Govt Worker Looking to Relocate to South/Southeast or Texas (Houston: homes, employment)

[swahili4courage]

Hello everyone! My wife and I are seriously considering a move out of the DC metro area by summer 2007. We are looking for places to relocate to in the south/southeast or possibly Texas. We are unhappy up here with the cost of living/housing in the DC metro area (starter homes in desirable neighborhoods with desirable schools for your kids are over $390K --- this would be OUT of our price range). We are glad that the DC area is vibrant for jobs and economic growth, but if you are NOT already a homeowner, you are priced out of the housing market in the DC area (how do people make it here? But, that's another forum). Anyway, we are looking for a lower cost area in Texas or the south/southeast USA, with good schools and jobs for our respective careers (me -- computer specialist with the Fed Govt; she -- medical/health records field).

We'd love to be able to buy a home, with space to grow, and a decent-sized yard for our 2 kids to play in (ages 7 and 5), but we can't see it happening with (what we call) over-priced homes here in the DC area (at least homes in a desirable neighborhood).

We picture ourselves in the south/southeast or Texas. Any suggestions where we can start our search in? I just recently started a Fed Govt job, but I hope to transfer to another Fed Govt job next summer (summer 2007) in a location in south/southeast or Texas.

Although we have family in Charlotte (me) and Atlanta (wife), they would not be our first choices. Wife does not want to move to Atlanta (the traffic, sprawl, etc!!!); and Charlotte, although nice, is not a hot bed for Fed Govt jobs. Charlotte is more of a city for people in the financial industry.

We are looking for an area in the south/southeast or Texas with good schools, inexpensive housing (starter homes that are ready-to-move in, under $220K) access to an airport with direct flights to most major cities and good prospects for Fed Govt job employment (computer-related) and good prospects for jobs in the medical/health records field. There's GOTTA be a place out there somewhere that fits this bill.

Any suggestions/advice would be helpful. Also, if you can offer any advice on the things we should be doing now (researching, etc, etc) in advance of our plans to move in summer 2007, that would be great also!!!

Many, many thanks in advance! Looking forward to your input on locations for us to check out.

[stargazer]

There is a wide range of home prices here in Dallas Fort Worth. My suggestion for this area, is to live on the same side of town as you will be working. Traffic is terrible here if you choose to live far from work. Example, if you work North, live North and if you working downtown, consider living possibly south or east. If you working in Arlington, consider that part of town. Also too, Dallas Fort Worth and Houston tend to be the lowest price markets. Austin is much more money for a house. Also San Antonio is more expensive as well. My dad lived in Boerne* near six flags fiesta texas, ut san antonio and sea world and about a decade ago, * he was the chief appraiser of Kendall country* and because of his job, he knew what things were costing. He would point out homes and tell me what their values were. Some being over 300,000 and back then it blew me away. They weren't mansions but were nice homes. I can only imagine what they are now. I love San Antonio though. If you though are seeking a quality life in a family oriented city that can be under 220,000, I can vouch for many communities in the Dallas area as well as Houston. Good Luck

[swahili4courage]

Originally Posted by stargazer

There is a wide range of home prices here in Dallas Fort Worth. My suggestion for this area, is to live on the same side of town as you will be working. Traffic is terrible here if you choose to live far from work. Example, if you work North, live North and if you working downtown, consider living possibly south or east. If you working in Arlington, consider that part of town. Also too, Dallas Fort Worth and Houston tend to be the lowest price markets. Austin is much more money for a house. Also San Antonio is more expensive as well. My dad lived in Boerne* near six flags fiesta texas, ut san antonio and sea world and about a decade ago, * he was the chief appraiser of Kendall country* and because of his job, he knew what things were costing. He would point out homes and tell me what their values were. Some being over 300,000 and back then it blew me away. They weren't mansions but were nice homes. I can only imagine what they are now. I love San Antonio though. If you though are seeking a quality life in a family oriented city that can be under 220,000, I can vouch for many communities in the Dallas area as well as Houston. Good Luck

Thanks, stargazer. Yes, I have heard quite a bit about the traffic/congestion problem in Dallas area. I haven't been to Dallas in a number of years now, but I understand you guys have a light rail system there now (DART???). As you may realize, I live in the northeast, and in this part of the country EVERYBODY takes mass transit from time to time, so there is no "stigma" associated with riding/using mass transit in this part of the country, as it might be in the south/southwest. How receptive are people to DART? Have you ever used DART? If so, how efficient/reliable is it?

[Texan#1]

DART is a huge sucess! The rail line is undergoing an expansion right now that will more than double the miles of track we currently have and it will connect the line with the Dallas Love Field and DFW Airports. In a few years cities like Carrollton, Irving, and Farmer's Branch will have light rail running through them and where there are train stops new transit oriented development seems to pop up overnight! check out dart dot org