Want to live and work in Dallas?

The cost of living in Dallas is close to the national average, cheaper than New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, but more expensive than San Antonio or Houston. Housing is the most variable item: rent for a one-bedroom apartment in central neighborhoods like Uptown or Bishop Arts ranges from $1,500 to $2,200, while in Oak Cliff, Garland, or Mesquite it drops to $1,000 to $1,300.

Buying a home is still affordable compared to other major metros: a three-bedroom house in a decent neighborhood goes for $350,000 to $450,000 in several parts of the DFW area. Texas's tax advantage is significant (no state income tax), but property tax runs between 2.1% and 2.8% annually, depending on the municipality.

Markets like H-E-B (expanding into the region), Tom Thumb, Kroger, and WinCo keep grocery prices competitive. Fuel is cheap. Electricity in summer (with 38-42°C) weighs heavily on bills. Healthcare without insurance is expensive, but Parkland Health (the public network) serves everyone in Dallas County.

Dallas and the DFW region have one of the most diversified economies in the US. The financial and corporate sector is enormous, with headquarters like AT&T, Texas Instruments, Comerica Bank, Charles Schwab (Westlake), Goldman Sachs (fast-growing office), Jacobs Engineering, Tenet Healthcare, and Energy Transfer. American Airlines is based in Fort Worth and is the largest employer in the DFW area.

Technology grows strongly in Plano, Frisco, and Richardson, with Toyota North America (headquartered in Plano), JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual, FedEx Office, Capital One, and dozens of software companies. Logistics dominates due to DFW Airport, with hubs for Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and DHL. Healthcare has major networks like Baylor Scott & White, UT Southwestern, and Methodist Health.

For immigrants, there are abundant openings in construction, restaurants, cleaning, logistics, domestic care, and light manufacturing. Skilled professionals in IT, engineering, finance, and medicine find opportunities in Plano, Frisco, and Las Colinas. English is required for most positions; Spanish is a great differentiator in retail, construction, and customer service.

Dallas has one of the largest hospital networks in Texas. UT Southwestern Medical Center is a national reference in biomedical research, with six Nobel laureates linked to the institution and strong programs in cardiology, oncology, and neuroscience. Baylor Scott & White Health, Methodist Health System, Texas Health Resources, and Medical City Healthcare are the main private systems.

For children, Children's Medical Center Dallas is a national reference and treats complex cases from across the southern region. In trauma care, Parkland Memorial Hospital (public, linked to Dallas County) is one of the leading trauma centers in the US. It was the hospital where President Kennedy was taken in 1963.

For immigrants without insurance or documentation, Parkland Health offers subsidized care on a sliding scale, with community clinics (COPCs) spread throughout the county. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) like Los Barrios Unidos, Foremost Family Health Centers, and Agape Clinic serve vulnerable populations. Catholic Charities Dallas has a health program for refugees and immigrants.

Dallas is a city where the car remains dominant, but it has the largest public transit system in Texas. DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) operates light rail (Trinity Railway Express, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, and Silver Lines) connecting Downtown, Uptown, Plano, Richardson, Garland, Carrollton, Las Colinas, and DFW Airport. Useful for those working along specific corridors.

The main road corridors are I-35E, I-30, I-635 (LBJ Freeway), Dallas North Tollway, Bush Turnpike, and Loop 12. Traffic is heavy during peak hours, especially at the Mixmaster (intersection of I-35 with I-30) and the High Five (I-635 with US-75). Bike lanes exist on Katy Trail, Trinity Strand Trail, and White Rock Lake.

DFW International Airport is one of the largest hubs in the world, home base for American Airlines, with direct flights to São Paulo, Madrid, Tokyo, London, Paris, Sydney, and dozens of other international destinations. Dallas Love Field (DAL) is the historic hub for Southwest Airlines, with fast domestic flights. Addison Airport serves general aviation.

Dallas has the largest contiguous arts district in North America: the Dallas Arts District concentrates the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Museum of Asian Art, Meyerson Symphony Center, Winspear Opera House, and Wyly Theatre, all within a few blocks. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza tells the story of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The culinary scene is a reference: Texas brisket barbecue, Tex-Mex (Mia's Tex-Mex, Mariano's), Oak Cliff tacos, Vietnamese food in Garland, Indian in Plano and Irving, Ethiopian on Greenville Avenue. Bishop Arts District and Deep Ellum are hubs for craft breweries, independent shops, and nightlife. Klyde Warren Park, elevated over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, is a rare example of well-executed public space in Dallas.

Sports are a passion: Dallas Cowboys (NFL, play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL), and FC Dallas (MLS). The State Fair of Texas, in September and October, is the largest state fair in the US, featuring the famous Big Tex, the Cotton Bowl, and creative fried foods. Other events: Dallas Pride, Día de los Muertos in Bishop Arts, and the Dallas Film Festival.

Dallas has approximately 24% of its population born outside the United States, and the migration profile is dominated by proximity to Mexico: Mexicans represent by far the largest group, with established neighborhoods in Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, West Dallas, and around Jefferson Boulevard, where stores, markets, and Spanish-language masses form the everyday landscape. From the 1980s onward, Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans arrived, many living in Vickery Meadow, a northern neighborhood that also concentrates refugees from more than 30 countries, including Ethiopians, Somalis, Bhutanese, and Iraqis. Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans have grown over the past two decades, with a strong presence in the suburbs of Irving, Plano, Richardson, and Frisco, tied to the technology hub of the Telecom Corridor.

Support is extensive: Catholic Charities Dallas offers legal assistance, English classes, and housing for refugees, and Refugee Services of Texas resettles families arriving from Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, and Sudan. Mosaic Family Services assists victims of domestic violence and human trafficking in more than 30 languages, RAICES provides immigration defense in complex cases, and the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas represents unaccompanied children and women seeking asylum. The Texas Muslim Women's Foundation supports Muslim women in crisis situations. The Mexican Consulate General in Dallas is one of the busiest in the country, and there are consulates from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Nigeria.