THE SHOWDOWN: Dallas Vs. Austin!

Also be sure to check on the cost of living, Austin is one of Texas’ most expensive cities to rent an apartment or home. As for Dallas being flat, you need to do some exploring around the DFW metroplex. You will be pleased in what you'll find.

 

Ry,

He's right. I've been to that gentleman's club too!!!

DL

 

I grew up in Dallas and went to college in Austin.

I really REALLY wanted to find a job in Austin... absolutely love the place. If I want some really nice roads to drive my Ferrari on, the closest to Dallas are in Austin hill country.

Austin, when I was there, was a lot more "fun" if you are younger... very vibrant community. However, it has grown tremendously since I left, and from what I hear, the infrastructure has been struggling to keep up. The roads are very congested.

Dallas has more/better restaurants. Austin has comparable nightlife, though. Dallas has pro sports. Austin has one of the best university sports programs. Austin has hill country. Dallas has... uhh... Motorsport Ranch. Both have a good lake for water fun.

 

Not if you've spent much time driving in Austin hill country... sorry, nothing here is close.

 

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood "flat"... yes, Dallas has much more silicone/saline than Austin does. Great doctors in Dallas.

 

You need to check out places like Highland Village, Flower Mound, West Lewisville, FAR North Carrollton, & FAR West Plano (West of Tollway, North of Parker Rd.) for hills in the DFW area.

 

Each area has its nicer parts like any big city.

Overall, I would much rather live in Austin. The hill country is the best part of Texas.

 

The hill country is great. We've also got Lake Travis/Lake Austin/Town lake (all one, going through various dams), Lake Georgetown and a few others a little bit further out. No pro sports, but that doesn't bother us down here. There is UT Football, lots of live music, Mr. Sinus Theater (www.mrsinus.com), and even though my commute can take a while for the mere 12 miles that it is, the scenery is just great.

As for Dallas - tons of restaurants (lots down here in Austin too). Especially up in Addison where there are a few hundred within a four mile streach.

I'm just biased.

 

Ryan, the choice between Austin and Dallas is lifestyle versus money. Austin is a much more desirable place to live, but for a variety of reasons Austin can be a tough place for a professional to make a buck.

One reason is that there will always been too many professionals in Austin because so many people go to UT and never want to leave.

The other reason is that Austin chronically goes through major boom and bust cycles. I have been in Texas for over 25 years and I have seen Austin zoom up and crash at least three times. Dallas on the other hand is a money making machine. Even with United pulling out, DFW is still one of the major crossroads of corporate America.

You pays yo money and you takes your choice.

Dale

ps If I had to live in the metroplex, I'd go to Ft. Worth in a heartbeat.

 

Dale makes good points. And Ft. Worth is an option. My brother and his wife + my mother live up there as well. It is a little more tame and relaxed than the Dallas area, and he even makes the long commute over to SMU every day. It is an option, just depends on the dollars being offered. I do have to say that the contacts, money, opportunities will be far greater in the Dallas area than in Austin. But then again, it just isn't Austin.

 

Hey.

What about Houston ?

 

- no job offer that Ryan mentioned
- it's flat
- it's humid as a swamp
- lots of old old money floating around (good point)
- lots of crime (not sure if I'd trust Dallas or Houston more)
- it's just not a desirable place to live if you enjoy driving, unless you like the twisties around potholes.
- I grew up there, I just can't hack it anymore. Sure, the 90mph traffic is fun, but the 0mph standstills for 45 minutes are horrible.

I wonder if there is any correlation between these two. hmmm.

 

Do like I do. I live in Austin and have offices in Dallas and Houston. Austin is a great place to live and raise your family. Dallas is a great place to work. Houston is, well, Austin is great.

 

To the comment on crime in Dallas:

Crime in the City of Dallas is indeed fairly high. However "Dallas" is usually used to designate the DFW Metromess, and in general the outlying areas are safe. If you like the metropolitian feel and want to feel safe, go to downtown Ft. Worth.

Traffic in the northern half of the metroplex has gotten ludicrous, but there are still some open spaces and uncrowded terriitories to the southeast and southwest of the metroplex.

 

It snows in Dallas. That means it's too cold for me there.

 

1 day a year and it really isn't more than a flurry

 

Can someone give me a bit more info on Dallas? I have been there but 3-4 times in the last few years, but haven't stayed there long.. What is the year round weather? Some temps in the winter and summer would be helpful. Hows is the humidity compared to Houston? I assume less, but how about compared to Los Angeles?

How much are decent houses going for in suburban neighborhoods, not too far from downtown/Law firms? I mean 500K buy you anything nice, or is it 800k+?

I did real estate research in Houston, and it seems there with 500K you can buy something really nice. I am not talking about RIveroaks high end, but I want something better than the SugarLand stuff.

In LA, starter houses are about 850K, so I was curious how is Dallas on a relative scale.

Also, besides UT Austin, what law schools (in TX), do you think Dallas Law firms look to hire from?

Thanks for the info.

 

Weather in Dallas/FW area is fine. Nothing is as humid (at least in Texas) as Houston, which is distant to LA.

If you are looking at $500K homes, you can even find that out in Sugarland. There are little hidden communities stuffed in the other suburbias that surround the area. If you want to shell out that much for a house in Austin, you can either get a very nice small tiny home, or a new(er) home built out a little further. It just varies. Let others give you a better opinion on the real estate market.

 

500K buys you a very nice house in any suburb around DFW. It buys you a nice smaller house near Downtown.

 

I just moved to Dallas although I never had the options you seem to have. One word of advice - nothing is forever today and you should be looking over your shoulder for the next job. Dallas has many more job opportunities in many more fields than Austin. When the techie revolution imploded, Austin took a serious hit because of its academic and techie dependence. The economy has never come back since then, relatively speaking. That may be a good thing but you cannot depend on your employer so may have to look for something elsewhere sooner than you would like. That's easier in Dallas.

On a peripheral note - Austin seems to choke on its one N/S arterial, I35. It seems that either all of TX is trying to get past the city on that highway or its the only way the locals can get from N to S - its like the CA 405 parking lot but for the wrong reasons.

 

Someone should rebut Dave, so I will. Hi Dave!

And for many of us that is hugely important.

Really? I've lived here 15 years and have had no problems. None. If you want to live in Oak Cliff or Pleasant Grove, you may have problems, but the burbs are trouble free. We do have the occasional incident with orange cones.

None. Not one. No pro Football. No pro Baseball. No pro Hockey. No pro Basketball.

I believe you WOULD be surprised, they're pretty active. But you already know, we are too.

I haven't noticed that, I've paid $1.95 for premium within the last month. Austin prices have always seemed inline with Dallas prices to me.

Austin is great, I love it there. But the traffic NEVER ceases to amaze me. It's insane, and I LIVE in a city with traffic problems. Dallas is a much more diverse place.

 

Yes, Dallas diversifies its traffic problems. =)

Austin isn't bad at all. You can complain all you want, but those that do complain have never been to Houston.