Well, being that Dallas is only 3 hours from me, I've been MANY times. I would say the only thing CA and TX have in common is the weather; it's hot! Dallas is great though, there's a lot to do (major league games, malls, clubs, amusement parks, restaurants, history, etc.) and most of the surrounding cities are upper-middle class. Of course there are bad parts but every city has those.
If you go to the beach a lot, you'll be in for a huge change. The only place to get wet in Dallas is Hurricane Harbor.
If you can live w/o the ocean, democrats & palm trees, Dallas will be just fine for you.