From NY to Fort Worth - Need some questions answered from others who have made the transition. (Dallas: sales, HOA)

[joeymarine]

Hey everyone!

We are contemplating a relocation from Upstate NY to Fort Worth. We do know that some of the major differences are that for what our house here is worth, you can buy a 5000sqft brand new home there, but other than that, what are some of the not so good differences. What are property taxes and sales taxes like? Is there any other monthly charges that we should expect to be higher there than here? Is the Salary range much the same, or a lot lower? Job market...good or bad?

We haven't decided on making a move yet but we are thinking about it and want to make sure we make a good decision. We were out there a few years ago and we absolutely love the area and the people, and even more so the food.

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

~Joey

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I have never lived in Upstate New York but I think a HUGE difference you are going to notice is the winter weather. It rarely snows, you guys will probably feel like walking around in shorts all the time, thats what I used to do but with a sweatshirt.

If you guys like to ski, keep your winter clothing and schedule a trip to Colorado or New Mexico. My favorite is Spring skiing which you can do in short sleeves, don't forget the sun screen.

[andiamodfw]

Well, we are moving next month to dfw area from long island. We are going because we want a better quality of life for us and our family. The taxes (for us) will be about 4,000 less, we will be making more money in texas, our mortgage payment will be 1/2 of what it is now (literally!) and we will be living as if we were on vacation everyday- the community we are moving to has amazing amenities and we just love the area. We also love the restaurants in the dfw area- very diverse! Yes, we will miss the beaches, but we are going to travel in august (it is extremely hot in texas then) back down to Long island (to visit with family) and spend time at the beaches then! With the amount we are spending on our mortgage and other bills, we can afford to travel and go on great vacations, and get that little beach cottage we've always dreamed about!!!!

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by andiamodfw

Well, we are moving next month to dfw area from long island. We are going because we want a better quality of life for us and our family. The taxes (for us) will be about 4,000 less, we will be making more money in texas, our mortgage payment will be 1/2 of what it is now (literally!) and we will be living as if we were on vacation everyday- the community we are moving to has amazing amenities and we just love the area. We also love the restaurants in the dfw area- very diverse! Yes, we will miss the beaches, but we are going to travel in august (it is extremely hot in texas then) back down to Long island (to visit with family) and spend time at the beaches then! With the amount we are spending on our mortgage and other bills, we can afford to travel and go on great vacations, and get that little beach cottage we've always dreamed about!!!!

In Texas alot of people have pools AND the thing to do there is get a boat and hang out at the lake. Wonderful LONG days, water skiing, laying out on the nose of the boat out in the middle of the lake. There are some fabulous ones in the DFW area.
If you guys like to ice skate, there are indoor skating rinks so you can keep up with your hobby.

If you want to have some fun, go down to the Fort Worth Stock yards. Its a good time, it feels like your back in the old west. The police ride horses, wear cowboy hats and boots.

Lest you think you have left sophistication behind in New York, hang out in Dallas. There are some amazing places in Dallas. The Galleria is a great mall with a skating rink in the middle and every kind of store you can think of and some you haven't even concieved of.
When I would go some place in Dallas, I used malls as land marks there are so many. My neice lives in Highland Park, another place of the wealthy.

[jrburke99]

Originally Posted by andiamodfw

we will be living as if we were on vacation everyday- the community we are moving to has amazing amenities and we just love the area

What community is this? My wife and I will be moving to Fort Worth from Maryland, and we will be looking for nice communities with good amenities.

[5stones]

having just relocated from the east coast 2 years in VA and 10 years in PA. I'll tell you getting used to the flatness will take some time. (not too much of a shock for me since I grew up in Texas...but my kids are still missing the hills and forests, mtns etc...)

You miss the trees. Yes there are trees here...but they are smaller and not alot of pine forests. The oaks seem to grow stout and wide (great for tree climing and tire swings!)

The NEWness of everything. no "quiant new england villages" but you'll get cool old western towns. Here 100 years old is OLD...(housing from the 70's is thought of as ancient!) back east towns were settled and established and thriving in the 1700's.
It's just different.

Traveling...back east you can easily hit 3-4 states in a one day road trip...TEXAS is big. BUt with that you get an INCREDIBLE diverse state...Beaches, coastal marshes of south texas, the Deep Piney woods of east texas. Then you get the canyons & mtns in Big bend natl park and Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo/Lubbock. VAST flat fields of west texas.
Lost maples in east texas. Lake galore here in north central texas...Possum kIngdom and Lake Texoma are just 2.
Then..the hill country with the river and green hills and lakes near Austin Beautiful.

Texas is like having 4 states rolled into 1.

Skiing in Colorado is just 12 hours away. (new Mexico also...Taos, Sante Fe, Angle fire & Ruisdoso are close) and let me tell you if you have only skied in new england, you haven't skied until you've skied colorado!! Spring skiing with beautiful blue skies and 60 degrees!!! oh my.

NO snow shoveling!!! yeah. (but I do miss having at least 1 good 8 inch snow a year!!)

Fall... you will miss the BEAUTIFUL east coast fall colors.

yes, higher property taxes...but NO state income tax. and for lots of east coaster the property tax isn't that high since we had to pay an arm and a leg for housing back there. Ours stayed pretty much the same (house was 200k cheaper though, and newer, bigger and nicer, better built etc...) so yes we are paying more % on property tax but dollar for dollar it's a wash...so NO state income tax is HUGE for us!!


hope this helps.

[joeymarine]

Thanks for all the info everyone!!!

5Stoned - That's exactly the info we were looking for.

Our biggest problem here in NY and the Tri-State area, as we are both from Jersey and I've lived in CT, is that the quality of living here is well, not so quality. I mean, the taxes alone on our 1400SqFt Semi-attached home are 5800/Yr - which is just downright dispicable as we don't get any "real" benefits from it.

Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here and we absolutely love it here. But when you compare the two side by side, well, there's no real comparison as DFW area just dominates.

It's just such a hard decision, but we really think the QOL will be that much greater and it would benefit our children (which we have none yet) in the long run.

What are the negatives and the drawbacks to living in the Fort Worth area? Is there anything that really makes them nuts about where they live? The main reason I ask is because I know that "the grass is not always greener" and I also want to hear the negatives that come along with it.

Thanks for all the help!

~Joey

[5stones]

we too made the move for a better quality of life. We made sometrade-offs but overALL YES, our quality of life is better, financially it is nice not be living payucheck to paycheck etc... we have 3 kids so being able to afford activities for them etc... and still save for college and retirement. Having a beautiful home that doen't always need something repaired etc...

SO the bad...The weather is crazy. you have 40 degree shifts in temps in a 24 hour period. seriously, yesterday the kids came home and put shorts on...right now it's sleeting/snow mix!

The wind...it seems constant.

HOt weather in OCT. strange.

summers will be hot, but the DC area gets hot and very HUMID.

I don't like all the newness of everything and all the HOA neighborhoods can seem a bit sterile. We go into Dallas proper and shop in Highland Park village and around Lakewood it's gives you a more east coast feel.
Houses are VERY close together. I thought the DC area was bad, but here the houses are bigger (and have a bigger footprint) so they seem especailly crowded in some neighobrhoods. We searched long to find an "uncrowded" neighobrhood.

FLAT. it is very flat. (DFW area) I like hills.
I love driving along the Taconic Pkwy with the trees and the hills... nothing like that here.

NO BASEMENTS. I dearly miss my basement above all else!

4 distinct seasons.


schools are overall very good.
BUT...WAY too much emphasis on the state TASKs tests. They lock down the schools, the kids have to stay in the classroom all day. Since they give them ALL day to take the test when your child finishes they sit at thier desk and read. (the avg kid is finished by 11:30am) They can't talk etc...(even when the entire class is finished) lunch in the clasroom and NO recess etc... EVEN the grades that are not being tested have lock down...no noise etc...
It's ridiculious. ALL teaching of new material stops in prep for TASK testing overview. (in 8th grade math at least)

BUT overall...it was a great decision for us. Since I had lived in Texas I knew what to expect a bit.

I have NO regrets. we are happy and everyone is adjusting. People are very friendly etc...

[John Shaft]

Potential negatives (coming from a native FW guy)
* You WILL have a tough time adjusting to the weather. You'll love the winter warmth, but in August and September when it's still 95 degrees and doesn't cool down at night, you will be hot. But of course every house has AC.
* You will have a culture shock experience. You may be treated coolly at first by some people because you are a "damn Yankee." People won't be in-your-face about it due to southern politeness; it will be more passive. This will especially be the case if your personalities are more "stereotypical NY" in that you have a fairly aggressive manner about you and a penchant for swearing a lot. There's still a sense of "manners and decency" in the south although it is declining.
* As a corollary, if you aren't into sports (especially football) you will get the occasional odd stare.
* You might be amazed at how much you have to drive to get around town. The cities are very spread out in the sun belt...not to mention the incredible distances between cities.
* Depending on where in NY you're coming from, you may have to deal with a racially diverse citizenry for the first time. This is less a negative and more an FYI.
* You may think pizza is underrepresented compared to "back home." Cure this by visiting Campisi's in Dallas. You will also learn to compensate by devouring chips and salsa and picking up a taste for Tex-Mex.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

NOW, that is one thing. I had a hard time getting used to the lack of a good Italian place when we moved to Texas but that might not be as bad now as it was then. The same with good Chinese food.

BUT you'll learn to LOVE Mexican food.

We also had a HUGE basement in Mass and literally no one I knew or heard of had a basement. In some older homes they had root cellars also used as a tornado shelter but there was only ONE of those that I had heard of.

Summer is indeed oppressive at times. Make sure your AC is serviced and working well. I used to mow my lawn at sun up in the morning to avoid the heat. It was then that I realized what they have head lights for on the riding lawn mower.