Move to Dallas TX or Tampa FL??? HELP (St. Petersburg, Clearwater: best cities, real estate)

[Rdiamond]

We may have the opportunity to move either to Dallas or Tampa for a job relocation.

We're leaving towards FL as we love the beach. The negatives for us there are the hurricanes and constant rainfall from what we here. Does it really rain a lot? For a long period of time? We were most interested in the St Pete area...is this a safe place to live - in regards to low crime, hurricane area, etc?

Our negatives for Dallas are no beach, no trees, high population. If there aren't any beaches near by, are there lakes and places to take our dog swimming? What do you do for fun here?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

[JSnFla]

never been to dallas....just moved to tampa from south florida and i like it so far. its different though. its certainly not a major city like dallas is, its got a small town feel and its kinda southern and redneck at times. i find it very liveable and the suburbs are really nice. pockets in and around the city have some of the worst ghettos in the country but u wont be in those areas unless you are lost. tampas cool.

[Rdiamond]

Thank you for your reply. We are really interested in the St Pete area. Is this area nice? We're looking for a beach town free from hurricanes.

[JSnFla]

st pete has some great low key, laid back beach areas all along the coast of pinellas county. some areas arent st pete but nearby and nice. nothing is hurricane free but for whatever reason this part of the state has rarely been hit directly from a hurricane.

[INeedAChange]

Tampa all the way--its a no-brainer.

[Lakewooder]

Dallas has no trees? I guess you have never been here. I must buy only shade plants for my garden.

Also ever hear of the Great Trinity Forest (http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/html/great_trinity_forest.html - broken link)?

We have vast numbers of lakes in every direction. Including our in-town jewel, White Rock Lake.

[Sarasota_Blues]

Constant rainfall? I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. Until today, Sarasota (50 miles from Tampa) hadn't had any meaningful rainfall for months, probably going back to last summer. Florida isn't known as the "Sunshine State" for nothing. In fact, some parts of Texas are going through some major flooding right now. Summer is the usual rainy season in Florida though. One good thing is it can cool the temperature down considerably during a July or August day.

Although Dallas is a cool city in its own right, there's definitely a difference between Dallas and Tampa. The humidity in Tampa, takes some getting used to, and makes the heat feel even muggier. You'll probably never experience any problems with ice here. Although in 1989, it DID snow in Sarasota very lightly, but never stuck to the ground. Dallas gets hotter in terms of temperature in summer, but as they say, "it's a dry heat". You'll encounter some snow in the Dallas area, and there ARE lakes and trees throughout the established neighborhoods. Some people like the change of seasons, which will be much more pronounced in Dallas. In Tampa, we have summer, hotter summer, a bit of fall and spring, and summer again. The weather here between November and April cannot be beat, in my opinion. Number of days in the low 30's (near freezing) per year can probably be counted on one hand. St. Petersburg and Clearwater beaches are among the best in the world. Because we are located on Florida's west coast, we seem to avoid most hurricanes that hit Florida. Charley in 2004 was a major exception. For a category 4 hurricane, it was small in diameter, and did major damage in the Port Charlotte/ Punta Gorda and Northport areas (100 miles S. of Tampa). Thus, homeowners insurance rates here have skyrocketed, and while the new governor has attempted to hold the line on rates, there hasn't been a substantial rollback yet. That battle is still ongoing..... That is a huge factor in considering moving to Florida. Texas has more than its fair share of inclement weather, but Dallas will probably never be effected by a hurricane potentially like Houston/ Galveston could be.

Neither Florida or Texas has a state income tax. Both areas have great restaurants, shopping, sporting events, culture, and theatre. Dallas has better public transportation. The DART rail is awesome, and they are still in the process of expanding it.

Housing in Tampa, for right now, is more expensive, but has been "correcting" over the last year or so. According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, for the 1st qtr. of 2007, the median home prices are:

Dallas -- $145,000
Tampa --$203,000

According to the latest Forbes "Best Cities for Jobs" report:

Dallas-Plano-Irving -- Total Rank - (#49, up from #55 last year)
Tampa-St.Pete-Clearwater -- Total Rank - (#13 up from #26 last year)

Median Household Income is higher in Dallas, and combined with the lower real estate prices, makes it's overall Cost of Living Rank higher than Tampa. So, your $$$ may go farther in Dallas than Tampa. Heck, this site has tons of stats to compare cities, so you don't need my analysis.

While it appears as if I have a bias towards Tampa, and I have lived in Florida for most of my 47 years, I will be taking a trip to Texas in August to check it out again, for a future relocation possibility. How ironic! At mid-life, I'm considering a major change of scenery, and the state of Texas is large enough and diverse to appeal to many people. Best of luck, wherever you choose.

[Rdiamond]

Thank you all SO much for your helpful tips and advice! I really appreciate it. Overall, it sounds like the beach town feel I would get in St Pete seems like the best bet for us.

Thanks again!!

[irishcheese]

And are looking to move to Tampa Area now.

I would not live in the Dallas burbs but lean toward burbs like Grapevine, Keller and that area if I moved back to Texas. If you are flexible these will keep you near Dallas but somewhat away from the traffic troubles of North Dallas burbs.

As for Tampa, beach is definitely a plus and I would not necessarily let hurricanes scare me away although insurance is high now.


We liked the Dallas/Ft Worth area but also had some allergy issues there whic are better here in Florida.

Worst drivers ever are in Ft Worth area too. And we have been in NY/Ct, Chicago, Atlanta also.

[Jammie]

Sarasota, thanks for making me laugh when you said, "It did snow here once back in 1989). As you can tell, where I live it snows EVERY year for a lot of months.

Irish, I'm interested in why you chose Tampa over Texas. We've never been to Tx. so I can't compare Fla. and Tx.