Currently working in NYC at a bulge bracket in a financing group. Interviewed and got an offer at a small distressed fund that makes primary and secondary investments in below investment grade companies. Primary loans collateralized by physical assets (power plants, ships, etc). Being that my goal is to eventually manage money in the future myself, I think this transition to a banking role is a no brainer. Any thoughts all?
Moving to Dallas from NYC also has me a bit nervous.
I can't comment on the job.. But Dallas is a great city. As i'm sure you are aware, your money will go a lot further, the nightlife isn't terrible, the weather is bearable, and, attractive women.
Congrats on the offer, and I hope you enjoy Dallas!
I love Dallas! I spent a few years there and plan on moving back in 2 years or so. Unlike NYC, you will need a car to go places - I lived in Plano and the commute sucked! I suggest looking at Uptown Dallas if you want a young and vibrant community. As CallMeMrChunk said, your money will go a long way there, and you will be able to find a nice/spacious place around $800-1000.
Congrats on the offer!
Thanks guys. Is a slightly lower salary normal? Getting about 5k lower in base..with a relocation bonus.
This office is actually in Plano. Good spot?
Dallas isn't half bad. In my opinion better than Houston (no offense Houstoners, or whatever the correct term). Never lived there but I've spent a decent amount of time in Dallas, although I don't know Plano as well. $5k less in base will still give you a much higher QOL outside of needing a car and make sure you don't get DUI's because all of the sudden you need to drive. I'd concentrate more on your bonus structure on the comp side of your decision and if their strategy is something you'd like to do long term.
Plano is a great spot, I lived there. Plano is in North Dallas, which has become the place to be in recent years. Just stay away from Oakcliff and South Dallas.
It will depend on your lifestyle, but if you are getting more than 55K, you will be just fine.
Plano has/had the highest ranked public school districts in Texas, if that is something that you are interested in. My ex lived there, and it seemed really nice when I visited. We drove into Dallas quite a bit; didn't take long as long as you didn't go during rush hour. Plenty to do there it seemed!
Living/working in Dallas (Originally Posted: 02/01/2014)
Thinking a few years ahead / trying to figure out where I'd like to eventually end up in life (quarterlife crisis time!) Anyone have thoughts on living/working in Dallas? I've heard from some people that working there is super enjoyable. Others have told me that Dallas is a snobbish hellhole (then again, they were all liberal hippies from Austin). Thoughts?
I don't care too much about the social life. Just want someplace that is good for business (i.e. management consulting dealflow will be decent) and has a good high-brow arts scene. I've visited the city a few times, but that was way back in high school and all I did was go to restaurants and theme parks.
Never lived there, visited many times, but Dallas is a really fun and cool place. Areas where I was staying were very affluent, had lots to offer in terms of food, nightlife, and entertainment. Always thought I could live there, but then the humidity hits and I realized its a sweat box.
Haha. I was born/raised in Austin, so the Texas weather isn't something that bothers me. Honestly prefer the heat to the snowstorms of Boston/NYC.
Hey, I just recently moved to Dallas for work and I love it here. It is super corporate so jobs are plentiful and there are tons of bars and restaurants in places like Uptown and Addison. The cost of living is really low so you'll probably be able to afford living in an affluent area, and people are very friendly. PM me if you have any questions.
Overall great city...lived there for 18 years.
PROS: -High-end pro sports teams with really nice venues -Nice weather (get to experience all 4 seasons for the most part) -Very good economy...growing overall population (plus lots of billionaires) -8th busiest airport in the world -Very low COL -diverse economy (not too stuck on one industry like Houston) -manageable traffic for a big city
CONS: -suburbs can be too conservative...too many megachurches -spread out...points of interest are located throughout entire metroplex -lack of concentrated nightlife / downtown is kinda dead
It's really a great city, minus a few manageable drawbacks. There always seems to be an excessive amount of construction. There are lots of highways and there are tons more being built. This will be a HUGE change from Austin, which has a severley underdeveloped road infastructure imo. But Austin has more scenic roads (too much concrete in Dallas). There's also the lack of concentrated downtown nightlife like 6th in Austin. Just live in Oak Lawn / Uptown though. Dallas has tried to make downtown more of a hotspot by dumping hundreds of millions for urban parks though. Maybe it'll catch on.
IMO the whole snobbish/pretentious vibe thing is a little overplayed by Austinites... they sometimes make it seem like something it really isn't.
Also, weren't you looking to move to SF like a month ago? Why do you hate Austin so much?? haha
Austin's a great place, just not where my career is headed. A lot of the firms I'd like to target for post-MBA employment are nonexistent in Austin and probably will not open offices there in the foreseeable future. There's a reason why Austin isn't on the shortlist for "best places in finance".
Dallas Livin' (Originally Posted: 01/10/2008)
Question to those who work(ed) in Dallas, TX. First year analyst-to-be. Any ideas wrt to living arrangements? Any good deals you guys know of/heard about? Which places would be affordable on a 1st year's budget.
Thanks for all the help!
Not sure...but all i know is that girls from Dallas are SMOKING. You're lucky to be in that city...fat/ugly girls in NYC think they are pretty and it drives me nuts.
Texas, just FYI, is the fattest state in the country. And we're one of the fattest countries in the world. Thus, there's probably a higher concentration of fat people in Texas than anywhere else in the world.
Who do you work for and where is your office located? My advice for someone in their 20s is to live in uptown. Try the Manchester St. Thomas, or Post Apartment homes. Those will run somewhere around $1,000/month.
Find a place in Uptown - it's a must.
Agree with living in Uptown. I interned in Dallas last summer and ended up staying in the Village Apartments (just north of SMU on the other side of the central expressway). They were very affordable but everything happens in Uptown, so I would highly recommend that area. Also, Uptown is just a stone's throw from the Crescent Ct area where most banks tend to be located.
i will be working in the uptown area so i was definitely thinking of finding place up there.
Can any of you guys recommend apartment locators for Uptown Dallas?
Also, I understand that Post Properties and Gables own a lot of the complexes there; can anyone comment on the quality of these places?
You could always come and live in Plano for about $600 1/1 in a nice area. It only takes 20 min to the Crescent area.
$600 to $1,000 per month?
Just seeing rental rates that low makes me a bit sick to my stomach...
I WOULD FIND A NICE DUPLEX THAT IS OWNED BY A PERSON TO LEASE FROM. YOU WILL GET MORE FOR LESS
It's hard to go wrong with the area - especially the concentration of impressive ladies.
I will definitely agree with that. I ALMOST took up an offer at a slightly more prestigious firm in Dallas, simply because of the women. I had a shitload of friends in New York, New York is New York, etc. etc. but the women alone almost convinced me...
Austin is much better than even Dallas, it is just unbelievable.
Yeah, Austin is basically heaven on earth for a normal red-blooded male.
double post
I actually have a friend who's about to move to Dallas for a PE job and he was asking a lot about location... I tried to assure him but he had the feeling Austin was a lot more fun due to the college crowd, music scene etc.
I've lived in Austin before (briefly) but have only been to Dallas for a weekend once. How do they compare on cost of living, women, club/bar scene, stuff outside work?
COL would probably be pretty similar nowadays with the way housing costs in Austin have been rising. The nod for women goes to Austin, if only for UT which, with ~50k college and grad students running around, pretty much guarantees there will be very attractive ladies in the city. Austin has the better bar scene (just go to 6th street), and the music scene is pretty much unmatched.
That said, it's pretty lacking in dining choices and has nothing like the restaurants Dallas has. Doesn't have museums, theaters, etc to the level of Dallas. At heart, Austin's a big college town, although you can see it starting to urbanize. Also, traffic really, really sucks on I35. I mean, if you think traffic in Houston or Dallas is bad, Austin will make you want to shoot yourself.
Is compensation in Texas equal to New York. Logically, I would assume it's lesser in Texas because they have no state income tax but I would like confirmation
Austin tends to be a little more expensive because there's more demand to live there. Every Texan says they would live in Austin, but not every Texan would live in Dallas.
As for stuff outside work, which seems more apealing: small city with one of the largest universities with tons of hot college girls or a large city with a dead downtown with a bunch of yuppies.
any suggestions?
If you're asking about the nightlife, there are easily 100 bars in downtown Austin, and the vast majority (like 80-90%) don't charge a cover. The cheaper ones, focused more on college students, are around 6th and Trinity. The bars oriented to professionals and those who've graduated and have jobs are concentrated near 4th and Lavaca. There is also a drag of gay bars on 4th/5th, so you might want to be conscious of that and not just walk into any random bar in that area. But honestly, you can't go wrong. You can easily hop from bar to bar all night and hit up any/all your favorites.
Also, I recommend the Brown Bar on 8th and Colorado. Saba Blue Water Cafe on 4th is also pretty good for a happy hour stopover. And be sure to eat at Trudy's
can any of the dallas residents here recommend some apartment locators please? i understand that many of the major apartment complexes in uptown are owned by post properties or gables, but was wondeirng if anyone had suggestions outside of these where i could find a decent 1-BR. also, any thoughts as to how much a 600 or 700 sq ft 1-BR in uptown will run me?
thanks a bunch guys.
Post and Gables own most of uptown, there are also a couple of JPI properties in the area. Also, you might want to check out the Victory Park area. It is near the arena. I don't think it is technically not considered uptown, but there is a lot of restaurants and bars and always something going on with the Mavs or Stars games. I think Victory Park may be a little pricier though. As far as uptown goes, you can't go too wrong with West Village area. Also, there is an apartment complex on McKinney called the Worthington (I think it is a Post property). It is very centrally located in uptown with many bars and restaurants within walking distance.
Also, Bevo51's analysis of Dallas vs Austin is spot on.
ibanktoo - thanks so much for the thoughts. i'll look into some of your suggestions.
i've been advised to look for something within the area between 75 and Cole/McKinney and Lemmon. within the uptown area, is there a name for this neighborhood? is victory park or west village in walking distance of this area? it'd be great to walk to work every day
West Village and the area you just described are essentially one in the same.
Thanks jotah. Do you or the other posters have any thoughts on Cityplace or State Thomas, relative to West Village? Are these more or less in walking distance as well? How would you describe these neighborhoods in terms of how they cater to the average young adults population and a good quality of living? How easy is it to meet other young professionals in these areas?
There is so much demand for 1/1 in Uptown they are inflated in price. The cheapest 1/1 is about $1000. For that you get a decent place but construction grade stuff, like a college apt. For about $1400 (less than $5000 a year) you can get one of the nicest places with wood, granite, the works. Those are places like Gables Villa Rosa, Post Worthington, and Windsor Trianon.
If you're open to a roommate, that is the way to go. The incremental cost for the extra room is very small since there is such a small demand. You can get a 2/2 in one of the nicest for less that $2000. I'd personally rather have a roommate in one of the nicest than live alone in a cheap one for about the same money. If you work 60 hours on a good week and ever go out, you will probably go for days without even seeing your roommate.
Becky McKnight with Intown Properties showed me around. She is nice and will take you all over. 214-740-0135 (w) 214-566-6085 (c).
I'd be more than happy to answer any specific questions, just PM me. I'm an IB guy, don't work for a real estate agent or anything, but I know how it is to move to anew city
It is tough to have a bad location in Uptown because unlikeAustin Dallas
If any IB guys have any interest in revolutionizing the industry and somehow makingAustin Austin
thanks for the detailed reply, Excelster. I'll definitely drop you a PM this weekend.
Every neighborhood in Uptown caters to the young professional. As some have said, you can live 20 minutes away for half the price so for the most part the only ones that live in Uptown are young professionals who make decent money or those who have folks still footing the bill. Makes for a fun place to be.
State Thomas has some nice places but it is not as close to as many bars as say Port Worthington. Maybe 2-3 blocks more though, still a great location. Better access to hiways too. Plus cabs are readily available.West Village
I would say very easy to meet other young professionals. Bars are filled with PE, hedge funds, IB, commercial banking, and consultants. Can sometimes be tough to tell them from the $30,000 a year millionairesDallas
Truer words were never said in regards to the $30,000 a year millionaires. Uptown has more than you can imagine.......
What kind of jobs do these guys generally hold? Are their parents generally fronting the bill for their lifestyle, or is it credit card debt, or a combination of both generally?
I've lived in dallas for 25 years. Interesting place. There are alot of bottomfeeders faking the funk in Dallas. for 30k a year, you can rent a 1 bedroom efficiency in uptown, and lease a three series BMW. The low cost of living allows these people to do so. I"ve been to NY. Dallas woman are the hottest i've seen in the USA. WE're talking about corn fed blondes.
actually starting analyst work march 3 in the crescent - i just signed a lease at manchester state thomas in uptown; we got a 2 bedroom for 1850 or so, so 925/person. i looked at some of the gables and post properties, and i'll be honest - the one bedrooms are really small. 575-650 sq ft runs about 950/mo, so you can imagine the more decent size units run upwards of 1100-1200/month. i know it's not the easiest thing to do, but finding either (a) a roommate or (b) a privately owned condo/townhome greatly reduces the cost. i'd suggest craigslist but i'd venture to say the dallas site is full of realtors and people trying to sublease. one of the things you want to be weary of is pushing the area close to smu. you don't want to get stuck paying a premium for being close to college when you're not attending.
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