywhere, and the J-train was terrible and unreliable. My commute from Noe to the Embarcadero, though only a few miles, took absolutely forever -- upwards of 30 minutes, which is the same as my 20 mile commute now.

I travel a lot, and living in Dallas makes most of the country accessible to me in a day trip, which means I have to stay overnight for business much less often. I can catch the 6am to most major cities and be back on a night-time flight, and though it's a long day, it means I can sleep in my own bed and wake up and get my kids to school in the morning.

It's not just cost of living and cost of housing -- it's quality of life for what you can afford. I imagine I would be able to buy a nice, small townhouse or condo, probably <1,000 sq ft, in SF right now. Here I can have a house of 4-5,000 sq ft, with a good yard, and a great swimming pool. Now that my kids are a little older, they spend the entire summer in the swimming pool and have a blast. We live in a great neighborhood with a lot of kids! I never saw any kids in San Francisco -- only babies and toddlers in Noe Valley, before their parents wised up and moved out of the city. Here, my kids can have playdates and walk to their friends' houses in the neighborhood, and I don't even worry a little bit. I can also send my kids to public school, which saves $25K per kid per year. We use that money to have terrific family vacations and to save for college instead.

I love raising a family here. Probably half of my friends still live in the Bay Area, and they are struggling more than I am with family life. I think California and San Francisco life are structurally very difficult for families.

[pepper131]

Btw....
Hail the size of melons = everyone in the Bay Area is a naked hippie.
Just not true.

[TrueDat]

It's not as if California is free from natural disasters.

And, remember, Californians (and others) tend to exaggerate the supposed evils of Texas, even if they've never set foot beyond the DFW airport or have never been here at all. They tend to conflate all the worst stereotypes of the South and the Wild West into one Lone Star horror movie: you'll be melted by a demon sun during the day, chased by vicious tornados at night, all the while dodging tireless evangelicals and trigger-happy vigilantes. And, woe unto you if you're a registered Democrat.

Yes, if you've only known the relatively mild climate of NoCal, the thunderstorms, heat, and (occasional) tornado siren can take some getting used to. (Though if you've spent much time in Sacramento or inland California, Dallas is a bit closer to that weather-wise.) And, yes, if you're addicted to California's natural environment, you may go through withdrawals here. As a former Californian, I can relate. But always take what Californians say about Texas (and vice-versa) with a few boxes of Morton salt.

[Willsson]

What other great benefits would I inherit moving from California to Dallas?

DFW is a couple of hours closer to anything east of the Rockies than is the Bay. Including London and Paris.