Moving to Dallas, TX! (vanity)

Me | 09-17-09 | rom

[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.

[manic4organic]

Dallas sux. I grew up there. Liberals and crappy schools. Hope you’re moving to a suburb. On the other hand, Fort Worth rocks. People say hello when you walk by. The Stockyards, the museums, the FOOD. Join your local 912 or Tea Party group.

[Grams A]

One thing people who move to Texas need to do is get out and drive and see our awesome state. Not only do we have the beach, the hill country is awesome, complete with Pinderales Falls, Enchanted Rock, Fredricksburg and Big Bend. And we do have lots of trees and open space. Big difference between Dallas, Houston, west Texas and east Texas, however. Pack up your pick-up, Don’t Tread on Me flag, learn the pledge to the Texas flag and come on down.

[Bigoleelephant]

I live in Farmer Branch which is about 15 minutes by freeway from Lewisville.

Lewisville is a nice town. Flower Mound is just west of Lewisville. A newer community. Lots of families. Lantana is northwest of Lewisville. It is a new upscale area with lots of families. They have their own golf course. Carrollton is just east of Lewisville. It has some very nice areas.

You can pick up a very nice house with your CA equity.

[penelopesire]

Welcome to Texas! Lots of good conservatives in Lewisville and the surrounding areas. Forget Dallas..it sucks..lol.. when you want to have fun..go to Fort Worth! The new football stadium in Arlington is AWESOME too.

[TomGuy]

I was in DFW about 12 years (mid-80s to late 90s) and returned to nwAR about 11 years ago.

Then, the mid cities — Hurst, Euless, Bedford, and North Richland Hills were decent bedroom communities. Most of the communities north of Airport Freeway (183/121 IIRC) were growing bedroom communities.

I am retired, but nwAR area hasn’t been hit as bad as other areas by the economy. I’m only about 30 miles from the worldwide headquarters for Walmart and Tysons, and they keep the economy here pretty decent.

Last I heard, the unemployment rate for Arkansas was in the 6% range.

[TomGuy]

Dallas sux. Fort Worth rocks.

It is amazing how different the cultures in those two cities are, considering their proximity to each other.

I lived in Hurst and then moved to downtown Dallas (1993) for a year. Hurst wasn't much different that the suburban areas of Tulsa.

When I moved to Dallas, I noticed some striking differences -- such as armed guards stationed outside grocery stores, a Target store, etc. And at night, the sound of gunshots in the distance were not uncommon.

I was so glad to get back to Hurst after a year of Big D.

[JNRoberts]

Lake Lewisville won’t be drying up anytime soon. It has 183 miles of shoreline. It’s huge and right at the level it should be. Northeast Texas is much cleaner and greener than Southern CA.

[dfwgator]

Especially with all the rain we’ve had this week.

[Stat-boy]

I live near Houston, but I have a brother that lives in Dallas.

My recommendation is to live in a county just outside of Dallas where the county offices are held by Republicans. For quality of life reasons, which you will understand when you get there, I would not live in Dallas County due to the liberal DA and the nutcase Sheriff and the incompetent City of Dallas leaders.

Here is a map of the Texas vote in 2008:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_in_Texas,_2008

[weef]

Welcome to TX! I’m down here near Houston so I don’t have much advice for you other than we have friends in Southlake and that’s where I’d go if I was moving up there. I also have a relative in Addison and found that place very nice and very convenient to Dallas.

[JNRoberts]

Lake Lewisville won’t be drying up anytime soon. It has 183 miles of shoreline. It’s huge and right at the level it should be. Northeast Texas is much cleaner and greener than Southern CA.

[TomGuy]

Lake Lewisville won’t be drying up anytime soon. It has 183 miles of shoreline. It’s huge and right at the level it should be.

[Snicker]

I'm used to Grand Lake o' the Cherokees in ne Oklahoma. It has over 1300 miles of shoreline and 60,000 surface acres.

[deport]

You probably won't be there in time for the following but if you are it would be expidite the learning curve a bit.

Lewisville's signature “Western Day Festival” will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009

[boxlunch]

You’ll love Texas and the Dallas area. Yes, the scenery is not that pretty (although there are places not too bad) but the people are wonderful. Sending some Freepmail your way, too.

[lowbridge]

bump

[SvgHenry]

I use to live in Lewisville for a while. That was in 2001. I lived just a couple miles from DFW International Airport, so you can imagine the scare I got everytime a very low flying plane flew over my head just after 9/11.

Parts of Lewisville are quite nice to live in, but honestly I'd check in a couple other places first. Flower Mound, The Colony, and Frisco all have great things going for them. If you're looking for a home these would probably be your best bet based on locale and affordability. Coming from CA I am confident you'll be pleasantly surprised how much further your dollar goes here!

Frisco use to be a one street town, now it's a huge city. Frisco lays claim to an IKEA, a fact that most people from there wear like a badge of accomplishment. Just next door to IKEA you'll find Stonebriar Mall. This mall is big. And I mean BIG. Any and all shopping you, your wife, or your kids will ever need is within a 1-2 mile radius. Oddly enough, Frisco has always been affordable, at least by neighboring Plano’s standards. I was born in Dallas and Grew up in Plano. My parents still have the same house in Plano that they bought in 1978ish.

Plano isn't a bad option, but the money there is getting older, thus making the area more...snobbish. Plano use to be new money, entrepreneurs, ideas, growth, and wealth. Now it's settled down, stopped expanding, and has become what it is today. Not all of Plano is super expensive, but it is rather pricey even in the older areas with homes built 20+ years ago. If you can find a good deal there I'd say go for it. PISD is amongst the best schools not just in TX, but the US. You working for Microsoft, you can appreciate that there is a guy from Plano who now works for Infinity Ward, who's creating one of the most anticipated games of all time, in their art department. Also another girl from the same class year is a host of a show on G4 Network.

Both Flower Mound and The Colony boast well as far as prices go. I'm not too sure how well their school districts are, but I've not heard bad things from friends of mine who live there and have kids going to school there. They are in closer proximity to Lewisville and are a little more “quiet” if that's what you're looking for. Not my cup of tea, personally, but it may fit what you're looking for.

As for entertainment, you won't find a whole lot to do in those areas with the exception of annual city events. Lewisville has Main Event, which is a bowling alley, arcade, laser tag, and pool hall aimed at families and large groups. It can be fun, but rather expensive. You'll find quite a few Cinemark movie theatres around. Most of them are quite nice. Other than that, for more adult aged fun there is Addison which is just a straight shot south of Frisco down the Dallas North Tollway. There you'll find Beltline Rd, otherwise known as Restaurant Row in Addison since there is just about anything you could image to eat there. My personal favorite is Fogo de Chao, a Brazillian Churruscaria where they cook meat on large metal skewers over open flame and serve them tableside. Dinner for two will set you back at least $90, but it is so worth the trip every once in a while!

On a completely unrelated note, I am very jealous you get to work on the Natal Project! I say that like I actually have a skill I could bring to that table, but I don't. I'm a gamer who loves his Xbox and the Natal Project is a very exciting leap into the future of the industry! If you happen to ever go online for Xbox Live look me up, I'm SvgHenry, real name Patrick.

Have a safe trip down here! You'll love being around more Conservatives, I'm sure!

[Osage Orange]

I moved from SoCal in '97 after basically growing up there...and moved to Oklahoma.

One of the best things I ever did........

Love the weather, love the blue skies, love it all.....

Hope you do also!!

[Osage Orange]

Good post.......

I grew up in Anaheim...Went to Lincoln Elementary...

My parents remembered when St. College Blvd...was dirt. Ha!!

I bot a house in OK for $67k...that would sell in Anaheim Hills for $500k...or a million plus in Newport Beach.

[texaschick]

WELCOME

Texas is a great place, you’ll love it.

Unfortunately, you will probably be brainwashed to become a Cowboys fan. Try to resist.

[Amityschild]

If you get to the McKinney area, or to any other Freepers in the North Dallas area, check out the upcoming event in McKinney:

http://collincountyconservativerepublicans.com/fundraiser.htm

Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugs) will be speaking.

I’m going!