User Panel
Posted: 8/26/2013 4:33:09 PM EDT
We live in Ohio, we might be relocating to Dallas, TX - and all the "online comparison tools" seem to suggest that the standard of living adjustments are within just a few % of each other; with the biggest variable being utilities (likely due to the hotter TX climate). Due to potentially moving across the country, we'd be downsizing everything: house, stuff, space, and salary. We have kids, we would be working in south-central Dallas inside the 635 loop [and commuting in from somewhere else!]. If everything goes through, we plan on renting for a short time to get orientated before considering more permanent real estate.
My question: where should we look for a rental and or home; assuming a $250,000 budget? Ideally we'd like to keep the commute to 45 minutes or less, and we'd be driving during the early part of morning/evening rush hour (ie 6-6:30 AM and 4PM). We are definitely suburban and used to 3/4 acre plots and don't want to go much more dense than that - but sidewalks, small community neighborhoods are fine. Basically, we want the nicest neighborhood we can afford with the most reasonable commute - but we do NOT want "trendy" condos with bars and all that shit at this point in our lives; we'd rather have libraries, school functions and respectable neighbors / open space to play. Suggestions on the part(s) of town where to look / where it's best to raise kids under our budget without having a crazy commute? |
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Texas is hot, humid and full of huge bugs. Property taxes are INSANE.
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Can you better pinpoint "south central Dallas"?
Not Oak Cliff or Cedar Crest... |
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Try looking North of Dallas. Little Elm, Frisco, The Colony. That's where all of the new housing and business construction is at. Low crime, quiet neighborhoods.. Housing prices are real good. About $200k for new 2 story....
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Quoted:
We live in Ohio, we might be relocating to Dallas, TX - and all the "online comparison tools" seem to suggest that the standard of living adjustments are within just a few % of each other; with the biggest variable being utilities (likely due to the hotter TX climate). Due to potentially moving across the country, we'd be downsizing everything: house, stuff, space, and salary. We have kids, would be working in south-central Dallas inside the 635 loop. If everything goes through, we plan on renting for a short time to get orientated before considering more permanent real estate. My question: where should we look for a rental and or home; assuming a $250,000 budget? Ideally we'd like to keep the commute to 45 minutes or less, and we'd be driving during the early part of morning/evening rush hour (ie 6-6:30 AM and 4PM). We are definitely suburban and used to 3/4 acre plots and don't want to go much more dense than that - but sidewalks, small community neighborhoods are fine. Basically, we want the nicest neighborhood we can afford with the most reasonable commute - but we do NOT want "trendy" condos with bars and all that shit at this point in our lives; we'd rather have libraries, school functions and respectable neighbors / open space to play. Suggestions on the part(s) of town where to look / where it's best to raise kids under our budget without having a crazy commute? View Quote Richardson or Plano. |
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I would think a little harder on the times you want to drive around there.
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Stay away from Oak Cliff, De Soto, Duncanville on the south side of Dallas. Very ruff hood. If you want a little land with your house I might suggest Red Oak. It's been some time since I been there but I remember it being nice. Up north think Frisco or Allen. Plano and Addison are a zoo. Out west, everything in the mid cities sucks. On the east side I like Rockwall or Forney.
During drive time all roads suck to drive on. ETA. Everything inside the loop has a 100% suck rate. The farther away from the loop the less it sucks. |
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Good luck finding an outdoor shooting range that does not have fudd rules.
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Cedar hill red oak waxachie ferris. All in the south part of Dallas. Personally IF your looking with 45 min I would try Forney.
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I nearly moved to the DFW area 12 years ago, but fate changed. I spent a lot of time looking at houses, you will find a lot postage stamp size lots.
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I grew up in Richardson, it is full of Muslims now, it has completely gone to shit. The eastern half of Plano has decayed too. There only place I would say matches your query is Lakewood, the old neighborhoods in east Dallas, but the houses for that money are probably old. If you lwant to go outside 635, I'd recommend McKinney, but the tollway commute will be horrible.
I hate Dallas. Good luck! |
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Can you better pinpoint "south central Dallas"? Not Oak Cliff or Cedar Crest... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Can you better pinpoint "south central Dallas"? Not Oak Cliff or Cedar Crest... A half mile south of the city center when looking at Google Maps? A major cross-section would be Loop 12/Ledbetter and south 35E. Quoted:
In Dallas it's more a matter of where NOT to live I'm not hung up on X-sized lots or something, just trying to get an idea of what to expect relative to how far out we have to go (and giving you guys a reference as to what we consider "suburban"). I see plenty of nice 4 bed/3 bath houses on MLS searches, but obviously I have no context to these listings as far as how likely I am to be carjacked by my neighbor the week I move in. |
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3/4 acre lot would be pretty expensive unless you live way out of town. My small narrow lot is valued at about 100k without a house on it. There are larger houses with big lots near me, but I think the houses are above $500K. Look at Forest Hills if you are interested.
In Dallas it's more a matter of where NOT to live |
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I live in Burleson just south of Fort Worth and commute to Garland. 62 miles one way.
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I would think a little harder on the times you want to drive around there. View Quote Never been there, ergo my soliciting for advice on the internet. I have nothing to go on right now but what's been posted; if "North" and "East" are the best suggestions, that's where we'll start. Feel free to elaborate? |
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A half mile south of the city center when looking at Google Maps? A major cross-section would be Loop 12/Ledbetter and south 35E. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Can you better pinpoint "south central Dallas"? Not Oak Cliff or Cedar Crest... A half mile south of the city center when looking at Google Maps? A major cross-section would be Loop 12/Ledbetter and south 35E. I worked at Red Bird Airport (now called Dallas Executive) for 6 years. Loop 12/ Ledbetter is not a good hood for white people to be in after dark. I do know of a good BBQ joint in the area though. Many times I was the only white dood in line. |
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i can tell you where NOT to live. Oakcliff or redbird mall area. they might be the same. not sure.
if i were to move to dallas i would move to mckinney. might be a bit of a commute but its not bad i dont think. |
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Stay away from Oak Cliff, De Soto, Duncanville on the south side of Dallas. Very ruff hood. If you want a little land with your house I might suggest Red Oak. It's been some time since I been there but I remember it being nice. Up north think Frisco or Allen. Plano and Addison are a zoo. Out west, everything in the mid cities sucks. On the east side I like Rockwall or Forney. During drive time all roads suck to drive on. ETA. Everything inside the loop has a 100% suck rate. The farther away from the loop the less it sucks. View Quote This nails it, I would add that Wylie and up along Lake Lavon would be good too. Maybe Rowlett would be somewhere to look too. |
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Actually, just down 67 is Midlothian. That's a nicer area. Lot's places around there have land with the house. No clue on prices.
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Never been there, ergo my soliciting for advice on the internet. I have nothing to go on right now but what's been posted; if "North" and "East" are the best suggestions, that's where we'll start. Feel free to elaborate? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I would think a little harder on the times you want to drive around there. Never been there, ergo my soliciting for advice on the internet. I have nothing to go on right now but what's been posted; if "North" and "East" are the best suggestions, that's where we'll start. Feel free to elaborate? Personally, I would go east. I heard someone mention Forney. That's about as close as I'd want to be to Dallas. It's worth it to wake up a little earlier. |
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A half mile south of the city center when looking at Google Maps? A major cross-section would be Loop 12/Ledbetter and south 35E. I'm not hung up on X-sized lots or something, just trying to get an idea of what to expect relative to how far out we have to go (and giving you guys a reference as to what we consider "suburban"). I see plenty of nice 4 bed/3 bath houses on MLS searches, but obviously I have no context to these listings as far as how likely I am to be carjacked by my neighbor the week I move in. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Can you better pinpoint "south central Dallas"? Not Oak Cliff or Cedar Crest... A half mile south of the city center when looking at Google Maps? A major cross-section would be Loop 12/Ledbetter and south 35E. Quoted:
In Dallas it's more a matter of where NOT to live I'm not hung up on X-sized lots or something, just trying to get an idea of what to expect relative to how far out we have to go (and giving you guys a reference as to what we consider "suburban"). I see plenty of nice 4 bed/3 bath houses on MLS searches, but obviously I have no context to these listings as far as how likely I am to be carjacked by my neighbor the week I move in. If you want to keep your commute down and the housing still affordable look down towards Midlothian. Parts of Duncanville may still be OK, but I haven't lived in the Dallas area for 10 years. |
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We live in Ohio, we might be relocating to Dallas, TX - and all the "online comparison tools" seem to suggest that the standard of living adjustments are within just a few % of each other; with the biggest variable being utilities (likely due to the hotter TX climate). Due to potentially moving across the country, we'd be downsizing everything: house, stuff, space, and salary. We have kids, would be working in south-central Dallas inside the 635 loop. If everything goes through, we plan on renting for a short time to get orientated before considering more permanent real estate. My question: where should we look for a rental and or home; assuming a $250,000 budget? Ideally we'd like to keep the commute to 45 minutes or less, and we'd be driving during the early part of morning/evening rush hour (ie 6-6:30 AM and 4PM). We are definitely suburban and used to 3/4 acre plots and don't want to go much more dense than that - but sidewalks, small community neighborhoods are fine. Basically, we want the nicest neighborhood we can afford with the most reasonable commute - but we do NOT want "trendy" condos with bars and all that shit at this point in our lives; we'd rather have libraries, school functions and respectable neighbors / open space to play. Suggestions on the part(s) of town where to look / where it's best to raise kids under our budget without having a crazy commute? Richardson or Plano. Richardson, Was not a good option 20 years ago. Except for Whattaburger. |
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I grew up in Richardson, it is full of Muslims now, it has completely gone to shit. The eastern half of Plano has decayed too. There only place I would say matches your query is Lakewood, the old neighborhoods in east Dallas, but the houses for that money are probably old. If you lwant to go outside 635, I'd recommend McKinney, but the tollway commute will be horrible. I hate Dallas. Good luck! View Quote Richardson does have a surprising amount of Muslims in the east part of the city. But North Richardson is pretty nice, and they have a great parks & trail system for running\biking. Lots of Jews in North Richardson too (as evidenced by all the Kosher specialty stores.) Eastern Plano has always been a little bit rougher than West Plano, but overall I don't think you can go too wrong living in Plano. It seems like the best bet for someone wanting a decent sized yard in the $250,000 range. The further North you go, the more house\land you'll get for your money. You could probably get a house in the M-Streets\lower Greenville area, or Lakewood, but the yards aren't really that big. Also you'd be in the City of Dallas, so public schools are out, public services are kinda shitty and the roads are crap. It sounds like you belong in the suburbs. |
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I want to live in Montana, drive a truck and maybe have two wives.
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Keller is booming. Great schools. $250k will get you a really nice home with a pool.
Realtor.com is your friend with satellite searches of homes for sale. The app is cool as hell. I use it and I'm not even in the market. |
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Richardson, Was not a good option 20 years ago. Except for Whattaburger. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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We live in Ohio, we might be relocating to Dallas, TX - and all the "online comparison tools" seem to suggest that the standard of living adjustments are within just a few % of each other; with the biggest variable being utilities (likely due to the hotter TX climate). Due to potentially moving across the country, we'd be downsizing everything: house, stuff, space, and salary. We have kids, would be working in south-central Dallas inside the 635 loop. If everything goes through, we plan on renting for a short time to get orientated before considering more permanent real estate. My question: where should we look for a rental and or home; assuming a $250,000 budget? Ideally we'd like to keep the commute to 45 minutes or less, and we'd be driving during the early part of morning/evening rush hour (ie 6-6:30 AM and 4PM). We are definitely suburban and used to 3/4 acre plots and don't want to go much more dense than that - but sidewalks, small community neighborhoods are fine. Basically, we want the nicest neighborhood we can afford with the most reasonable commute - but we do NOT want "trendy" condos with bars and all that shit at this point in our lives; we'd rather have libraries, school functions and respectable neighbors / open space to play. Suggestions on the part(s) of town where to look / where it's best to raise kids under our budget without having a crazy commute? Richardson or Plano. Richardson, Was not a good option 20 years ago. Except for Whattaburger. Was fine when I lived there. Which was less than 20 years ago. |
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Quoted: Texas is hot, humid and full of huge bugs. Property taxes are INSANE. View Quote Dude, we moved to Texas from The People's State of Illinois almost two years ago... the property taxes here are REASONABLE compared to there, plus there is no state income tax. In IL we were paying $3200 a year on a $85k home... here in Texas we are paying $1700 on a $140k home... almost TWICE the house, and half the taxes... |
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Texas is hot, humid and full of huge bugs. Property taxes are INSANE. View Quote Hot - yes. Humid - not for the two years I was there. The highest humidity i remember in DFW was 50%. GA is humid. Bugs were no worse than the SE, with the exception of LOTS of West Nile cases. I lived predominantly in the Fort Worth and Keller areas, then moved back to GA and commuted after my Dad died last year. When in TX, I would stay at my aunt's in Dallas (Munger Place). Dallas and its surrounding areas can get real sketchy, real fast. I don't know what you consider a long drive, but FW to Dallas is not a hard drive to me for work. Maybe it's because I am used to ATL traffic where going anywhere can take an hour or more. I will give TX major props on usually be ahead in road construction, unlike ATL which is always behind. If you make the move, you will find there are some really cool things about TX. |
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If you're going to work in south Dallas is makes sense to commute from the south. Look at Waxahachie to Midlothian areas.
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When you say South Central Dallas, I think shithole.
Yes, I'm there everyday. Move north of Dallas or East of Dallas and commute. Check out Forney. |
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No way I'd live south of Dallas. Rethink your commute time and move farther north.
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