Do you like Dallas?

JuliaBug

DH & I are currently living in Florida but are considering a move to Dallas (actually Richardson to be more exact) for a job for DH. We are a fairly young couple with no kids. He's an engineer. I work in finance and would have to find a new job.

Do you like living in Dallas? What do you like? What do you not like? Have you lived anywhere else?

How is the air quality? I've read bad things about the air quality and I have pretty bad asthma. I think this is my biggest concern.

 TIA.

Jennifer43

DH and I moved from Seattle to Dallas a little over 2 years ago. It was a HUGE change from the Pacific Northwest, but all in all we like it here. We are a young (25), recently married (May 11, 2009) couple as well and moved right out of college.

I definitely was not a fan of Dallas when we first moved though. I think I was homesick, plus I missed the scenery of the ocean and mountains, and the 4 seasons. But... Dallas has some great things to offer you just have to look a little harder to find them. The lack of rain and nice weather is a definitely plus after growing up with rain year round. The heat does get a bit extreme in the summers. 

As for the air quality, I might not be the best judge. I don't have asthma so I don't notice it being bad. It definitely gets humid, but not nearly as bad as down on the Gulf (Houston area). We have had air quality warnings (orange) for a while now, but it has cleared up I believe since the recent storms. But it never bothers me so again, I am not the best judge. 

Gipper'sGirl

DH and I moved from the Oklahoma City area about 3 years ago.  Honestly, I was more homesick than I expected I would be and we're only a 3-hour drive from OKC.  Dallas is growing on me though.  I think you just have to find your niche.

I love all of the museums, concerts that come through, shopping, dining.  There are always festivals and events going on throughout the metroplex.  We live in Richardson.  I love it because it reminds me a bit of my hometown and it's mainly older, established neighborhoods as opposed to new builds and the housing prices are very reasonable.  I also like how we're right next to Dallas, but still have that community feel.  Richardson schools are also very good if you plan to have kids (this is also good for resale of your home).

DH has asthma and it mainly acts up if we're working out or going for a jog.  He had that problem in OK too, so I don't know how TX would compare to FL.  A lot of people around here suffer from allergies as well.

HTH

texasmedflight

I love DFW....I lived out in a fairly small town in West TX and moved to Ft. Worth when I graduated highschool. I have lived all over DFW for the past 5 years and my lastest move was from Addison to Justin. Richardson is a nice area.....if you are a young married couple I would suggest checking out cities along the tollway from Addison to Frisco. They all seem to have more things to do and easier transportation to and from the airports. If you are house searching the outskirts may be your better option for price if not then apartments are everywhere in that area. Best of luck if you decide to move!

Mariah&Steven

I just have to say that Richardson is a great place to live.  You'll be so close to all different kinds of towns.  You'll be in close proximity to Plano/Rowlett/Dallas/Lewisville.  Seriously, I think that's a great town.  I'm probably biased because my husband was raised there...but it's also where we are considering moving because it's so centrally located. Plus, it has an amazing school district with a fantastic fine arts department.

We're also young (25) and we like Dallas.  We tend to go away from Dallas when we want to do anything though.  We like to go to Rockwall (Lake Ray Hubbard/The Harbor).  We like to go to Fort Worth for country concerts or Denton/Lewisville for musicals/entertainment.  Addison is great for entertainment as well. 

I have bad allergies in the fall/winter and that's the only time I have major problems.  But I just started taking a nasal spray (Omnaris) to help me.  It works wonders.  I think the air quality isn't that bad, it could be worse...and I think that living in Richardson will be great because you'll be away from the big city.

JuliaBug

Thanks to everyone for the comments. DH still has to land the job at his interview tomorrow, but it looks promising. We will have a lot of things to consider and I appriciate all of the advice.

hmp1

I moved around a lot growing up: FL, CA, AR, MO, AZ.  I have to say that I think DFW is ugly.  Tiny trees (compare to CA), we don't really have seasons like in the midwest, most of the houses are brick and built on a slab, flat land, no natural landmarks really.  We use highways as landmarks now and I find that sad. If we could work from home, we would move down to hill country (closer to Austin, TX).

However I do like the restaurants, shopping, cost of living (huge plus for DFW), and jobs. GL with the job interview!

mrspresley

hmp&mrj:

I moved around a lot growing up: FL, CA, AR, MO, AZ.  I have to say that I think DFW is ugly.  Tiny trees (compare to CA), we don't really have seasons like in the midwest, most of the houses are brick and built on a slab, flat land, no natural landmarks really.  We use highways as landmarks now and I find that sad. If we could work from home, we would move down to hill country (closer to Austin, TX).

However I do like the restaurants, shopping, cost of living (huge plus for DFW), and jobs. GL with the job interview!

i agree it's not pretty.  growing up in CA, i miss the beach. but there is lots of great dining and shopping here... cultural things like museums and theater to go to, etc.

my DH has really bad asthma - he takes a steroid inhaler every day.  he doesn't think the air quality affects his asthma, but it is hard for him to get out and exercise/run during the summer months b/c it is too hot.  dallas is bad for allergies though, everyone i know w/allergies has bad flare ups here.  all in all i think it is a decent place to live and cost of living is really reasonable.