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So my wife and I are looking to relocate to warmer weather, and it looks like Texas is the place to be for my career (I'm a Software Developer). We really like phoenix, but was told that the economy is just awful down there, especially for my profession. I'm concerned about a possible culture shock for me and my family. We're currently in SLC and fit in pretty well around here. Any advice? Thanks.
Moving from SLC to Dallas might be a culture shock for you from a population standpoint. You would be moving from the 49th largest metropolitan area (about 1.1 million) to the 4th largest metro (about 6.3 million). The city population of SLC is a bit under 200,000 while the city of Dallas has about 1.3 million people and it is surrounded by some mega suburbs, a few of which have over 200,000 people. I'm guessing the traffic would definitely be a culture shock for you.
If you're looking for warmer weather then yes, you're in for a big shock. We call it warm here because... well, sometimes it snows at 33F. If it never gets colder it's been a good winter, snow at 33 is good. Beach water temp hits the 80's in the summer.
But coming from SLC you really want to think frying pan. If the car doesn't have AC get rid of it before you get here.
Is your family LDS? I only know of a couple churches, but I am assuming this is a fairly active area as I see missionaries out quite frequently. I don't think it's a common issue, but there are some people around here that are completely ignorant to LDS. More than once I have heard LDS referred to as "not Christians"
Over all the area is moderate to conservative, I think there might be some culture shock. I think it would definitely be worth a visit first just to scope things out and get a feel for the area.
My brother came to visit from a smaller city in the northeast and had a hard time with the traffic, aggressive drivers, and huge highways. That being said the roads here are laid out in a way that makes travel easy, there is a pretty good grid system and several highways that loop the city.
Oh wow....I wouldn't do it. I'd stay put. Folks are being a little bit subdued when talking about the traffic and weather. The winters will be like summer is to you there probably and the summers, well...a local church once had on their memo board out by the road one July day, "So you think THIS is hot?" Seriously, you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. The summer is brutal here...absolutely BRUTAL and like one other person said, if your car doesn't have A/C get rid of it before you get here. Or even if your car is black, get rid of it. That black color conducts heat and about the time your car starts to cool down you will be home in 1-1/2 hour rush hour traffic each way. Why do they call it rush hour? Nothing moves. Anyway, it WILL be a shock for you. My recommendations for you, especially if you have kids in school, look for one of the nicer suburbs around Dallas instead of right in the belly of the beast. The DISD leaves a lot to be desired. Try Forney, Frisco, but don't go south. Stay east and north of Dallas proper.
Late Autumn and Winter are devine and parts of Spring can be before the heat and humidity set in. Summer is, as kittytoes says, "brutal." This area also has severe thunderstorms, something that you'll either like or loathe. My advice would be to stay in SLC. It's beautiful there!
As far as fitting in, I don't think that would be a problem. There are many transplants here so you won't be around all southerners and their culture. Keep in mind the races of people, I would guess, are much more diversified here than in SLC. I'm not sure about that, but presume it to be true. I don't have time to look it up as I must leave for work.
Also, some look at the heat in Texas and the cold elsewhere as "picking your poison." I would choose SLC's poison over Dallas' any day.
I've lived in both places and they are pretty different, but I wouldn't worry about culture shock. Both have plenty of great people and things to do and plenty of not-so-great people. Summer's in UT are probably some of the best in the country, so you'll miss the warm, dry days of summer in SLC. Also, not having the mountains always there and so easily accessible is something I miss quite bit.
Also, if you are a software developer, the types of software companies you'll see will vary quite a bit between UT and Dallas. UT has a lot more small, silicon valley style software companies (per capita at least), whereas Dallas is going to have more larger established companies (A la EDS and its progeny) and large non-software companies w/ substantial in-house development (like Exxon, Southwest Airlines etc...).
Oh wow....I wouldn't do it. I'd stay put. Folks are being a little bit subdued when talking about the traffic and weather. The winters will be like summer is to you there probably and the summers, well...a local church once had on their memo board out by the road one July day, "So you think THIS is hot?" Seriously, you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. The summer is brutal here...absolutely BRUTAL and like one other person said, if your car doesn't have A/C get rid of it before you get here. Or even if your car is black, get rid of it. That black color conducts heat and about the time your car starts to cool down you will be home in 1-1/2 hour rush hour traffic each way. Why do they call it rush hour? Nothing moves. Anyway, it WILL be a shock for you. My recommendations for you, especially if you have kids in school, look for one of the nicer suburbs around Dallas instead of right in the belly of the beast. The DISD leaves a lot to be desired. Try Forney, Frisco, but don't go south. Stay east and north of Dallas proper.
Good luck!
Wow! Congrats. This is one of the most ignorant posts I have read on here in a long time.
Re: weather. Dallas has four seasons- summer, winter, fall, and spring. We have actually had a fairly cold winter this year with 3-4 snowfalls (small, an inch or two, but still not what people think of in Dallas) and fairly consistent temps in the 30s-low 50s for Dec & Jan. Feb and even March can stay in the 50's, with the occasional one week return to the 70's. Spring is usually April & May, very rainy with temps in the 60's and 70's. Summer is June-Oct, with highs in the 80's to low 100's. Usually about 10-20 days over 100, mainly in August. Oct-Dec are generally fall, highs in 60's and 70's.
It is not Dante's inferno here, as PP would have you believe.
Next, re: cars. Black cars are fine if you happen to have one. They are generally garaged when you're at home and at work, so no big deal.
Next, re: schools. Just do your homework. There are Excellent AND terrible schools in every single large district (Plano, Richardson, Dallas ISD, Ft Worth ISD). There are even bad schools in smaller public districts like McKinney.
Next, re: Southern sector. The majority of the city's growth had been to the north, but there are still some wonderful neighborhoods and citied south of Dallas thar may meet your family's needs better and provide a shorter/ faster commute to downtown.
Next, re: commutes. There is no need to commute over an hour each day. There are wonderful neighborhoods within a short commute of every business district if you look for them.
Lastly, re: LDS, if applicable at all... There are many people of many faiths (or no faith at all) living in the DFW area. Moderator cut: off topic
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 04-08-2013 at 08:38 AM..
Hey Silvad,
You will likely have some culture shock coming from SLC to DFW. My husband accepted a job at TCU (which is in Fort Worth), and we moved to a suburb south of Fort Worth two years ago so of course, my experience lies more in Fort Worth and those surrounding areas. I can't say a lot about Dallas other than I really enjoy visiting it for the day. There are wonderful cultural attractions, zoos, things to do in both Dallas and Fort Worth. Having said that, if my husband got a job back in SLC, we would leave in a heart beat. SL is progressive and although SL may not be as metropolitaon or populated as Dallas, it actually has a very high quality of living. I am not sure people realize that Salt Lake is the center of a sprawl that stretches from Ogden to Provo and the three cities are connected by a spread of suburbs that connect the three separate cities. When I think of SL, I don't just think of 200,000. I think of the valley and the fact it is sprawled much like this area in many directions. Part of the reason Salt Lake does not have the traffic problem is because they have WIDENED their freeways in the last 10 years. The Olympics brough in a lot of money to make many upgrades to the city. The infrastructure in DFW has not kept up with the growth and light rail is necessary. YAY for Dallas for starting it - now if it can move to the suburbs and to Fort Worth. Salt Lake is and will continue to work on their transportation issues. Their air quality does concern me especially in this inversion.
In my opinion, Utah is one of the most beautiful states I have ever seen. I could go on and on about Salt Lake and Utah so I am a totally biased person. Although there may be four seasons here, it is nothing like back east or colorado/Utah in regards to foliage. I hiked all the time in the mountains and in many ways, that was my spiritual center. As a non-LDS person living in SLC, I loved the Harvad/Yale area and did not find religion to be a barrier at all. In SL proper, being non LDS is now the majority and the LDS people that choose to live there are pretty open minded and accepting. Salt Lake is perhaps Utah's Austin in regards to open minded thinking. I am sure that had I lived in rural Utah or an area that was heavily LDS concentrated, I would not have fit in and I would have been far less happy. I think DFW, like SL has its pockets and you need to find your pocket that you feel like you would fit in. Honestly, here my aquaintances, pray for my salvation because I don't subscribe to the same beliefs as they do. My Utah Mormon friends (who would cry at being called non-christian and even in a cult by most people around here) never judged me or tried to change me if that makes sense. Again, this may not be true outside of SL proper as you move out of urban and into rural. It is hard to be really close with people that believe your beliefs are fundamentally flawed whether that is Joseph Smith - the Book of Mormon or The Koran, etc. It seems to create a gulf when differences are not accepted.
I have lived outside of Philly in a suburb and loved it, lived in a suburb east of San Fran and loved it. I have REALLY struggled here. That does not mean everyone will. I have a friend that moved from a very urban area in Maryland and just loves it here. I think looking at where you are coming from is a factor to consider. SLC spolied me. I think taking some time to visit and get to know the culture and the communities is a great idea. In determining if this is a good match for you, you need to look at your religious, political, general values and see if they jive with the community you choose. I think if we could afford a 400,000 dollar home around TCU, and afford to send our three boys to private school at 50,000 a year at a minumum, the transition would have been a little easier. The public schools in Fort Worth make it almost impossible to live there and everyone's answer to me is "just do private schools." Okay . . . Finding an affordable area, with decent schools and a decent commute has been impossible for us. If you have money, then any transition will likely go a lot smoother. Sure, Highland Park and Southlake have wonderful schools but if you do not make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, then your options for decent schools diminish. Maybe this equation is easier around Dallas but NOT in Fort Worth. I wouldn't say SLC schools are perfect by any means (way too low on per pupil spending) but it isn't the same caste system as you see here. One out of two children living in Texas resides in poverty yet there is country club after country club. You see a huge gap between the haves and the have nots. In SLC, uhhhhh, I think there is one country club and mainly it is for older people who like to golf.
Definitely, the heat is BRUTAL and you will miss Utah summers as well as the year round recreation. The bugs are another big change for me here. You must have year round protection against pests. If you have any specific questions, PM me and I will answer your questions. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do for jobs, etc but personally, I would never leave Utah for Texas if you can avoid it. Good Luck!
One out of two children living in Texas resides in poverty yet there is country club after country club.
That statement is so preposterous that we have to wonder about the rest of your opinions.
Also, are you claiming that Salt Lake City has only one country club?
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Relocation
Folks are being a little bit subdued when talking about the traffic and weather. The winters will be like summer is to you there probably and the summers, well...a local church once had on their memo board out by the road one July day, "So you think THIS is hot?" Seriously, you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. The summer is brutal here...absolutely BRUTAL and like one other person said, if your car doesn't have A/C get rid of it before you get here. Or even if your car is black, get rid of it. That black color conducts heat and about the time your car starts to cool down you will be home in 1-1/2 hour rush hour traffic each way. Why do they call it rush hour? Nothing moves. 
Anyway, it WILL be a shock for you. My recommendations for you, especially if you have kids in school, look for one of the nicer suburbs around Dallas instead of right in the belly of the beast. The DISD leaves a lot to be desired. Try Forney, Frisco, but don't go south. Stay east and north of Dallas proper. 
