New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Hi all,

Moving to Dallas soon, the company is arranging L1a and respective L2 for the wife.

I am uncertain about the rest of the things;
- Best Bank in Dallas. Any advice?
- Credit Card - Company gives me an AMEX and I have seen I can apply for another one - personal in the UK AMEX site move to another country.
- We will move to the uptown to start my life there, any suggestions?
- Looking for a car... however, they will rip me off with the interest rates if I do a lease, maybe I will go to Carmax and pay it as a whole. Any suggestions?
- Car Insurance - They told me you get better insurance quotes if you get your insurance history over to them.


Any help is appreciated!
Cheers,
C

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

I'm in Fort Worth, not too far away.

Best banks - up for argue really, however - i used bank of america when i got here, i soon swapped to Chase because i got better customer service.

Credit Cards - if you have an AMEX on company, all good. You'll be limited in applying for ones here because you'll have no history. Give Advancial credit union a shout - they set me up with a $7.5k limit when i arrived on my L1

Uptown I've heard is very nice - driven through there a few times, so that's about all i can say - Enjoy the rush hour traffic and the shit drivers in Dallas ;)

Car - If you can buy outright and have a decent amount of cash, definitely do that. Leases are good if you're not sure if you'll be staying past your visa expiry date. VW, Ford, Audi, even Porsche if you're fancy offer foreign business professional schemes (which the L1 qualifies for) which allow you to either lease or own the car through them.

Car Insurance, meh - hit and miss, depends what agent you speak to. I've not had any luck transferring my drivers history over, as far as they're concerned i got my license at the age of 29, when i took my test here. Don't be surprised if you end up paying $200 a month. Insurance in the US is expensive.

Be sure when you arrive to get your SSN asap, followed by your drivers license. The big DMV's have around a 5-6 week wait right now, but if you go there super early in the morning before they open and line up outside, you might get lucky and have one of their early walk in tests. (after you've done the theory)

Good luck on the move!

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Thanks mate!

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

You can't get an account with Chase without SSN and/or a driver's license these days. Wells Fargo and Bank of America are possibilities. Don't get too hung up on these two, neither are perfect but will get you through the first six months and then you can change if you want to. Wells Fargo are on every street corner in major TX cities.

You might want to look at HSBC, not sure if they have any branches in Dallas though which may /may not bother you ( you can use online). They will set you up before you leave the UK with US bank account and a credit card ( these get mailed to you when you arrive). They're a bit marmite....
Credit cards - Amex transfer if you've had one in the UK for a sufficient time, HSBC as above. In the US, you can't even apply until you have a ssn. Wells Fargo will only give you a secured card. As mentioned, Advancial are pretty good and may give you a non-secured one.

Cars - International Autosource is often recommended on BE - We used them as well. Expatride is another. Both should be approached before you leave the UK and do NEGOTIATE!
Once in the USA you can go to Mazda and VW Audi - both have expat/international business programs. Go to your local dealerships and ask.

Or buy if you have the cash.

Car Insurance - if you have really great no claims, then ask your current insurers for proof of it . Some US companies will use it and reduce your premiums.
Sign up for AIG Inbound USA ( $450 a year). They will insure you based on your UK drivers history and often you save the $450 fee on the first six months' premiums. They will also help you to get a non-secured credit card amongst other things.

Get your TX drivers license as soon as possible after the 30 days residency requirement has been met. You can go online now and book appointments for the same day which helps a lot. Make sure you have watched the video and printed out the certificate!

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Great and helpful information.
I will definitely use it

Cheers!

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Advise if you do not mind - is it possible to live in Dallas with ballpark $150k/year? so far we are 2 (wife and me).
Promised a salary hike after 18months or so, but at the beginning, this will be my entry salary.

Cheers!
C

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Yes. This is NOT NYC!!

I'm informed that rental prices in Dallas are 10-12% cheaper than Austin. That will be your biggest ticket item. If you're not getting relocation help then go to realtor.com redfin.com to get an idea of rental costs.

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Thanks - I did my maths long back when my company offered me the transfer, however never re-assured this numbers with people from Texas.
No relocation pack from the firm it is all our own budget, but other agreements which cost them money too - they will pay the green card in a year, that apparently it is more expensive than moving a few boxes and 1 or 2 months rent.

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

I did the same as you, L1 from company - i paid for my move.

$150k will easily be comfortable for you both - rent in uptown Dallas will be more expensive than if you were to find somewhere with a commute - but that's up to you on how long you want to spend commuting to work. Garland is north east of uptown and a nice area, but as it's outside of central Dallas rent tends to be cheaper.

Alternatively, you could move into the mid cities in between Fort Worth and Dallas, that's where i am. Rent's much cheaper, and the area's quieter but you'll be spending easily an hour in traffic either way getting to downtown Dallas - depends on where your work's located.

Give me a shout when you move - I'd be happy to meet up for a beer somewhere if you need some tips/pointers on the local areas :)

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Thanks mate!
Helpful. Last summer I went there with the wife, so know Dallas a bit. Garland/ Mesquite and also we have a few friends in Plano, they own properties there.

The idea is not to live in Uptown long, but at least until we get all paperwork sorted, car up and running, wife comfortable driving there... so, later on, will move to a suburb.

Working wise, I will be flying from Mon-Thu so traffic is not bothering me, however, I will settle in the office there after some time, so I will have to choose somewhere close to the office, which by the way is in NorthWest, Irving.

Will give you a shout.
Cheers,
C

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Personally, I live and work in a suburb of Houston, and if I was moving to work in Irving, I'd live in Irving, or at least a suburb nearby. I wouldn't choose to live in the central part of a Texas city and commute out.

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Thanks Owen!
This is what we will do in the future, given that once we get there we need car, ID,... Plus I will be travelling from Mon to Thu.
Neither my wife nor I think going to a suburb straightaway will help.

Once we have a car, she is comfortable driving there and so on, we will, most likely, move. In the meantime good for her to stay a bit more in town, currently we live in Fulham and it may be a bit of a change going from Fulham to a Dallas suburb :)

Cheers for the tip!
C

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Good call.

I first moved smack bang in the center of fort worth. walking to a bars is a novelty in texas so i made the most of it :D

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

:thumbup:

Re: New to Dallas - Some Qs
 

Great to see a fellow West Londoner and wife coming to Dallas.

We moved to mid-town Dallas (75 & Caruth, The Village) from Shepherds Bush over 4 years ago. So far, so good. We had the same feeling about going straight to a suburb. Although it became an inevitability just before our baby girl arrived a few years ago and now we are in West Plano.

Not sure if you've got here yet, as its been almost a month since this thread started, but if so and you need any help with anything - feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to help.

Welcome to Texas ! :cool: