First Things to Do When Moving to Texas
WHAT COUNTY AM I IN?
When buying a new home if you are particular about living in a certain county, make sure you do your research before signing a contract. Some cities in Texas sit across county lines such as Frisco,TX which has the west part in Denton County and the east part in Collin County.
If you ever want to be 100% sure about a county line the best resource is the Texas General Land Office. They have an impressive interactive map of Texas with county lines.
Launch TGLO Map
GETTING IN AND AROUND TEXAS
When most people relocate to a new city, the first thing they think about is whether their home is in a safe neighborhood. By safe, they mean if there are many break-ins to the homes or cars. But another often overlooked factor that people should consider is the driving habits of the people in their new town. It’s no secret that people in certain cities like to brag or complain about how bad the drivers are in certain cities. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not. Whatever the case, it’s important to know your surroundings and adapt to the driving style in your new community.
NEW DRIVERS IN TEXAS
The Texas DMV has a nice section on their site on what you need to do when bringing an out of state vehicle into Texas. Our tip is that you go through the whole vehicle inspection and car registration before getting your Toll Tag (see Tollways section below).
Note: TxDMV is used for vehicle registration, NOT for getting a Texas driver’s license. The Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) issues drivers licenses.
TxDMV New Driver Page
To find an office to get your Texas Driver’s License, check the DPS page.
TxDPS Office Locations
VOTER REGISTRATION
If you plan on voting in elections while living in Texas, the absolute easiest way to register is to complete the form when you are at the Texas DPS getting your Texas drivers license. If you forget and need to do it later or just want to check if you are registered you can always go to the Texas voting site.
VoteTexas.gov
TOLLWAYS
Like most cities, gone are the days when there was enough budget to expand and build new highways that didn’t need to charge a toll once built. DFW has several tollways throughout the metroplex. When looking at places to live, it’s important to note that some cities are in locations which make tollway use almost mandatory. For example, living in West Plano, Frisco, Prosper, or Celina means you will almost always need to take a tollway to get anywhere south like downtown Dallas or either airport (DFW and Love Field).
You may notice that in the Dallas area many of the tollways have an orange circle with a black “T”; these tollways are managed by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). You need a toll tag to drive on these highways so that you don’t get charged a higher fee when traveling on these roads. While many drivers may not drive much on toll roads, it’s pretty much set and forget if you have a credit card on file. So for the few times you do drive on toll roads, it is worth getting the toll tag, which also saves you money. The toll tag is a sticker that goes in your windshield but it is also tied to your license plate; hence why it’s nice to register your car first so you don’t have to go back and update your toll tag account.
If you drive outside of Dallas you may see another tollway sign called TxTag. If you get an NTTA Toll Tag it will be automatically tied to the TxTag system so you will not need different tags. Your toll tag account will be billed just as if you were driving around in Dallas on an NTTA road. This is very convenient if you’re driving to Houston and other cities that have tollways. Otherwise, you will get a bill in the mail which will be for a higher fee.
One more important note – If you’re going to DFW airport, you can use your NTTA Toll Tag to pay for parking. Yes, even if you’re picking someone up from the Arrivals/Departures, you will need to pay a fee to gain entry into DFW airport.
TXDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation segments the planning, design and operations of the transportation system into districts. If you want the latest on road closures, future projects visit their site.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
When buying a new home if you are particular about living in a certain county, make sure you do your research before signing a contract. Some cities in Texas sit across county lines such as Frisco,TX which has the west part in Denton County and the east part in Collin County.
If you ever want to be 100% sure about a county line the best resource is the Texas General Land Office. They have an impressive interactive map of Texas with county lines.
Launch TGLO Map
GETTING IN AND AROUND TEXAS
When most people relocate to a new city, the first thing they think about is whether their home is in a safe neighborhood. By safe, they mean if there are many break-ins to the homes or cars. But another often overlooked factor that people should consider is the driving habits of the people in their new town. It’s no secret that people in certain cities like to brag or complain about how bad the drivers are in certain cities. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not. Whatever the case, it’s important to know your surroundings and adapt to the driving style in your new community.
NEW DRIVERS IN TEXAS
The Texas DMV has a nice section on their site on what you need to do when bringing an out of state vehicle into Texas. Our tip is that you go through the whole vehicle inspection and car registration before getting your Toll Tag (see Tollways section below).
Note: TxDMV is used for vehicle registration, NOT for getting a Texas driver’s license. The Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) issues drivers licenses.
TxDMV New Driver Page
To find an office to get your Texas Driver’s License, check the DPS page.
TxDPS Office Locations
VOTER REGISTRATION
If you plan on voting in elections while living in Texas, the absolute easiest way to register is to complete the form when you are at the Texas DPS getting your Texas drivers license. If you forget and need to do it later or just want to check if you are registered you can always go to the Texas voting site.
VoteTexas.gov
TOLLWAYS
Like most cities, gone are the days when there was enough budget to expand and build new highways that didn’t need to charge a toll once built. DFW has several tollways throughout the metroplex. When looking at places to live, it’s important to note that some cities are in locations which make tollway use almost mandatory. For example, living in West Plano, Frisco, Prosper, or Celina means you will almost always need to take a tollway to get anywhere south like downtown Dallas or either airport (DFW and Love Field).
You may notice that in the Dallas area many of the tollways have an orange circle with a black “T”; these tollways are managed by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). You need a toll tag to drive on these highways so that you don’t get charged a higher fee when traveling on these roads. While many drivers may not drive much on toll roads, it’s pretty much set and forget if you have a credit card on file. So for the few times you do drive on toll roads, it is worth getting the toll tag, which also saves you money. The toll tag is a sticker that goes in your windshield but it is also tied to your license plate; hence why it’s nice to register your car first so you don’t have to go back and update your toll tag account.
If you drive outside of Dallas you may see another tollway sign called TxTag. If you get an NTTA Toll Tag it will be automatically tied to the TxTag system so you will not need different tags. Your toll tag account will be billed just as if you were driving around in Dallas on an NTTA road. This is very convenient if you’re driving to Houston and other cities that have tollways. Otherwise, you will get a bill in the mail which will be for a higher fee.
One more important note – If you’re going to DFW airport, you can use your NTTA Toll Tag to pay for parking. Yes, even if you’re picking someone up from the Arrivals/Departures, you will need to pay a fee to gain entry into DFW airport.
TXDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation segments the planning, design and operations of the transportation system into districts. If you want the latest on road closures, future projects visit their site.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Texas Driver License – You can find the latest Texas Driver License handbook on this site.
- Texas Motor Vehicle Annual Crash Reports – overall statistics which shows aggregate numbers by city or county
- Top 100 Congested Roadways and other cool data – use the menu on the left to pull up interesting stats
- DriveTexas.org – receive road condition information or call 800-452-9292
- Don’t mess with Texas – a registered trademark, this campaign was meant to clear litter off Texas roads; the saying is now world famous