So I'm in a very large dilemma, should I leave san diego for Dallas (Plano: houses, job market)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I grew up in Dallas (Plano) and moved to so. cal for college. Lived in San Diego and Orange Co. for 20 years post college. It would definitely be a culture shock to move from CA to TX. When you're used to SD weather, the weather in TX will seem extreme and will limit your outdoor activities. There is a definite "Don't mess with TX" mentality that may be hard to understand unless you are a native. San Diego is much more laid back, Dallas always seemed to be much more image conscious (remember, San Diego is not LA or OC, so yes, I repeat, Dallas has a lot of people who are interested in what you're driving, name brands, big hair and make up). The scenery is flat compared to So. Cal.
If you're into food, Dallas has fantastic restaurants. I still haven't found Tex-Mex (my favorite) anywhere near what you can get in TX. If I'm correct, Dallas is a large test market for stores, so the shopping is very good. I remember moving to CA and waiting 10 years before the Container Store opened in Costa Mesa. I grew up with the Container Store in Dallas!
I moved out of So. Cal. 10 months ago b/c my husband wanted to live somewhere that was more "family friendly". We did a lot of research and used this forum to ask questions and ended up moving to North Carolina b/c it was on all of the "best places to raise a family" lists, lower cost of living, etc. I absolutely regret the move. I'm a CA girl at heart.
You'll never know until you live in an area how you will adjust. My advice would be to visit several times and if you decide to make the move, rent for 6-12 months to see how you and your family adjust. And remember to consider the source of where the advice is coming from. Cal. is a special place and everyone has their biases (I've admitted mine). People who think the weather is fantastic may have previously lived in Massachusetts where they were shoveling snow 4 months out of the year (as an example). I wish you the best of luck!
I also guess that I'm very Anti-suburb! Big house away from the city... so what? People who live in the cities of SoCal, we have a very Anti-suburb feeling about those who move away to get the bigger home and cause us all more traffic. Very boring to me. I prefer urban areas. And why is it housing is so cheap? Supply and Demand? Low demand and high supply = lower prices? Then if that's the case, the demand to move there isn't that great indeed? San Diego does have a small town feel to it which I love, however greater southern CA is nearly 20 million people (yes, 20million nearly the population of all of TX- and that's not adding up the God knows how many illegals we have)... and we all go from one place to another and commute here and there...
My question is... will I be bored... is there something in Dallas that I can grow to love? People who travel there is almost always business... not pleasure... I just want to know more....
You're wise to try to discount the personal and biased opinions you read.
Every American metro area is sprawled. DFW probably has more truly urban area than San Diego.
Well San Diego, LA are becoming more and more downtown areas. Unlike the 80's where sprawl was the thing here, people are moving in droves back to the city. If you take a look at SD, now the majority of the skyscrapers are now residential & hotels. Our downtown isn't just a work place - it's become a mini (yes small but aspring to a New York restaurant scene, just that you can eat outside year round). In fact most of the business moved out of here... CA is NOT a good place to do business such as TX. State income tax, too many laws and regulations... makes it tough to do work here.
No, not as much culture as NYC or LA or Paris or London. Much more culture than smaller metros. We've got a dozen art museums and a dozen or so symphony orchestras in the metro, and plenty of film festivals, art house theatres, wide diversity of musicals and concerts, many ethnic groups represented. We have a Vietnamese radio station, a South asian FM station, things like that.
That's good to know... very interesting b/c I don't think of TX as having that per se.. I always think of people from the midwest moving there (if you look at the population of the midwest, it hasn't grown ...at all and they must be moving somewhere)
Major metro areas everywhere have malls and restaurants everywhere, not just Dallas. The metro has tough, crime-infested neighborhoods and safe neighborhoods, just like anywhere else. Property tax in dollars per capita are lower than more expensive cities because the cost of providing local services is lower. Would you rather pay 1% of $675,000 or 2 1/2% of $170,000?
True true, but CA 25 years ago growing up as very bad bc we grew too quick. Now, LA yes LA behind NY is the 2nd safest large city in the nation, SD is just behind it.
Traffic? It's probably no better than other metros of comparable size. Better than Atlanta, as good (or bad) than Miami, etc., etc. Worse than smaller metros with fewer places to go to.
No mountains visible from the city, but rugged hills to the west of the metro. Many large lakes (and beaches) ringing the metro, typically filled with boaters. Landscape is much greener and wooded compared to SoCal. More diverse weather patterns.
Work-to-work? I see a lot of people partying after work, recreating themselves.
In terms of dollars spent, Texas is maybe the 2nd or 3rd state for the tourism-hospitality industry. DFW has no interest in promoting itself as a tourist trap, but still sells an enormous number of hotel rooms. And in spite of this, in 2007, it had the largest increase in population of any American metro, setting it as the 4th largest metro, after NYC, LA and Chi. All those people moving to Dallas chose it because it was better than anything else.
I've done my research on this, but how it is unique from those other large US cities? And most of the travel done there is for business soley and being a hub for airlines. Yes an increase of population, but reasons being - jobs and cheap housing.... if LA, SD, NY or SF were cheap and had job.. would they choose Dallas (in a way, my question)
If you're happy where you are, and are adjusted to the limited options of a mid-sized American metro, why should you move away? Actually, why are you asking us?
Asking bc my I love opinions and knowledge others have.... it's truly helpful.
I also guess that I'm very Anti-suburb! Big house away from the city... so what? People who live in the cities of SoCal, we have a very Anti-suburb feeling about those who move away to get the bigger home and cause us all more traffic. Very boring to me. I prefer urban areas. And why is it housing is so cheap? Supply and Demand? Low demand and high supply = lower prices? Then if that's the case, the demand to move there isn't that great indeed? San Diego does have a small town feel to it which I love, however greater southern CA is nearly 20 million people (yes, 20million nearly the population of all of TX- and that's not adding up the God knows how many illegals we have)... and we all go from one place to another and commute here and there...
My question is... will I be bored... is there something in Dallas that I can grow to love? People who travel there is almost always business... not pleasure... I just want to know more....
OK, my last post here, this person sounds more like a troll than an honest requester for advice. D/FW is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. To ask why the housing is so cheap and then assert the demand must be low borders on just being stupid. Housing is cheap here because the one thing Texas has more than anything else is land.
I grew up in Southern California and have no idea what you are talking about as far as anti-suburb bias in the cities of SoCal. With the exception of the city of Los Angeles and the city of San Diego, everything else in SoCal IS a suburb. It's only the twits who move to SoCal from Arizona and try to pretend they are natives who would have such a complaint. Nobody sits around bitching about the people who move to big houses in the suburbs and then cause traffic. The traffic is bad everywhere in Southern California. Give me a break.
Again, as I put in a previous post, you do not have a dilemna here. It's obvious you don't want to move here. That's ok! You don't have to! Unless your wife forces you too in which case you can either ***** and moan or embrace it. Not such a dilemna there either....
Yes you're right is is true... people move to where??? The jobs are. However, if it weren't for the jobs now what? Funny, Southern California is filled w/ people who don't work! Who have all the $$$ in the world and had to choice to live anywhere... they pick here. We even have an area of town called lottery row... nothing but lotto winners!
Southern California is losing its middle and upper middle class taxpayers, and receiving an influx of impoverished migrants from the third world. And also a big population boom of children of migrants.
Quote:
Growth and size doesn't mean good though.... b/c w/ growth comes alot of negatives as well...
People will migrate toward the best possible deal for themselves. Popularity means that something is desirable by a vast number of people who, supposedly, can act in their own best interests. Southern California is a pretty good deal for impoverished 3rd world peasants. Dallas is a pretty good deal for disgruntled middle and upper middle class Californians.
Southern California is losing its middle and upper middle class taxpayers, and receiving an influx of impoverished migrants from the third world. And also a big population boom of children of migrants.
People will migrate toward the best possible deal for themselves. Popularity means that something is desirable by a vast number of people who, supposedly, can act in their own best interests. Southern California is a pretty good deal for impoverished 3rd world peasants. Dallas is a pretty good deal for disgruntled middle and upper middle class Californians.
No you're right... I'm still trying to figure out why people move to Southern CA. Very very pricy... jobs are EXTREMELY competitive to get.... poor hard working migrants come here and frankly I don't know how they make it... and our quickest growing jobs are service jobs.... My wife and I are very lucky considering we have decent jobs b/c they don't come around here very often.
OK, my last post here, this person sounds more like a troll than an honest requester for advice. D/FW is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. To ask why the housing is so cheap and then assert the demand must be low borders on just being stupid. Housing is cheap here because the one thing Texas has more than anything else is land.
I grew up in Southern California and have no idea what you are talking about as far as anti-suburb bias in the cities of SoCal. With the exception of the city of Los Angeles and the city of San Diego, everything else in SoCal IS a suburb. It's only the twits who move to SoCal from Arizona and try to pretend they are natives who would have such a complaint. Nobody sits around bitching about the people who move to big houses in the suburbs and then cause traffic. The traffic is bad everywhere in Southern California. Give me a break.
Again, as I put in a previous post, you do not have a dilemna here. It's obvious you don't want to move here. That's ok! You don't have to! Unless your wife forces you too in which case you can either ***** and moan or embrace it. Not such a dilemna there either....
Oh don't get me wrong... if you live in Rivertucky (LA suburb) San Bernardino county another LA suburb... they're the cause for all the traffic in southern CA. People who are willing to commute 45 minutes every day just so they can have the bigger cheaper house and sprawl is what ALL Southern California people hate. We have a saying here.. u go w/ or against the traffic. You're either driving 75 on the freeway going to work or 35 bc u live in a sprawl area and going to work. No people in SD and LA are moving back to the city... bc sprawl sucks.. esp here in SoCal.. it's just life more miserable...
Do I want to move to Dallas?? heck no.... but I'm gonna have to consider my wife's feelings. Here's another thing I notice... Gov positions in CA pay extremely well (ie my wife's elementary teaching position), but in TX they pay very low... however private industry it's pretty much all the same....
just thought I make note of that..
You need to stay where you are. And sit your wife down and tell her that she will make your life a living hell if you move here.
I love Dallas and specifically Murphy, the suburb where I live, but it's quite clear that you will not. Your posts aren't really asking for us to convince you to move, their just a laundry list of things you will be unhappy about here and no answer we give will change your mind.
And with all that, I'd just as soon not have your negativity moving here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
thanks for the honest and open response....
