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Okay! We are one step closer! We are going to plan a trip to Texas for the very near future (figuring out the dates this weekend)...any tips on where to stay and what to do when we are there? I figure we will have a long weekend- something like a Thurs or Fri through Monday night.
We know we would like to call up a Realtor and have him/her show us around a few areas we are interested in and/or drive around ourselves. I would *like* to view a few homes when there, just to see what we can get for the money, the interior quality of homes, the lot, etc. Whoever we call up, I would like to work with- as I don't want to waste anyone's time. There are a few people I found on the internet, but if anyone has any specific suggestions of great Realtors in the Rockwall or North Dallas metro area, please send me a private message.
We would also just like to get a general feel for Dallas and the metro area...not really sure what we should see/do, drive to, etc. in order to get that. Any suggestions for creating a nice grande tour de Texas? Any input would be very much appreciated.
And, lastly, where to stay (both city and hotel)? Preferably cheap (but not scary-cheap...something like a Courtyard Marriott would be fine) that will be accessible to everything we should tour/see while there.
I want to plan out as much as possible in advance so we really get to see a lot. Its too long of a drive so we will fly. We have to be very efficient since we cant just hop in the car and go again. This trip will make the decision! If we go back to Texas after this trip...it will be for good!
Again, thank you for all your help and comments! Its been so helpful!!!
Stay in Uptown somewhere. Ride the McKinney Avenue trolley. Go to the Arts District. Drive through Highland Park. Go to Northpark Mall. Walk through Turtle Creek. Go to the Dallas Galleria. Go to a Mavs or Stars Game. Go Checkout the Suburbs. Check out Frisco. Go to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. Check out the Shops at Legacy in Plano. Go golfing at one of the great golf courses. Go to Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine. Go to one of the area's great lakes. Its funny... when I go back to California, my friends there ask me if there is anything to do in DFW. I just laugh at them. OF COURSE IT DOES!!!!
I know there is tons to do! I just want to narrow it down to activities/places that will give us the best feel for Dallas metro and the burbs! We can't possibly do it all, with baby in tow, in three days! haha!
I would make sure to spend a day in the Downtown/Uptown area so you get a taste of the city life in Dallas (esp given your career field), and then focus on the two residential areas of interest (Rockwall and unclear exactly what you mean by North Dallas- suburbs north of Dallas like Plano or the neighborhoods in North Dallas).
For your in-town day, to me, these things are a "must"->
There is a Hyatt Summerfield Suites Hotel on Harry Hines & Wolf Streer in Uptown- it's the only under $200 hotel in the area I know of that is nice & decently well located. Start there in the morning and head north up Cedar Springs/Turtle Creek which is a very pretty stretch of Dallas (high rises on the west side and beautiful park space on the east side). The Katy Trail which we talk about on here a lot basically runs along this drive, on an elevated area that used to be a railroad track behind the park space. You may not have time to walk it, but at least know sheets it is.
Head to Highland Park Village, one of the country's most elite shopping centers. Stella McCartney just signed a lease, Pucci is testing a new pop-up concept there this year, DVF and Louboutin opened last fall, and Chanel and RL have some of their highest producing stores there. The area you drove through to get there is Highland Park...basically our Beverly Hills.
Now head over to Knox-Henderson area...(plug in Crate & Barrel on Knox on your GPS and you will find it). This is a great walkable area- if you're hungry, stop into the historic Highland Park Pharmacy and sit at the counter for shakes, burgers, and the famous grilled cheese. There are lots of hip restaurants here (Trece, Villa O, Taverna), as well as lots of home furnishings stores (C&B and Pottery Barn, to high end Mecox Gardens, and locally owned The Nest). Across 75, Knox turns into Henderson and theflavor changes. At night, the road is jammed all the way to Ross Ave with trendy 20-40 somethings going to eat & drink at dozens of great locally-owned night spots & restaurants. There are also a lot of design/home stores along here too (check out Again which is near McMillan, as well as Sputnik for mid-century finds). The Pearl Cup is a cute little coffee shop.
Drive east to White Rock Lake (no motor boats or swimming), but you can jog/ cycle/ swim around it. Make sure you drive down Lakewood Blvd from Abrams east to the lake- beautiful street lined with grand homes. Drive around the lake...get out and stretch your legs for a bit if you want.
Next head to downtown-> plug in Dallas museum of Art into GPS. This is the arts District, the largest collection of arts buildings in one central area in any US city. From the DMA east to Booker t Washington high school for performing arts (all along Flora Street), you will find 3 museums, the symphony, the opera/musical house, the theatre, etc. If you love art/sculpture, the Nasher Sculpture Garden is not to be missed.
Next drive up through Uptown (just north of Woodall Rodgers) - just drive around the area between 75 & Cedar Springs, south of Blackburn) to see where "heart" of city living is for Dallas. There are many small shops, some planned urban developments like The West Village, a giant bar strip running north along McKinney Ave, etc.
This should fill a day, especially if you get out & check places out along the way.
Mi Cocina in Uptown's West Village is a good spot to try for dinner and see some Dallas nightlife- make sure to get a "Mambo Taxi" margarita!
This certainly does not cover all of Dallas' in town neighborhoods and nightlife areas, but it gives you a good taste to see if you like the city before checking out homes in the burbs.
I'd suggest staying somewhere closer to where you are going to be house hunting just to save time from running back and forth since you are only going to be here a short period of time. Go drive around the areas of interest and look at houses then in the first part of the day and then late afternoon early evening you can head into Dallas for dinner and any other activities like shopping.
Being interested in Rockwall I'd suggest The Hilton Bella Harbor that is located at The Harbor. If you have a long day of looking around there are many options to walk to dinner from the hotel there in The Harbor.
The Official Harbor Website - Rockwall, Texas - The Hilton (http://www.theharboratrockwall.com/hilton.htm - broken link)
It's right on I-30 so getting into Dallas is a straight shot.
If your wanting to concentrate looking more in the Murphy, Firewheel area of Garland, Breckinridge area of Richardson then I'd suggest the Hyatt Place on George Bush Turnpike in Garland. There are a few places within walking distance of the hotel (Matt's Rancho Martinez Tex-Mex, Buffalo Wild Wings, IHOP, Subway) and more across the street and Firewheel Town Center not even 2 miles away. This would put you right on 190 and 5 minutes from Hwy 75 to get into Dallas within 20 minutes or so depending on traffic.
Depending on when you come and with a little one you will want to check out the Dallas Arboretum which is on White Rock Lake. GREAT photo-ops
You can easily hit the spots TC mentioned from either of these locations. Just depends if you want to stay closer to where you will be looking at houses or not.
If you want to splurge, I recommend the Hotel Crescent Court in Uptown. Before you drive all over suburbia, check out what you're missing in Dallas. Then you'll understand why housing costs are lower out on the prairie. There is more than enough stuff to see and do in Central Dallas for a couple days.
Take a ride on the McKinney Avenue Trolley. Hit one (http://www.frankiesbar.com/index.html - broken link)or two or three of the bars and restaurants on the street -- all the way up to West Village.
And....just something I was thinking of when sitting in traffic to get home from LA when I was at a conference this week (2 hours and fifteen minutes to get there during AM commute, and 2 hours, 30 minutes to get home during PM commute...the commute is only 40 miles away...MANY people live "this far" from their jobs here! haha!)...in CA...we are one big 'ole suburb. Even LA is a spread out suburb town. Gotta' car it to anywhere you wanna' go...even if you live "close" the walk is just too far to take the time to walk there (unless you live in like, Santa Monica or other beach town where they have touristy shopping/dining districts, but even then...you get sick of that scene pretty quick and end up driving to the newest restaurant, etc.). Living in the burbs is something everyone does here. Im comfortable with that. Its interesting to see how other areas view suburbs as less desirable than "in" the city. If the city is close, or at least accessible by whatever means you deem okay, IN the city isn't necessary or looked at as better just because its close to places you will drive to anyway. Just an observation that I wanted to comment on. HamiltonPl reminded me. =)
Again- thanks for the awesome suggestions! I can't wait to get the dates set and plan it!
LOL!!!! Too funny. But that is why we are always telling people that you do NOT have to live so far away and deal w/ a horrid commute like so many other areas do. It's fine if your used to it where you live now but why deal with it just because "I'm used to it". Sad that is a commone quote on here when people are relocating here. Not that you have at all since you have been concentrating on housing closer to your husbands job.
I guess you need to decide if you want to make this trip more about looking at the housing or the sights in a tourist way? If you are wanting to do the tourist trip to see all of the sights that you can enjoy once you live here then I'd suggest the Dallas locations for lodging. If you are wanting to concentrate more on the housing options available then I'd suggest the suburban hotel options. Since your time is going to be short when you visit. Even so, those suburban options are not that far away from the city sights and you can be at them in 20-30 minutes easy. It would just put you more in lodging that would be close to the housing you will be scoping out.
When you pick your dates let us know and we can let you know of any special events going on in the area during that time that you can check out.
And....just something I was thinking of when sitting in traffic to get home from LA when I was at a conference this week (2 hours and fifteen minutes to get there during AM commute, and 2 hours, 30 minutes to get home during PM commute...the commute is only 40 miles away...MANY people live "this far" from their jobs here! haha!)...in CA...we are one big 'ole suburb. Even LA is a spread out suburb town. Gotta' car it to anywhere you wanna' go...even if you live "close" the walk is just too far to take the time to walk there (unless you live in like, Santa Monica or other beach town where they have touristy shopping/dining districts, but even then...you get sick of that scene pretty quick and end up driving to the newest restaurant, etc.). Living in the burbs is something everyone does here. Im comfortable with that. Its interesting to see how other areas view suburbs as less desirable than "in" the city. If the city is close, or at least accessible by whatever means you deem okay, IN the city isn't necessary or looked at as better just because its close to places you will drive to anyway. Just an observation that I wanted to comment on. HamiltonPl reminded me. =)
Again- thanks for the awesome suggestions! I can't wait to get the dates set and plan it!
Los Angeles is incredibly dense compared even to the urban parts of the City of Dallas. I wish Dallas was as dense as LA. But it's not. It's not even as dense as most California suburbs.
I'm not trying to be a jerk about the suburb vs. city thing. Natives really believe that your housing values will stagnate, at best, buying in a far flung outer ring suburb. We've seen the real estate cycles here. The new suburb of today gets overlooked tomorrow because somebody slapped up some houses in a cow pasture a little up the Farm to Market Road. Raw land is plentiful and cheap. In the LA metro area, land is not cheap. So suburban living and housing values are drastically different. Your land appreciates in value over time. Your house depreciates. Buy a house where the land is sought after. If the supply of raw land is plentiful, like in Collin County, then your land will not appreciate in value. Conversely, if the land is in short supply, like in North Dallas, your housing value will increase. It's simple really. But I don't think people who move in from out of state really get that.
The people who relocate here for a couple years just check the stats on a page. They don't take the time to invest in their community. They just see new and affordable. When the next wave of corporate transients come, they end up going to the next shiny object a little further out. Natives like me know the history of the market and understand what its really like to live here. You'll find very few natives living in Collin County if they can afford to live in Dallas County.
A neighborhood in Dallas can be just as suburban as Frisco. Merely because the Dallas house is in the municipal boundaries of Dallas it's overlooked by relocators. It is not overlooked by natives. People who grew up here know its not worth living that far out and that the shiny new "affordable" suburbs of today are tomorrow's run down neighborhoods. The new hot spot is just a little north and the once shiny and new "affordable" areas don't improve in value as well as the real estate closer to the center of town.
I just don't think people understand that if they don't check out the city. They think Dallas is all high rises or ghetto. They don't realize 90% of the city is suburban single-family homes. Learn names of Dallas neighborhoods just like you'd learn names of far flung suburbs. If you at least buy in Dallas County, you may actually be able to sell your house for a profit.
Last edited by hamiltonpl; 03-03-2011 at 11:44 AM..
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