Posted on 09/17/2009 7:16:03 AM PDT by rom
Some may remember that due to the job market I had planned on leaving California for Boston for work. Fortunately God had better things planned for me and provided me with work in Dallas, TX (Lewisville to be exact).
So I was wondering if any Freepers had any hints on where to live in the area, general comments on places to go with a young family (3 kids under the age of 5), etc.
I think we're going to love Texas (minus the weather - we're coming from CA)!
Thanks for the help FRiends! This is exciting AND scary, I've lived in SoCal for about 25 years now and this is going to be a HUGE change.
Check out Richardson....nice area.
Lewisville is a good place to live and is North of Dallas. You would have Lake Dallas and Lake Lewisville there if you want to be close to water. There are alot of nice suburbs around there also. Only problem you’ll have is I-35 traffic at rush hour.
I moved from SoCal to Forth Worth. I was given directions to go to the top of the hill and turn left. I never did find that hill. I learned two things fast, they call a 25 ft bump in the road a hill and if you live in Tarrant county Dallas is back east. Traffic can be crazy and when I lived there semi truck could use any lane on the freeway.
I moved to PA from CA - I had lived in CA for over 40 years. The weather is the weather; you will be fine!
I heard Arlington is a nice place to live.
Look at a city next to Lewisville called “The Colony” and specifically, the “Stewart Peninsula” section which has a golf course and is next to Lake Lewisville. Beautiful homes, fantastic prices. A well run small city with access to the 121 highway.
I moved here from Anaheim, CA this year and love it. I sold my 25 year old 1300 sq. ft. condo in Anaheim for $300,000 and purchased a 13 year old, one story, 4 bedroom, 2500 sq. ft. home in the The Colony. I paid $209.000. Easily this home goes for at least $700 in Irvine or Tustin.
The Colony is near Frisco, Plano, a short drive to DFW, Dallas, and Fort Worth. I had a pool built which we loved during the summer. Blue Haven Pools in Lewisville. It is so green here you won’t believe it. Right now there are some beautiful homes on sale in the Stewart Peninsula.
I would get a one story if I were you. Most 2 story homes need 2 central AC units. We love our one story and there is a premium on those it seems. “The Colony” is a perfect blend of a small town city near bigger cities when you need to go to a really nice place to eat or a Coldstone Ice Cream.
And being next to the lake, it is beautiful. And get ready to witness some serious Lightning and thunder storms....we like em......Good luck.
Welcome, and be sure and change that flag on your homepage!!!!
Approximately 5,000 families move into the Austin, TX area every month.
Cedar Park was 5,000 population in 1990. It is now 65,000!
Good Luck in the Lewisville area. You will love Texas! I know it. I’ve been here for 40 years near the Hill Country, and now retired after working for a great company, Texas Instruments!
I remember moving down here from Illinois with my newly married wife and a been scared to start a new job. We found the people so friendly around here! And they all helped!
1. Fill up at In-and-out on double-doubles and buy a t-shirt. Once in Lewisville you will be able spot former Californians by the tears that well up in their eyes when they see the logo. Also there are Carl’s Jrs in Texas but nothing close.
2. Learn the proper way to decline the y’all
3. High school football is the dominate religion. I am not a football fan and sometime you will hear stories that make no sense until you realize it is all about football.
4. Local newspapers are worthless.
5. All y’all introduce yourselves when you get here! First Shiner on me!
The Dallas/Fort Worth “Metroplex” is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the US after NYC, LA, Chicago and then there’s DFW. Bigger than Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Pittsburg, Philly, Miami, Portland, San Francisco, etc.
Dallas is kinda like LA without the ocean, beaches and palm trees. The 635 and the tollway is almost as bad as LA traffic sometimes. Housing is cheaper, gas is cheaper, food is cheaper. It’s hotter than LA in the summertime and not as warm in the winter usually. It even snows or ices over sometimes in Winter.
We still have “liberals” here and some PC baloney, mostly in Dallas and Austin. Austin is the SF of Texas.
Good museums in Dallas and Fort Worth. Too bad Fort Worth is too far away for your work. It’s cheaper and quieter.
Dallas is more aggressive and pretentious and narcissistic than FW. Good shopping in Dallas. We’ve got Neiman’s and Nordstrom’s for expensive clothes. We’ve got an Ikea.
Learn to love BBQ. Dallas and FW both have symphony orchestras.
You can be in Austin in about 4 hours by car if you feel like San Francisco.
Be sure your car AC works and works good. You don’t have to wear cowboy boots and a hat.
I wouldn’t reccomend Arlington for various reasons.
Pinging the DFW Freepers.
Start in Frisco. Young, growing, new, houses of all prices. Most up this way are from either NY, NJ or California.
You’re very lucky it was only two and a half months. I’ve been out of work for over a year and a half, but not due to the economy.
Drop a few lines on Natal when you get there. :)
There are beautiful hills and parks in OK if you need something higher than an overpass (the highest points in DFW).
Check out:
State Fair of Texas! Fantastic!
Dallas World Aquarium (actually an indoor tropical zoo full of fascinating, adorable and/or fearsome creatures of all kinds including giant river otters, panther, and howler monkeys.
Dallas has a pretty good NFL team. Go see ‘em.
Flower Mound is a wonderful place. I’ve lived here for 11 years now and love it. The schools are all exemplary. You will only be minutes from work.
When you get tired of Dallas, come up to Arkansas.
I left DFW about ten years ago after thirty years there and have never regretted it.
Best of luck to you!
Maybe. I certainly like it here and there's plenty of homes available (for a fraction of SoCal prices), but the commute to Lewisville may not be all that great. Once 121 (Sam Rayburn Tollway) opens up, it'll make it a lot easier. Most of it's open, but not all.
When I lived in Dallas in 1980, we had the heat wave. All the lakes dried up. But I really loved it there.
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