Hello

[Home13oy75]

I have a 95m that I have owned about a year now. Love this car. I currently live in the suburbs of Chicago. My wife, 2 y/o son, and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas next year. Probably around the Plano area. I figured what better way to research the area then to join the DFW miata forum! Still researching the job and housing market. Seems like both are flourishing. Hoping to visit Dallas around January to finalize the decision.

[sammm]

Welcome aboard....you won't miss those Chicago winters!

[cone-cerned]

Welcome. Have fun with your Miata.

In the DFW area, we have five autocross clubs and two tracks close by, Eagles Canyon and Motorsports Ranch, Cresson. And a new Rallycross track has opened near Eagles Canyon Raceway (ECR). There are a lot of places to play with your Miata. And, autocross season is late February to November.

[Home13oy75]

Thanks for the information regarding all the track events. I have been wanting to try out autocross. I have been catching up on maintenance since I purchased the car. Unfortunately, my miata had to experience it's first winter last year since I DD my car. It will have to experience one more winter before we move. Btw, how is the job market in Dallas? Specifically for nurses if you know.

[Sharpie]

Should be just fine for nurses. I don't know specifics currently, but a few years ago it was pretty decent.

Welcome to the madness.

[wrx74]

Come on down!

[effse7en]

Thanks for the information regarding all the track events. I have been wanting to try out autocross. I have been catching up on maintenance since I purchased the car. Unfortunately, my miata had to experience it's first winter last year since I DD my car. It will have to experience one more winter before we move. Btw, how is the job market in Dallas? Specifically for nurses if you know.

an ex I'm still friends with got a job straight out of nursing school, so if you've got experience, you should have no trouble finding a good job. Half of dallas' business district is hospitals, so you've got a bit of choice haha

[Home13oy75]

Glad to hear. I have over 10 years of experience, so I guess getting a job shouldn't be a problem then. Hopefully the salaries aren't that much different between the two cities. One thing for sure, I don't believe the property tax is as bad as Chicago. I was looking at the Plano area. Can you still find a decent home under 250k? I'm not looking for anything huge, 3-4 bedrooms, around 2000 sq ft, and 2 car garage.

[effse7en]

When my parents were looking a couple years back, you could find a home with those specs for under 200k. I don't know what the market is like now.

[POS Racing]

With Toyota moving to the Plano area I got a feeling prices are fixing to jump quite a bit in that area.....

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/09/01/p...h-smaller-bid/

[Home13oy75]

Good to know, never even heard about Toyota HQ moving. If Plano gets too expensive, I'm ok with the surrounding area.

[mtrx804]

Welcome.

[Gator Bait]

When my parents were looking a couple years back, you could find a home with those specs for under 200k. I don't know what the market is like now.

The 150K-250K market is very tight right now. Nothing new being built and not a whole lot on the market. They go really fast when they come available. Get a buying agent.

[Home13oy75]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to rent for about 6 months prior to purchasing another house. Hopefully I'll be able to rent a house/townhouse instead of a apartment. I dread the idea of not having a garage - especially out in Texas

[Gator Bait]

If willing to commute a bit there are more options in your range. Also, the hospitals are in nearly every subburb so I would look for employment, then search the surrounding areas for places to live. If it was me and I wanted a nice place for the money I'd be looking at the Rockwall area. Two nice sized hospitals. I used to work at the Tenet owned one. Nice place with a good administration team. ...but then I'm not looking for urban living, I prefer the being further out. DFW is a large area and can take a good while to get from one place to the other especially during peak traffic. Planning to rent and learn the area is a good idea.

[Home13oy75]

Really appreciate the advice Gator!

[Home13oy75]

Did some more research. I'm interested in the mckinney, frisco, Plano area. I actually might be moving sooner than I originally thought. Have a opportunity with a pharmaceutical company. I was wondering if auto theft is a issue in the DFW area in general. Read some crime statistics and was surprised that the crime rate us pretty high - I'm assuming it's isolated. Do cars get broken into / stolen a lot in the burbs?

[effse7en]

I park on the street in Garland and Carrollton, and I've never had an issue, though both my parent's cars got broken into in Garland (seriously, who needs Rascal Flats CDs that badly?).

[goofygrin]

Most crime here in Frisco is of the petty variety (ie stupid teenagers). In my hood in the dirty east side of Frisco things are typically pretty quiet. Home values are rising though... Re property tax, you'll pay abt 5.5k on that $250k house a year. No income tax though.

[OZMDD]

I live in Dallas proper, and crime is still not an issue that concerns me. It happens, but typically in areas where you'd expect it (low income apartments, run-down neighborhoods, cheap bar/club parking lots). Like goofy said, the rest is primarily teen mischief and crimes-of-opportunity (car stereos, open garages, unlocked cars.) Compared to Chicago, Dallas is pretty tame.
Property taxes and in Dallas are higher than the burbs, but the reduced cost of commuting more than makes-up that expense for me. McKinney is nice, but be aware of how far it is from Dallas proper and the mid-cities. Not a commute you want to take-on without knowing what you're getting into.

$250K will get you plenty of house and good schools/area if you have a decent realtor.