At some time could you tell subscribers the reason for moving from LA to Dallas? Do you consider it easier to work in Central time, or the property market has more potential? Apologies if you have already told us, and I missed it.

Eoin Treacy's view

Thank you for this question which others may have an interest in. Here is are links to Comment of the Day on January 11th and 12th

I spent that last two weeks in Dallas and we greatly enjoyed the more relaxed environment. The big drawback is the weather. We witnessed a 73-degree variance between when we arrived and when we left and the humidity is much greater than in coastal southern California. I’ve never really had a problem with paying the weather premium in California and I like getting up early so the time zone suits as well.

The problem is the social make-up of the city has changed considerably in the last seven years. California is a single party state. There is no political discourse. I don’t see that changing anytime soon and it will get worse before it gets better. That’s the primary reason for leaving.

Dallas attracted us because it has a truly international airport, large Chinese, Korean and Japanese communities, the quality of the private schools is on par with where we are right now and the quality of life is better. On a like-for-like basis, the quality of the restaurants is also better than in Los Angeles. This trip was a scouting mission since neither of us had been to the city before but we definitely liked what we saw.

There is no doubt that the property markets in both cities are hot at present. Prices are up about 10% in the last six months. The modest rise in mortgage rates may dampen demand in the short term but the end of the pandemic is likely to result in a fresh round of migration. That suggests more activity because there will be both more buyers and sellers. If we are indeed heading toward yield curve control, as I believe, mortgage rates can only rise so far before stabilising.

A topic Mrs. Treacy and I discussed last night is we are not special. There are plenty of forty somethings who were burned by buying at the wrong time ahead of the financial crisis. We have spent the last decade building savings and being cautious about deploying leverage even as she built out her business on retained earnings.

We feel the urge to enjoy life and build family memories before our girls head off to college; beginning in three short years. I think many people are in the same situation and moving from a debt free situation to a mortgage is not a small step. The opportunity to achieve the goal of low leverage, continued ability to retain large percentages of income and a bigger home is the primary draw of Dallas for our family.