So I have two job offers of equal merits in terms of position/salary. In fact, it’s with the same company. They gave me the choice of going to Phoenix or Dallas. Now being a east coast native I know very little of the west coast. Which city is better?
I’d say Dallas. Also, Texas has no state income tax.
I’d take Dallas. There is nothing to do at all in Phoenix. Just a big, hot, desert.
Would you be in Dallas proper, or some place in the larger Metroplex?
I’ve grown up in Central Texas so I naturally think of Dallas as a hot, dry, boring, hellhole of insipidness. Culturally bland and utterly devoid of redeeming qualities. Phoenix is the only place I can think of that is worse in all categories.
Dallas. It’s no contest.
agreed. I don’t know why people voluntarily live in Phoenix
“It’s a dry heat.”
Which market has better housing opportunities for you? Both have plenty of recreation.
I disagree with UncleRojelio, Dallas has some world class museums, an excellent night life, a seemingly never ending list of great places to dine. Also, pretty much anybody doing a concert tour will most certainly be stopping by Dallas. There’s lot’s of plays that come by here too.
BUT, you will be surrounded by Jesus loving Republicans, so there’s that.
They each have their advantages and disadvantages. Dallas is more cosmopolitan, Phoenix is more laid-back. Dallas is full of Texans, Phoenix is full of transplanted midwesterners. If you like driving out of town and enjoying the splendor of nature, Phoenix wins hands-down. And both will be hot as hell in the summer.
Never been to Dallas. Was in Pheonix this spring for 5 days and ran out of stuff to do. And that was even with a side trip to Sedona.
It’s kind of like Vegas without the strip.
I grew up in Dallas and I spent a year working in Phoenix. I hate Texas with a passion but if I had your choice to make I would hold my nose and pick Dallas. If you have a chance to visit Dallas before making your decision be sure to investigate the Deep Ellum neighborhood.
Dallas is heavily liberal Democratic.
Having lived in Dallas, I’d advise you to move to Phoenix. I really hated Dallas with a passion. I moved there from Boston and was dismayed at the congestion, lack of public transportation, pan-handling, and crime. I worked at UT Southwestern Medical School and lived 12 miles away from work. At a bare minimum, it took 45 minutes to get to work, and sometimes as much as an hour and a half. Multiple times, stopped at a gas station, outside of a restaurant, or even just waiting at a light, someone would approach me asking for a hand-out. Unlike other places I’ve been, the pan-handlers in Dallas would get downright belligerent if I didn’t give them something. On one occasion, which happened to be the last time I’ve ever given a hand-out, I gave a woman $10 at a gas station. She then said she really needed more, could I give her another $10. I gave her another $10, to my shame, and then she wanted another $20. When I told her no, she started screaming at me, Anyway, digressing, but I really wouldn’t advise anyone to move to Dallas.
I lived here all my life. I ain’t see’n it.
You can find plenty of 20-somethings wondering around Deep Ellum that are Libs. But good luck finding middle aged Dems or Libs in everyday life.
Neither is really “west coast,” but Dallas isn’t even close.
Maybe it’s the crowd with whom I associate, but I will say that my co-workers and friends tend to fall all across the spectrum. Now, I work and hang out in the Uptown area, but I could see in the Midcities where it might skew more “Red.”
We really need to know the OP’s interest before we can make decent recommendations. I’ll present my thoughts here. I’ve lived in Phoenix (now live north of Albuquerque), have been to Texas, but never lived there, but grew up in Metro Atlanta.
Phoenix:
[ul]
[li]Blisteringly, miserably hot throughout the summer, which extends from the beginning of May to the end of September. The heat extends throughout the evening and nighttime, so even if you do your outdoor activities outside, it’s still hot. I had cabin fever about 6-7 months out of the year. No joke.[/li][li]Still pretty hot through April and October too.[/li][li]Winter is pretty pleasant and comfortable.[/li][li]But, during the summer, it’s just a couple/few hour’s drive to cooler, mountainous locales, such as Flagstaff, the White Mountains, and Prescott (Prescott is still pretty deserty, and gets pretty warm, but not like Phoenix. Whiskey Row will make you forget how hot it is.)[/li][li]Great hiking and mountain biking trails around Phoenix, and up in the higher elevations, depending on season.[/li][li]Lots of mountains: smaller hills closer in; real, honest-to-goodness mountains not too far away.[/li][li]About a 5-6 hour drive from San Diego and LA, or a short flight to each.[/li][li]Good “foodie” locations. Tons of unique restaurants constantly popping up. Also, microbreweries. It’s probably good that I got away from this.[/li][li]Neat historical towns to visit. Sure there’s plenty of tourist-trappy stuff here, but some pretty fascinating history as well: Jerome, Bisbee, and Tombstone (yes, Tombstone) come to mind.[/li][li]Not responsible for idiotic, anti-intellectual science and history textbooks though there are some who would have it that way.[/li][li]You can buy booze starting at 6am Sunday morning.[/li][/ul]
Dallas
[ul]
[li]Hot and humid, but probably not as hot for as long as Phoenix, but when it’s hot, so is everywhere else nearby.[/li][li]So freaking humid[/li][li]Flat flat flat. As is everywhere else within a several hour drive.[/li][li]Galveston (the coast) is 4.5 hrs away. Not bad.[/li][li]Dallas and Phoenix have artsy-fartsy things to do, though admittedly Dallas probably has more to offer in this regard.[/li][li]3 hrs to Austin and 4.5 hrs to San Antonio. Those are both pretty cool places.[/li][/ul]
Where on the east coast are you currently, and what do you like and dislike about where you live?
Texas is someplace you either love living with every fiber of your being or you loathe with every cell in your body. There are very few people who don’t really care about living in Texas, they either think it is the greatest place in the world or they get the fuck out as soon as possible. I am in that second group. I’ve lived on the east coast for many years now, and I still get up every day and thank my lucky stars I don’t live in that craphole of a state any longer.
Short list of things I hated about living in the Dallas area:
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The bugs. Holy shit, the bugs. Ever found a scorpion in your bathroom? Brown recluse spider in your shoe? Your yard covered with a bajillion locusts or centipedes? Don’t worry, you will if you move to Texas.
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The heat. Triple digit temperatures for weeks at a time is not anything I ever need to experience again.
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The Jesus. All over the damn place, down your throat, on billboards and bumper stickers as far as the eye can see. I’m cool with religion and have my own religious beliefs so it isn’t that I don’t like people believing in Jesus, but The Lord is present everywhere in Texas and can’t really be escaped.
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The water. Oftentimes it tastes like it poured right out of Satan’s butthole depending on what city or county you’re in.
But all that being said, if you like living in Texas then you really, really like living in Texas. So if you move there and decide that you like it you will probably find yourself stupidly happy. But do yourself a favor and go visit before you make that decision, because you might find yourself incredibly miserable really fucking quick if you aren’t sure you will like it before you move.
As for Phoenix I can’t say since I’ve never been there, but I would vote no on a move to Dallas.