[devonlonestar2847]

Everyone keeps telling me Dallas will feel dramatically cheaper than San Jose, and part of me believes it while another part suspects the savings get quietly eaten somewhere else. I’d like to know where.

On paper the big wins are housing and no state income tax. But I keep seeing mentions of property taxes, home insurance, electric bills in the summer and a car-dependent lifestyle, and none of it fits neatly into the budget spreadsheet I built.

We’re weighing suburbs like Plano and Richardson against something closer in, and I can’t tell whether the lower price per square foot is worth the extra time in the car every week.

If you moved from a high-cost area, what surprised you most, in either direction? I’d love to hear where the numbers really landed after your first full year.

[Author]

Posts