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

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by 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.

You should move to Palm Desert or La Quinta!

[limitup]

LOL! That's a little too hot and a little too far inland for me. I'm thinking more along the lines of Olivenhain.

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by limitup

LOL! That's a little too hot and a little too far inland for me. I'm thinking more along the lines of Olivenhain.

I can't fault you for Olivenhain. I can see it out my windows right now! It's just all the tennis talk got me thinking about the desert. We have a timeshare in La Quinta and love it as an alternative to the beach.

[ArbitraryLife]

I live in the Dallas area and will be visiting San Diego for the entire month of March. Kinda on the same theme as the original post... I thought I could find a job in San Diego making more money than I make in Dallas, come to find out it is pretty flat. I am in IT and make a good salary, still not sure how people in California afford regular house at 300K+. In TX you can get a VERY nice house for 300K, not just your normal or fixer upper...

[tashina]

I'm from San Diego (0-35 years old) and have been in Texas for the last 4 years - Dallas (Plano) for the last 2.

I'll probably stay here a while longer. The economy is great as is the price of almost everything. I thought when I left California that I might never come back, but I've never really felt at home anywhere else.

My two main factors are:

1) Weather - I just can't get used to not being able to go outside except 2 months a year. It's too cold December-March. Then it's too humid from April-June. Then too hot from July-October. Then for one lovely month it's like San Diego. Also when it's cold, it's cold all day and night. Same with when it's hot. In San Diego, it's often cool in the morning and eve and warm in the afternoon, so there is a time of day you can do most things. Even on the hottest days it usually cools off in the eves.

2) Something (ANYTHING) to do. I can't tell you how many times I wake up on a Saturday and can think of nothing to do here. The things I like don't exist. Craft gallery with a good mix of high end pieces? One little low-end place in downtown Dallas, but nothing like Prospect St galleries in La Jolla, or the new one I toured online that's in the Gaslamp Quarter. Japanese bookstore? (Great art/craft books)I love the one in Clairmont, but nothing like that here. Libraries? Nothing on par (I worked as an assistant librarian for 7 years in San Diego). Even a mall? Well, there are plenty of those, but nothing fun like Horton Plaza or Seaport Village. They all look like an indoor Mission Valley or maybe Plaza Bonita (though I haven't been there in 15 years)

In San Diego, if you want a change of scenery, you hop to Palm Springs, the beach, the mountains, etc. In Dallas, I haven't been any place yet that didn't look a lot like either the city (business stuff) or the suburbs. There's a few quaint small towns and that's about it - not that I've been everywhere, but I'm not a nature lover, so I want something semi-urban to do. Galleries in Palm Springs, skating on the Mission Beach boardwalk.

It's also so conservative here and I don't mean politics. I haven't seen wild colored hair, anyone dressing different than mall clothes - nothing in 4 years.

For some, San Diego may not be a cultural center, but for me it's so much more cultural than Austin or Dallas. Give me a million dollars and I'd move back tomorrow. I'm trying to be sensible and sticking out some high earning years in a place with a great economy and low taxes (my prop tax is same as it was in California and no state tax). But my heart is in San Diego.

[limitup]

There is no comparison. No sane individual would choose to live in DFW over San Diego unless 1) they wanted to save money and/or 2) they have family here or other strong ties to Texas.

[diesel922]

As a former Dallasite (yes, that's what we were called) and brand new San Diegan, I just had to post my thoughts.

I lived in Dallas for 6 years and moved here last month after a nationwide job search while being laid off for a year. You see, there's this thing called a "recession" going on right now. My thoughts about the D-F-Dub:

- The weather is carazay! Like many posters have mentioned, it's unbearable in the summer and cold in the winters with frightening thunderstorms in between. There's never a dull moment.
- It's a place with no identity. It tries to be many things, but fall short at each one. So the de facto solution is to just open up yet another shopping center that's bigger, shinier, and has coooool movable screens.
- Downtown is a total joke if you ask me. I've been to DTs all over the US, and Dallas DT is the worst of all big cities. It's a direct representation of the misguided revitalization attempts of city officials *ahem* Laura *ahem* Miller. It's dead and uninteresting to say the best. I'm predicting it'll take 50 years for a decent Dallas DT to come into fruition.
- There really isn't much to do other than stay in your 3,000 sqft air-conditioned house and figure out who in your neighborhood is violating HOA rules

Upsides, you ask? Yes.....maybe....
- Corporations love to set up shop there. It may be due to all the municipal incentives. DFW is composed of dozens of cities all over competing for businesses. With that extra cash, I think companies can afford to attract talent.
- Strong real estate market with affordable housing prices
- No state tax
- Restaurants galore. DFW has the most restaurants per capita of any city. Disclaimer: quantity doesn't necessarily equal quality.
- Decent road infrastructure compared to places like Austin and Houston (Tolls suck though)
- Good public schools (read: high property taxes)
- Hot women! I've been doing a non-scientific comparison of women at the gyms here vs. Dallas.

I guess I'll put it in these terms: If you want to grow up and do grown up things, live in Dallas. It's a good place to raise a family, make good money, and play things safe. You can always hop on a plane and take a vacay with that extra cash.

I'm liking SD so far. The new job (and pay) is great! Traffic is nothing compared to DFW. People here are quite friendly. I know everyone says Texans are friendly, but you gotta remember that DFW is a gigantic city with "big city" people. SD definitely has a good energy and that's something that every desirable city needs to have.

[skeke]

When real estate prices tanked in TX back in the early nineties several companies moved their corporate headquarters to Dallas to take advantage of the cheap space. My husband's company moved their corporate headquarters from New York City to Dallas and have been there ever since.

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Here's a ranking of "cost-effectiveness" in the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. (Median income / cost of living)

List of Metro Areas By Cost Effectiveness (Adjusted Income) « True Cost – Analyzing our economy, government policy, and society through the lens of cost-benefit

To those who believe that L.A. is a high-income area, think again. It's ranked at #49, which is lower on the list than San Diego (#44).

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale

To those who believe that L.A. is a high-income area, think again. It's ranked at #49, which is lower on the list than San Diego (#44).

LA's massive underclass will distort that statistic. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands more high-paying jobs in LA than there are in San Diego.