Relocating from WA to Dallas (Irving, Carrollton: apartment, rent, insurance)

[MFamily3]

Hi there! My family of three are interested in moving to the Dallas area. We are an interracial couple in our mid-20’s, with a mixed baby, so we are looking for a suburb that’s diverse and safe for young children. Our budget is $350k, but are willing to stay in an apartment at first. Please leave your feedback on what the best areas are so we can “house-search”! Thank you.

[WorldKlas]

The best area is somewhere that’s a good commute to your job. DFW traffic can be very congested. But, FYI, the city of Irving is one of the most diverse in the US.

[Aeliza]

I recently moved from WA to DFW. I don't have young kids, so schools and such aren't a concern for me. Moving here has been a huge adjustment. That said, there are some positives: traffic flows better here (drivers are worse); gas, groceries, and utilities are cheaper; rent is more affordable; and although home prices have risen here, they are more affordable overall than the West Coast. Some mention the property taxes here but I don't see any higher than WA. I believe both states make up for the lack of a state tax through property taxes. I'd be more concerned with foundations here and what to me is extreme weather. Insurance is higher here. The homeless issue isn't even comparable to the West Coast. Sadly, the homeless litter on the West Coast whereas alot of residents and the homeless litter here. I've never seen anything like it. That's not saying residents in WA don't litter or that everyone here does. It's just something I've noticed.

I love the subtropical plants that grow here and the wildflowers are beautiful.

There have been a handful of nice days since I've been here, today included, but otherwise its been either blazing hot or raining unlike any rain I experienced in WA (flash floods). Also, it smells when it rains here. Expect to spend a lot of time indoors.

My family is multi-racial. I haven't seen much of that here, and while I haven't encountered any issues, I'd classify most as self-segregating. Very different than the West Coast in that regard. Again though, we've had no issues. This is a major metro. Just different.

For me, there's not alot to do in DFW. I think one of my Lyft drivers said it best: Dallas isn't a city for tourists, it's a city for living a day-to-day life. When you want a break from the mundane, good luck. After you've seen the museums and arboretum, there's not much else to do besides eat and shop. Not trying to bash DFW, just my experience. I'm grateful for the Ft Worth Japanese Garden. I spend a lot of time there.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

The best area is somewhere that’s a good commute to your job. DFW traffic can be very congested. But, FYI, the city of Irving is one of the most diverse in the US.

100% agree. DFW is absolutely car-centric and highly spread out. You will likely strongly prefer to live near work, if at all possible. Otherwise, a 90 minute one-way commute is not out of the realm of possibility.

Originally Posted by Aeliza

...For me, there's not alot to do in DFW. I think one of my Lyft drivers said it best: Dallas isn't a city for tourists, it's a city for living a day-to-day life. When you want a break from the mundane, good luck. After you've seen the museums and arboretum, there's not much else to do besides eat and shop. Not trying to bash DFW, just my experience. I'm grateful for the Ft Worth Japanese Garden. I spend a lot of time there.

While I think there are options if you put your mind to it, I can't 100% disagree with the above based on my 5 years here. Besides the mentioned museums and arboretum, the options will take a bit more searching (but we all seem to get by...)

The above said, if your job is on the north side of the city, Richardson and Carrollton have some diversity. Use a small amount of caution as a few neighborhoods can start trending slightly sketchy, but both have nice neighborhoods too.

[turf3]

Until you tell people where you will be working, all recommendations will be moot. DFW is larger than Connecticut. You'll want to spend some time with a map first, to understand the areas around where your job will be located. Bad choices could easily put you in the car for four hours a day.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by Aeliza

There have been a handful of nice days since I've been here, today included, but otherwise its been either blazing hot or raining unlike any rain I experienced in WA (flash floods). Also, it smells when it rains here. Expect to spend a lot of time indoors.

You are right that when it rains here, it rains! But the rain this month and last month have been very unusual, to the point of being the wettest September & October on record. We even reached the lowest mid-October high in the 40s, which is also record breaking. Most Septembers & Octobers are drier, sunnier, and warmer than what we've experienced this year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Dallas

[MarshaBrady1968]

My family is multi-racial. I haven't seen much of that here, and while I haven't encountered any issues, I'd classify most as self-segregating. Very different than the West Coast in that regard. Again though, we've had no issues. This is a major metro. Just different.



I must respectfully disagree with that. My family is bi-racial/multi-racial, and that is ALL you see in my area (Richardson), as well as in a lot of DFW and other large Texas cities. I lived in the PNW for 2 years. While I found the Seattle area to be more diverse than the Portland area by an exponential amount, neither was as diverse as Texas, especially black/white. My husband had to travel pretty far to find a black barber shop in Portland.That would never be the case here.

The Latino (we say Hispanic here, albeit a bit antiquated) population goes without saying. In both my daughters' yearbooks, the name Nguyen (Vietnamese) took up 2 full pages, with Korean names very close to that. I am one of only 2 non-Muslim households on my street. My daughter's group of friends are all half black/half white, except one Hispanic girl and one Muslim girl.

I remember after about 2 weeks in Portland my co-worker said "how do you like it so far?" My response was: "It's beautiful, but all the white people scare the hell out of me' (tongue-in-cheek, but honestly, I just wasn't used to it).

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by MarshaBrady1968

My family is multi-racial. I haven't seen much of that here, and while I haven't encountered any issues, I'd classify most as self-segregating. Very different than the West Coast in that regard. Again though, we've had no issues. This is a major metro. Just different.



I must respectfully disagree with that. My family is bi-racial/multi-racial, and that is ALL you see in my area (Richardson), as well as in a lot of DFW and other large Texas cities. I lived in the PNW for 2 years. While I found the Seattle area to be more diverse than the Portland area by an exponential amount, neither was as diverse as Texas, especially black/white. My husband had to travel pretty far to find a black barber shop in Portland.That would never be the case here.

The Latino (we say Hispanic here, albeit a bit antiquated) population goes without saying. In both my daughters' yearbooks, the name Nguyen (Vietnamese) took up 2 full pages, with Korean names very close to that. I am one of only 2 non-Muslim households on my street. My daughter's group of friends are all half black/half white, except one Hispanic girl and one Muslim girl.

I remember after about 2 weeks in Portland my co-worker said "how do you like it so far?" My response was: "It's beautiful, but all the white people scare the hell out of me' (tongue-in-cheek, but honestly, I just wasn't used to it).

My kids are bi-racial (white/Vietnamese) and there are quite a few other multi-racial families at our daycare. I also see a good mix of races in our neighborhood, which is an older (for Frisco) neighborhood.

[harrishawke]

You'll be back in WA a year after you experience your first Summer in Texas.

[MarshaBrady1968]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

You'll be back in WA a year after you experience your first Summer in Texas.

LOL #truth