Single, 36 year old, moving to Dallas (Fort Worth, Irving: apartment complex, condos, low crime)

[BuffalotoDallas]

Hey, all. As the title indicates, I'm moving to Dallas in about a month, and will be working in Grapevine. I have zero idea of the area, but for what I'm learning online. Truth be told, I just want to move to a cool apartment for now, and meet a girl. I like pubs and trendy places, act a little younger than my age, but don't want to move amongst 20 somethings. I will take and cherish, ANY suggestions you can give. Thank you so very much.

[Willsson]

Grapevine is really..., no... r-e-a-l-l-y... suburban. If you like suburban you'll love Grapevine. There's plenty of places for having adult beverages with your buds but not sure there's many "pubs", as such. More like bars at restaurants or hotels. There'll be plenty of professional men and women for socializing.

Don't know about 'cool' apartments, mostly due to the suburban nature but the entire area is a growth area and should be clean and safe. There is high traffic volume on 114 during rush hour and traveling west in the afternoon is brutal, looking into the sun. There is some highway improvement going on there.

Here's a post from ChristieP who has moved to Grapevine and loves it.

[ChristieP]

My husband and I are close to your age, and we have been living in Grapevine for 8 years now. It is a suburban city, with all that goes along with it, but it has everything we like: shopping, restaurants, quick commute, lots to do, low crime, etc.

If your budget allows, look at these apartments in downtown Grapevine: 925mainstreet.com They are walking distance from 4 bars in downtown Grapevine and are across the street from the community center gym.

If that isn't what you are looking for, then maybe you should consider Las Colinas. It will be about a 20-minute drive in to Grapevine for work. Other people may suggest uptown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth, but both of those are going to be a long drive through heavy traffic every day...

[Squirl]

Las Colinas in the entertainment district, Look around O'Connor and Las Colinas Blvd. on the north side of 114.

[Willsson]

I always thought it would be cool to have an apartment in Las Colinas, overlooking a canal, near that Texas themed bar/restaurant, just down from Williams Square. I'm usually not in 'remember mode' when I'm there, so that's as close as I can get. I used to drive from Oak Lawn to near Hackberry, but that's as far as I'd go for anyone's job. It was always an okay drive, the southbound stack up at downtown just beyond my exit.

ChristieP, is that 925 Main St. near Esparza's downtown? Some co-workers used to meet up on Thursdays at the one that was in a strip shop and hit the downtown place during Grape Fest.

[TurtleCreek80]

Sorry, my friend, you're not moving to Dallas at all. You're moving to Grapevine, a Fort Worth suburb located in Tarrant (not Dallas) County, known for good public schools & general family-friendliness. Oh, and a cute historic downtown and the annual Grapefest event. Nothing hip or cool about it. Unfortunately, Grapevine's location makes it fairly difficult to commute from cool 30-something neigbhoroods in either Dallas or Fort Worth.....you'd be looking at a 60-75 minute commute each way.

If you're up for that, check out the Arts District in Fort Worth (around 7th Street & Camp Bowie), west of downtown. Great restaurants, both casual and upscale, like Lanny's Alta Cocina, Winslow's Wine Bar, Michael's, Eddie V's, etc. Lots of new apartments & condos, as well as cute restored crafsman homes.

Or check out the Knox-Henderson area of Dallas. Again, great bars with a crowd older than the 22 year old "still in college mentality" crowd.....check out The Old Monk, Bar Celine @ Park, Barcadia, Bodega Wine Bar for drinks or Taverna, Park, The Porch, Ziziki's, or La Duni for eating. Very walkable neighborhood- especially the Knox Street side. Again, lots of apartments, condos, and townhomes, as well as some pricey single-family homes.

My opinion is Las Colinas sucks. It's a "fake" urban area in the middle of an Office Park. But, whatever. It's got more single under-40 people than Grapevine, that's for sure.

[ChristieP]

925 Main is a fairly new urban loft-style apartment complex with retail shops on the first floor. It's at the corner of Main and 26/Dallas Drive, just down from the main downtown complex. Esparza's is just east of downtown, about 1/2 mile away. The night spots in downtown Grapevine: Wilhoite's, Esparza's, Tap Inn, South Prairie, Into The Glass, Back Porch, and Chill. Just downstairs from 925 Main apartments is Tastings wine bar. Technically, all Grapevine businesses are supposed to earn no less than 40% of their revenue in food, so all of these places do serve food in addition to drinks, and they are all pretty crowded Fri-Sat nights.

My husband and I have no kids, so we are not interested in the family-friendliness of Grapevine. We live here for proximity to our jobs, and to DFW, and because we like a suburb with low crime and other people like us. I'm active in several local organizations, and we both volunteer at Grapefest!

TurtleCreek is correct that the commute from downtown Fort Worth or uptown Dallas to Grapevine is awful. FW is about 35 miles each way (70 round trip), and the traffic on 183 is absolutely horrible. I used to do the reverse commute 4 years ago, and I allowed 45 minutes each way and I was still occasionally late. I have no idea what the Dallas commute would be, but it is also about 35 miles each way, and you would be going through the 114/Loop 12 interchange, which is currently undergoing major reconstruction and is a huge mess.

[BuffalotoDallas]

This is a good start, all. I really appreciate that anyone even took the time to comment, it really helps. To clarify, I'm WORKING in Grapevine. That doesn't necessarily translate to living there, but good info. I must admit that the Las Colinas area was the one I was most considering, and I was getting excited about making it my "spot"...then TurtleCreek blew it up That's alright, though, all your honest comments are again, very much appreciated.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by BuffalotoDallas

This is a good start, all. I really appreciate that anyone even took the time to comment, it really helps. To clarify, I'm WORKING in Grapevine. That doesn't necessarily translate to living there, but good info. I must admit that the Las Colinas area was the one I was most considering, and I was getting excited about making it my "spot"...then TurtleCreek blew it up That's alright, though, all your honest comments are again, very much appreciated.

The Los Colinas area in Irving is very nice.

[BigD_JT_14221]

BuffalotoDallas - Is it safe to assume you are moving from Buffalo NY? I made that move 11 yrs ago. Where in Buffalo / WNY are you moving from and what areas do you like there? I can probably suggest similar places here.