Moving to Texas
 

My son, a recent college graduate with no family, may be moving to Forth Worth/Dallas area soon. What areas between Forth Worth and Dallas should he consider living at...? and what areas should he avoid...?
He is on a recent graduate budget....:o
Thanks!

Good move
 

I lived in Dallas for four years (up to the end of 2004). In my opinion, its one of the few big cities that are still very affordable. You can have a very good quality of life on a graduate salary.

It can be hotter then hell, but there is a young friendly crowd and a lot of fun things to do.

All you need to do is drive around to know where not to live. Do you have an idea of where he plans to work? Dallas doesn't have the same traffic problems that Atlanta does and hence you could commute quite easily.

When I lived there I had a beautiful one bedroom apartment in Addison. Addison is in North Dallas, it's quite a nice area with lots of business, bars , clubs and shops. If I moved back, I think I would go back to that area or to the uptown area.

Let me know where he plans to work, and I can do my best to help you further. I even know a couple of good MB Mechanics in the area.

All the best.

Well...
 

He will be in Dallas for 6-8 months and then he will transfer to Fort Worth. He does not want to move twice...

Irving
 

Consider moving to Irving / las colinas area. It's a nice area with lots of businesses, restaurants and bars. There is also a great restaurant / bar there called Cool River Cafe. If you like steak, you need to make him take you there when you visit.

Moving twice may not be a bad idea. Ft Worth is actually a lot prettier then Dallas and down town feels a lot safer and cleaner.

Where exactly in Dallas will he be working?

I too am new to the DFW area, having moved here from Chicagoland a couple years ago. My family and I live just E. of Plano. I think the Plano area (including surrounding towns of Murphy, Wylie, and some northern parts of Richardson) is a great place to live, fairly safe, and well kept. Some areas of it can be pricey if you ask the locals, but it's all relative - most of the housing in Chicagoland runs 2 to 3 times the prices around here so I think it's all pretty affordable.

College grad
 

We need to factor in that the son is just out of college :). While Plano is a great place to raise a family.... I think I would go out of my mind if I lived there in my 20's :D

Re: Living on a limited budget.
Well, at least he won't have a state income tax to worry about. Texas, Florida and maybe one or two others have no state income tax. Don't know where they get the money to run the state. Sales Tax? Corp. or Energy tax?

thats right, how do they get the money? they dont!
no, theres a sales tax 6.25%, not that that covers very much, but thats how we like our government here in texas, broke so that they dont have enough money to jerk us around.

there are no poor people in Ft Worth. ever see the Ft Worth COPS episode? worst one ever.

States that have no state income tax still need to make up the revenue in other ways, usually via higher than normal property taxes and / or sales tax.

I wonder what the property tax rate is in Texas.....

Well, I live in Joisey, see.
:mad:
I'll see your high property taxes..and raise them.(highest in the nation)
I'll see your sales tax... and raise it. (Corzine is proposing to raise it to 7%.)
I'll see your income tax..and ,well we don't have the highest rates, but at 8.9% top rate (thanks to SweetPea Jim McGreevey), we hold our own.
Buying a new car, well, pay five years registration fee up front.
Selling real property? Pay some of the highest realty transfer fees in the nation.
Buying a million dollar house? Pay a fee of 1% for the privelege. On and on.:rolleyes:
NJ supposedly has the highest per capita income in America. And we are sure taxed like it.

Government Broke? We face a 4 billion deficit this year.
Government Corrupt? We beat everyone hands down.
Sheesh !!!:mad: :mad:

Nevada doesn't have a sales tax, but they have an altenate source of income that is only available there.

not any worse than they are in California! we have plenty of property taxes, but its all city/county/school district. i dont think there is any significant state property tax, if any at all. i dont remember paying any!

Wow, cooool.

Our property taxes are 1% of the assessed value, plus assesments. Every city is marginally different, but as a rule of thumb, it is safe to use 1.25%.

Geez you guys know how to threadjack.

OK, I live in Plano, it's great, and it ain't gonna work for this kid. Marginal if you work in downtown Dallas, completely geographically undesirable for working in Ft. Worth. Plano is ~25 miles north and a bit east of downtown Dallas. During rush hour it takes 2 hours to drive to Ft. Worth.

First, some geography. Dallas and Ft. Worth lie on an east/west line. The city centers are about 50 miles apart. Several freeways tie them together - I-20, I-30, 183, 114, etc.

If the kid is going to work in Dallas, then Ft. Worth I suggest he live somewhere in between - the so-called "mid-cities" area. Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, etc. - there's a bunch 'O them. I don't know the area well, but these are not places with scary reputations. Decent, safe, reasonably priced housing should be available in any of them.

The aforementioned Las Colinas area is nice, but I would find it a bit far to commute to Ft. Worth. I would think he wants to be west of DFW airport if convenience to Ft. Worth is important.

If he wants to live in Dallas, a popular spot is "the village" - a collection of a dozen or so apartment complexes located near US -75 (AKA Central Xpwy) and Southwestern. Mostly young folks living there, active social scene, parties, sporting leagues, etc. It'd be hell driving over to Ft. Worth though.

I always found apartment living to transient anyways. So I'd suggest he live in Dallas until the job moves to Ft. Worth, then relocate. Probably be wanting a new place by that time anyways.

My $.01,

- JimY

Thanks for all the comments...
 

2 hours to drive to Fort Worth??????????????????????

I know it is approximately 35 miles between the two cities. Traffic must be horrible....
He is thinking of getting a place closer to Fort Worth, bite the bullet and commute to Dallas for 6-8 months but, 2 hours????