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No it is not. That's your opinion of it. Dallas had real segregation in the past and was a super violent city through the '90s but somehow it's worse now? No.
Did I say anything about Jim Crow era racial segregation or inner city gang and drug violence from the 90's, that was a legacy of the crack epidemic that swept through major cities across America in the 80's? No. I'm talking about present day SNOBBISHNESS (which absolutely does make class divisions worse) in DFW, which is even evident all over this very forum. Nice attempt at a diversion, though.
Last edited by NoClueWho; 08-02-2016 at 01:48 PM..
What bothers me is the attitude, e.g. "Well if they'd only gone to a better school/studied more/got a better job/made more money/etc. then they could afford dotdotdot...."
In the meantime, someone has to teach the kids (and teachers at private schools favored by the elite usually make less than public schoolteachers), police the streets, drive the ambulances, put pills in prescription bottles, draw blood for tests, work the front office at the doctor, etc. These are all jobs that require education beyond high school, jobs that are generally well-respected, and jobs that are necessary for the first-world lifestyle we all enjoy...but these people are also getting priced out of Dallas's core if they want a safe neighborhood with good schools. How DARE they make less money? I mean, really...how DARE they?
Exactly. I felt even sorrier for the poor lady after I read some of the disgusting responses she received in the thread.
Last edited by NoClueWho; 08-02-2016 at 01:40 PM..
You disagreed that DFW is about double what it costs in other areas of the Midwest. Here is how much I paid for things in Kansas City vs what I pay in Arlington. Arlington is close to FW and Dallas, but it SUCKS compared to KC. It's probably one of the most bland, uninteresting, and boring cities I've ever lived. I would have a better experience in Dallas or Fort Worth, but I work in Arlington, so it makes more sense to live here. Also, my rent would be over $1200/mo in a safe part of Dallas or FW. Honestly, there isn't much in DFW that I couldn't get in KC (besides the nice DFW airport and having several malls instead of just a handful).
Car insurance: $75 KC $125 DFW
Electric (summer): 660kWh KC 1100kWh DFW
Rent: $650 (2br) KC $1000 (1br) DFW
Gasoline: Usually 10-15c per gallon cheaper in KC
Obviously this is just my personal experience. I'm sure others might find KC more expensive depending on their living situation. I think the biggest difference I've noticed is rent prices. In Kansas City, cheaper rentals weren't unsafe, they were just older and in a less desirable location. In Arlington, any 1br for less than $800 will get your car broken into.
I got a $4000 raise from Kansas City. But it costs me at least $4000/year more to live here.
I honestly don't really have anything against DFW. It's got some great qualities, but it just doesn't do anything for me. I visisted the area after I had accepted my job offer here (dumb, I know) and I already knew it wasn't going to be the place for me long term. Overall, the area doesn't have much character and feels like one huge suburb with strip centers that constantly expand. It's easily one of the most drab areas I've ever visited/lived in.
I feel your pain. The Metroplex certainly is very generic and aesthetically limited. It's the epitome of what I dislike about american development of too many metro areas (forever expanding outward with cookie cutter, treeless neighborhoods and strip malls that seem to reproduce like gremlins).
If I were you, I'd look to move to central FW or Dallas.
Well you must have been reading a different thread then. In the one I read, the original poster mentioned Plano, but was open to suggestions in other areas as well, including suggestions that you made. But the OP mostly got attacked and ganged up on for being a teacher and daring to expect to live in a decent neighborhood with safe affordable homes.
Now, you are accusing people who make professional salaries and seek nice, safe, affordable housing of feeling "entitled," but that's the other thing about the rapidly growing cost of living in DFW; it's breeding a lot of snobbishness and class division. For instance, the folks on here being sarcastic about living in a $650,000+ 50 year old home in an upper class enclave like Southlake vs. a $250,000 or less, cheaper made, 50 year old home in a less desirable area within, say, Dallas city limits.
There's a HUGE difference between "the hood" and "a specific spot in a specific suburb and only if it's a specific type of house".
Since you referenced a specific 'burb - yes, I live in Southlake now, but in the past we've lived in much smaller and less expensive places. Heck, when we first moved down here we rented a 2BR apt. in North Dallas (near Addison) that now rents for $800/month. It wasn't fancy by any stretch, but it was safe enough. And yes, we had a kid then who attended public school. Somehow we endured.
Just went on a realtor website, and it brought up 66 homes in Plano at under $325,000, all with 3+BR, 2+ BA, and over 2,000sf. 42 of those are in the Plano Sr. feeder zone, apparently, the rest in Plano East. Yes, I'm sure some of them are less-than-perfect and all but one were built before 2000, but we're also talking about one of the very top school districts in all of DFW.
When we lived Up North, we lived in a house built in the late 60's, and no, it wasn't in a "fancy" area (heck, the high school wasn't as good as Plano East), but it was a perfectly nice, middle-to-upper-middle-class area, and the home was hardly about to collapse. We never felt that we were suffering or having to "make do". Oh, and can I add that my commute was over an hour each way? Our financial situation then was probably not that much different than the teachers in that other thread. And we never thought of that as temporary until "things got better"; that's where we expected to live until we retired, and we were very happy to be there.
A $300,000 house with 20% down, 2.5% property taxes and a 3.75% 30 year mortgage should have a PITI of just about $2,000/month - 24% of a gross of 100K. That should be well within a family's ability to budget. I'm sorry that the days of brand new $250K 3,000sf homes in the "destination" suburbs of DFW are gone, but it's ridiculous to expect that that was going to continue forever in a rapidly growing metro area that is one of the 5 or so largest in the country.
On another board at another time we could have discussions about income inequality, home price increases relative to median incomes, and a slew of other issues. I'm rather sympathetic on many of those issues. But the idea that a family earning 100K can't somehow find a good home in a good area is absurd. No, they can't find a large new home in a highly desirable area, but that's a different story.
There's a HUGE difference between "the hood" and "a specific spot in a specific suburb and only if it's a specific type of house".
Since you referenced a specific 'burb - yes, I live in Southlake now, but in the past we've lived in much smaller and less expensive places. Heck, when we first moved down here we rented a 2BR apt. in North Dallas (near Addison) that now rents for $800/month. It wasn't fancy by any stretch, but it was safe enough. And yes, we had a kid then who attended public school. Somehow we endured.
Just went on a realtor website, and it brought up 66 homes in Plano at under $325,000, all with 3+BR, 2+ BA, and over 2,000sf. 42 of those are in the Plano Sr. feeder zone, apparently, the rest in Plano East. Yes, I'm sure some of them are less-than-perfect and all but one were built before 2000, but we're also talking about one of the very top school districts in all of DFW.
When we lived Up North, we lived in a house built in the late 60's, and no, it wasn't in a "fancy" area (heck, the high school wasn't as good as Plano East), but it was a perfectly nice, middle-to-upper-middle-class area, and the home was hardly about to collapse. We never felt that we were suffering or having to "make do". Oh, and can I add that my commute was over an hour each way? Our financial situation then was probably not that much different than the teachers in that other thread. And we never thought of that as temporary until "things got better"; that's where we expected to live until we retired, and we were very happy to be there.
A $300,000 house with 20% down, 2.5% property taxes and a 3.75% 30 year mortgage should have a PITI of just about $2,000/month - 24% of a gross of 100K. That should be well within a family's ability to budget. I'm sorry that the days of brand new $250K 3,000sf homes in the "destination" suburbs of DFW are gone, but it's ridiculous to expect that that was going to continue forever in a rapidly growing metro area that is one of the 5 or so largest in the country.
On another board at another time we could have discussions about income inequality, home price increases relative to median incomes, and a slew of other issues. I'm rather sympathetic on many of those issues. But the idea that a family earning 100K can't somehow find a good home in a good area is absurd. No, they can't find a large new home in a highly desirable area, but that's a different story.
I wish I could rep you multiple times. You conveyed that perfectly. At the end of the day, it's all about perspective. I'm sure everyone would love to live in the nicest house in the hottest new suburb / exurb, but that's just not reality for many budgets. It's fine to strive for more and want the best bang for the buck, but it's also important to be content with current circumstances and adjust expectations accordingly based on your circumstances.
There is definitely a culture of "new" promulgated by the clever marketing of many area builders that distort buyers' expectations by causing them to think the acceptable homes are the homes in the area they're marketing with the amenities in the model home. Unfortunately, that's just not in budget for some. Then, instead of pivoting to something that is in budget, it can become more of a "what are things so expensive" or "we can't find a good home" sob story. I'd amend that to "we can't find a brand new Darling home within our budget."
Strive for the best you can afford comfortably, but be realistic on what that is and know it might not be what's in a more expensive home, magazine or HGTV show. Reassess when/if your situation improves in the future.
Now, you are accusing people who make professional salaries and seek nice, safe, affordable housing of feeling "entitled," but that's the other thing about the rapidly growing cost of living in DFW; it's breeding a lot of snobbishness and class division. For instance, the folks on here being sarcastic about living in a $650,000+ 50 year old home in an upper class enclave like Southlake vs. a $250,000 or less, cheaper made, 50 year old home in a less desirable area within, say, Dallas city limits.
Not sure about anyone else, but I'd much rather have an older home. My parents bought a new house a few years ago in NC. Super shoddy building. I'd imagine it would be even worse here in Texas where they are putting houses up in a matter of weeks.
I guess the only bad thing about an older home is that work might need to be done, and some older neighborhoods look dated.
Exactly. I felt even sorrier for the poor lady after I read some of the disgusting responses she received in the thread.
Yeah, I felt like some people were being kind of harsh. To an outsider, Dallas is built up as the land of dirt-cheap housing with jobs-a-plenty. Nobody talks about the flipside: a white hot housing market, epic traffic jams, spiraling utility costs, crappy commute times, and sometimes intense competition (in some industries) for jobs with crappy-to-no-benefits. I don't think any of that made it into the latest caption blurb on some stupid Forbes list.
The cold hard truth is that salaries haven't kept up with inflation and housing costs around here. (Probably not anywhere else, either.) A lot of us are lucky to get a measly COL increase each year, and it's below inflation...so each year, you basically make less money. If housing costs are going up 5-10% each year and your salary goes up 1.5-2% each year and you've waited on the sidelines since 2009 to buy AND your budget is less than $350k, you've missed the cheap-new-build-with-reasonable-commute boat.
However, there's plenty of sub-$350k options in Plano, Richardson, and some nice areas of Dallas with great schools. They may not come with 3k sq ft, granite counters, and a media room....but that's life.
Not sure about anyone else, but I'd much rather have an older home. My parents bought a new house a few years ago in NC. Super shoddy building. I'd imagine it would be even worse here in Texas where they are putting houses up in a matter of weeks.
I guess the only bad thing about an older home is that work might need to be done, and some older neighborhoods look dated.
Older doesn't always mean better. It can and at times does, but there are certainly well built houses today.
I guess the only bad thing about an older home is that work might need to be done, and some older neighborhoods look dated.
Work?! History?! <gasp> clutches pearls....
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