Is Texas (DFW) REALLY cheaper to live? (Dallas, Plano: new home, good schools)

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Geeze Louise! Back to topic.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Geeze Louise! Back to topic.

Agreed, and thank you

[Moey91]

I moved from Illinois and I moved for the sole reason that its cheaper to live here. I was living in the south suburbs of Chicago, and now I'm in a Dallas suburb so life is pretty much the same. HOWEVER, you have to figure out what your highest costs are.

For me, renting the same amount of space (850 sqft apt) in Chicago was $995+$100 in electric. Here I am paying $700 for the same apartment size and $100 in electric.

Groceries cost less because the tax is lower, and the prices on the meat are lower. However, beer and wine are more expensive. Not a big deal for me because I only have wine on occasion.

Gas in the car is considerably less as well.

Many people don't think it's much of a saving, but I'm on a tight budget, and my money goes a lot farther here!

[SS 376]

We moved from LA and I'll just say what we save in not paying state income tax, standing alone, covers my mortgage.
My back of the napkin calculations:

Prepared food - cheaper by 20-40%
Groceries - cheaper by 5-10%
Gas - cheaper by 20-30%
Real estate - cheaper by 50+% (compounded by the mortgage interest deduction and exemption of capital gains tax on sales of your primary residence)
Education (private school, state university) - cheaper by 20-30%

I don't think there is any kind of math that you could do that would make Texas anywhere near as expensive as any place like SF, LA, NY, etc. The difference is a lot smaller if you're not coming from a high cost of living area like that though.

I think the other thing maybe people aren't fully aware of is that you can keep your tax burden pretty flat here for 10-15+ years if you don't move to a bigger house. You can't do that in a state that taxes your income--your tax burden just keeps going up and up if your income keeps going up. We did the math, and if we just conservatively invested the money we otherwise would've paid in California income tax, it added up to over a million dollars by the time we retired. I think that speaks for itself.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by SS 376

We moved from LA and I'll just say what we save in not paying state income tax, standing alone, covers my mortgage.
My back of the napkin calculations:

Prepared food - cheaper by 20-40%
Groceries - cheaper by 5-10%
Gas - cheaper by 20-30%
Real estate - cheaper by 50+% (compounded by the mortgage interest deduction and exemption of capital gains tax on sales of your primary residence)
Education (private school, state university) - cheaper by 20-30%

I don't think there is any kind of math that you could do that would make Texas anywhere near as expensive as any place like SF, LA, NY, etc. The difference is a lot smaller if you're not coming from a high cost of living area like that though.

I think the other thing maybe people aren't fully aware of is that you can keep your tax burden pretty flat here for 10-15+ years if you don't move to a bigger house. You can't do that in a state that taxes your income--your tax burden just keeps going up and up if your income keeps going up. We did the math, and if we just conservatively invested the money we otherwise would've paid in California income tax, it added up to over a million dollars by the time we retired. I think that speaks for itself.

Well I am from MA, and I consider that a high cost of living area..Well I did anyway. But my back of the napkin calcs don't look like yours. I mean I can make it cheaper to live down there if I don't get a 3500 square foot house, which seems to be the norm. And keeping in mind, I need it with 3 kids and being used to having a basement. I can't see having any less...Anyway, other than the income tax I can't find how it's that much cheaper to move there.

[Pierre-paul]

For professional reasons I wasn't able to make the move to Dallas, but I ran all the numbers and I would have saved alot of money moving to Dallas (assuming I'd find a comparable job). The biggest savings would have been right off the top. I can sell my tiny 50-year-old run-down 1,200 sq ft house in Montreal for $450,000, and we'd be more than comfortable in a new $300,000 house in the Dallas suburbs. After moving expenses and closing costs, I'd have more than $100,000 in my pocket and I'd have a major increase in comfort and standard of living.

[happycrow]

My rundown 50-yr old 2600 sf-er in Irving would probably go for about 130k, and be right on a number of peoples' solid commutes. Most city-data forum residents would rather chew off their own legs than live in a middle-class neighborhood like I do, but considering that you could double your footprint and put better than 300k in the bank in the process, I'm surprised more people don't go for it.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by happycrow

My rundown 50-yr old 2600 sf-er in Irving would probably go for about 130k, and be right on a number of peoples' solid commutes. Most city-data forum residents would rather chew off their own legs than live in a middle-class neighborhood like I do, but considering that you could double your footprint and put better than 300k in the bank in the process, I'm surprised more people don't go for it.

Some people can't because they have children they need space. Not always that simple as you make it sound

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by skids929

Some people can't because they have children they need space. Not always that simple as you make it sound

I can think of two families we know - one has one child and lives in a ~1,300 sq ft. house in a middle class neighborhood, the other has 2 kids, lives in a ~2,200 sq ft house in a middle class neighborhood, but is looking to downsize to a 1,300 sq ft. house in a similar neighborhood. Their lives are just fine, thankyouverymuch, other than the normal annoyances everybody has to put up with.

Remember that many of us posting here (yourself included, IIRC) are in favorable financial circumstances compared to most of the population, which is all well and good, but we should remember that it's not that one "can't" do something, but rather we choose not to. If one is fortunate enough to be able to live in a "nicer" area in a larger home, they shouldn't take it for granted or assume that it's the only option.

Sorry, but it's a pet peeve of mine. I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, but I've heard way too many people (usually in financial/budgeting situations) claim they "can't" do something when the truth is that they don't want to. There's a huge difference between "need" and "want", and way too many people (at all income levels) fail to grasp that.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by skids929

Well I am from MA, and I consider that a high cost of living area..Well I did anyway. But my back of the napkin calcs don't look like yours. I mean I can make it cheaper to live down there if I don't get a 3500 square foot house, which seems to be the norm. And keeping in mind, I need it with 3 kids and being used to having a basement. I can't see having any less...Anyway, other than the income tax I can't find how it's that much cheaper to move there.

I forget - are you in rural-ish MA or near Boston? Also note that Boston is high cost of living but not as much as Cali or NYC or DC.