Moving to Texas from California (Houston, Dallas: 2015, low crime, buying a house)

[belovedxoxo]

My husband and I are both from California. We are both in the medical field, a nurse and medical assistant. We would like to relocate to Texas, either Houston or Dallas. We were wondering which is the better and safer places to live in?

We plan on buying a house prior to moving. We would like to live in safe/nice neighborhood with a low crime rate, if possible. We don't care if it's gated and etc. Also we would prefer an area that are close to stores, malls and etc.

Also to fellow Californians who have moved to Texas, how was your experience in settling in?

We plan on moving sometime in either 2014 or 2015.

[sxrckr]

Either will do. Suburbs like Woodlands, Sugar Land, Clear Lake, Plano, Frisco, etc. fit your criteria.
Houston does have the Texas Medical Center, largest medical district in the world and a great place to gain experience and boost your career.

[Trainwreck20]

We were wondering which is the better and safer places to live in?

Neither is better or safer. Each has better and safer places within them. Houston will be much more humid (if not actually hotter) than Dallas, whereas Dallas will get much colder in the winter. Houston will have the occasional hurricane and more rain in general; Dallas will have the random tornado. Both are relatively flat (no mountains, anyway) and both have strong economies.

When I do think of medical, though, Houston comes to mind first. But there are a 1,000 other criteria that you should be looking at that are more specific to you, since your first pass does not really narrow it down .

[sxrckr]

Yes. Also if one isn't prepared for the occasional ice storm in winter, may think twice about the Dallas area.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by belovedxoxo

My husband and I are both from California. We are both in the medical field, a nurse and medical assistant. We would like to relocate to Texas, either Houston or Dallas. We were wondering which is the better and safer places to live in?

We plan on buying a house prior to moving. We would like to live in safe/nice neighborhood with a low crime rate, if possible. We don't care if it's gated and etc. Also we would prefer an area that are close to stores, malls and etc.

Also to fellow Californians who have moved to Texas, how was your experience in settling in?

We plan on moving sometime in either 2014 or 2015.

Nurses along with other medical professions generally make more money in Houston. The medical community down there is BOOMING & has always been much larger & better over all than Dallas'. Dallas is a little safer according to latest crime statistics, but Houston is also twice the size so it cancels out IMO. That's city proper, not the suburbs. Houston's burbs are just as new, nice, & safe as any of Dallas'.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

You really cant go wrong with either. The market for nurses is excellent in both.

Houston has a more renouned medical market but Dallas has a lot more Californians (talking metro areas here). The cities of Houston and Dallas have similar crime rates, but when you look at metro areas, Dallas Metro (not counting Fort Worth) is quite a bit safer than Greater Houston. While there are many nice suburbs of both, Houston has a lot more bad suburbs than Dallas does. Either way, you can find a burb or a neighborhood in either city that will fit your needs nicely.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

You really cant go wrong with either. The market for nurses is excellent in both.

Houston has a more renouned medical market but Dallas has a lot more Californians (talking metro areas here). The cities of Houston and Dallas have similar crime rates, but when you look at metro areas, Dallas Metro (not counting Fort Worth) is quite a bit safer than Greater Houston. While there are many nice suburbs of both, Houston has a lot more bad suburbs than Dallas does. Either way, you can find a burb or a neighborhood in either city that will fit your needs nicely.

Dallas does have better, "nicer" if you will, suburbs, yes, but that's only because that's what makes up most of D/FW's population is large suburbs. Each one has their own government control & ordinances.

Houston is the larger city with smaller suburbs & less of them equates to a lot less regulations. No zoning can often times give people the wrong impression of Houston unless you fully understand its benefits.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Dallas does have better, "nicer" if you will, suburbs, yes, but that's only because that's what makes up most of D/FW's population is large suburbs. Each one has their own government control & ordinances.

Houston is the larger city with smaller suburbs & less of them equates to a lot less regulations. No zoning can often times give people the wrong impression of Houston unless you fully understand its benefits.

No zoning is the only thing I dont like about Houston. I dont see any benefits whatsoever to it. Other than that, I love Houston.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

No zoning is the only thing I dont like about Houston. I dont see any benefits whatsoever to it. Other than that, I love Houston.

Benefits are you have all of your amenities closer to you...gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, liquor stores, etc.

Dallas isn't set up that way. You have to drive a little further to get what you need.

[TX75007]

Find the job, then pick an area to live. Keep your commute short..

Dallas has more seasons and a greater geographical variety than Houston. But Houston has the Gulf if you like water activities.