Pugilation

Yeah, my fiancee thinks it's weird that I insist on walking everywhere when she's over here. We tried walking down to the local taco place in August last year and came close to getting heatstroke. We are pretty outdoorsy though, she's an equestrian eventer so horse shows (and sweating...) are going to factor quite heavily in our weekend plans in future!

MsElui

it IS hot here but you can go out still. ive been walking around the lake each day at lunchtime at work - its about 30-40 mins of brisk walk and whilst it is hot it doesnt kill me. and its been 90-100 degrees.

what you tend to find is that the sports the kids do like soccer switch to indoor places (we have one just up the road) for the summer and winter whilst they are outdoors for the spring and fall.

And re the fort worth stockyards - dont expect LOTS of cattle in the drive - we went about 2 weekends ago and there were maybe 15 longhorns - but more vehicles and riders. The whole area is fun though woth lots to see and many many pokestops for the kids haha.

Pulaski

I think there is something missing from your story.

Either

(i) You don't sweat, OR

(ii) You have access to a shower at work, OR

(iii) It is acceptable to return to your desk with clothing dripping wet with sweat.



I could go out at lunch time "for a 30-40 minute brisk walk", and "it wouldn't kill me" but I don't have access to a shower and can't imagine sitting at my desk in wet clothes, never mind what everyone else in the office would think.

Tanja87

We did watch a YouTube video of the cattle drive the other day and were quite surprised by how small it was tbh but if we're there anyway I think it's definitely worth seeing. Our little girl loves horses and her baby brother gets excited seeing any animal really so I'm sure they'll like it....
Haha! See, I personally don't mind dripping with sweat, so long as I don't have to sit in an office like it or be otherwise surrounded by judgey people lol! But I guess we'll get a good idea what it's like when we visit in 3 weeks' time.
It's nice to hear that the locals are so warm and welcoming and you can make really good friends relatively easily out there. Obviously leaving family and friends behind should we ever make the move that is a big factor to consider!

cautiousjon

Indeed. I think it's just basic manners to not be really sweaty and smelly when you're in an office environment.

I don't mind dripping in sweat in an environment where people expect it, like at a gym. Dripping in sweat in an office environment is not pleasant, and I don't think that you're being "judgy" by expecting others to have the same modicum of personal hygiene and cleanliness.

scrubbedexpat097

In MsElui defense the heat in Dallas is not as humid as it is on the gulf Coast area in Texas and walking around a lake she will get a certain amount of breeze as well which will make it less "sweatable" for walking. I am sure she wouldn't do it if she returned to work as a melting mess...we should quit with the judging if we don't know the facts people!

Redwing

I lived in Burleson, south of Fort Worth, for 2 years in the late 90s, and I always found the locals real easy to talk to, and friendly.

Pulaski

Which was exactly my point.

Tanja87

Amen! Let's stop judging
For those of you who owned UK property before moving and sold once you were out in the states, how did you find the process of selling property from afar? I imagine that could be quite complicated, no? Did you find you had to travel back and forth quite a bit during the process or did you have family here to sort stuff out for you?
Oh and did you have to be completely debt-free when you moved over? Do they check that if you go on an L1 / L2 visa? Just wondering....

durham_lad

We sold our house 6 years after moving to Texas. It was easy, and this was before the internet. The agent who had been handling the rental of the house also handled the sale. We never had to go over, all done via fax and post I think.

In June our daughter came over from Santa Monica for a visit and she said she would like to visit the village we used to live in, where she spent her first year at school. After walking through the village we found the footpath that runs around the outskirts of the school and along the back of the gardens of adjacent houses. When we got to the back garden of our old house we stopped and were showing it to her when the owner spotted us and came down to chat. When I gave him our story he asked what my name was and he said "I've got an ICI hard hat in my loft with your name on it. You must have left it behind."

Turns out he was the person that bought the house back in 1993 and has lived there with his wife and kids ever since.

Pulaski

Visas having nothing to do with credit and debt, unless you have a criminal record for fraud.

We lived in our house until we left to go to the airport hotel the night before we flew to New York, so we were always planning to sell remotely. There was no flying back and forth, and no help required from family either. We even changed estate agents remotely after the first one lined up a "buyer" who couldn't close the deal, .... twice! We switched to another estate agent we had interviewed, and I just phoned told one to hand over the keys, and phoned the other and told him he could walk across the street (the agents were across the street from each other) and pick up the keys for his new commission.

We just left our solicitor with a restricted power of attorney to sign the contract to sell.

All in all, it was easy peasy.

Tanja87

Oh wow! Great! Sounds like it's not too much hassle at all then, fabulous!

abbiecowan

Hey!

I have not been on here for ages but had logged on tonight as looking for some info on green cards. I saw this thread and wanted to comment.

We got the opportunity last year to come to the US on a L1 with my company as an international transfer. When I was first discussing I wanted to be based in NY but the offer was for Dallas and I was really unsure and hesitant. In the end we decided to take the plunge and I am 100% glad we did.

My thoughts one year in are;
1. We have found everyone to be very welcoming and friendly.
2. Never seen a gun or felt unsafe whatsoever.
3. As a woman working and with a husband at home no one has ever remarked on this other than in a positive way.
4. Religion is not thrust on you, people respect one another and the school my kids are in gives a balanced education.
5. We have made some great friends, all Americans or from other countries (Mexico, India, China).
6. I personally don't feel like I drive any further in the Dallas metroplex than I did in the UK. The kids school is 2 minutes walk from the house and there are 10 grocery stores in a 2 mile radius!
7. Our quality of life is better. That might be largely down to only one of us now working but nonetheless it is 100% true for us.
8. Whilst there are not rolling hills and beautiful countryside in Dallas there are plenty of things to do. I have joined a local running group and found a riding stables and I personally love downtown Dallas, it is quite vibrant in my view.
9. You definitely need to adjust to summer. Treat it as you would winter in the UK in that it is not conducive to being outside. You have to plan for activities being early or late in the day. A pool is a sanctuary but make sure your garden has shade otherwise it is a bath in the summer!
10. Mosquitos and bugs = pain in the arse!!!!
11. The kids adapted super quickly. My son had done 2 years school in the UK but he settled very quickly. Everyone said don't worry about the kids it is you that takes the time to adjust and it is so true.
12. Grocery shopping takes 4 hours the first time you go and sugar is in more products than makes sense (bread???). Plus it is definitely not cheaper than the UK.
13. Portion sizes are massive!!!
14. There is a drive through everything and when it is 42 degrees outside with a heat index of 45 that makes so much sense!

Sorry long post! So far though we have been very pleasantly surprised with Dallas. Please feel free to PM and definitely enjoy your visit that was invaluable for us!

Tanja87

Thank you for your reply - it all sounds so great! Honestly, even not having been there yet I wish I could just pack up and move on right over haha! Very much looking forward to our visit - just over 2 weeks now!! Running club and stables sounds perfect! I do like to keep fit (gym, classes, running, though I don't look like it - queue massive portion sizes haha!) and my daughter adores horses, though she's still a bit scared of pony rides lol... I used to ride when I was younger, so who knows, might get back into it.
I keep checking the weather forecast and it looks like it's gonna start cooking down a bit towards the end of next week in Dallas, at least according to the bbc weather app... Does that sound about right? I'm all up for experiencing the heat but I do think it'll be easier on the kids if it cools down a bit before we go.
As you can all probably tell by now I'm über excited about our trip and I so so enjoy reading your posts and appreciate you all taking the time to reply so very much!

abbiecowan

Yes the weather is suppose to cool down this weekend. Everything is in Fahrenheit here which I can't get use to but it is predicted to drop down to low 30s in terms of centigrade which will be lovely compared to early 40s. Everywhere is air conditioned but that in itself can be a challenge because the air con is so cold and the outside temperature hot so it is a constant shock and adjustment!

We live in one of the North suburbs at the moment (Plano). We leased to start with to get to know the area. It is a really good area with great schools (in the top 150 in the US) but I think when we buy in a year or so we will move into a neighbouring area probably McKinney, Allen or Parker so we have a bit more room around us and a slightly different feel to the City. I know you said you were looking around Grapevine lake; I have heard that is a good area although I know Southlake and Grapevine are both pretty expensive especially the closer you get to the lake. I have friends in Flower Mound and they speak very positively of that area, it is an established area with lots of trees. There is a German bakery in Grapevine which was a real find - proper bread!! There are some excellent places to ride over there, I have done a couple of treks out around and by the lake and western style riding is very comfy.

In terms of your trip I would watch being outside too much, even in early September the heat will be high and the Arboretum and Zoo are very open. Maybe try to do those very early in the day and then explore some indoor places. The aquarium in central Dallas is really good as is the Perot museum - an interactive science place with dinosaurs and lots of cool stuff for the kids! The arts district in Dallas is lovely, more adult orientated but great place to see. You can take a train from Grapevine to the Stockyards which is fun for the kids as they do a train robbery and the train itself is air conditioned if you go in the 'first class' carriages. But do be warned you won't be able to walk far outside without being drenched in sweat. Favourite past times of Texans are shopping and eating because you do both of those in the air con! There are some great places to eat - lots of tacos, Mexican and BBQ!!

Enjoy your trip out and any time you need anything feel free to PM, I remember the pain of working everything out and how many questions we had!

PS whilst it would be good to experience it a bit cooler it is also good to experience it at the hottest because that way you know what it is really like. It is hot from May through to the end of September but super hot in July and August (although this July was apparently cooler than normal). I personally felt better coming out in summer and experiencing the heat before we moved, knowing I was fine with it made me feel comfortable making the decision.