Moving to Dallas area from Oregon at the end of this year.. Help! (Austin: real estate, houses) - City-Data Forum

GoCougs! · 07-31-2012, 09:10 AM

Hello all,

Let me start by saying I am overwhelmed! I was hoping that the more research I did about the Dallas area the easier it would be to pinpoint the perfect place for my family to settle down. Boy was I wrong! Instead of my choices narrowing they seem to be expanding. Can you help me out?

Here is our situation:

My husband's office is on the LBJ freeway near Hwy 77. He will travel quite a bit so we need to consider proximity to the airport as well as his office.

We have two girls, 2nd and 6th grade, and we are only interested in good public schools.

As far as housing, we are looking to buy a home with the top of our range somewhere near $425/$450. A newer house would be nice as our last couple houses were built in the late 50's/early 60's and I am getting a little burnt out on home improvement projects. That being said, if the best area has older homes then we would choose location over the age of our home. We would like a larger lot (doesn't have to be huge just needs to create a sense of privacy), and a pool currently sounds like a good idea. Feel free to comment on the pool idea also

.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Johnhw2 · 07-31-2012, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoCougs!

Hello all,

Let me start by saying I am overwhelmed! I was hoping that the more research I did about the Dallas area the easier it would be to pinpoint the perfect place for my family to settle down. Boy was I wrong! Instead of my choices narrowing they seem to be expanding. Can you help me out?

Here is our situation:

My husband's office is on the LBJ freeway near Hwy 77. He will travel quite a bit so we need to consider proximity to the airport as well as his office.

We have two girls, 2nd and 6th grade, and we are only interested in good public schools.

As far as housing, we are looking to buy a home with the top of our range somewhere near $425/$450. A newer house would be nice as our last couple houses were built in the late 50's/early 60's and I am getting a little burnt out on home improvement projects. That being said, if the best area has older homes then we would choose location over the age of our home. We would like a larger lot (doesn't have to be huge just needs to create a sense of privacy), and a pool currently sounds like a good idea. Feel free to comment on the pool idea also

.

Thank you in advance for your help!

I am some what new to Dallas but not familiar with highway 77 did you mean US 75?

We have two airports in Dallas area, one is Love which is good for flights on SW airline while DFW is an international airport and is dominated by American but has many airlines flying from there. Which airport is he likely to use? IF its Love, its a different location to live in than if its DFW. Assuming its DFW, I would recommend you consider Richardson or Plano although large lots arent common here but I feel we have plenty of privacy in West Plano where we moved into over a year ago. Good luck with the move and clarify the location and airport question so we can help you more clearly

GoCougs! · 07-31-2012, 09:31 AM

Hmmm. I apparently am not very good at reading maps. This could be a problem in a state as big as Texas.

It looks like his office is near Denton Dr. and 35E. Farmers Branch appears to be just NE of the location. Does any of that make sense?

Unfortunately I am unsure of the Airport he will be using. Ugh.

Thanks again!

justme02 · 07-31-2012, 09:36 AM

What kind of travel will he be doing? More than likely he will be using DFW since you have to make connections to go most anywhere from Love Field.

Given your budget and your Husbands office locale as well as the airport, I strongly suggest looking at one of the four areas:

1) Valley Ranch/Hackberry Creek in Irving
2) The Hebron Area in North Carrollton
3) West Plano
4) Castle Hills in Lewisville

All will have great schools to choose from and all are very safe areas with easy access to DFW and your husbands office.

GoCougs! · 07-31-2012, 09:50 AM

Most of his travel will be day trips to places as close as Austin and Oklahoma City, but he will also be traveling to to San Francisco and Chicago quite a bit.

Johnhw2 · 07-31-2012, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoCougs!

Most of his travel will be day trips to places as close as Austin and Oklahoma City, but he will also be traveling to to San Francisco and Chicago quite a bit.

I agree with the locations recommended above given your office location. From those destinations it sounds like DFW although you can get to austin and okc from Love easily as well. I am very happy in west plano and commute to Irving much further than you would face. But the other locations are good options for you too. There are many good options in DFW which is one of the nice things once you get use to the area enough to see the differences in those good choices.

Willsson · 07-31-2012, 12:50 PM

Hwy 77 runs at least from Denton to Waco (and beyond both north and south), mostly parallel to I-35E and intersects LBJ at about Farmers Branch. Great work location giving you access to most any preferred direction to live. Your husband will want to be familiar with both airports, Love for more local flights and DFW for cross country. Of course, the further out you choose to live, the less appealing Love Field will become.

I'd agree with the communities listed by justme02 as a good place to start your search. Feel free to expand your horizons.

GoCougs! · 07-31-2012, 02:45 PM

Thank you all for your input. It is much appreciated!

GoCougs! · 08-01-2012, 12:32 PM

So I did a real estate search in the areas recommended and I am really impressed. Most of the lots have nice layouts and the houses don't feel like they are stacked on top of one another. I also get a sense that there is a bit more mature landscaping which is always a plus.

Hopefully we will be able to come out for a "scouting" trip with the family before school starts here. Any suggestions on areas to visit while in town? It would be especially good if we could visit some places that might get our girls excited to move as they will have a difficult time leaving Portland. I am all about the bribes when necessary!

Johnhw2 · 08-01-2012, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tofurkey

Hwy 77 runs at least from Denton to Waco (and beyond both north and south), mostly parallel to I-35E and intersects LBJ at about Farmers Branch. Great work location giving you access to most any preferred direction to live. Your husband will want to be familiar with both airports, Love for more local flights and DFW for cross country. Of course, the further out you choose to live, the less appealing Love Field will become.

I'd agree with the communities listed by justme02 as a good place to start your search. Feel free to expand your horizons.

Thanks for the highway 77 explaination, I had not seen it as a newer resident of Dallas area. I found some interesting old maps showing it but didnt notice it on Mapquest when I looked for it before responding.