Moving from Seattle to Dallas?
Seattle to Dallas — both 0% income tax states (WA/TX), 60% cheaper housing, AT&T/American Airlines careers.
- 2,080 mi Distance
- 30 hr Drive time
- 60% lower Home prices
- 234 Sun days/year
Seattle-to-Dallas is one of the rare 0%-tax-to-0%-tax moves. Both WA and TX have no state income tax. Housing 60% cheaper, COL 38% lower. The pull: Dallas's broader Fortune 500 (AT&T, ExxonMobil, American Airlines, Toyota North America) + DFW airport global hub + sunny dry climate replaces Seattle gray.
Why people move from Seattle to Dallas.
- Same 0% income tax — WA/TX both have no state income tax
- Housing drops 60% — $850K Seattle SFH becomes $340K Dallas SFH
- Cost of living 38% lower
- AT&T HQ, American Airlines HQ, Toyota North America HQ, ExxonMobil HQ
- DFW airport — 2nd busiest in US, global hub
- 234 sun days/year (vs. Seattle 152) — dramatic light improvement
- Mild winters (Dallas Jan 38-58°F vs. Seattle 36-47°F gray rain)
- Tex-Mex + BBQ scenes (top-tier in America)
The money side of WA → TX.
Seattle
- Median home$850,000
- Income tax0% (WA)
- Cost index165
Dallas
- Median home$340,000
- Income tax0% (TX)
- Cost index102
Things you'll want to know about your new city.
Bookmark this page — these are the icons of Dallas, organized by what kind of day you're planning.
Outdoors & Recreation
- Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden — 66 acres on White Rock Lake; pumpkin village in fall, tulips in spring
- Klyde Warren Park — 5-acre deck park over freeway in downtown
- Reunion Tower GeO-Deck — 470 feet up; 360° views of metroplex
- White Rock Lake — 1,015-acre lake with 9-mile trail
Culture & Arts
- Dallas Museum of Art — Free general admission; strong contemporary collection
- Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza — JFK assassination museum
- George W. Bush Presidential Library — On SMU campus
- AT&T Stadium (Cowboys, Arlington) — Tours when no game scheduled
Family-Friendly
- Perot Museum of Nature and Science — Hands-on science museum; T.rex skeleton
- Dallas Zoo — 106-acre zoo; oldest in Texas
Dallas's essential restaurants.
The dining list every Dallas resident knows by heart. Save the spots, work through them.
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Pecan Lodge BBQ Deep Ellum
Brisket and 'Hot Mess' baked potato
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Uchi Dallas Japanese McKinney Avenue
Tyson Cole's sister to Austin's Uchi
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Mansion Restaurant American fine dining Turtle Creek
Iconic Mansion on Turtle Creek hotel
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Lucia Italian Bishop Arts
Tiny Italian by David Uygur
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Knife Steakhouse Mockingbird Lane
John Tesar's modern steakhouse
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Mister Charles American Highland Park Village
Modern bistro
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Tei An Japanese soba Arts District
Hand-made soba noodles, omakase counter
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Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House Burgers Lakewood
Cult Dallas burger
Best Dallas neighborhoods for Seattle transplants.
Mapped to the Seattle neighborhoods that probably feel like home to you.
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Highland Park / University Park
If Bellevue affluent was your speed — affluent, walkable, top schools, $1M-$5M+
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Bishop Arts District
If Capitol Hill was your vibe — walkable, restaurants, art, hip
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Uptown / Knox-Henderson
If Belltown was your speed — walkable, restaurants, nightlife
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Lakewood
If Wallingford family was your goal — tree-lined, walkable, top schools
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Plano (suburb)
If Mercer Island was your suburban model — TOP US schools, master-planned
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Frisco (suburb)
If Sammamish was your goal — newer master-planned, top schools, $500K-$2M+
What daily life feels like in Dallas.
Climate
Humid subtropical. Hot summers (75-95°F+, occasional 105°F+ heat waves). Mild winters (35-58°F, occasional ice storms; rare snow). Spring brings tornadoes and severe storms. 234 sun days/year.
- Summer75-95°F
- Winter35-58°F
- Sun days/yr234
- Rainfall39 inches
Walkability
- Walk Score47/100
- Transit Score39/100
- Bike Score50/100
Dallas is car-dependent — most errands require driving.
Outdoors & Recreation
- White Rock Lake — 9-mile trail, kayaking
- Trinity River Audubon Center — wetlands trails
- Cedar Hill State Park (30 min south) — hiking, lake
- Katy Trail — 3.5-mile rail-to-trail through Uptown
- Lake Texoma (1.5 hrs north) — fishing, boating, second-home market
- Texas Hill Country (3.5 hrs south) — wineries, hiking
What changes about your daily life.
- Same 0% income tax — no change
- Housing 60% cheaper — same income buys substantially more
- Cost of living 38% lower
- Property tax flips upward — WA effective ~0.9% to TX 2.0% (costs $5-10K/year more on $500K home)
- Climate flips PNW marine to humid subtropical — gain 234 sun days, gain dramatic summer heat (100°F+)
- Sound Transit replaced with DART (similar smaller scale)
- Big Tech ecosystem shrinks (Seattle has Amazon HQ + Microsoft scale)
- Coffee culture compresses (Seattle apex; Dallas growing scene)
- Sports culture shifts — Seahawks/Mariners/Sounders/Kraken → Cowboys/Mavs/Stars/Rangers
How to drive there.
What it takes to move 2,080 miles.
- Full-service (3BR)$7,500-$13,000
- Container/PODS$5,000-$9,000
- DIY (26-ft truck)$3,800-$6,800
- Best monthsOct-Apr (avoid Texas summer + mountain pass winter)
- Lead time10-12 weeks ahead
USDOT-registered cross-country.
Moving from Seattle to Dallas: FAQ.
Property tax flip — financial impact?
Significant. WA effective ~0.9% (no income tax but high property tax). Dallas TX 2.0% effective is even higher. On $500K home: WA $4.5K/yr; Dallas $10K/yr. Costs $5,500/yr more in Dallas. But housing 60% cheaper and overall COL 38% lower more than offset. Net financial position strongly positive on $100K+ income.
Big Tech career — Dallas equivalent?
Smaller. Dallas has Big Tech offices (Salesforce, Microsoft, AWS) plus AT&T tech, Texas Instruments, Toyota Connected. Tech ecosystem is real but smaller than Amazon HQ + Microsoft Redmond + Meta/Google Seattle scale. Most Seattle-to-Dallas tech moves are senior engineers seeking financial reset (often via remote-work arbitrage).
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