Relocating to Dallas from NJ? (Arlington, Plano: hotel, home builders, neighborhood)

[eclipse93]

Hi,

I currently live in NJ and am getting real tired of the exorbinant cost of living in the area. At this rate I will never be able to own a decent home. I am also growing wary of the cold winters and the overall unfriendly people in the area. Fortunately for me, my job has offices across the country where I can relocate to. I've visited downtown Dallas a few times for work and really liked the feel of the area. Plus housing and overall cost of living seems reasonable.

My question is - where do i live in the Dallas area? The only places I've heard are nice were Plano and Coppell.

Here are some facts about me and my job that will hopefully help with city recommendations:

-I would like to buy a 2-story 3+br home for under 250k. Lot size isn't important but I would like some sort of backyard. Also something built within the past 20yrs would be nice as well.

-I do not have kids at the moment but plan on having some in the near future. Therefore, quality of schools and safety of neighborhood are important.

-My "home" office for work is located in Far North Dallas along the Tollway at the Collin County Line (Knoll Trail Dr). However, I would not be working there regularly.

My job is very mobile and we travel a lot. I would be working from home often and traveling to various towns throughout North Texas.

Some towns I would have to travel to are: Terrell, Corsicana, Wichita Falls, Desoto, Emory, Kemp, Tom Bean, Trenton, Waxahachie, Rockwall, Wills Point, Highland Village, Hillsboro and Ardmore-Oklahoma

Does anyone have any recommendations for me based on the above? Ideally, I would like to live near a freeway so I could travel around the metro easier.

[momof2dfw]

Since the locals you need to hit around the North Texas region seem to go from one side to the other (Emory to Waxahachie) I'd stick to somewhere in Richardson close to 190. This would get you between I35, the Dallas North Tollway, 75-Central and not too far from I30. Price might be tight and the age will be close to 20 years unless you go to the other side of Richardson east of 75. Somewhere like SpringPark then you age of homes would come down closer to 20. Good schools, family friendly, great parks w/ extensive bike trails, easy to get around w/ several options. And no, Plano and Coppell are NOT the only nice places in the Dallas Metroplex to live AT ALL!

[nsumner]

Unless there is a direction that you would travel to more than antother, I don't think being close to one particular highway would help you. From one extreme to the other as Corsicana to Wichita Falls, you'll be doing a lot of driving anyway. I think you have a big territory to cover. May be you should concentrate just on being in an area that would fit your lifestyle and needs when you are not traveling.

Naima

[eclipse93]

Thank you momof2 and nsumner for your quick responses.

Let me explain my traveling status a little better. If a location is less than 50miles from my residence - I commute it. If a location is more than 50mi - I can stay-out in a hotel.

I just did a quick map plot of the locations I will need to go to. It seems that I will be able to commute to more places if I live in the North to Northeast side of the metro (Terrell, Emory, Kemp, Edgewood, Wills Point, Trenton, Tom Bean, Bells etc).

Whereas, the locations located in the South and Northwest would be stay-outs pretty much no matter where I live (Corsicana, Hillsboro, Mexia, Fairfield, Wichita Falls, Decatur, Bowie, Saint Jo, etc).

I guess my question becomes this then - Which ares in North-Northeast-East Dallas Area would fit my criteria? How would the commute be to my home office (Tollway at Collin-Dallas County line). I would also have to commute to uptown Dallas and Arlington occasionally as they are in my territory as well - I imagine those commutes would be pretty bad.

Also, how would commutes to Desoto and Waxahachie be from that area. It seems if i live more northeast-east, I could swing around the beltways to get there - would that be less traffic?

Thanks again.

[eclipse93]

"And no, Plano and Coppell are NOT the only nice places in the Dallas Metroplex to live AT ALL!"

momof2 - I wasn't suggesting that they were the only nice places. I only meant that they were the only ones I had heard of beforehand. I was looking for additional recommendations - that's why I came to this board


"I'd stick to somewhere in Richardson close to 190. This would get you between I35, the Dallas North Tollway, 75-Central and not too far from I30. Price might be tight and the age will be close to 20 years unless you go to the other side of Richardson east of 75. "

So the newer homes are located in Richardson east of 75? Do you know if a 2-story 3+br is doable for under $250k in that area?

Does anyone have that zip code or any other zip codes I should look at? thanks

[momof2dfw]

Yes, the newer homes in Richardson are going to be east of 75. Since your travels for work your wanting to be day time to commute are to the northeast I would suggest Garland, East side of Richardson and even Rockwall. This would also put you in a good position to travel to the areas south of Dallas as well being that you could take 635/LBJ East/South to I20 and then on around to I35 down south of downtown Dallas. Bypassing much of the rush hour traffic in the mornings.

On a recent Saturday it was about 6:00pm when I was headed back home coming up I35E and took I20 around to LBJ and got off at Centerville and headed up to the Firewheel area of Garland. I was home IN getting out of the car in 45 minutes from the time just BEFORE I got onto 20 from 35E. To get to Emory from my house takes anwwhere from 50 minutes to a little over an hour. Depends on how many slow drivers you end up behind out on those two lane blacktops . I've done that drive in rush hour and non, holiday weekends and every time imaginable being that we have a lake house just this side of Emory. To get to Decatur from here is pretty easy as well and you do have a few options depending on the traffic situations to the west of where I'm at. You can take 190 to 75North to McKinney and exit onto 380 and take it all the way across thru Denton and onto Decatur. Or 190 to the Dallas North Tollway up to 121 and on over to I35 to Denton to 380. OR, 190 to I35 and then up to Denton to 380. Can ya tell I've done that one enough too . Got family there so have to make that drive too. Oh, and if your going to Mexia you can take LBJ to I20 to 45 and go on south down to Mexia and never have to deal w/ ANY heavy "Dallas traffic".

As for getting a newer 2 story for around or under $250K in the Richardson or Firewheel area. You could but that is pretty much the bottom end of the range. There ARE homes for less and are going to be fairly new but they will be the lower end tract home builders. The same goes for Rockwall. You CAN find a 3 bedroom in these areas that is custom or better quailty in that range but it won't be brand new. There ARE some that are closer to the $200K range that might be a better value but in that range I would stick to the not so new areas. They are better built and quality and have maintained their appeal as well as value. The brand new areas w/ homes closer to $200K are the ones I'd avoid for quality, value and appreciation.

[FarNorthDallas]

You might check Frisco.

[senorakristen]

My husband also travels the metroplex to get to clients. He goes to Arlington, Plano, Frisco, far south Ft. Worth and even Mineral Wells. Our location in Flower Mound (right next to Highland Village) is pretty convenient. It has great schools and lots of choices for housing. Highland Village itself is very nice too. I think it was recently voted to be one of the safest cities in Texas. (but don't quote me on that). I would look at 75028, 75022, (Flower Mound) and 75077 (Highland Village--but make sure it's Highland Village, not Lewisville.)