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.

Ourgirls, if you are still looking at different areas in the Metroplex, take a look at Frisco, McKinney, or Prosper. I live in McKinney, teach in Prosper, and spend lots of time in Frisco and McKinney (shopping and parks). All three have good school districts, and all three are quite conservative. I would say that the Frisco schools are better (IMHO) than McKinney, and I really like Prosper schools because we are still smaller and more personalized. The homes in Prosper are still reasonably priced but will continue to appreciate due to the growth. Just my two cents.

Thank you all so very much for your input! I am totally amazed that total stangers would take the time to help someone they don't even know. While we are still nervous I feel confident that we are going into it with open eyes. We are planning another trip and will take another look at Colleyville and also the Frisco Proper area as well. Thanks again so much!

One BIG consideration will be where your husband's employer will be located. You certainly don't want to set him up for a horribly long daily commute by moving too far away from his work.

that's funny because I started a post about relocating to So. Cal from Dallas. I'm actually going to the OC in 3 days. I have lived in Houston, Austin, Dallas and then north of Dallas. Houston housing is very affordable. Humidity is is bad there. HISD schools are terrible, but Cy fair and others aren't that bad. Austin is a liberal city. OC/LA area is not any more liberal than Austin. If you are talking liberal, San Fran is the city. Austin is probably the most beautiful "big city" in Texas. Grapevine... Just be careful where you buy your house. The DFW airport is a big airport and is one of the busiest in the nation. It surrounds alot of the smaller cities and it's gets noisy especially in the grapevine area. Everywhere you go in Texas the heat will be there. 100 deg. is very common in the summer. We can't live without air condition. That's why I take a vacation once a month to Cali, Canada or somewhere beautiful with a nice weather just to escape Texas. Property tax is about 3% average and sales tax is side by side with Cali. No income tax is a big plus. Texas in itself is part of the "Bible belt." Texas is more pro-business as opposed to Cali. and is alot more afforable. $350-$400k will get you a nice house here. I suggest you visit Dallas during the summer because your high temperature near the beach is our low here in the summer.

Thanks Ditto...I hear you on the weather..we visited in July to get a feel for what we are up against. Let me know if you need any info on california OC...I know the areas very well as well as the business enviornments.