I started a new tradition to go on a dream/exotic vacation for my birthday every year.  Last year I went to the Bahamas and this year, Barbados.  Next year, the ultimate birthday trip would be the beautiful Maldives or Bora Bora.

As you might already know, I grew up in Hawai’i but left for college in Texas after graduating from high school.  I have lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since then and I have to say for travel purposes, it ended up being a great location.  It is only a twelve minute drive to DFW airport, from my house.

Here are TOP 5 reasons why you should live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, for the sake of travel…

• If you love to travel, the convenience of choosing whether you want to go on a coastal getaway to the east or west is just about three hours. West being California and East being Florida.  Florida has been my go-to lately and I wish to go to as many beaches there as possible.  Other flights around the three hour mark is to Las Vegas (two and a half if early) and NYC (just over three hours).  Fares are reasonable as well.  Here are a few summer round-trip airfare examples, from DFW:  Las Vegas- $215, NYC- around $300, O’ahu- $700-800 and Jamaica- $650.  Fares may vary and based on American Airlines or Southwest.
• It is an eight hour direct flight to Hawaii and just above nine hours to Paris.  I am definitely going to continue to take advantage of this in case I ever move back to Hawaii.  Can you imagine the flight times from Hawaii to Egypt (bucket list destination) or to the Maldives?!  I can never sleep comfortably on a long flight.
• It is about four to eight hours to the Caribbean (using Jamaica and Barbados as an example).  Barbados is the furthest east, on the Caribbean island chain.
• The job market has been steady if not thriving, but it has been since I moved here in 1995.  I’ve seen my city of Arlington grow into an entertainment district and the enrollment at my alma mater, UT-Arlington, has soared since I graduated.
• Cost of living is low and there is a plethora of real estate investment opportunities. For example, you can own a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 2,000sq ft home with a good size backyard for $150,000.  Not to mention, in a decent and safe area.  If you want to buy a foreclosure or HUD home, I had the opportunity for a 3 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath 1,000sq ft home for $52,000, then flipping it a few years later.  What that equates to is having the liberty to travel more.

Fortunately for me, I am able to use points that I’ve accrued on my Hawaiian Mastercard and American Express for flights, in addition to claiming free nights on my hotels.com account.  Every bit helps me save on my next trip!  Traveling takes planning but there are definitely ways to save big if you look hard enough and do your research.

Therefore if you ever want to invest in Texas properties, it is definitely a great idea.  Maybe this can be one way for you to fund your future travels!  In addition, I did mention “for the sake of travel” because Texas is not an ideal location for a lot of people, but it certainly worked out for me.  A downside has been the weather.  We get everything from hail, tornadoes, 100 degree summers, ice, snow sometimes and hurricanes.  I prefer tropical weather year round 😉

Please share feedback on other great cities to live, for easy access to favorite travel destinations.

Haze- Blue Crush Travel

Pic:  Dallas, Texas skyline