What I should consider before Moving (Houston, Dallas: transplants, apartment, rent)

[Northern15]

Hey I'm a 27 yr old male, professional & single from Boston area.
Have been doing research over the past year on where I'd like to move and Dallas or Austin are in my top 5.
Others are New Orleans, San Fran & Denver.

I'll most likely be moving solo. Regarding Dallas & Austin, what will be some of the bigger adjustments?
Doubtful rent is higher than Boston.

How about getting to know people. Friendly? Public Transit, pay, outdoor activities, etc.

Live in active lifestyle, play music, spend time outdoors, hockey fan, fishing, bonfires, exercise and like to go out to bars, etc.
Thanks
N

[testmo]

What lifestyle do you live because you can definitely pay as high as $2000 per month for a simple one bedroom apartment in the city. Public tranpsort in dallas is the bus system and train focused on getting suburban commuters into the city

There is very little difference between austin and dallas with exception to size. Dallas and the larger cities have better job opportunities and pay

[Northern15]

Work in the trades. Commercial end
Lifestyle - exercise, outdoors, bars/concerts/etc on the weekends
A social guy looking for a fun, friendly city
Most importantly looking for a city with a lot of work and can help gain more professional experience.

[bluescreen73]

Climate may also be an adjustment. Dallas and Austin won't be as humid as Boston, but they will be 15 degrees hotter on average during the summer.

Austin is definitely more outdoorsy than Dallas, but Denver blows both of them away in that regard.

[KathrynAragon]

I'll chime in with my personal opinion and observations though I'm sure there are others out there!

First of all, good job on narrowing down your choices - all the cities you listed have a lot going for them.

I am not a native Texan, so I can give you some perspective on adjustments - at least mine. When I first moved to Texas (in the early 1990s), I was frankly sort of put off by some of the cultural aspects. Texas in general, even the large metro areas, has a lot of western influence - aka cowboy sort of flavor - and I simply wasn't used to that. I also had no prior experience with the Tex Mex culture, or Tejano culture. So these were unfamiliar cultural vibes to me, and not at all the way I "saw myself," so it took a bit of adjusting to. Once I acclimated however, I grew to love these aspects of Texas culture. Now I can't imagine life without them.

Dallas and Austin are probably the two cities in Texas that have the most transplants (Houston would give them a run for the money, more on that later) and are also probably the least "Texan" of Texas cities, though they both obviously have a lot of Texas flair if that's what you're looking for. If not, you could probably close your eyes and imagine you were in any number of other large metro areas, especially in Dallas. Austin has the added benefit of being situated in a beautiful area geographically. It's also close to San Antonio and lots of tourist sites. Austin is also a notorious party town and is a magnet for college age people. It tends to be pretty expensive (but less expensive than Boston!). So it has it's pros and cons. Mostly pros, if you can deal with the heat and if you like to party.

Dallas - what can I say? I actually live near Dallas. Note I said, NEAR, not IN. That's because while I enjoy the amenities it offers, the city itself doesn't have the personality that I prefer. Dallas has lots of positives but to me it's not a pretty city, or one with much charm. If I was going to live in the DFW metroplex, I'd prefer to live in Fort Worth. Speaking of Fort Worth, it is full of charm and personality and I really like that city.

People are friendly throughout Texas, but Dallas may be the least friendly of large Texas cities, basically because of the frenetic pace of life there. Houston is more laid back, and so is Fort Worth. San Antonio is really quirky but friendly (more of a Tejano atmosphere, which isn't a bad thing) and Austin is fast paced but fun and people are generally friendly.

There is a lot of outdoor activity just outside of all the major Texas cities. Austin is going to offer the beautiful Hill Country with all it's allure (google it). Houston is close to the coast. Dallas offers lots of lakes and the rural aspects of northeast Texas to the east and the prairies of west Texas to the west.

Pay is going to be significantly less generally than that of the Northeastern metro, but that is offset by a much lower cost of living. You can use the cost of living comparison tool on the main City Data site to compare.

//www.city-data.com/

Public transit is not as developed in any of the cities you mention as it is in the northeast. Things seem to be more spread out the further west and south you go.

All the cities you mention will have a good selection of exercise options, outdoor activities, bars, clubs, live music venues, etc. Austin really sticks out on several of those, however.

Hockey is not a huge draw in the south. Not to say you can't find a hockey team to support, but there aren't a lot of hockey rinks or whatever you call them around.

Out of all the cities you mention, probably the highest cost of living is going to be San Fran, followed by Denver, then Austin and New Orleans would probably be a tie, and then Dallas.

Speaking of New Orleans, now I love me some New Orleans. In fact, I'm a native of New Orleans though I haven't lived there since I was small. We visit often though. We considered moving there - very briefly. After visiting with that specifically in mind, we changed our minds quickly. For us, it's a fun place to visit but we wouldn't want to live there. The COL is high, and the crime rate is also high. The heat is often OPPRESSIVE along with the humidity. Housing is super expensive. But wow, what a fun city it is! The food is fabulous. The clubs, live music, etc are great. It's the funkiest of all the cities you mention and you really need to have a very funky, artsy vibe to yourself to love that city, but if you do, you might fall in love with it. But it's weird, that's for sure.

Watch Love Song for Bobby Long for what I consider to be the truest movie version of life in New Orleans. LOL.

Hope this helps!

[LeagleEagleDFW]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Hockey is not a huge draw in the south. Not to say you can't find a hockey team to support, but there aren't a lot of hockey rinks or whatever you call them around.

Dallas has a ton of hockey rinks and amateur leagues.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by LeagleEagleDFW

Dallas has a ton of hockey rinks and amateur leagues.

That's great but I'm talking about the south in general vs the northeast. Not as much to choose from for sure. Yes, there are hockey teams and rinks but there's not the emphasis like there is up north.

[hornraider]

If income wasnt an issue, and with no family in any of those cities, I would probably choose Denver for its perfect size and the mountains. I grew up in California and dont care much for the bay area. N.O. is great to visit but I really dont care for the constant humidity.

Now Austin or Dallas would be my second choice, Ive lived in Austin for 15 years, and Dallas now for 1 year. They are very much alike, especially when it comes to people, culture and food. Austin USED to be more laid back, while Dallas is more fast-paced and city-like (more like Boston). Dallas has way better public transportation, musuems, and all pro sports teams (including a first-place hockey team). It also seems much easier to get around in because of a more developed freeway system. The traffic in
Austin, as you probably know, has become horrendous.

Austin has the Longhorns....nuff said.

Austin has a lively downtown, Lord knows how many times Ive staggered around 6th st. in my 20s. Lots of live underground music and blues. I know Dallas has some decent clubs, but definetely gets all the big name acts (and way more if you are into hip-hop/rap).

Austin is a little more outdoorsy, but not by much. Despite what you may hear about Austin, this is Texas, not Colorado or California. The hill country is ok, personally, I would rather drive the 2-3 hours from DFW into Oklahoma for some much better scenic and outdoor options.
There are some decent state parks within an hour or 2 from Austin tho. Just dont go to the Texas Hill Country with Napa Valley in mind, it will be a huge disappointment.

Regarding income and jobs; if you are in high tech software or a gov. employee, Austin would be best. For skilled trades, both are booming in construction(commercial and residential). Dallas is much bigger for industrial and manufacturing (Thats my profession as well). Dallas pays a little more in the trades, and has lower housing cost.

Did I mention Austin has the Longhorns?

[Northern15]

Hey thanks for providing your experiences in these cities.
I'm pretty jet-set on moving and feel as though at this point I can knock San Fran off my list...possibly Nola as well due to I'm not sure how busy I'd be in the commercial construction industry in that city. And if theres a large backlog of work ahead.
Damn its so much fun though. Haven't experienced it during the Summer. Was down at the beginning of May.

A buddy of mine who lived there for a semester described it like this - "you know when its a 100 degrees outside and your cars been sitting in the sun for a few hours..and you step inside your car? Its like that..but outside. The literally takes your breath away"

I haven't experienced a Denver winter..which is a concern of mine.
Aiming to set up a long vaca in January and line up some interviews..Just need to pick 2 cities.
Leaning towards Dallas and Denv.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Northern15

Hey thanks for providing your experiences in these cities.
I'm pretty jet-set on moving and feel as though at this point I can knock San Fran off my list...possibly Nola as well due to I'm not sure how busy I'd be in the commercial construction industry in that city. And if theres a large backlog of work ahead.
Damn its so much fun though. Haven't experienced it during the Summer. Was down at the beginning of May.

A buddy of mine who lived there for a semester described it like this - "you know when its a 100 degrees outside and your cars been sitting in the sun for a few hours..and you step inside your car? Its like that..but outside. The literally takes your breath away"

I haven't experienced a Denver winter..which is a concern of mine.
Aiming to set up a long vaca in January and line up some interviews..Just need to pick 2 cities.
Leaning towards Dallas and Denv.

If you can handle a Boston winter you'll have no problems in Denver. Typically a little warmer during the day and a little chillier overnight. Snow doesn't stick around all winter, either. The payoff - tremendous outdoor activities and you won't have to spend your summers in a sauna.