All my research about the area said it was family-friendly, and I’ve found that to be true. That signaled to me how many people moved to north Texas. We moved in February 2018, and by the time summer had passed and school began again in the fall, my commute time doubled. I did meet my husband there, but when we had kids, we started talking about Texas. As an African American woman, it was really hard to find a community in the Bay Area - a church, a hairdresser, even a friend group. I was born in Southfield, Mich., and moved to Northern California in 2004. “By the time summer had passed and school began again in the fall, my commute time doubled.” I miss my family and the smell of the ocean. But you have to schedule time to see people - the kids are busy, and suburbs in Dallas are very far apart. Some of my friends from California even moved here too. When we arrived in Texas, it felt like life continued as normal. We couldn’t afford to keep my daughter at the dance studio. In California, we couldn’t afford a home with a pool. I’m still afraid of guns.īut you can have fear anywhere in the world. And even if people have money, they don’t show it as much. Californians are spoiled by the best weather, great food, beautiful houses and the ocean. I was not that impressed with Dallas at first, but now I see that Texans are down to earth. My family moved to Dallas in 2020 for my husband’s work. We eat every meal together as a family at the table. I still live as a French person my daughters are raised in a French way. I found friends in Los Angeles and San Diego. When I moved to a new country, I looked for French people. If you decide to make a big life change, you’ll find a way to make it work. I would tell anyone that if you have the slightest inkling to make a change, do it. It has offered solace during uncertain times.
Since moving to Texas, music has been very cathartic. But I do feel like people pay more attention to you here. It can be hard to make friends as an adult. I’m Latino and gay, but there haven’t been any instances where I felt like I wasn’t accepted. And people are very proud to be from this state. I’m not used to having friendly neighbors. I genuinely felt threatened until I realized they were just making conversation. I remember the first time I went to a grocery store here, someone started chatting with me. People are really friendly here in Texas. But I didn’t see myself staying there - I felt like my personal growth needed to happen outside of where I grew up. My family in Southern California is a big part of my life. I got lucky, because once the pandemic hit, the company began furloughing employees at the lower level. I work for a major airline, and an opportunity opened up here in Dallas to become an instructor.