Ch. 16 · Moving
Colorado to North Texas: transferees and the mountain-to-prairie change
Charles Schwab moved its headquarters to Westlake, and TIAA built a 1,000-worker campus in Frisco. For transferees and individual movers, here is what changes between the mountains and the prairie.
Colorado sent roughly 23,000 people to Texas in the latest 2024 reporting period, about 25,000 the year before, per Census Bureau data, and a meaningful share arrive through employer moves rather than individual choice. This chapter covers both lanes: the corporate-transferee timeline that comes with a start date attached, and the mountain-to-prairie changes any Coloradan notices, from water to hail.
Two well-known corporate moves anchor the transferee lane. Charles Schwab relocated its corporate headquarters to Westlake, Texas, within the DFW metro, official as of January 1, 2021. TIAA did not move its headquarters, which remains in New York, but built a large regional corporate center in Frisco, the TIAA Frisco Corporate Center, hosting over 1,000 workers with plans for more. Facts like these are cited below; this guide names companies only to describe the relocation pattern, never as endorsements.
Part of the Where you're coming from hub. California, Florida, New York, Colorado, Illinois, corporate relocation, and military & veterans each have their own chapter.
Why Colorado shows up in DFW: the corporate lane
The Dallas-Fort Worth metro has ranked first in the US for corporate headquarters relocations for seven consecutive years, per CBRE, and Colorado companies have been part of that pattern. Schwab's move to Westlake and TIAA's Frisco campus put thousands of transferee decisions inside the DFW metro, and each one runs against a start date. If you are arriving through an employer move, chapter 18 is your chapter: the 60 to 90 day timeline, buying before arrival, builder timing vs. HR deadlines, and remote closing all live there.
Mountain vs. prairie: the lifestyle swap
Colorado life is organized around elevation, four seasons, and outdoor access. North Texas is a flat, hot prairie with a different rhythm: long summers, mild short winters, and a spring severe-weather season. The adjustment is less about missing the mountains and more about recalibrating habits: distances are long and driving is the only real option, summer outdoor time is an early-morning activity, and the daily commute, not the elevation, is the variable that decides which community fits. The which-DFW-area-fits question is where indfwliving.com earns its keep; this guide stays on the process.
Hail: Colorado knows it, North Texas seasons it differently
Colorado has hail, Colorado Springs especially, so the concept is not new to a Coloradan. North Texas hail arrives as part of spring and summer severe-weather seasons, with the corridor's own storm history, and on a new build the roof is new, which is the best possible starting position. The habits are the ones Coloradans already have: check the forecast, park under cover, and keep the roof in good repair. Ask the insurance agent how hail claims and any wind and hail deductible work on the policy, and confirm the builder's roofing warranty terms in writing.
Water: wells and mountain runoff vs. municipal and MUD
A large share of Colorado homes, particularly outside the front range cities, run on private wells and septic systems with water law that follows the property. North Texas new communities are almost universally platted for municipal-style water and sewer, often financed through the community's MUD, which repays the infrastructure with a property tax line until the bonds retire (chapter 7). You trade well maintenance for a district line item on the tax bill; both are real costs, but they show up in different places, and the MUD is disclosed in the builder's paperwork, not buried in the price.
Wildfire vs. heat, and the transferee timeline
Colorado's headline hazard is wildfire, with evacuation planning built into mountain living. North Texas's daily hazard is heat, with hail and tornadoes in season and flash-flooding along creeks. For a transferee the timeline dominates everything: accept the transfer, get the 60 to 90 day calendar running (chapter 1), use the remote buying protocol (chapter 2) to cover a house-hunting trip you may not get, and close by remote online notarization (chapter 9) if the start date wins. Chapter 18 works the corporate timeline in detail.
Sources
Material factual claims in this chapter link to the sources below. Market figures are reported conditions, not guarantees; verify current offers in writing.
- USAFacts: What states are people in Colorado moving to and from
- CBRE: The Shifting Landscape of Headquarters Relocations: 2026 Update
- NBC DFW: Charles Schwab headquarters move to Denton County
- TIAA Careers: Frisco Corporate Center
- WFAA: TIAA workers make the move to Frisco
- Texas National Title: MUD, PUD, or PID?
Written by
Theresa De La Rosa
Broker, Covenant Heritage Realty, LLC · TX #807294 · 18+ years in Texas and Florida real estate.
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This guide is the process, not the listings. When you are ready to apply it to your specific move, book a consultation with Theresa De La Rosa, Broker at Covenant Heritage Realty. For the which-DFW-area-fits question, the community and city guides live at indfwliving.com.