Dear future neighbors…where should I put my bags down? (Dallas: apartments, crime)

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by dfwyot

If I were you I would stay away from lower greenville/lakewood area. Snobbish people who only care about what there beliefs in the arts and "there" causes. They are very closed minded people who don't see what your interest are or care if you like a certain thing such as suburbs, golf walmarts, fine wine. you will be cast as "one of those", as I said very closed minded people. Schooling in DISD is the worst in the country(public schools that is). UTA located in arlington is one of the finest universitys in the state.So keep an open mind.

Interesting response. The poster obviously has a jaded view - please ignore the comments.

IMO - White Rock Lake is one of the most utilized lakes in the DFW region. A trip there on any Saturday will clearly illustrate this. Sailboat races every Sunday; cyclists and joggers galore; people having picnics; the playgrounds are packed. It really is an amazing place. When I ride there, I almost always jump in a group of fellow riders. People are unbelievably friendly.

One of my friends live in Lakewood - and in a VERY nice house on over an acre - so he's certainly not hurting financially. One of the nicest people I know and without a doubt not a snobbish bone in his or his wife's body. Their oldest child goes to a school that has been voted the BEST school in the country for the last two years (DISD school even).

[MaryS80]

I'd go with Richardson, and Northwest Garland. Richland is the big community college in the area. They offer evening, weekend, and online classes. Richardson is on 75 which is a straight shot to downtown Dallas. From Northwest Garland you could be on 75 in a few minutes.

There is also Brookhaven Community College which is located off 635 on the Dallas/Farmers Branch border.

Dallas County has another community college in downtown, which is El Centro.

Not all campuses offer the same classes, so which one you attend may depend on what you need to take.

Collin county has their own community college district as well. There's a nice campus on Spring Creek and Jupiter. It's a pretty nice area, its not over developed, and there are some slightly older neighborhoods that are well kept. This area is also close to 75, but it would be a bit of a commute down 75 to Dallas.

There are a ton of colleges in the Denton and Lewisville area, as well as a lake, however it would quite a commute to downtown Dallas.

In general the Dallas area just isn't pedestrian friendly. Since there is right turn on red you can't cross at a crosswalk without nearly getting run over. Homes in walking distance of shops and such is pretty hard to find. You either have to go to old downtown areas like downtown Garland, and downtown Plano, or to the super new mixed use places.

[Panks]

You guys are the greatest! I'd buy you all drinks..but points will have to do instead

I didn't want to throw everyone off by mentioning water views..its not a must have, thats why I put it separately.

I also forgot to mention I dont have kids,and I'm home schooling my cats, so I dont care about schools ..or maybe I should care anyway because of home resale values?

So, it looks like walking to shops is the sticking point? I'm kinda surprised since Dallas is such a big city and pretty old?! I dont care if I have to drive..I'm not so concerned about the shopping part..I just wanted to know that theres places I can go to be around other people since I'll probably be a bit lonely at first Its kinda hard to be sociable a a strip mall

lh-newbie-ahem...how about Florida??

FarNorthDallas- is Canyon Creek a building development also? I only found a street with that name on Google maps?? I thought UTD was urinary tract disease! Thanks to google I figured out its a university. Thats for telling me about Highland north, I thought that was the same as Highland park until I read your post. What is coit? when you say coit..I think of coit tower Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill Pictures and History
whats a sprayground? I feel like a 5 year old withall my what's this and whats that questions!

Hamiltompl-thanks for the link..Lakewood goes on my list! I noticed the poster didnt want an old home...actually only the Californians seem to be looking for older homes is that just because of the costs of cooling and heating or is there more to it? do the new homes have safe rooms or doesnt anyone worry about a tornado? how many homes out there have pools? I didnt find many on the realtor sites? I would have thought everyone would want one (even if they're above ground) with the heat??

Brian-Thank you for telling me about Dart and lake highlands. it sounds great..is it all newer homes or are there older ones too? how is it in the mornings to commute on the train? Is it packed like sardines? Do you think living 20 mins driving distance to Dallas will be 40 minutes in a few years because of traffic or are your freeways pretty clear?

Lakewooder- Great links.thank you! I checked out White Rock Lake a while back, but it seemes like the homes on the lake were in the million + range and there were no hills nearby to get a distant water view Is the lake safe at night to walk around? Are the prices I found pretty accurate? No one ever mentions Mountain Creek Lake o this forum..is that a bad area?

Dfwyot-Thank you for the tip. I made a note of those areas. I definitely want to live near friendly people! and I will definitely keep Lake Arlington in mind if I can get a job there. It made it to Oprahs top 20 places for eligible bachelors over 35!

Lizziebeth-Thank you from me and my mom for the offer by park cities do u mean univerity park and highland park? thanks for reminding me..I did a crime check on some website and there was tons of crime in tha area! how come? I thought it was supposed to be a ritzy area? only university park #'s looked low, but then I figured its because of the campus taking up so much square feet..right? And there was a house for sale on some forclosure website that had the same zip code (it wouldnt give me an address unless I joined) that was under 200k? are there bad areas in the park cities? the crime thing is really confusing me...it looks like its pretty evenly distributed all over Dallas?

Guingirl-Excellent, excellent suggestion as always! Fort Worth duly noted

lh-newbie (Brian) -why does someone else have the same name? as you? I just googled greenville and its way way out there... not near lakewood at all so I actually dont know where dfwyoy means? An acre sounds awesome..is that an acre of raw land/woods or a big garden? I'd be VERY happy if I had an acre of garden... I could even put in my own pond if I had that much land I just dont like spooky forests/woods with snapping twigs that sound like theres someone hiding What does a house with a nice acre of land cost in Lakewood?

MaryS80-Great info on the schools. thank you! I bookmarked them all so I can check out their classes tomorrow. The number of schools out there is certainly impressive I hadn't considered Garland because it looked like too long of a commute..but now I'll check it out. Could you tell me what parking downtown is like/ costs? and how much is the train? if its really high, I'd better plan to live near a train station. Parking is just insane in SF- parking starts at $10-$35/ day plus $5 for the bridge ..it really adds up.

By the way if anyone knows of a good map that shows the names of these neighborhoods..I'd be mighty appreciative! Google map searches aren't cutting it and my AAA map isnt that good either!

And what do you guys think of your farmers market out there? is it great fruit thats cheaper than the supermarkets? or mostly very fancy breads and sauces etc like they have here??

Last question..do you guys have a fun flea market/s with antiques or is it mostly new stuff from Taiwan?

Ok one more..please give me the skinny on the crime scene...I was looking at the cute old homes in kessler park which I thought was in a bad area...they're so expensive..I dont get it???


Doesnt this icon remind you of Jimmy Carter?

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by Panks

Brian-Thank you for telling me about Dart and lake highlands. it sounds great..is it all newer homes or are there older ones too? how is it in the mornings to commute on the train? Is it packed like sardines? Do you think living 20 mins driving distance to Dallas will be 40 minutes in a few years because of traffic or are your freeways pretty clear?

Our house was built in 1976 - I like the character of the slightly older homes. Love our raised panel living room. There are some teardowns in the "L-Streets" area just the otherside of Skillman from my place, so you do have options for new homes.

I used to take the DART rail on a different line, and during rush hour, it is packed like sardines. Once you get out of rush hour, the rail typically has seating available.

Honestly, my 20 minute drive to downtown doesn't even take me on the freeway. I take Abrams all the way to downtown. It'd only take me 15 minutes if I took the freeway (assuming no traffic), but I find Abrams much less stressful and far more consistent since an accident doesn't back up a surface street for miles like it does on the freeway. Since this route takes me straight through fully built out single family residence areas - I fully expect the drive to be exactly the same for the next 20+ years.

For what it's worth, there are a couple people selling homes in my neighborhood. It looks like prices are in the $275-350K range - price/ft is in the $100-130 range. It seems to be jumping up in price over the last year; we bought our house Aug '06 for roughly $98/ft. We've had three houses in the neighborhood over the last 4-5 months sell in the $125/ft range. There is one on the market right now for $289K. It's listed at 2800 sq ft, but it looks like they closed in their breezeway per the pictures - so it's really about 2577 (per tax rolls). It was built in the mid 70's and while it looks well maintained/solid, it needs some updating. Hope that helps!

What is the price range you're looking at? That will certainly help us guide your expectations.

Originally Posted by Panks

lh-newbie (Brian) -why does someone else have the same name? as you? I just googled greenville and its way way out there... not near lakewood at all so I actually dont know where dfwyoy means? An acre sounds awesome..is that an acre of raw land/woods or a big garden? I'd be VERY happy if I had an acre of garden... I could even put in my own pond if I had that much land I just dont like spooky forests/woods with snapping twigs that sound like theres someone hiding What does a house with a nice acre of land cost in Lakewood?

He may have meant Greenville Avenue, not the city of Greenville. I haven't reviewed dfwyoy's suggestion.

The guy with an acre+ of property has his house about 1/3 across the property, it has some really nice mature oak trees sprinkled around the yard, a pool and a huge area of lawn. Definitely not "woods". Price is obviously going to be higher due to proximity to the lake, desirability of the area and that the area is very mature/built out. To get an acre there, I believe tax rolls have it listed at $600K (without a house), so prices would probably be $900K for a pre-existing home and up, depending on the home.

Brian

[galore]

Have you looked into the Peninsula at White Rock Lake? There is a 1887 sf home on a medium sized lot (90x131) 3 houses away from the lake for sale, listed at $315k. Nice mature trees on the lot, too.

MLS: 10814764

9436 Hobart St, dallas, tx - Google Maps

[lh_newbie]

Cute house! That pricing is pretty typical of that area - $166/sq ft. The proximity to the lake is unreal! Literally walking distance (and like 3 minutes at that) to the lake.

The only downside is that getting to that side of the lake can take a little bit - traffic is pretty heavy. We're talking maybe 30 minutes during rush hour to downtown Dallas.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by lizziebeth

My first answer to meet your list would be the Park Cities. It's close to SMU, you can walk to Snider Plaza or Preston Center, it's close to downtown, pretty darn safe, with old homes and old trees, you actually see kids playing outside and even selling lemonade now and then and for only a quarter! But since that's out of most people's price range, I would agree with FarNorthDallas about both Canyon Creek and Highlands North. My parents have lived in Highlands North for 30 years and moved in when the house was new, just down the street from one of the ponds. There has been turnover throughout the years but it's a very stable neighborhood with limited turnover and I'm guessing few rentals. As I start to look for a house on my own, I'm also looking at Canyon Creek and the neighborhood surrounding JJ Pearce HS (both 10 minutes from UTD, not terribly far from Richland College) from Campbell down to Arapaho. Depending on where you live, you could walk to the heavily developed area at Campbell and Coit. Otherwise, it's a quick drive. I was originally thinking Lake Highlands as a location -- not a bad idea, Brian. I don't know about the senior activities but your mom could always hang out with my parents in Highlands North...they're seniors!

I don't know anything about Canyon Creek or Richardson but, as I read the original post, I was thinking of the Park Cities (Highland Park and University Park) for the very reasons listed. Houses are expensive, though.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by Panks

Lizziebeth-Thank you from me and my mom for the offer by park cities do u mean univerity park and highland park? thanks for reminding me..I did a crime check on some website and there was tons of crime in tha area! how come? I thought it was supposed to be a ritzy area? only university park #'s looked low, but then I figured its because of the campus taking up so much square feet..right? And there was a house for sale on some forclosure website that had the same zip code (it wouldnt give me an address unless I joined) that was under 200k? are there bad areas in the park cities? the crime thing is really confusing me...it looks like its pretty evenly distributed all over Dallas?

Tons of crime in the Park Cities?!?!?! Crime is practically non-existent there. The Highland Park zip code is 75205 and University Park is 75225 and they have their own school system, police dept., fire dept. and city governments. I find it VERY hard to believe there's a house in University Park for under $200,000 - even a foreclosure. Teardown lots are about $400,000. I think you need to double-check your research.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by dfwyot

If I were you I would stay away from lower greenville/lakewood area. Snobbish people who only care about what there beliefs in the arts and "there" causes. They are very closed minded people who don't see what your interest are or care if you like a certain thing such as suburbs, golf walmarts, fine wine. you will be cast as "one of those", as I said very closed minded people. Schooling in DISD is the worst in the country(public schools that is). UTA located in arlington is one of the finest universitys in the state.So keep an open mind.

Snobbish people who don't care about golf and fine wine? That's a strange type of snobby.

There are many wine bars and two golf courses in the very small neighborhood of Lakewood.

There aren't any Wal-Marts though. People in Lakewood are certainly cosmopolitan. With that comes a disdain of chain stores and restaurants.

Lakewooders are nice and welcoming. At least that has been my experience in the last two years of living here. But they don't want their neighborhood to look like something newly built on the barren prairie in Plano. We have respect for the old historical houses built here in the early 1900s as well as the big trees. Many of the homes have been completely redone on the inside, so you'll get all the modern amenities with the character of the turn of the century. It's hard to beat. East Dallasites are more down to Earth than their North Dallas counterparts. You'll find nice people in both areas. But the more bohemian types prefer the east side.

Additionally, the DISD has the two highest ranked high schools in the United States, at least as far as Newsweek is concerned. UTA is not one of the finest "universitys" (sic) in the state. It's a decidedly fourth tier commuter school. I'd avoid Arlington like the plague.

[MaryS80]

Originally Posted by Panks

You guys are the greatest! I'd buy you all drinks..but points will have to do instead

I didn't want to throw everyone off by mentioning water views..its not a must have, thats why I put it separately.

I also forgot to mention I dont have kids,and I'm home schooling my cats, so I dont care about schools ..or maybe I should care anyway because of home resale values?

So, it looks like walking to shops is the sticking point? I'm kinda surprised since Dallas is such a big city and pretty old?! I dont care if I have to drive..I'm not so concerned about the shopping part..I just wanted to know that theres places I can go to be around other people since I'll probably be a bit lonely at first Its kinda hard to be sociable a a strip mall

lh-newbie-ahem...how about Florida??

FarNorthDallas- is Canyon Creek a building development also? I only found a street with that name on Google maps?? I thought UTD was urinary tract disease! Thanks to google I figured out its a university. Thats for telling me about Highland north, I thought that was the same as Highland park until I read your post. What is coit? when you say coit..I think of coit tower Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill Pictures and History
whats a sprayground? I feel like a 5 year old withall my what's this and whats that questions!

Hamiltompl-thanks for the link..Lakewood goes on my list! I noticed the poster didnt want an old home...actually only the Californians seem to be looking for older homes is that just because of the costs of cooling and heating or is there more to it? do the new homes have safe rooms or doesnt anyone worry about a tornado? how many homes out there have pools? I didnt find many on the realtor sites? I would have thought everyone would want one (even if they're above ground) with the heat??

Brian-Thank you for telling me about Dart and lake highlands. it sounds great..is it all newer homes or are there older ones too? how is it in the mornings to commute on the train? Is it packed like sardines? Do you think living 20 mins driving distance to Dallas will be 40 minutes in a few years because of traffic or are your freeways pretty clear?

Lakewooder- Great links.thank you! I checked out White Rock Lake a while back, but it seemes like the homes on the lake were in the million + range and there were no hills nearby to get a distant water view Is the lake safe at night to walk around? Are the prices I found pretty accurate? No one ever mentions Mountain Creek Lake o this forum..is that a bad area?

Dfwyot-Thank you for the tip. I made a note of those areas. I definitely want to live near friendly people! and I will definitely keep Lake Arlington in mind if I can get a job there. It made it to Oprahs top 20 places for eligible bachelors over 35!

Lizziebeth-Thank you from me and my mom for the offer by park cities do u mean univerity park and highland park? thanks for reminding me..I did a crime check on some website and there was tons of crime in tha area! how come? I thought it was supposed to be a ritzy area? only university park #'s looked low, but then I figured its because of the campus taking up so much square feet..right? And there was a house for sale on some forclosure website that had the same zip code (it wouldnt give me an address unless I joined) that was under 200k? are there bad areas in the park cities? the crime thing is really confusing me...it looks like its pretty evenly distributed all over Dallas?

Guingirl-Excellent, excellent suggestion as always! Fort Worth duly noted

lh-newbie (Brian) -why does someone else have the same name? as you? I just googled greenville and its way way out there... not near lakewood at all so I actually dont know where dfwyoy means? An acre sounds awesome..is that an acre of raw land/woods or a big garden? I'd be VERY happy if I had an acre of garden... I could even put in my own pond if I had that much land I just dont like spooky forests/woods with snapping twigs that sound like theres someone hiding What does a house with a nice acre of land cost in Lakewood?

MaryS80-Great info on the schools. thank you! I bookmarked them all so I can check out their classes tomorrow. The number of schools out there is certainly impressive I hadn't considered Garland because it looked like too long of a commute..but now I'll check it out. Could you tell me what parking downtown is like/ costs? and how much is the train? if its really high, I'd better plan to live near a train station. Parking is just insane in SF- parking starts at $10-$35/ day plus $5 for the bridge ..it really adds up.

By the way if anyone knows of a good map that shows the names of these neighborhoods..I'd be mighty appreciative! Google map searches aren't cutting it and my AAA map isnt that good either!

And what do you guys think of your farmers market out there? is it great fruit thats cheaper than the supermarkets? or mostly very fancy breads and sauces etc like they have here??

Last question..do you guys have a fun flea market/s with antiques or is it mostly new stuff from Taiwan?

Ok one more..please give me the skinny on the crime scene...I was looking at the cute old homes in kessler park which I thought was in a bad area...they're so expensive..I dont get it???


Doesnt this icon remind you of Jimmy Carter?

I live off Buckingham and Shiloh in Garland, and go to Richland. So long as I don't leave during rush hour its a 10-15 minute trip by car. Parking in downtown Dallas is cheaper the most large cities. There are inexpensive lots you can park on for $5-10 a day tops. Not sure about parking garage rates though. As you get closer into downtown DART service is much more reliable. A lot of people even out in the northern 'burbs take DART light rail rather then fight traffic. The light rail is great, but I just can't say the same for their bus service. The buses are frequently late, they don't have the timing coordinated so catching a connecting bus can take forever.