Relocation: Tampa, FL or Dallas/Fort Worth, TX? (Lutz, Westchase: how much, home)

[anya815]

I'm married with one child and need help in making a relocation decision. My job will be moving out of New York and it seems the options where I can move is either Tampa or DFW area. My husband will need to find a job too so we want to know the employment opportunities on both states and family friendly area for our son. I am not looking for any specific area right now but would like to hear feedback from areas near DFW and Tampa. Thanks in advance!

[PhotoProIP]

This wins the "most vague" question ever asked on here!

1. We don't know you
2. We don't know where work will be
3. We don't know how much you want to spend on housing=how far you'll live from work
4. This is NOT a job board; so we can't tell you what employment opportunities are in both states? what field? construction? dental? nannies?
5. "Lots" of family "friendly" areas...takes people living here years to find them!
6. How can we offer you opinions without any specifics?

[Fl1150]

Just to give you some areas to look at Lutz, Fishhawk Ranch, Westchase, New Tampa are family friendly with good schools.

[GBCommenter]

I lived a (perhaps too short) time in the St. Pete area (which I realize isn't Tampa, but perhaps a little perspective), and received a job offer in Dallas so now live in Dallas.

Other posters are correct, your question is very vague so it will be hard to offer a lot of perspective and better answers will come with more specifics. However, the job market is fairly strong in the DFW area and, speaking VERY generally, seems stronger than Tampa. Again, that is very general and will depend on your field.

As far as family friendly, it wasn't so much a consideration for me being a single guy but I expect you'd find something either place. At least for DFW, there's no shortage of family friendly areas and most popular areas here would be the north Dallas suburbs such as Plano, Frisco, and possibly Richardson (those are the areas I hear as best schools, Plano and Frisco will both be highly suburban/exurban, Richardson a bit more inner suburb feel). That said, those come at a price - especially depending on how much drive you end up with enduring.

Neither state has state income tax, but keep in mind TX has high property taxes. Expect 2-3% of property value. That may still end up lower than NY as the property value (so far) is lower than NY so even with a higher percentage you end up with less dollars, but note the idea of "cheap livin'" in TX isn't entirely true - especially if you want to live in DFW area. However, on balance you're still likely to come out better than NY since you take home more $$$.

Tampa (and St. Pete), while being relatively spread out IMO, seemed less so than DFW. If you end up in DFW, the #1 piece of advice is find jobs first and then pick your housing. Dallas by itself is very spread out and traffic can be a bear (more than what I experienced in Tampa/St. Pete - and it could be unpleasant there). If you want to consider Ft. Worth, all the more find a job first and then housing. Going over the Bay on the bridge could be bad traffic, but you REALLY do not want to drive Dallas to FW every day. That drive (Dallas to FW) is at least 45 minutes to 1 hour with absolutely no traffic - double that with traffic.

I will tell you, the spread out nature and traffic can be a deterrent in my mind to staying here.

Tampa, while still being hot, will win out on weather. DFW can be cold (for TX - I originally come from MN but left in large part due to weather) in winter and will get very hot in summer. Dallas can still hit 25-30F in winter & 90-105F most of late June to September. Early June and October will "cool down" to 80-85F. Additionally, the temperature does not cool down much at night in DFW due to concrete. The technical low might get to 75-80F, but that's at 4AM when you're likely asleep anyway. 90-95F at 11PM isn't uncommon. I remember going to a Rangers game and the temp on the scoreboard was reading 97F (outdoor ballpark) at 9PM.

Tampa will also obviously win out for water proximity, if that's an interest to you. DFW has a few lakes and White Rock Lake is very nice to visit during the day. I'd still take being near or at the Gulf.

[engineman]

I have lived in FL for 28 years. I have crossed TX a number of times and been there on business trips. I much prefer FL, but each of us has his own priorities.

[theurbanfiles]

Yeah, I'm honestly not sure what your interests are, and so it is hard to direct you best. Dallas gets seasons, their summers and Florida's summers are both crazy intense, however, the difference is in the seasons. While Dallas' winter temperatures on average probably are decent, they definitely get quite a share of colder days in which they receive a dousing of snow, and from what I've heard based on Super Bowl XLV, they weren't quite sure how to handle it, like many northern cities are. So they certainly receive colder winters. Florida on the other hand, has a period from early November to late March that I would describe as beautiful and comfortable, with occasionally cool days mixed among warm and breezy days that are quite similar to summers in the north. As far as nature is concerned, Dallas is probably better on city parks, albeit not great. One that I have admired though, was the Trinity River Greenbelt Park, which looks beautiful and allows commuters to run or bike to work, although they are probably drenched in sweat afterwards. Tampa Bay however has similar options in the form of Bayshore Boulevard, the longest sidewalk in the world which leads into the city, but could use some TLC to be spruced up for aesthetics IMO. Vinoy Park is in St. Pete, but is an excellent place to work out, or commute if you can find a job in St. Pete, but generally most of the jobs are in Tampa. One big thing Tampa Bay offers, while a bit of a drive, that Dallas doesn't: beaches. I'm not a particularly big salt water beach fan myself, not too great for swimming for me personally, but if that is your thing, many in the area are world class. Dallas probably has more of a big city feel, if you're big on upscale shopping destinations, you probably won't find any in Tampa that match West Village or the Galleria, since there is more money in Dallas. But, that could also be perceived as a negative. It feels like a bigger city and is, and has culinary tastes from around the country, but probably also has headaches of traffic in the form that I couldn't even picture, even in Tampa where traffic isn't great. Both cities as another poster mentioned are pretty spread out, Dallas perhaps moreso, definitely not the layout you'd be used to coming from NY. Dallas does have rooftop pools with views of the city that look cool, and is perhaps closer to mountainy type areas. Also, I've heard it has a bit more of a "West Coast" vibe, complete with In-N-Out Burger. It's probably much more conservative than your used to, and moreso than Tampa which is sort of split 50-50. Both offer pretty decent sports options, Dallas has more teams, and there's probably more of a fun passion there associated with following since there are probably more locals. But, on the other hand, Tampa sports are probably much more affordable as a result, the Rays and Bucs give tickets away like candy. The Dallas area, while it doesn't have a ton of history, probably has a bit more than Tampa Bay, although from what I've heard, I doubt there's an area as fun or unique with history in Dallas as Ybor City, and that includes the Ft. Worth Stockyards. In terms of museums, from what I've heard, apart from the JFK spot and another presidential library for LBJ/GWB, Dallas museum/arts scene underperforms for a city of it's size, meanwhile, Tampa Bay, while not New York, fares very well, compared to basically all other southern cities, both on a local level, and in terms of significance (Dali/Ringling). Both cities have perks, are probably somewhat transient (Tampa moreso). Frankly, I'd probably rather live in Tampa, mainly because a city as large as Dallas, without any renowned mass transit system sounds like a nightmare, so that would be my deciding factor. You really have to visit both though if you truly want to decide.