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Chicago transplant likes comfort, easy living D-FW will provide his family
09:04 PM CDT on Saturday, June 25, 2005
Some Dallas-Fort Worth transplants come on a company transfer. Others
move here to be closer to family.
But Paul Jones specifically picked the D-FW area as the place to plant
his new brokerage company when he moved here in April from Chicago.
He said the area has better weather and a lower cost of living, and is a
good place to raise a family. His wife, Vanessa, and 5-month-old
daughter, Iara, will join him this summer.
Mr. Jones, 28, had flexibility in choosing a place to live because he
could operate his new company from any location.
The Dallas Morning News spent several months examining the
dynamics of affluent black households in the Dallas-Fort Worth
metropolitan region. The News analyzed U.S. census data from 1990
to 2000, comparing the growth in upper-income black households locally
and nationally. Reporters interviewed families, demographers, economists
and educators, as well as civic, business and religious leaders about
the status of black residents in the region.
After more than three years working in the financial services industry,
he joined with a colleague in China to start the business, which helps
U.S. firms find manufacturers in that nation.
Leaving a job where he was making "well over six figures" was risky, but
the timing was right, Mr. Jones said. "Having a daughter made me say,
'If I'm going to do it, I have to do it now.' "
So far, he likes Dallas and is living with friends in Cedar Hill while
he looks for locations for his company and home.
He expects he'll rent in Dallas to start out and then buy a home in the
suburbs in a year or two.
"I want my wife to have some time to figure out where she wants us to
buy a house," he said.
Mr. Jones, who has lived in London, China, Brazil and Chicago, said
Cedar Hill was a bit of a culture shock.
"You have to drive everywhere," he said. "Living in downtown Chicago, I
would park my car on the weekend and not drive again until Monday."
But the Dallas area has its pluses.
"It's very comfortable and easy living," he said. "And traffic isn't
bad."
He also thinks the metropolitan area offers opportunities for young
black professionals.
"There are not as many blacks as Chicago or Atlanta, but I do think
there are more moving here," Mr. Jones said. "And it's easier to find
opportunities within a smaller network."
E-mail jlafleur@dallasnews.com
