Lets say your job might promote you. They have locations available in Tempe, Arizona, Houston, TX, and Dallas, TX. Which do you choose, and why?

You have a wife, a 5 year old boy, and a 4 year old girl. Looking for good gun laws, safe communities, good schools, decent restaurants, decent cost of living. I dont HAVE to live in the city near work, and could commute as much as 45-55 mins or so if necessary to find a decent community.

I have 200K in equity in my current house that I can put towards the new house once my house sells. (Broker says my current house is in PRIME location and will sell within 30 days with multiple offers.)

I've lived in Florida all my life, hate it, and am ready for a change.

Don't know much about Arizona other than its hot and amazingly beautiful out in the dessert. Texas has cowboys and steers. I guess.

Arizona. The desert is just beautiful. And don't let the heat bother you. I was there last year. It was 95 degrees with vey little humidity. Felt like 75 to me.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Lets say your job might promote you. They have locations available in Tempe, Arizona, Houston, TX, and Dallas, TX. Which do you choose, and why?

You have a wife, a 5 year old boy, and a 4 year old girl. Looking for good gun laws, safe communities, good schools, decent restaurants, decent cost of living.

I have 200K in equity in my current house that I can put towards the new house once my house sells. (Broker says my current house is in PRIME location and will sell within 30 days with multiple offers.)

I've lived in Florida all my life, hate it, and am ready for a change.

Don't know much about Arizona other than its hot and amazingly beautiful out in the dessert. Texas has cowboys and steers. I guess.

Not so much in Houston, although they aren’t far away... cowboys and steers that is.

You would be most at home in Houston, flat, similar climate, close to the sea, lots of rain, a hurricane now and then. Not many of those in Tempe.

Dallas has terrible weather but it’s different, colder, ice and snow, hail, violent t-storms, not like those candy assed storms in Florida, tornadoes even.

Tempe is higher, elevation wise, much drier and way hotter. Mild winters, though. Most of the streets run East-West or North-South. It’s closer to Vegas and Grand Canyon.

Spent a lot of time in all three cities back in the day.

I would say Tempe first by a long shot.

Dallas is OK.

I would quit before getting moved to Houston.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Arizona. The desert is just beautiful. And don't let the heat bother you. I was there last year. It was 95 degrees with vey little humidity. Felt like 75 to me.

Agree with the beautiful desert. There is an amazing amount of flora and fauna there. 95 degrees is OK, but stay out of the sun. Our radiant heat is pretty severe. But try 105 or 110 degrees. Walking outside from an air conditioned house or car feels like a blast furnace, but it's a dry heat.
 
I took my IDPA SO class at South Mountain (Phoenix Rod and Gun club) in August. I jumped up immediately when I took a seat on a porta-potty, with a black seat.
 

Bubbatime, PM me if you have any questions about the area. Email is in my profile.

Should you get a chance to come out and explore, let me know and my wife and I will show you around.

Arizona most definitely but its too bad your choice is limited to Tempe

there are much nicer places in Arizona...do you have to drive to a specific location for work?

I don’t know...Tempe has ASU

well, eye candy aside considering he's married

If you like the heat but can't stand the humidity, take Houston out of consideration for sure.

It was pretty nice today, here.

Lots of good about this town, but you are in the middle of a giant metropolitan area. Lots of crazy running around in this heat...

Ask away if you have questions about Tempe (or crazies).

Todd

There's no bad location choices in that mix.

Mostly for weather reasons, and of course this is a personal choice, for me of those three it'd be Dallas, then Houston, then Tempe, I think.

I've been to the desert. Picturesque, good folks, plenty of wide open spaces, but for me nothing clicked and said to me 'let's put down roots.' Texas has a very strong economy. Both Arizona and Texas both have good universities but Texas has more of them. Houston has hurricanes and humidity. I've been to Dallas a couple times over the last few years, and it has its share of traffic and crowding. It has been 30 years since I've been to Houston, so can't compare the two on those axes.

This is assuming the job prospects in all three places are identical, of course.

I don’t care for Houston. Don’t know anything about Dallas. Other than the bugs, I like the Phoenix area.

I've lived in Houston twice and I lived in the DFW metroplex once back in the 90s. Climate wise, Houston will be the closest to Florida, and if you like being on the water is better than Dallas which is better than Tempe. Personally, I like the climate better in Dallas than Houston as humidity kills me. Although, I don't miss DFW's hail storms, ice storms (Texans drive as badly in snow/ice as Floridians), tornadoes, and more frequent thunderstorms.

Dallas is in the middle of a housing boom right now, and $200k won't go nearly as far as it will in Houston.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
I would quit before getting moved to Houston.

You live in Chicago (Bwahahaha!!!) which is more fucked up than all 3 combined.

quote:

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
I would quit before getting moved to Houston.

You live in Chicago (Bwahahaha!!!) which is more fucked up than all 3 combined.

Well, it's a great place to live if you don't mind lousy weather 9 months out of the year, high crime, higher taxes, and some of the most corrupt politicians in the country.

I really enjoy the Tempe area but not sure I am cut out to live there. I feel like the desert would get old quick. There is just something about trees that I would miss.

As for Houston or Dallas, tough call. They both suck in general but I could make a great life for my family in the suburbs of either city.

I've lived in Houston. Spent lots of time in Dallas.

Temp has to be better than either.

where in Dallas is your job located? It could make a big difference in your choice of where to live and your drive times. The population of the DFW metroplex is greater than all of Arizona so that’s something to consider. I’ve lived in DFW 38 years. Personally I’d avoid Dallas county if possible but these days taxes in surrounding counties may be just as high. Collin county north of Dallas is one of the fastest growing locations in the country. We’ve had new toll roads built and lanes added to existing highways since I’ve been here. I’m not sure 50 minute drives exist within Dallas proper. So it all depends on work location. South of Dallas might be less costly but I’m not that familiar with those areas.

As for T’storms and all that, I’ve had hail damage to our 3 cars once and our house/roof twice recently. I’d rather insurance pay for my new roof than me having to due to the age of the roof. So a good hail storm every 15 to 20 years ain’t bad. . DFW covers 13 counties so it’s hard for the tornadoes to miss. So you hear about them more and there’s more to damage.

As for schools I’m sure you can find some good ones. Allen HS in Collin county is the largest in the state. Their football stadium cost $60M. If your kids like sports, playing in HS is very competitive and may not provide the opportunities of a smaller town.

There is little or no public land to shoot on. So AZ would be better in that regard. But there’s plenty of indoor ranges.

I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone against Dallas or DFW given a choice. We’ve got better Mexican food too.

Lived in Tempe last year for a year, yes the desert and the mountains can be beautiful but the valley is not. Now when I travel back I see some of the charm but would not live there again.

I live in the Dallas N suburbs, good schools, low crime....traffic can suck depending on where you work but all in all its a great place. Plus we need right minded people here to offset the freaks moving here from the left coast.

I have only visited Houston and the humidity is too much for me, reminded me of Jakarta.....

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
We’ve got better Mexican food too.

Geez, I'm not sure. Globe's El Ray Cafe does the perfect green chili burro enchilada-style.

For the past decade I've visited Tempe several times a year, weeks at a time. Here's the typical Tempe backyard. Alley in back where the city has trash receptacles. Everyone has their own space walled-in. Typical fruit tree. This one gave about 200 nice grapefruit this year.





A garage would be a luxury. Attached carport, nearly as good. Plan III, put up a fence, gate, and trellis roof adjacent to your house, thus "extending the backyard towards the front", and park there.

I like the areas between Mill and the 101, a little further from campus. Of course, with more money, there are even nicer neighborhoods close by.

Everything is close.

Salt River Canyon to the east and Oak Creek Canyon to the north are two of my favorite areas. Plenty of camping (not now, with Temporary Fire Area Closure Orders).