So I am working in Dallas, TX today. And why is the pay scale in Dallas so high!? (San Diego: real estate market, HOA)

[sdlife619]

Having been to several different cities in the past, I can say that Dallas is one of the better places that I have visited. It reminds me a lot like LA, from a traffic standpoint, it's racial diversity, and other small details, it looks like a major city unlike San Diego. Dallas is huge, and they're many area's to choose from.

One thing I did notice, people could definitely tell that me and my friend were from California. One person actually was talking trash about us quietly to his wife while we were sitting and waiting to see an eye specialist. They said that why is it, that people from the East Coast, Chicago (Yes they said that), and California have attitude problems? I have no idea why they said that, but I almost wanted to quietly slide over and say to the guy, "Hey not all of us are *******s".. But seriously, somehow he knew that me and my friend are from here, and decided to abruptly start hating for no apparent reason. If he came to California, no one would even care where he came from, people on the West Coast embrace everybody, not in Texas I guess.

But other than that, I thought Dallas was alright, it's not all country and hicked out like I thought it was going to be. You actually see way more lifted trucks and a redneck lifestyle in East County, then in Dallas. The one exception was Fort Worth though.

Downtown Dallas looks impressive, but it's nowhere close to the party scene that the Gaslamp offers, actually downtown Dallas is more business oriented than anything, and pretty dead in it's nightlife.

I get sick and tired of people that come here strictly for the weather, it's honestly not all that people! San Diego has great scenery/weather, but other than the sunshine on a daily basis, we are still a pretty much average overpriced city. Dallas offers more bang for your buck, more career and job opportunities, and if weather is a non factor to you, then TX shouldn't be that bad.

[NYSD1995]

I personally think Houston, not Dallas, is the more worldly, diverse, and economically important Texas city. In most of my dealings with Houston, almost everyone I work with comes from California, India or China. Our Dallas office, seems more "Texan", for whatever that's worth.

Given all the bashing of "transplants","immigrants", and "east coasters" that goes in this forum, I am not sure how welcoming West Coasters are anymore.

[United States Citizen]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I personally think Houston, not Dallas, is the more worldly, diverse, and economically important Texas city. In most of my dealings with Houston, almost everyone I work with comes from California, India or China. Our Dallas office, seems more "Texan", for whatever that's worth.

Interesting...having lived in the Dallas area (northern suburbs & downtown) from the 80s to mid 2000s, I have the exact opposite sentiment. True, both Dallas and Houston attract people from all over due to the heavy concentration of multi-national corporations and other reasons you listed, however Houston always felt just a tad more "good old boy" to me.

Anyway, even with all its problems San Diego (California in general) trumps both cities in my situation. Single guy, living beneath my means, few obligations, with a love for stuff like paragliding over Torrey Pines and legal lane splitting.

Texas has its obvious perks (specifically for working class families & "Office Space" types)...depends on what you want out of life.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Given all the bashing of "transplants","immigrants", and "east coasters" that goes in this forum, I am not sure how welcoming West Coasters are anymore.

Like with other places such as TX, CO, etc.., generally speaking they're welcomed until they start constantly complaining about the differences compared to where they came from. The same can be applied to Californians that move elsewhere too.

I don't really notice bashing of immigrants in general but mainly illegals, but that's a national problem and few people actually welcome them no matter what state it is.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

High regional pay scales are not driven by a desire to lure in outside talent, if that were true, the inverse would be true, and highly desirable places would offer low wages. With the exception of vacation and resort cities that is largely untrue. Also the idea that physical desirability and climate is a primary driver for relocators is somewhat off as well, remember TX is not only the third-most populated state in the US but is among the fastest growing at the same time.

Regional wages are a factor of regional economic activity, and the pay scale in Texas is high for white collar jobs because there is a concentration of large corporate, manufacturing, and industry, and many of those businesses are in high profit sectors like energy, finance, etc. On the west coast you don't see that type of economic diversity outside of Greater LA or SF Bay, where the pay scale is high but cost of living is high. Also TX is business friendly, no income tax state, union-unfriendly and light on environmental restrictions, which typically translates into higher profit and eventually wages.

Dallas or Houston should not be contrasted with San Diego but LA/SF/Seattle, Austin is a more appropriate apples-to-apples comparison vs. tier 2 economies like Portland / San Diego or Sacramento

Well,I don't think texas is the fastest growing b/c it is geographically or climate-wise desireable. I think it's because it is more affordable.

And,the pay is higher b/c there is a shortage of qualified apps.
Not sure what inverse you are talking about-there is a drive to lure in high qualified folks to areas where there aren't enough....and highly desireable places DO offer low wages-SD case in point. lol. (: kidding.sort of.

Wages are set based on what people are willing to work for,along with cost of living considerations,supposedly based on 'the market'.
I personally think with Texas,atlana metro and NC,for example,you do see some migration due to climate and higher pay or opportunities,but you also see major media publications 'touting' these areas,almost in an attempt to create new economic centers and spread out the population in the US....similar to the way certain states tried to do this with certain cities-ahem,sacramento? which often has not been successful.
I do believe this is what is occurring in Texas right now. Remains to be seen if it 'takes'. I doubt it will. If wages do not remain high,folks won't come. Companies may continue to relocate,but I don't believe the growth will be the way it has been.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

High regional pay scales are not driven by a desire to lure in outside talent, if that were true, the inverse would be true, and highly desirable places would offer low wages. With the exception of vacation and resort cities that is largely untrue. Also the idea that physical desirability and climate is a primary driver for relocators is somewhat off as well, remember TX is not only the third-most populated state in the US but is among the fastest growing at the same time.

Regional wages are a factor of regional economic activity, and the pay scale in Texas is high for white collar jobs because there is a concentration of large corporate, manufacturing, and industry, and many of those businesses are in high profit sectors like energy, finance, etc. On the west coast you don't see that type of economic diversity outside of Greater LA or SF Bay, where the pay scale is high but cost of living is high. Also TX is business friendly, no income tax state, union-unfriendly and light on environmental restrictions, which typically translates into higher profit and eventually wages.

Dallas or Houston should not be contrasted with San Diego but LA/SF/Seattle, Austin is a more appropriate apples-to-apples comparison vs. tier 2 economies like Portland / San Diego or Sacramento

do you really equate portland with sd? portland should be tier 3,economically speaking,IMO. not that it matters,b/c it's true,SD shouldn't be compared to dallas or houston,even population wise,let alone industry wise. It just shows that SD is thought of in the same breath as SFO and LA-it's a major destination. Just not for jobs.(:

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

do you really equate portland with sd? portland should be tier 3,economically speaking,IMO

Well, Portland has Nike which is 2x larger than Qualcomm and employs nearly 3x the amount of people. Big difference is the Navy, otherwise I really don't see San Diego's economy as being so much stronger than Portland's, at least not enough to make a distinction between the two.

[limitup]

I've lived in the Dallas area for the past 6 years, and will be moving to SD this summer (assuming I can sell my house between now and then!)

The answer to the OP's question is pretty simple. As others have said, Dallas (and Texas in general) is not that great a place to live UNLESS you are just looking for a "boring" suburban white picket fence 3.2 kids kind of life.

It's too hot in the summer, it's too cold in the winter, it's flat as can be, not much going on in the way of environmental beauty, etc. There are some cool things to do in Texas but the problem is that the state is so freakin' big that you have to drive 3+ hours to do anything "cool" and different.

As others have said, if the wages weren't relatively high and the cost of living so low, I wouldn't see many people moving here. But with the current economic situation and a lot of people having a hard time, it's no surprise that the population is growing faster than any other state.

Earlier someone said they were sick of all the people moving to SD just for the weather. Well, that's me! Why do you get sick of those people? I'm a hard core tennis player and the primary reason I want to move back to So Cal is for the weather - so I can play tennis almost any day I want, which is my passion. My wife's family also lives in So Cal so that's a plus.

This year has been the coldest winter in Texas in something like 80 years. It's been insane. We got a foot of snow one day a few weeks ago, and it was about 42 degrees yesterday. If you like nice weather, Texas isn't that great. It's better than New England or Wisconsin, but it's too damn hot and muggy in the summer and too cold in the winter if you ask me.

[sdlife619]

Moving somewhere strictly for the weather, especially in a city like SD is shouldn't always be the best reason why you are moving here. Cost of living, location, job and career choices, schools are other major factors then just the weather.


I have met numerous people that have moved here that are from somewhere else in the country, and some of them say, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the weather", and others have actually gotten tired of the constant sunshine everyday which annoys them, plus the lack of real urban excitement usually forces these people back home from where they came from.


But if you have a family, and want to live in the burb's, and don't care about city life or unique things that big cities offer, then SD is for you, we have multiple amounts of boring suburbs for you to choose from. Our downtown is alright, getting more fake and expensive by the minute, but hey at least we got the gaslamp to keep us busy when nothing else does, unless you love the beach of course.

[limitup]

For me, cost of living and jobs aren't an issue so it's all about weather and location. I can see where SD would suck after a short while if you moved there thinking it was "heaven" but soon realized you couldn't really afford to live a nice life there.

Weather is HUGE for me as my wife and I both absolutely HATE cold weather, and I'm a serious tennis player that plays 4-5 times a week and want to be able to play year round (not indoors). There are very few places you can realistically do that in the US.