I'm planning on moving to Texas next year. Can anyone tell me whether I should move to Dallas, Houston, or SA

Answer 1

The three cities are so completely different it is hard to compare.

Houston is the largest of the three cities, and while I am not very fond of Houston as a city, many of the areas around the city are quite nice. There is ample entertainment, they have the Astros, the Texans, and the Rockets, and are close to the coast. The proximity to the coast has both positive and negative points. The positives are obvious, the negatives are of course the weather, the insects, and the humidity. But it can be a nice area.

The second largest and fastest growing is San Antonio. In the past 5 years SATX has moved from the 9th largest US city to 7th largest passing Dallas and continues to grow. While the whole area is growing the north side has grown 66% in the past 10 years. In the development the San Antonio MSA has become home to a Six Flags theme park, Sea World, Schitterbahn (the worlds #1 water park) and is in the planning for a Disney Theme park to start in the next 5 years. Also in San Antonio are the NBA Champion Spurs, the Missions baseball team, the Rampage, hockey team, and of course the Alamo and Riverwalk as well as other entertainment venues. Shopping is plentiful and restaurants abound. Also San Antonio is only 3 hours from the coast and is in the Texas hill country with area lakes, and rivers, wineries, caves and natural splendors. About an hour north is Austin which provides its own entertainment as the "Live Music Capital of Texas" and as the areas have grown you really don't seem to leave SATX before you enter Austin.

Dallas is the third largest city in the state, but also the most metropolitan. Much more upscale than the laid-back atmosphere of the rest of Texas Dallas has everything to do and everyone is in a hurry to do it. Oddly, Dallas is paired with Ft Worth which retains its cattle king heritage while spouting museums and art galleries. The combination of Dallas and Ft Worth make a great pair.

Actually, any one of these cities can give you everything you want. The cost of living is slightly lower in SA at this time, but it will probably catch up. I think the real key should be the terrain and ecology of where you want to live. The plains of north Texas in DFW. The hill country beauty of the SA/Austin entertainment cooridor. Or the coastal region of Houston.

All have everything you want and in Texas you can't go wrong!

Answer 2

The two cities are very different. Houston is a port city with many oil refineries, it's hot, humid and polluted by the refineries. Dallas is much farther north, almost in Oklahoma. There are no refineries, not heavy industry at all, mostly service industry jobs. It's cleaner than Houston for that reason. Before you move to either city you need to find a job and check the rents, etc. Texas is a huge state and the differences between our cities is major, so deciding is usually easy as the two places are so different. The general consus would be the Dallas is the better place to live. There are many nice suburbs with good schools and low crime rate. Again, the city is huge so where you work determines what part you live in.

Answer 3

Do you mean because of the area...schools...jobs...what is it that you are looking for the city to offer? All three are great choices for various reasons. I've only ever lived in Houston, but have visited Dallas and SA. Naturally, I recommend Houston because that's where I from! If you do move to Houston, don't move to the East side. The West side is always having construction on the highways. The North side has a lot to offer and there are areas (i.e. Woodlands) that are very expensive, but you can also move to certain areas of Spring or off 1960 that are reasonable. If you don't mind the commute, I wouldn't recommend living inside the Beltway, unless you're going to live in like Jersey Village or something. There are plenty of very nice neighborhoods inside of the Beltway, but they are usually more expensive than the outlying communities.

I hope this helps some!