A month and a half ago, I posted <a href="http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17052&highlight=Dallas">this thread</a> about where I would look for a job, and maybe moving from Houston. On Thursday, I was getting packed and ready to move to Dallas to begin teaching on Monday. Well, now an interesting situation has arisen. After three months of getting my @$$ handed to me by recruiters, in less than 24 hours, I was offered three positions. The first was in Dallas -- a teaching position for web design. I interviewed and declined further continuing the process -- I don't feel that job was particularly secure and had much of a future. The second is in Dallas -- at a school my friend teaches at. I'd be the assistant network administrator. I interviewed and was offered the job, plus many incentives and a respectable salary. The third is in Houston -- for a week I've been working at the high school I went to (as did <a href="http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=382">bartleby</a>), I went to tell everyone I was leaving on Thursday, and that night I was offered a full-time position as the assistant network administrator. Okay, now here's the question: what job do I take? The pay for the Dallas one and the Houston one will probably be about the same -- the Dallas one has more perks, I think. Things I'm looking at: City -- Houston or Dallas? I spent the past 24 hours doing everything I could in Dallas -- trying to experience as much of the city and people as I could. Traffic there is nothing compared to Houston, and the climate is a <font size="-1">tiny, tiny bit better</font>. But that's not saying much. What I found in Dallas was a city that is a lot of fun to hang out in, and a really *nice*, well-maintained place. But, what I also found was a slightly snobbish, very homogenous society where there was not quite the same overall courtesy. Virtually everywhere I went, there was little diversity, and everyone was fairly well-off. My past -- I've never lived in any place for more than 7 years. I'm pushing six years here in Houston (minus the time at college), and is it time that I go somewhere new? Living -- In Houston, I'll live with my folks for a little while, until I get a bit of capital built up. In Dallas, I'll be paid a moving stipend that would set me up for a few months. Work Location and environment -- I went to the Houston school, I have a friend at the Dallas school. The environment is similar, with the Dallas one being more formal. At the Houston school, I've worked with people there for a week, and I was taught by many of them just three years ago. I have a great repoire with the school, and most people there. At the Dallas position, I don't know anyone there but my very good friend. Job Security -- not an issue, I don't think. Splitting hairs, Houston would be better, but it's really a non-issue. Pay/benefits -- Dallas has better perks. Houston and Dallas have about the same pay and same benefits. Dallas will give me anything I need for my job (office, computer, laptop, beeper, whatever) and they'll pay for certifications. I don't know about Houston yet. Loyalty -- My school in Houston, and the Dallas school are rivals. Houston has been very good to me, and I feel that maybe I should be so in return. Future -- I don't really know about this -- both will have about the same future, I believe. Unless the head guy leaves, I will not be the Senior Network Admin, and I imagine I'll be gone before that. Family -- half the time I want to kill them, half the time I can stand them. My mother works at the Houston school part time, and my brother goes there. In Dallas, I have no family, which is good sometimes and bad others. Amenities -- I love going to Astros games, and listening to Houston radio (90.1). I can't do that in Dallas. But, is that worth me staying here? Friends -- I have some friends here, none as close as my friend in Dallas. I don't know many other people up there though. Anyhow, I know there's more, but I can't think of it now. Simply put, what advice do you all have for me? <i>I feel like Chris Webber, and DAMN does it feel good! </i>
Vengance, make a list of reasons that each place would seriously make you "happier". Don't list things that have monetary values or a materialistic sense to them, you can get those things anywhere. Also, don't be afraid to let the employer in Houston know that you have an offer for a similar position in Dallas and some of the finer details of that offer. They may counter and suprise you. Good luck with your decision!!
Well, as far as my "employer" here, I've only been doing part-time work for a week, and when they heard about the Dallas jobs, they offered me a full-time position about five hours later. I don't know the specifics, but I'll find out Monday. For long-term plans, my plan is to return to school in a few years and either get an MBA or a law degree, and then where I live from there is uncertain. I have no plans that have connections to any city.
Then do like Webber and stay put! Tough choice. I was a bit mature for my age even at 20-25 years of age (despite my demeanor on this bbs ) and I always ranked my opportunities in the following order : 1) Parents/Family 2) Security/Stability/Education 3) Salary 4) Location 5) Friends What I quickly found out was that no decision I ever made involved just 1 of them. For example, salary was never a sole motivator. I could be making 33-50% more than I am now, but I thought working for a less-than-100 person company would give me exposure to all kinds of things. I stay in Texas because I want to be close to my parents as they're getting older; so I've turned down job offers that would pay me 50% more than I'm making now. If you're like me, you'll put family and your future ahead of all else, but then I don't know what kind of person you are, so you could have completely different values which are no worse or better than mine. Ultimately you will need goals in life. A lot of the decisions you make about where you live, what you want to do, and how much salary you're willing to gain/sacrifice will revolve around those goals. There are way too many people in their late 20's-40's that still have no clue as to what they're trying to get out of life. They just keep plodding along. One day they'll look back and say to themselves, "damn, what have I done for the past 40 years?" At least you don't seem to be the type to say "dude, I wanna party all the time!". Either that, or you hide it well... It's good to see you at least thinking that there are more variables than the "me variable" or the "salary variable". From the way you've laid everything out above, it seems as if you've researched this out pretty well... now it's time to flip the coin.
To all of the people who live in Dallas: How do you like it? I'm beginning to lean that way right now . . . but an hour ago I was leaning to Houston, so it's back and forth
Get a coin dude, get a coin and flip it. I lived in Houston for 24 years and have lived in the DFW area for about 3.5 years : Dallas Pros : There actually are suburbs in Dallas. You can escape to lakes (not the greatest, but they're lakes) without driving 50-100 miles and then encountering toxic waste dumps. People are nice. The ones I've encountered anyway. Job opportunities in all kinds of industries abound (non-recession times.. hehe). For the most part has less traffic than Houston, although rush hour on I35 or LBJ would give any freeway in Houston a run for its money. Temperature during the summer can be more tolerable than the sauna that is Houston. It gets to 100 around here, but the humidity tends to stay a bit lower than Houston's. When it's 100 here, I can roll the windows down and cruise on a freeway without my face being boiled like in Houston. However, if you happen to be around when the humidity is 60% in Dallas and the temps are 100, I'll pray for you... It actually can get in the 20's in Dallas! Yes, you can feel a winter here! Lots of open area. Nowhere near as congested as Houston. There's elbow room around here. Everything seems to be just down the road from me. Even if it causes me to get on a freeway, I can get there in about 10-15 minutes. Everything I had to get to in Houston always seemed to be down a road with about 10 lights. Of course this will vary based upon where you live. If you work in the IT/technology industry, this is a great place to be. Dallas cons : Women here are stuck up... must be in their genes. Too white collar at times. People that have nothing to flaunt attempt to do so anyway. Moreso than what I remember in Houston. Not really culturally diverse. But damn, do they import a mess of Indians to do some programming. Cold weather sometimes brings snow (rarely from what I understand from speaking from the natives), but it more often brings ice (but don't worry, it's not that frequent). Blech. I'm sure someone like mrpaige can verify. The same elbow room I mention as a "pro" above, is a "con" here because this city can and will grow. It's got space to become bigger than Houston easily and that truly frightens me. Traffic will be a PITA in about 5 years unless they accelerate their building and extending of freeways, tollways, and the rail system. Cowboy fans. If you live in an apt., finding Rockets broadcasts may be a pain. I love it here in Dallas and wouldn't go back to Houston even for more money (ok, unless it was a LOT more). Don't know why, but this place is "comfortable" to me. It seems to allow me to "breathe" more than in Houston. That's all I can think of at the moment... I'll add to this thread if I can think of anything. If you search back, there has been at least 1 or 2 other threads where people discuss/argue/b**** about the pros and cons of Dallas vs. Houston.
DOD - Thank you SO much for giving me your input. When I was up in Dallas, that is the feeling I got up there. Except, in my experience, the people weren't quite as friendly as in Houston. But the diversity, and the overall wealth was exactly like you described, and that bothers me. However, there is a lot to do in Dallas, and there seem to be lots of cool things all around.
Wanna know my biggest b**** about Dallas? It's really a small one in the scheme of things, but it highly irritates me: The Unicard I hate that ******* thing. Parts of Dallas are wet, and parts are dry (I'm not talking about the weather, I'm talking wet as in buying alcohol and dry as in it isn't sold), a no one really seems to know what parts are wet and what parts are dry. In some (all?) restaurants, you have to have a Unicard to buy a friggin' beer. Its a card you get by showing your ID, and then you pay a dollar or two for the card itself, which is good for a year. Any establishment that sells alcohol sells the cards, so they're easy to come by. It is not the card itself that bothers me as much as the principle of the thing. It's like Big Brother is checking to see who the evil, sinning drinkers are. So, not only do you have to wait until you're 21 to get a beer (an age that I think is WAY too high, but that's for another thread), you then have to join the secret club and put your name on a list to get a beer (mixed drink, whatever). Like I said, this is just me and this probably is not as big a deal for most as it is for me. But like I said, it's just the principle of the damn thing. And if I can't easily pop into a gas station for a sixer, then I have a problem with that.
I haven't been in Dallas much longer than you have, DoD (I moved to the Metroplex in September of 1997, and I lived in Fort Worth for one year in 1992-93. We did visit quite a bit when I was a kid, though), so my experience with the ice and snow is no different than yours. Of course, my frame of reference is a little different. I grew up in the Panhandle where they get real snow. I've never seen anything like that happening in D/FW. In D/FW, it's always been very light snow that doesn't even stick (and by "stick" I mean "accumulate"). I've not had any problems with the ice, but I have seen it ice over for a couple of days. But I know how to drive on ice, so that's never bothered me (it does seem to bother the locals, though. Since the icy roads are infrequent, they don't get enough practice driving on the ice).
Snow? Rarely. Ice? Fairly frequent in the winter. Dallas is always good for an ice storm or two each winter. BUT, there is a plus side to it. Dallas and it's suburbs all but shut down completely when the ice hits. Schools, offices, colleges, everything gets canceled. It is truly a wonderful thing. So I sit at home in my PJ's, drinking coffee, working from home, watching the ice hit my windows. My only word of caution: STAY HOME when the ice hits. There is a certain percentage of folks that will drive in it regardless.....hitting speeds of 50-55 mph on the highways, passing people that are crawling by......driving their 4x4 trucks thinking that it helps on ice. The truth of the matter is, you are at the mercy of the road when you do that...and the farther away from them you get the better. As for the city, there is TONS and TONS of stuff to do. You name it, we got it. It is a bit pretentious, and there are more snobs here than Houston, but you learn to ignore it, or go to the places that are not like that. Vengeance, you said everyone seemed to be "well off." Some are, and most pretend. They pretend because some of the women here require money, nice cars, etc. in order for you to get dates with them. Again, you will be able to find the places that are not that way.
Well, it's about 95% certain I'm going to stay in Houston, unless something totally unexpected comes along.
Oh, and HOOP-T, the fake wealth in order to get chicks is VERY understandable. While I was in Dallas, I saw more hot chicks in the first ten minutes than I saw in all this month in Houston. WOW!!! I tried to find Debbie, but she must not have been around.
Yeah, I must admit that the hot chick concentration around here is high, but most of them are fake (either emotionally or physically; sometimes both). You can keep 'em.
At the age of 28 I moved to Houston to be with my parents and brothers and sisters who had moved here 8 years earlier. Best move I ever made, but almost moved to San Diego at the time for the perfect climate and proximity to Mexico a favorite vacation venue. Was used to living far from home. Moving "home" was the best move I ever made. I feel sorry for the folks who live far from family. Of course Dallas isn't that far. I don't feel Dallas is that much different in climate, job market or anything else to make the decision clear. I think it all gets down to how close you want to be to your family. Maybe you should try to live in Houston but see your family less. Also try something different like living in a loft in the downtown area, assuming you live in a suburb. Try to figure out what the attraction to Dallas is and see if you can find it in Houston.
