Possible relocation to Dallas Area from Orange County, CA
 

I have enjoyed reading all the replies posted ragarding moving to the area. I would love some input as well. We are considering relocating from Southern California. Eventually opening our own business so would only have to worry about commute for a year or so. Want to escape the HIGH cost of the OC. We have visited and love Flower Mound. We have young children so schools are very important, but so is neighborhood feel. I want to be around other families. We can spend $350-$400k but would much rather stay around the $300K range to allow some breathing room. We do like newer areas and nearby shops etc. Any info you could share would be greatly appreciated as there is so much to consider. I worry about leaving such perfect weather, but I think the trade off for not being a prisoner to your mortgage will balance all that out. We also worry about utilities and taxes but I assume in exchange for the size home you can get for your moeny as well as no state tax things kind of balance out. We liked Flower Mound, Highland Village and Colleyville...please share any thoughts you may have even on other areas. Thanks!

Make sure you spend time in the area in the middle of the summer before making the decision. Heat and humidity far different than Orange County.

Texas has no state income tax, but they make up for it with other taxes. Texas actually ranks about in the middle in tax burden. Check out property taxes before you buy--they can be quite high.

Talk about being a prisoner... my daughter lives in Plano and you live indoors all summer! We were there the first of June and nearly died of the heat! She told me..oh this is NOTHING!

If climate is important to you think carefully about this move.

As is well-documented on other posts, I would choose locations in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado before considering Texas.

Ourgirls --

I'm a native Texan and feel I can speak knowledgably about this.

Yes, Yexas is fairly affordable by CA statndards. But the previous posters are correct - property taxes are very high and sales taxes are creeping ever upward. The towns you mention are very nice "suburban" areas, safe, w/ good schools. I can see why it appeals to a mother of young children.

But be prepared. Texas is not California. I don't know how conservative OC is, but the area of Texas you want to "escape" to is somewhere to the right of George Bush. Be prepared - be very prepared - for conservative, christian, right-wing values. Not that these are bad! But the extreme right-wing nature of Dallas-area residents (especially upper middle clas suburbia) takes most "outsiders" by surprise. And be very prepared for a high level of intolerance and social ostracism if you don't completely espouse these same values.

Have you considered Austin instead of Dallas? Lots of Californians live here and love it. You should come for a visit!

You will find a more liberal vibe toward the city in these neighborhoods:
East Dallas
M Streets
Munger Place
Stevens Park
Kessler Park
Uptown
Downtown

All of the areas Pepper mentions are in Dallas ISD schools, which I would AVOID since you have young children and you say "schools are very important."

Exactly as Christie says...my son is in a homeschool group. But...I love my East Dallas neighborhood.

Thank so much for all the information..actually one of the reasons we selected this area is because of the "conservative view".We pay a ton of money to send our kids to private school in CA as the schools are not very good here and they are extremely liberal which is one thing we do not want.

I know the heat is rough,we made it a point to visit in July to get a true sense of the heat. WE also visited Houston in July and the humidity there nearly killed me! My hope is what we will gain (such as being able to be a full time stay at home mom) would offset the negative..such as the heat..or am I dreaming?

If angiemom comes across this I would love you input as well if I remember correctly from what I read you came from my area almost exactly.

What you and your family will gain with you being a stay-at-home-mom is everything to trade for.

I hope you can make it work out....from another stay-at-home-mom.

If I were you I'd look in Colleyville, ahead of Southlake. Colleyville has not only great schools, but some neat neighborhoods. There is a neighborhood (don't know the name, but it's where the new city buildings are) where you could walk to stores, good restaurants and a fantastic health club.

Thank you so much pepper131 needed to hear it!

How about Grapevine?

Coming from California, I really think you may be happier in Austin. Liberal in Texas is not the same as liberal in California IMHO. Austin is really pretty, has trees and hills and just a lot going for it. I lived in Dallas for a while and would never move back - but would move to Austin in a heartbeat.

I have lived in the Dallas area all my life...
You know what? Growing up I had no clue it was hot. I stayed outside from 9am-9pm practically my entire childhood and to this day I don't find summer too bad if you have shade.
My kids, my nieces and nephews and all the neighborhood kids play outside all summer.
At this point in my life I am concerned about sun damage to my skin so I keep an umbrella handy for guaranteed shade.
I have been to Smith Rock (Oregon) in the summer and it was freakin hot... I have been to Manhattan in the summer and it was freakin hot. I think hot weather is something you either deal with or bitc* about... we choose to live with it.
I think we have a pretty decent climate in Dallas, actually.

Ourgirls - just to comment about Flower Mound. We moved to Flower Mound and stayed there for 8 years, and relocated last year to the Seattle area. We lived just a few blocks from Highland Village. I loved the area and the people. There is such a wide variety of folks in Flower Mound and there were people from all over the country that lived in our neighborhood. My closest friends had moved there from Washington, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Mississippi, Louisiana....you get the picture! There are also lots of stay at home Moms. (Unlike here in Seattle, where most Moms can't afford to stay at home!!) The schools were great. Our kids were in middle school and high school while we were there. Both went to UT in Austin, one is still there! Flower Mound/Highland Village was a great place and I would move back to that area again - in a heartbeat!

Don;t move top Austin...I woulnd;t want you to move anywhere where your "conservative view" might be subject to any sort of "reconsideration."

Oh my goodness...I just want to raise my kids in a sheltered enviornment. And yes I would not reconsider my view I stand strong in my values..that isn't a bad thing. Thanks for the input.