Torn between cities Dallas or San Antonio (Fort Worth, Plano: waterparks, house)

[Vikki903]

Hello

I am a married 33 year old female. My husband and I are really considering moving to Texas. We currently live in Detroit, MI and just do not want to be here anymore. We just want a new start. Together we have three children, ages 3,3, and 1 month. I can transfer my job down in ay part of Texas but my husband will have to find one there. We are still young and have young children. Our ideal place will be somewhere that has a good school systems, very diverse, reasonable housing, and employment. We are a young couple so we are looking to enjoy our time together as well as things to do with the kids. We both have done some research on both cities and still cannot decide on what is best for us. So if you can give me some insite to narrow the search down because this will be our permanent destination. Thanks for your response in advance!

[smuboy86]

In Dallas, you won't actually be in the city of Dallas if you want good public schools, and an affordable neighborhood. Even in the most exclusive neighborhoods in the city of Dallas your expected to send you kids to private.
That leaves the suburbs, Frisco and McKinney are the hot suburbs, They are a good 45 minutes north of downtown Dallas. Some developments are actually closer to Oklahoma than they are to Dallas proper. You can easily live in an older suburb, Richardson and Garland are perfectly nice in areas. Plano is another, excellent schools in the central and western parts of the city, but be prepared to drop 450K+ on a house.
Your basic Dallas activities if you live inside 635 consist of going to NorthPark center to shop and eat, you might take the kids to the zoo once a year, but it's in the bad part of town. If you live north of 635 then you go to the galleria to shop and eat. You might go to northpark once a year, but it's inside 635 which is the bad part of town. In Plano, you go to the shops at willowbend, if you go into Dallas you might be mugged or see a poor person. In Frisco it's stonebriar centre, but you hate it when you are the poors there that obviously drove in from Dallas.
San Antonio on the other hand, much smaller city. Better traffic conditions unless you live outside the 1604 loop on the Northside. Better schools, only need to go private if you want a religious education. Two theme parks: sea world and six flags, a fantastic zoo. You can easily get a house for 150k. We have two weeks devoted to a city wide party that brings all sectors of the city together.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by Vikki903

Hello

I am a married 33 year old female. My husband and I are really considering moving to Texas. We currently live in Detroit, MI and just do not want to be here anymore. We just want a new start. Together we have three children, ages 3,3, and 1 month. I can transfer my job down in ay part of Texas but my husband will have to find one there. We are still young and have young children. Our ideal place will be somewhere that has a good school systems, very diverse, reasonable housing, and employment. We are a young couple so we are looking to enjoy our time together as well as things to do with the kids. We both have done some research on both cities and still cannot decide on what is best for us. So if you can give me some insite to narrow the search down because this will be our permanent destination. Thanks for your response in advance!

Thanks for choosing San Antonio "first" to ask your questions ,
even if it's just a couple of minutes...


You have listed "good school system" first.
Well then...San Antonio would be a good choice.

I don't know what you would consider "reasonable housing".
But it plays an important part in conjunction with a good school system.

You have no problem with job transfer which is great. But again, not
knowing what your husband's line of work, it's difficult to tell.
Perhaps he can check like you're doing on what's available & compare.


I hope you receive better responses then mine . In San Antonio
& Dallas as well...
Good Luck !

[outafocus]

I have lived in both the Dallas area (Garland) but worked in Dallas, and San Antonio. Of the two I would pick San Antonio EASILY! I liked very little about the DFW area.

[amexicano]

Let me add my two cents, as I lived in Dallas area for about 4 years and have lived in San Antonio for 4.5 years.

Dallas is obviously a larger city with more population diversity and more options on housing, activities, shopping, etc. There are many nice suburbs with good school districts. In addition to the ones already mentioned you may consider Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Lewisville, Flower Mound. In terms of things to do, Dallas has more professional sports, two Zoos (Dallas and Forth Worth), a Six Flags park, several nearby lakes, many parks, TONS of shopping, an emerging downtown (plus Fort Worth downtown which is very cool), more concerts and artistic events, etc. Another advantage is a much larger labor market, with larger companies based there, in more industries. Downside is that Dallas is pretty flat (i.e. boring landscape) and extremely big. Getting to any the things above can take you over an hour or more depending on where in the "Metroplex" you are.

San Antonio, as mentioned before, is a smaller, more "manageable" and charming city. For its size, it has many entertainment options, particularly for kids, so is not easy to get bored. We have very good shopping in the area (both upscale and mainstream), a very nice Zoo, two major theme parks (Six Flags and SeaWorld) as well as many other smaller parks (like the Morgan Wonderland park, which is a super-accessible park for kids with disabilities) and several waterparks. Housing is affordable and there are plenty of options. It has a much more interesting landscape and a little milder weather than Dallas (a little warmer in the summer, a little cooler int the winter)., oh and remember the Alamo! Is closer to the Gulf beaches (about 2 hours). Downside is that labor market is more limited, with less large companies and more low-paying jobs.

Perhaps I have given you the impression that I liked Dallas more than San Antonio. Well, all in all, I actually like San Antonio better. I feel the trade offs are in SA's favor in our case, and plan to live in SA for many years to come, but if I had to go back to Dallas, it wouldn't be the end of the world. For some people, Dallas may provide better options.

In any case, my suggestion is that you spend a few days in each city so you can get the vibe of what each has to offer.

And welcome to Texas!

[Zepheyr]

San Antonio has a larger population than Dallas.

[smuboy86]

Originally Posted by Zepheyr

San Antonio has a larger population than Dallas.

No not really, Dallas plus it's connected suburbs is an urban area of over 6 million. San Antonio is an urban area of about 1.6 million.

[Zepheyr]

Originally Posted by smuboy86

No not really, Dallas plus it's connected suburbs is an urban area of over 6 million. San Antonio is an urban area of about 1.6 million.

Yes, really. If you're talking suburbs too, then sure. But city proper, no.

[Vikki903]

Thank you so much for all your responses. It is greatly appreciated and most of all helpful.

[Mom2Feebs]

Dallas is great, lots of shopping, lots of food, entertainment, etc...

San Antonio is great, less shopping, less food, less entertainment, etc but all still VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT...

but I absolutely love SA...my favorite thing is being able to be in the completely awesome Hill Country in moments from my house...

I also like the weather MUCH better than tornado alley...