CALLING ALL TEXANS, PAST AND PRESENT.

Hello all,
My wife and I currently live in SoCal (South Orange County). Wife works for a very well know burger company and was just offered a job position to move to Texas.. All expenses paid in the move. I am wondering if anyone living, or have lived in, Texas can provide some of your opinions on the area/state. We visited Texas last winter, 2015, and really liked the Grand Prairie area and Mansfield. The work is located in Lancaster. When we were there in the winter it was 70 degrees almost consistent. I loved the open area and the land. The people were kind. How are the summers? Does it flood once a year? Some homes we looked at were at least 30-45 minutes to the nearest grocery store compared to CA where it's 10 minutes. I am a mechanical drafter and work in Sokidworks, a CAD software. How are the engineering jobs in the region? Any feedback is appreciated.

Current status/stats:
*Married with our first child expected in August. So excited to become a father.
*Live in a home we bought not rent.
*We are both 28/27 yrs old.
*My parents are willing to move with us to TX. They want to leave the mess here in CA but are willing to stay here for us and for the baby on the way...their first grandchild.
*Mother in law has to stay due to a minor child wrapped up in a divorce, but said she will consider moving in a few years time.
*Father in law....don't go there!
*The work move will happen early 2018


Thank you in advance!

 

my wife and I are originally from so cal (Anaheim and Placentia) and we recently bought a house in Georgetown, Texas which is 15 miles or so north of Austin. We have lived all over the country and we never thought that we would live in Texas, but we are very happy that we ended up here. Weather-wise, Austin and Dallas are a little different. I think Dallas can get colder and can have more severe weather (such as tornados), but both areas can get hail. Coming from so cal, you will definitely feel the cost of living difference. It is probably twice as expensive to live in so cal than it is to live in Texas. For example, housing is sooo much cheaper here. We were in this little 2 bedroom apartment that cost $2700 a month and now, our mortgage is about $1100 a month. However, auto insurance is more expensive in Texas (in Austin anyway). Also, Texas does not have state income tax, but makes up for it with high property tax rates which is even higher than so cal. Job-wise, I cant speak for the Dallas area, but the Austin area has tons of tech related jobs. I have also heard from friends that the schools in Texas are better than in California which will be a bonus with your child coming

good luck with the move. you will enjoy Texas

 

Not sure if this is still relevant but as a long time Texan (DFW), hopefully I can help.


I wouldn't live in GP but Mansfield is nice. With the growth that Mansfield is seeing, your 30min drive time to the grocery store will definitely be resolved by 2018.

While it isn't the Midwest, it does get chilly here in Texas (especially DFW) in the Wintertime. Don't be surprised with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens. The past two years haven't really been all that bad but don't be surprised when it ices over. (which is what happens more often than not vs snowing)

Summers; I am not going to say they are awful, nor am I going to say they're pleasant. I will say it is, hot. Many days over 100 during the summer. It gets warmer towards July - Sept. August is traditionally the worst. While rare, it can get to over 110 here. Expect at least 30 days over 100 in a summer. Don't be surprised if those 30 days are in a row. Also, don't be surprised if we have 45+ days of 100+. Best advice I can say about summers here is you'll get used to it. Especially coming from an area like SoCal. It is humid here (not Miami or Houston humid, but it gets hotter here than it does in both of those places). Believe it or not, DFW is one of the hottest places in the US.

Best weather is definitely Fall. Spring is REALLY nice but it might try to kill you. (Tornadoes, hail storms, and lightning.) It rains the most in the Spring time. The last 3 or so years have been a bit of an anomaly. We went from exceptional drought to basically all lakes full in NTX in less than a year. Flooding in the DFW area isn't too common though. I have never been in a flooding situation.

To sum up the weather, you will use Air Conditioning more often than you don't. Expect that.

We have a lot of toll roads so get a toll tag. Also, you can pretty much drive 80 everywhere here. It's nice. Traffic during rush hours can be bad depending on where you are. (especially on Fridays) Also, it seems like every highway is under some sort of construction at any given time. Get used to it.

As far as jobs goes, you will be fine moving here and finding a job. Especially if you are good at what you do. There are plenty of Recruiting Agencies you can work with to help. However, I am sure you could find something without using one.

There are plenty of engineering companies in and around the DFW area.
Check this out http://www.engineering.com/jobs/texas/dallas/

You will likely make significantly less here (maybe not your wife since they are moving her here) than you do in California but it should go a little further here. Gas, Mortgage, goods, etc.



Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions and I will answer them to the best of my abilities.