Should I move?

[ctopher]

hello
I am looking into the possibility of moving my family to Fort Worth/Dallas area. I am from So Cal. I can sell my home and pay cash for one there. I am looking for a job there in mech engineering. We want out of CA because of expense, crowds, etc. My question is, is FortWorth/Dallas a good area to move to for family/jobs? Or should I stick it out and see what happens with CA? I have a good job, but no room for advancement and no raises for 2 yrs.

 

[ctopher]

Got to be better than So Cal!
Took me 1 hr 40 min to go 35 miles yesterday!
Still looking for a Mech Designer position using SolidWorks (anywhere!)

 

[Baldor]

Yeah, the heat and humidity are bad, but that's why Houston is known as the "most air-conditioned" city in the world. Any smell is most likely caused by the petrochemical plants in the east/southeast areas. That's why I live in the northwest part!

 

[zqew05]

Yeah, I love Houston. I live in Alabama and I constantly badmouth the Houston traffic. BUT, everytime my company calls us for a meeting, I am soo happy to go there. So many places to see, theme parks, Galveston island, shopping at Outdoor World and Fry's Wlwctronics. AND Southern friendliness. Preplan your commute to avoid the freeway and you should not have any problems going to work.

 

[TheTick]

If you have children, and you love them, get them as far away from California schools as is possible.

All this machinery making modern music can still be open-hearted.

 

[ctopher]

I agree Tick, that is my 1st priority.
thanks everyone

 

[ClydeMule]

ctopher,

I have the same thoughts as you right now. I grew up in Orange County, went to school in San Luis Obispo, and now live in San Diego County. Depsite all of the negatives, I think SoCal is one of the most beatiful places in the country (the whole state is pretty nice) and I would not have traded my childhood in OC for anything.

Right now however, my wife and I want to move out and pay cash for a house like you are talking about.

I think you really need to consider a change in lifestyle if you really want to make that large of a move. I would not move just because of smog and traffic. Almost every big city has that. Where there is work there are people and there is traffic there is smog. You still may have to drive a ways to work and sit in a cubicle 40+ hrs/week.

My wife and I are considering a whole lifestyle change. The areas in which we are looking to move: Reno/Tahoe, Boise, NE New Mexico, Northern AZ, southern Utah. Reno is the most urban of the bunch. I've considered buying a dairy someplace and just farming full time. If we buy a house in the sticks for cash I could just dink around doing my hobbies for a living.

If I move to another large urban area, the only advantage as someone mentioned is the cheap housing.

I am also sick of California politics and taxes.

If you never have been there, most of Texas is flat. I dunno about you but it gives me the willies. I like seeing mountains, I get lost otherwise.

Good Luck

Clyde

 

[ctopher]

Thanks for the input Clyde. I have thought of N AZ also.
It is tough thinking of moving from CA.
I agree with you about all big cities being similar and TX flat. I love the mountains also. I still have an ok job and somewhat stable. I will be getting some good training soon, so I may stick it out for a while.

 

[Binary]

Mark up another Californian considering a move.

Personally, I'm looking up toward Oregon which offers real seasons but not nearly as much rain as Washington.

I'm a 5th-generation Californian and I've never been to another state whose geography and climate I like as much as here but the state's a mess and I'm thinking that I should "get while the getting's good"

Clyde Poly rocks!!! (& SLO and the surrounding area is about the nicest part of the state, IMHO - I guess that's why there are so many degreed waiters, bartenders, and bus drivers there...)

 

[zqew05]

I moved my family five years ago from San Diego, California and never looked back.

 

[matthews443]

Last year I moved away from Houston, TX to Long Island, New York and let me tell ya, though I am from Upstate New York originally, Texas was very nice. I lived in Houston but a half an hour drive out and there was plenty of country. Besides the heat and being 3 days of traveling away from family, i sure miss Texas.

 

[pennpoint]

ctopher, et al:
So you want to flee. I do'nt blame you at all. The state of California is is such dispair, I do'nt think it will ever recover. I am not too far from retirement now, I wish I could stay where I am. We have a lovely home (So. Cal). But with all this BS, I do not think we can afford to stay.
Our plan, (and I generalize) which would be diffrent from someone younger, is to visit various cities in AZ, NM, and NV in that order of MY preference. We will pick a city rent or buy a condo for a short time to get a feel of the terraine. Then we'll buy a small place. You can modify this plan, if you have children look for the best schools, whatever is your priority, etc. But resist buying until you know the area.
You are doing the right thing to move, It's OK! It's the American Way! Workers should go where the work is. Thats how California was developed back in the late 30's through the 50's. Review the history.
I am a native Californian and I really like where I live but; Can I stay here when I retire, I donno?
Whoops! Can I even afford to retire?
If I retire and leave, can I afford to come back later?
And you guys thought it was so simple..

Hang in there...it can only get better!

I Wish You All Well

pennpoint

 

[Miper]

ctopher,
As a mechanical engineer, you have many more options than someone in, say, aeronautics. In particular, the biggest cities aren't your only option. There are manufacturing and engineering firms in most towns of any size.

There are always tradeoffs. If you hear of a place with great scenery and 4 real seasons that are mild, let us know. We'll probably beat you there.

Having worked in the Long Beach area for several years, I agree with your conclusion that So. Cal. is no place to raise a family -- whether your concern is the hassle factor or the dysfunctional environment.

Yes, California is a beautiful place - when the smog lifts and/or when you have time to look, which isn't really very often - with all the time it takes to get around. Still, I know how hard it is to steel your nerve to leave. You will wonder for a while if you've lost your mind. But that sort of thing happens whenever you pull up stakes.

Just make sure your wife won't be irrevocably unhappy. She needs to find something about a new area to like enough to call it home. If not, you will be moving again within a few years, and when you try to go back, house prices may well be even further out of reach. I've talked to engineers that's happened to.

Mid - and east-Texas have a generally good climate, but share the extreme summer humidity problem with the entire south. I honestly don't know how people managed to live there before air conditioning. Maybe some people aren't so affected by humidity.

West Texas doesn't often have high humidity; but if you don't like El Paso, then I suspect you wouldn't like Amarillo, Lubbock, or Midland. But there are many others -- Harlingen, Brownville, Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio, and San Angelo to name a few prominent ones. The latter three are particularly nice to visit, but they are far enough east to get some of that famous humidity.

West Texas has decent scenery, especially near Big Bend National Park. The towns of Presidio, Laredo, and Zapata have plenty of western character, occasional turbulent growth, and, no doubt, good engineering opportunities.

Most places in smaller towns will have a lower wage scale. You might not find a job paying more than half what you now make in California. So you have to decide what you really want -- high reportable income with high expenses and a hostile family environment, or moderate income and low costs with a good family environment.

There have got to be other smaller towns around the country with a good mix of income scale, cost of living, locality benefits, and family friendliness. I'm sure the other contributors can offer more suggestions along these lines.

In summary, if you don't have to limit yourself to huge, unlivable megacities, you have lots of options besides Dallas and Houston.

 

[ctopher]

Thanks Miper, lots of good info. I am still debating which area to go to. I like to fish and FW/Dallas has some nice lakes. But still looking at other areas. Thank you all for the inputs.

 

[ClydeMule]

If you can deal with the humidity, the gulf coast states are pretty nice and have great housing prices.

I visited Birmingham recently, and was fairly impressed. Being a Californian (where we have only beaches you know), I could only picture Alabama based on what I saw in Forrest Gump. But it is big enough town to have some oppurtunities for work and not have you feel like you are in the total sticks. I didn't check it out, but I am sure there is no shortage of lakes around there.

Clyde

 

[ctopher]

My mom. aunts & uncles are all from Bermingham. They came out to Calif ~1960. Now they wish they had never left!

 

[leanne]

ctopher, I have a sister in LA & several siblings in San Jose. I lived in SJ one year & couldn't wait to get back to Texas.

If you want four seasons, you don't want DFW. We have two seasons in Texas: summer & February. If you are used to CA traffic & smog, driving DFW will seem like a clean drive home to you. In non-rush hour, there is rural living within 30 minutes to an hour of Dallas (or Ft Worth) in most directions.

I'm working in Indy now because it's where I was able to get a job. I was laid off last Octogre from my job in the Houston area & didn't get a job offer until April (from my former employer - they have a facility here in Indy & gave me all of my service levels back - it was a very attractive package - I was gone for 2.5 years). I am a native Dallasite, but I'd go back to Houston in a heartbeat. I went to school in Dallas, but my summers were spent in the Piney Woods. We've got a place in Galveston.

The Gulf is not stinky. The ship channel & the refineries can be smelly periodically. Even Pasadena which we used to call "steenkadeena" ain't too bad now. Out in the boonies of NE Texas between Paris & Greenville, we lived in a little town called Ladonia - about an hour & half NE of Dallas. It stank - ever lived near a meat packing plant? Whew, if the wind is just wrong (and I mean wrong - it sure ain't right), you'll wish you were not there. Praise be, the packing plant closed down & Ladonia is a lovely little town with mostly old & historic houses (I'll be happy to give you a referral to a realtor if interested in a 3200 sq ft historical landmark Victorian 2 story with a pool on ~1 acre for under $100K).

Regarding Alabama...I've got an uncle who has worked for a NASA contractor for a number of years in Huntsville, Alabama & they love 'bama. I've tried for years to get on with NASA. My current employer does some NASA contracts, so I'm trying to do some networking for that area.

ClydeMule, I lived in the Santa Clara Valley when I was in CA - I'm sad to say, no beaches there....

 

[ClydeMule]

Leanne,

I was just referring to the commmon misconception.

The beach is nice, but personnally I am a mountain guy. The Sierra Nevada is like Heaven to me. Plus you don't get sand stuck in weird places.

Clyde