Moving to the Dallas area from Lincoln, NE-any tips would be appreciated! (Houston: apartment, to rent)

[nicci8702]

Hello all! My husband, pets and I are needing a new adventure and relocating to the DFW area has come up more than once. We are having trouble gathering information about which area would suit us best.
A little about us: We are both post-college, but seeking employment where it can be found. We have no children but three cats and a rabbit, so pet friendly areas are a must. We are both in our late 20's. We're looking for an area that will have a smaller feel than that of Lincoln,NE (pop around 250,000). The city feels stuffy at times, but we're still wanting to be near the convenience of the city. Wherever we end up, will hopefully be a long term place for us, as we're also looking to start a family.

I've been told the cost of living is on par/sometimes less than here in Lincoln, which is a huge plus for us.

We would most likely be renting an apartment or small house for quite some time when we arrive, so the housing market isn't of immediate concern, however still something to consider.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by nicci8702

Hello all! My husband, pets and I are needing a new adventure and relocating to the DFW area has come up more than once. We are having trouble gathering information about which area would suit us best.
A little about us: We are both post-college, but seeking employment where it can be found. We have no children but three cats and a rabbit, so pet friendly areas are a must. We are both in our late 20's. We're looking for an area that will have a smaller feel than that of Lincoln,NE (pop around 250,000). The city feels stuffy at times, but we're still wanting to be near the convenience of the city. Wherever we end up, will hopefully be a long term place for us, as we're also looking to start a family.

I've been told the cost of living is on par/sometimes less than here in Lincoln, which is a huge plus for us.

We would most likely be renting an apartment or small house for quite some time when we arrive, so the housing market isn't of immediate concern, however still something to consider.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

DFW doesn't have a smaller feel than a city of 250k. Some of our suburbs are bigger than that. The area itself is bigger than some states. Our population is over 6 million, maybe 7 million by now.

I don't know what you mean by "convenience of the city" but if you want to be anywhere near Dallas itself, you'll be in the thick of suburbia with all of its noise and heavy traffic.

Are you sure you want to move here?

[TurtleCreek80]

You know you're posting on the Dallas forum, right? NOTHING in the DFW metroplex is going to feel or cost similar to Lincoln, Nebraska.

A 2-br apartment is going to cost $800 & UP to live in an area that is safe to walk around in. A house is going to cost $1500/mo & up to rent in an ok area....if you can even find one! It is difficult to ind any houses to buy that are zoned to good schools for under $225k....most areas with good schools are closer to $300k and up. Annual property taxes on said $225k house are close to $5,000 each year. There are freeways and tollroads running through every corner of the metroplex.

There are upwards of 7 million people here- a huge portion of which were born in Mexico, Latin America, Asia, and Africa (nothing wrong with being a melting pot city, but that are doesn't look like 83% white Lincoln, Nebraska) - covering a huge sprawling land mass.

If you move far enough out to where life is slower & quaint (Kaufman County, for example), you're looking at 2-3 hours per day in a car to drive into Dallas if that's where your jobs are.

If you want affordable cost of living & smaller town Texas, I'd not look at any major city bigger than San Antonio (no Dallas-Fort Worth Austin, Houston for you). You may want to look into Bryan-College Station, Denton (about 1 hour north of Dallas in non rush-hour traffic), Sherman, Tyler, Amarillo, etc.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

DFW doesn't have a smaller feel than a city of 250k. Some of our suburbs are bigger than that. The area itself is bigger than some states. Our population is over 6 million, maybe 7 million by now.

I don't know what you mean by "convenience of the city" but if you want to be anywhere near Dallas itself, you'll be in the thick of suburbia with all of its noise and heavy traffic.

Are you sure you want to move here?

Jinx!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Jinx!

GMTA!

[nicci8702]

Thank you for the information! Allow me to clarify, we're not looking to be IN Dallas or Fort Worth but near by. I am seeking information about suburbs that would be affordable and safe for a family just starting out.

The Dallas area may end up not being the right place for us, but I am just seeking information. (Lincoln may be fairly "white" but there is a huge amount of diversity here due to the University being in town).

Thanks again.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by nicci8702

Thank you for the information! Allow me to clarify, we're not looking to be IN Dallas or Fort Worth but near by. I am seeking information about suburbs that would be affordable and safe for a family just starting out.

The Dallas area may end up not being the right place for us, but I am just seeking information. (Lincoln may be fairly "white" but there is a huge amount of diversity here due to the University being in town).

Thanks again.

You haven't given us a whole lot to work with, to be honest.

We don't know what you do. What your budget is. What you're looking for, apart from "affordable suburb that feels smaller than Lincoln, Nebraska."

Also, please clarify what "near by" means to you. I'm relatively close to downtown Dallas...I live in Richardson, about 15 miles north of downtown. Much closer to it than, say, McKinney...but someone who lives south of Mockingbird Lane in Dallas would think I live in Siberia.

We can't answer vague questions.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by nicci8702

Thank you for the information! Allow me to clarify, we're not looking to be IN Dallas or Fort Worth but near by. I am seeking information about suburbs that would be affordable and safe for a family just starting out.

The Dallas area may end up not being the right place for us, but I am just seeking information. (Lincoln may be fairly "white" but there is a huge amount of diversity here due to the University being in town).

Thanks again.

To piggyback on your original post (and as BigDGeek and TurtleCreek80 have said), unless you're planning on working from home, any suburbs with a "smallish" feel will require a 45-60 minute commute each way to where the bulk of the jobs are. That gets old really fast. I think you may be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by looking at DFW. Maybe try OKC? It's considerably smaller.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by nicci8702

Thank you for the information! Allow me to clarify, we're not looking to be IN Dallas or Fort Worth but near by. I am seeking information about suburbs that would be affordable and safe for a family just starting out.

The Dallas area may end up not being the right place for us, but I am just seeking information. (Lincoln may be fairly "white" but there is a huge amount of diversity here due to the University being in town).

Thanks again.

You won't be able to live somewhere quaint and commute into downtown , uptown , Las Colinas, Plano (the major job centers in DFW) without signing up for spending 90-120 minutes and up to $10/day in tolls commuting every day. I'm sure near Lincoln, you can live out in the sticks and have a leisurely commute into downtown, but not in the Dallas area.

The suburbs are HUGE here- literally Arlington is bigger than Lincoln's population by a wide margin, Collin County's (Plano-Frisco-Allen-McKinney suburbs) population is about 800,000....you really can't tell as your passing from the north Dallas neighborhoods into Collin County except everything is newer. There are just as many people, cars, etc.

Also, you have mentioned affordable twice....the rent and home prices I mentioned ARE for suburbs, not the city of Dallas. What is your rent/buy budget? Based on the info on city-data about Lincoln, the average rent is going to be about 50% higher here and the home prices 50-100% higher.

Have you visited here before?

[RJ312]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I'm relatively close to downtown Dallas...I live in Richardson, about 15 miles north of downtown. Much closer to it than, say, McKinney...but someone who lives south of Mockingbird Lane in Dallas would think I live in Siberia.

We can't answer vague questions.

I notice this a lot with some people who live in Uptown. There are people who live in Uptown who will rarely leave Uptown. You are right, to a person who lives in Uptown and rarely leaves it, Richardson is like Siberia.