The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly about Dallas, TX?

[Big Cuddly Bear]

My wife looks like she is going to get laid off. A company there, who knows of her has offered her a position that is just a little less money than she makes now in Philly, but I have heard that the cost of living is cheaper in Dallas.

Other than my hating the Dallas Cowboys ( I'm an Eagles fan ) I know nothing about Dallas. What can you tell me about Dallas area, including info on the school system?

Thanks.

 

[penn19]

Former Philly person (and current Eagles fan!!) I can tell you that yes the cost of living is lower here in the Metroplex. So that is a plus. Overall the people friendly, however, I will say that if you do not fit into the "mold", Republican, Christian etc......it can AT TIMES be difficult. Not saying that the people aren't nice, but a lot of them can be judgemental and especially with you being a Yankee and all..........
I am glad I am here, but the older I get the more I do miss the people of PA. But if it's for a job, you do what you have to do, and you might be very happy here. This is all in my opinion of course.

 

[dennis99ss]

hey, if you have to go because of a job, so be it, but dallas sux, Houston is a much better place.

BTW, welcome to Texas.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Agree about the people. Texans believe that they are better than people from the rest of the world - especially Texans from the DFW area.

The cost of living is much cheaper in Dallas than the Philly area.

Love the lakes - great for water sports of all types.

The best meal that I have ever eaten was served to me here: Al Biernats

 

[Planogirl]

Agree about the people. Texans believe that they are better than people from the rest of the world - especially Texans from the DFW area.

The cost of living is much cheaper in Dallas than the Philly area.

Love the lakes - great for water sports of all types.

The best meal that I have ever eaten was served to me here: Al Biernats

Wow, I certainly don't believe I'm better than anyone else.

Anyway, Dallas itself is not so conservative but the suburbs are big time. I'm in a city outside of Dallas and it is heavily conservative. I'm from Houston in a way and it's...different here. I would not live in Dallas itself but would pick one of the better suburbs.

Cost of living is low. There is no state income tax but school taxes tend to be high. The area is not particularly pretty for the most part but you're not too far from prettier areas. Fort Worth is culurally nicer and more interesting than Dallas. Dallas is improving though. Traffic can be awful but we did spend some time in PA last year and I'd say that won't be anything new.

I don't like the Cowboys either by the way.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am from MO and we lived in DFW for 3 yrs in 2005-2008.

Schools are good. Multicultural, kids miss that.

Weather is awesome, sunshine most of the time.

Sidewalks for miles and miles.
If you are a walker or jogger it is awesome. I miss that.

Lot of shopping and restaurants. However I am from MO so for me it was awesome. Miss the mexican restaurants. Being from NJ it might be a step down for you. My neighbors were from NYC and they really missed their diners.

Now my ugly....

Fireants. As a gardener not much fun to deal with.

Not much to do outside really. Lacks parks. They have them, it is just different. Land is a premium in TX.

As far as lakes for us anyway, it was not fun, we have a boat and 2 jet skis. I mean hard to compare TX to MO for lakes and rivers really. Not really fair there, so that is a matter of perspective.

As far as expensive, we found it to be horribly expensive as compared to MO. The energy costs alone were mind boggling. They have natural gas electricity, so make sure you get a well insulated house. It makes a huge difference there. Basically your AC runs 10 months out of the yr. The blown insulation in the attic is worth it.

Oh yea, traffic sucks.

 

[BelleRocks]

Grew up and lived in DFW suburbia until almost 40. Now live in rural Colorado.

One thing I noticed is how DFW is really focused on "material" things. Women wear makeup to the grocery store. My dd went to Kindergarten there and the kids were already "brand concious". Its different in Colorado and not just in the rural area. There is alot of "showy display" if you know what I mean by that.

The other poster was right about not being very tolerant of different views. Where I live now there are alot of liberals, conservatives, hippy-types, gun-toters, whatever. There are differences, but the differences seem more "expected" than living in DFW and not as "shocking". Again, DFW in particular was this way, visted Austin area and that area was great!

Schools I think were very good, based on family experiences. We too miss the multiculturalism! My dd started first grade here, and asked, "mom, where are all the brown kids?"

There are alot of nice outdoor areas, but it was too hot to use them 9 months out of the year!

 

[mom2rb]

hey, if you have to go because of a job, so be it, but dallas sux, Houston is a much better place.

BTW, welcome to Texas.

You beat me to it.

 

[onelilspark]

You're braver than I...or better than holding your tongue! I'm a huge Eagles fan, I could never live in that area because I'd be too tempted to trash talk anyone wearing anything Cowboy's related

 

[Happy Mom2]

I lived the DFW area for 1 year, and I regret moving away every day!! If my DH told me we could move back, I'd have a For Sale sign in the yard and have the house packed before he could blink an eye. Texas is different from everywhere else, but personally, I love it. The people are nice and friendly. They have some great school districts. The winters are much milder than PA, but the summers....the heat can literally take your breathe away. DH actually got laid off a couple months ago, and after Christmas he is going to start looking for a job in the Dallas and Orlando areas...crossing my fingers! I'd be happy with either one.

Personally, I dislike Houston. To each their own.

 

[HannaBelle]

I have lived in the north Dallas area for almost 40 years. I grew up in Richardson, moved to Denton, moved to Prosper and now live in Frisco.

The summers are hot, the winters are mild aside from 3 or 4 cold snaps. Property taxes are high, but my kids are getting a great education. You can get a great house for $300,000. There are fake people, but there are a lot of real ones as well. I don’t always were make-up to the grocery store, but I usually do. I don’t run around forcing people to root for the Cowboys or to come to church with me. One of my best friends is a Steelers fan.

I would not live in Dallas itself, but would look at Plano or Frisco.

 

[Dolce27]

Agree about the people. Texans believe that they are better than people from the rest of the world - especially Texans from the DFW area.

Obviously I disagree with the above quote.

Anyways.

To the OP: If it makes you feel better the Dallas Cowboys now reside in Arlington, not Dallas, which is much closer to Fort Worth. I wouldn't put kids into the Dallas school district if you can help it. Seriously - don't. PM me if you want to know why I feel that way. I agree with other posters who've said to look at Plano or Frisco - northern suburbs of Dallas. They both have good school districts.

While Texas (with the exception of Austin) is much more conservative than states such as MA, CA, NJ and NY, I see just as many bumper stickers for Democratic candidates driving around town as I do Republican candidates. I think there's a good mix of political and social beliefs here but overall it is a little more conservative in values than some other states. But as a PP said: no one is going to coerce you to go to church or root for the Cowboys (I'm not a Cowboys fan either) or give you grief if you lean more left in political/social views in a red state. Also, as someone else pointed out: no state income tax. Which is nice.

There is great Mexican food here and HOT summers so take that into consideration before purchasing anything down here. Both ceiling fans and a/c is a must in this state. But while we have heat, the humidity isn't too bad up here. It's not a dry heat like Las Vegas but it's not all that humid like Houston or Orlando, FL. In Texas you could have 80 degree weather on Monday and snow by Friday. - but snow here is only a few inches. Nothing all that serious. But since it doesn't occur often you have to worry about Texas drivers attempting to drive in it. That's the scary part. All 2 - 3 times/year.

Despite popular belief: we don't ride horses to work and I honestly don't see very many people in "cowboy" stuff (boots, hat, wranglers, ect...) Most people in the Dallas area dress just like the rest of the United States. We have malls, restaurants, ect... same type of stuff you'd find in any large U.S. city. Art museums, theater, botanical gardens and zoos. There are things like that. One stereotype that is true: those massive pick-up trucks. Hate them! They're huge. And they're all over the place. So yes, lots of large trucks and SUV's in this state.