Why I Chose Dallas Twice

I've moved out of Dallas once. I came back within the year.

 

I came here first in 2005, eighteen years old, to go to SMU. That's the version of this story everyone hears. What most people don't know is I left. Not permanently, and not far, but I moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina and worked in property management and commercial leasing for a while. Different pace. Different coastline. Different everything.

 

I came back to Dallas within the year. Not because Hilton Head didn't work out. It did. I came back because I noticed what I was measuring every other city against, and it was always this one.

 

Since then I've lived in Knox-Henderson, Downtown twice, The Cedars twice, and Deep Ellum twice. That's not indecision. That's someone who kept circling the same city from different angles trying to find the exact right block. I'm about to do it again. I'm planning a move to Winnetka Heights within the year, which means somewhere down the line I'll probably be writing this same kind of post about that neighborhood instead of just selling it to other people.

 

Here's what nineteen years and a half dozen Dallas zip codes has taught me. The people who move here and thrive aren't the ones who pick the trendiest neighborhood first. They're the ones who treat the first year like reconnaissance. Rent if you can. Live in two or three areas before you buy if your timeline allows it. I got to do that by accident, moving around before I had kids or a mortgage forcing my hand. Most relocating buyers don't get that luxury, which is exactly why the research has to happen before the move instead of after it.

 

If you're weighing a move here, my honest advice is the same thing I did the hard way. Figure out what you're measuring every other place against. That's usually the answer.

 

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