Info And/Or Advice Re Places to Rent in Dallas with Decent Schools

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

Thanks for all of the info. That Little Forest Hills area sounds really interesting and like my kind of area. Am not too familiar with that area although, when I looked it up just now, it appears that it's near the Casa Linda shopping area and I have been there a few times but not recently. Is there a DART or grocery store in walking distance from homes in that area, though? I read that it's diverse and that's important to me since our family is diverse. (In other words, I don't want to live in an area where people might think I'm my daughter's nanny rather than her mom).

I've seen some apartments in the University/Sandhurst area from the outside back when we were looking about a year and a half ago when our daughter was a newborn and some looked kind of sketchy from the outside but that could just be because I'm still used to mid-rises and high-rises and I associate the one or two level apartments with being low-rent or seedy. Also, is that area safe? In Dallas, neighborhood seem to vary so much by block. When I lived in Oak Lawn, if I walked in one direction, everything was nice and felt safe but if I walked towards Maple, all of a sudden it looked sketchy and scary with bodega style shops and what not. Where we live now, I feel safe walking around Lovers and Greenville and Skillman but then there are these side/back streets on the opposite side of the street (behind Central Market) that seem really desolate and creepy.

The only complexes left that seems a bit run-down & with a lower income tenant are at Milton right off Skillman. Still, I wouldn't feel unsafe walking through there and it definitely doesn't have high crime. Just more like two blocks of "Little Mexico". I cut through there on the way to CM sometimes and there are always people out walking dogs, kids playing, perhaps a yard sale on the weekends, etc. Normal neighborhood activities.

We are at CM all the time & never ever feel unsafe there or in the parking lot.

That whole neighborhood is getting torn down & rebuilt complex by complex. I think it's a good area now and a great area for the future.

[Back2Texas]

Just to throw out some other options, which would be close to your SO's work in Irving...

Macarthur/Belt Line vicinity, in the southeastern corner of Coppell (right over the border from Irving/Valley Ranch): There are some apartment complexes here, which would be a pretty easy walk to the Tom Thumb and restaurants/shops at Macarthur & Belt Line. I believe they're all zoned to Riverchase, which is in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, which is okay but not great. *But* they are Coppell addresses, so you can try for Coppell ISD open enrollment. Might be a bit of a challenge in your situation, though, because transportation is not provided to school. It's not far at all from the Downtown Carrollton DART rail station (maybe 2 or 3 miles straight down Belt Line), but there is no DART bus service so you'd need to be dropped off there if you don't drive (or bike).

Macarthur/635 or Macarthur/161 vicinity: There is a Kroger here and a Walmart (with a grocery section) and TONS of other restaurants and shops. DART bus service, closest DART rail is probably the North Lake College station, which is a couple miles south on Macarthur. I believe these are mostly zoned to Las Colinas or Freeman elementaries, CFB-ISD again, decent options. You might be able to find something a little north of 635 that's Coppell ISD but still walkable to Walmart.

La Villita: DART bus and rail (Las Colinas Urban Center) nearby. La Villita Elementary (one of the stronger CFB-ISD elementaries) is right in the subdivision. But, not walkable at all. Kroger at Macarthur/161 is the closest grocery store.

Macarthur/Walnut Hill vicinity: Two pharmacies and some other restaurants/shops in this area, and a Tom Thumb not too far down on Macarthur. DART bus service, and fairly close to the North Lake College rail station. I believe most of the apartments in this area are zoned to CFB-ISD, either La Villita Elementary or Freeman Elementary.

I'm not sure what rents run in any of these places... but like I said, just throwing out some options