What is attracting California and west coast folks to DFW? (Dallas: cheap house, buying)

[karenyvonne]

I am moving to the area to be closer to family and real estate is about 1/3 the price it is in Silicon Valley in CA.

[_Charles_]

I personally know of IT professionals making $100k a year in the Bay Area and they cannot buy a home unless they are willing to settle for a shoe box of a condo. 600 square feet for $400k, if they can find it - if you have kids forget it.

[Mom2TwoBoys]

Yes, there are some beautiful places out there and the weather is fantastic. However, we were both working 60+ hrs a week and didn't have much time to enjoy it anyway. Here I have the option to be a stay at home mom, send our children to great schools, save for our and their futures, and still enjoy vacations to CA and anywhere else in the world (and we do take advatage of it and take frequent trips both domestic and international at least 2-3x per year). We have the best of both worlds here - get to live in a place that is great for our family, and also can afford to visit anywhere else we want to and really get to enjoy those places too.

DH got a great job offer here so we did some research, visited, and really liked it. We were also expecting our first child and felt like Dallas was a much better place to raise children. Most people we knew in San Jose were dual income, no kids. And while there were some beautiful hiking trails, mountains, etc, not many were child-friendly, in our opinion. Here in Dallas, even though the weather is hot, we feel like there are many more places for our children to go play and explore.

So what attracted us to Dallas were:

much higher standard of living for just a little less in pay (in our situation),
schools and other programs for children here,
family-oriented atmosphere,
timely, attractive job offer.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by _Charles_

I personally know of IT professionals making $100k a year in the Bay Area and they cannot buy a home unless they are willing to settle for a shoe box of a condo. 600 square feet for $400k, if they can find it - if you have kids forget it.

I also know several folks in the $100K+ salary range in the Bay Area. The housing crunch has finally landed squarely in the Bay. All the money there was shielding it a bit, but things have begun to come down. One of my friends there is looking at about 900-1000 sq ft for $350K - so the prices are certainly becoming "relatively more affordable".

I'm still not moving there. The thought sends chills down my spine. I like visiting the Bay, but it is certainly not the place for me to live. I love the central location of Dallas - 3 hours by plane to either coast. Short flight to Cozumel via a direct flight. Lots of restaurants. Spacious homes for the money. A much more diversified economy. No state income tax. Yup! I'm staying right where I am, and will continue to pay extra on my home, max out my 401K and IRA and still be able to enjoy life.

Brian

[DWong]

For all of y'all CA haters.... here's a article bout our teacher's keeping their jobs as of today!
Thank goodnesS!

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Districts tearing up teachers' pink slips

[5stones]

we live in the bay area from 1991-1997. (lafayette) and I loved it. San Fran is one of my favorite cities in the US.


When I became pregnant with #2 our little 2 bedroom bungalo that we rented (1100sqft...GOOD size) was being sold for re-developement (condo complex) so we decided to try and buy a house... NO way. The small houses in our area were about 1000-1500 sqft and starting at 280k for fixer uppers...ie dumps(back in 1996).

So, we changed jobs...moved to PA and I could quit work and stay home wiht my kids. Bought a nice older home and was paying less in monthy mortgage than we were in rent in CA.

NOw we are in TX after living in the DC area and while for us jobs isn't a factor (govt worker) the cost of living is. Not having to live paycheck to paycheck is wonderful, staying home with my kids is invaluable.

yeah, the scenery here isn't the prettiest in the county...but with the cost of living we can take many nice vacations!!

AS I have said to many govt friends... Where else in the country can you have affordable housing, plenty of jobs, and GOOD schools. not many. For 200k a family of 4-5 can live in a nice newer home, have good schools for the kids, low crime, and not be driving over an hour in traffic for work.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by Debsi

So what's your point? It is impossible to remove those two integral factors from the equation of where to live!

Point being, if you're the 5% of Californians who can afford it here, they would stay.
Otherwise, you're living in a shoebox here
I spend 10 years living check to check in a box, but it takes a while to turn things around here. It's not a good place for fresh out of college or those w/ little to no capital.

It's tough and the CA dreamin... is well.. a dream for 95% of the population.... good luck to those coming here.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by karenyvonne

I am moving to the area to be closer to family and real estate is about 1/3 the price it is in Silicon Valley in CA.

Another one chaulking it up to low cost of living...
From what I'm reading, it's almost the sole reason

[DWong]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

I also know several folks in the $100K+ salary range in the Bay Area. The housing crunch has finally landed squarely in the Bay. All the money there was shielding it a bit, but things have begun to come down. One of my friends there is looking at about 900-1000 sq ft for $350K - so the prices are certainly becoming "relatively more affordable".

I'm still not moving there. The thought sends chills down my spine. I like visiting the Bay, but it is certainly not the place for me to live. I love the central location of Dallas - 3 hours by plane to either coast. Short flight to Cozumel via a direct flight. Lots of restaurants. Spacious homes for the money. A much more diversified economy. No state income tax. Yup! I'm staying right where I am, and will continue to pay extra on my home, max out my 401K and IRA and still be able to enjoy life.

Brian

You're right on there. 900sq for 350k? Wow that's a deal!
It is a hard place to live out here and work. No state income, but property taxes makes it a wash there. Diverse economy I would have to agree.. CA has almost become a 3rd world country in my opinion....
1. largest gap between rich and poor
2. high cost of housing
3. largest growing economy is low paying service
4. whites are a minority in CA
5. Our state gov is learning on socialism/communism
6. Corrput public officials everywhere (prob b/c they barely make ends meet too)

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by DWong

No state income, but property taxes makes it a wash there.

Ok, tossing down the BS card here.

To get the same home I have in CA, I'd have to spend $700K+, which would mean $7K/year in property taxes. I'd also pay income taxes.

In TX, my home's property taxes are $5500 and I have absolutely zero income tax.