Moving to Dallas Guide: What to Know, Where To Go

Moving to the ninth largest metro in USA - the complete Moving to Dallas Relocation Guide.

Moving to where the real patriots live means moving to the South. Or more specifically to Dallas, TX. This city is the ninth largest in the country as the metro area has over six million people. Not all of them are those modern day cowboys with a huge Texan ego and an over sized pickup truck, but as we all know there is a little truth in every story. Living in Dallas has it’s pros and cons, but honestly when you do your research you will confirm for yourself that the pros are more. Dallas and Forth Worth metro area are together known as The Metroplex. Both places are modern, exciting and culturally diverse where you will find nice weather all around, affordable housing, in and outside attractions, established economy and educational opportunities. This is your what to know before moving to Dallas complete guide.

The Weather in Dallas and The Outside

Weather surely is a major factor for many people to decide to relocate to Dallas. The subtropical climate makes it warm year around and rarely snows. For many of us, living in the northern states, the prospect of not shoveling snow five months in the year, may work as the single decisive factor making us relocate to Dallas. Sure it could be quite hot in the summer, with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees Fahrenheit yet the winter free idea will prevail and make you relocate. So, the winter is mild with average high temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and average low in the 30s while the summer is really hot. The spring and fall seasons bring in very nice temperatures, but very wet and stormy conditions as well. Dallas lies within the Tornado Alley and spring weather could be severe.

With Texas being the largest state in the US, nature lovers can imagine that there is a huge recreational area around Dallas. Texas includes mountains, lakes, plains and deserts. It’s natural diversity draws many visitors each year. Dallas is surrounded with many state parks featuring forest preserves and lakes. The Dallas Park and Recreation Department maintains over 21,000 acres park land that includes 17 lakes. That has over 60 miles of jogging and bike trials, 22 swimming pools, 6 golf courses and over 200 tennis courts, just to name a few.

Dallas relocation newcomer guide

Housing In and Around Dallas

The Texas Fair Park is the only intact and unaltered pre 1950s world fair site remaining in the USA.

Dallas consists of 11 districts all offering affordable housing in and around the city. Dallas is known for its low housing cost and lower cost of living in general. Dallas average  home price is around $200,000 and average rent for two bedroom between $800 and $900 a month. Dallas divides into Downtown, Uptown, East, West, South and Northwest Dallas, Lake Highlands, Oak Clif, Oak Lawn, University Park and more suburbs such as Arlington, Addison, Irving and Grapevine.

• Downtown, along with Uptown and Oak Lawn, is the epicenter of urban life characterized by crowded retail, restaurants and flourishing nightlife.
• East Dallas, contained with many neighborhoods, is the largest area north of highway I-30 extending from Central Expressway to White Rock Lake. It features. It is a homey but hip area with featuring many old-fashioned houses and vintage shops.
• North Dallas is made up of several more upscale neighborhoods, while Northwest is home to Kreatown and the city’s second biggest airport, Dallas Love Field.
• Oak Cliff is a residential district southwest of downtown and one part is large low-income area, while another nestle upscale homes.
• South Dallas is home to Texas State Fairgrounds and the Fair Park is open all year and is home to several museums.
• West Dallas is largely an area hit by poverty, but also re-development projects. It does feature The Belmont Hotel that offers unique view of the city.

So, there are many places to choose from when moving to Dallas and a lot of research to be done. Don’t forget that pre-move trip is a good way to get a taste of what the city really is and to pick your neighborhood or suburb. The Metroplex area is not the typical western laid back Texas atmosphere, but you will also not be surrounded by unfriendly and tame tone. So, before relocating to Dallas and start stereotyping, think about that truth always lies somewhere in between.

Jobs & Shopping in Dallas

The two activities listed above involve either spending money or making money. In Dallas, you will have both opportunities, to make and to spend money. Dallas is known as the birthplace of the malls in the US and a for offering good career opportunities. The Metroplex area has one of the highest concentration of corporate headquarters of publicly traded companies. Moving to Dallas will mean moving to the city with the second highest concentration of  Fortune 500 companies, 12 for the city and 20 for the metro area. The job market is well established in industries like banking, the oil industry, technology and health care. Some of these companies include ExxonMobile, Kimberly-Clark, Flour and Commercial Metals. Additionally, headquartered in the Metroplex are Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Neiman Markus ENSCO Offshore Drilling, HP Enterprise Services and more. In addition, one of world’s largest non-profit breast cancer organizations was founded and is also headquartered in Dallas – Susan G. Komen For The Cure. Thus, moving to Dallas will definitely offer a lot of career opportunities depending on your area of occupation.

The Dallas cowboys stadium - the largest domed stadium in the world and the largest high-def video screen which hangs from 20 yard line to 20 yard line.

Furthermore, if shopping is your passion, Dallas is the place. It has more shopping centers per capita than any other US city and it is also home to the shopping center ever built in the US. The two major malls in North Texas, Dallas Galleria and North Park Center, are also located in Dallas. Those malls draw many tourist year around as both feature many high-end stores. Moreover, you will find many outlets and single stores all over the city and the suburbs, among them the flagship store of Neiman Markus.

Moving To Dallas

After reviewing some of the things to know before moving to Dallas TX, if you hadn’t already made your decision, you will surely decide to make the move and relocate to this fantastic southern city. Moving to the other end of the country (for some it will be a coast to coast relocation) will take some time and good organization.

Local Dallas Moving Companies

Finding the right moving company will also take some time and research on your side. Most companies execute state to state moves, and they will gladly answer all your moving questions. You can also search for a moving company that serves the region. Check out the best rated Texas moving companies or go with a cross country moving company. The first question that comes to mind is of course How much will it cost to hire movers? Well, the price will vary depending on how much and what you are moving. For more info on that you can refer to What is the Average Moving Cost article. It is important that you go over your belongings and decide what are you moving. There might be many items you will not need or haven’t put in use in long time, so you should get rid of those. You can either donate or sell those items.

Dallas Relocation Cost

After carefully separating those things, you can call a few Dallas movers and get free moving estimates. You can do this over the phone, but it is always better to call your local moving companies and request an in-house estimate that will give you an accurate idea of how much your Dallas relocation will cost. The moving cost of your relocation will be based on the weight and the cubic feet of your items. Dallas is approximately the same distance far from both East and West coast, so moving from there would cost you around $4000 for a regular 3 bedroom home with around 6000lbs worth of furniture and belongings. Then moving from the Midwest to Dallas would cost approximately $3000 for the same amount of stuff and here the moving price is lower just because of the distance.  You should not take my word for these moving cost and contacting a relocation consultant and going over your inventory would be the thing to do to obtain a price  for your upcoming move to Dallas. Tune up for the hot weather in Dallas, Texas and then try to find some hot moving deals that will get you there easily and hassle free.

As we try to cover all the Dallas relocation information and things to know before moving to Dallas TX you should know in our Dallas Moving Guide, most certainly we’ve missed something. If you have something to add, please share it in the comments below.

Author: Vasilka Atanasovaon August 31, 2011
An expert contributor to My Moving Reviews.