Suburbs vs. the city (Houston, Dallas: best city, apartments, crime)

[AlwaysBeachin]

I posted an earlier thread on here about finding an area to live in Dallas, and after visiting the city and many of its suburbs, I've settled on the west Plano area---special thanks to those of you that helped me with advice like momof2dfw.

Anyway, I wanted some opinions from you guys just out of curiosity. The place where I'll be working downtown seems to encourage employees to live close to work. I've already ruled out downtown as not an option. To me, there is a reason why everyone puts up with the hassle and battle of commuting 20-30 miles to work daily. It seems the suburbs offer quite a few exclusive, newer areas to live. After pulling some crime stats, the suburbs do seem to be safer as well. (Everywhere has its crime, but I see it being significantly lower in the burbs). I know in cities like Chicago where the public transporation infrastructure is huge, many people live downtown--convenient and many more safer areas to live. I just noticed Dallas being a very car-dependent city with a smaller public transit system. I see more of the general population in the Metroplex living outside the city vs. inside the city. As with any big city, crime is spotty downtown...go 2 blocks from exclusive places and end up in questionable ones, etc. I guess it's each person's personal preference really....those that like the older, historical, now trendy areas would probably prefer downtown. It just seems like more of a hassle with inner city traffic and worse crime to live downtown. I have only visited the city once, so I am not informed. It doesn't seem as "downtown friendly" as places like Chicago. What is you guys' take on the city life there?

[Texan#1]

The urban landscape (city life) of Dallas, like all other sunbelt cities (Atlanta, Houston, etc.) is relatively new. Our city saw rapid growth after the 1950s and until recently focused more on suburban growth. This happened because cars make commutes into Dallas (where most jobs are) fairly easy and because of the misconception that families need room to spread out because that's the way it should be. Dallas is at a stage right now in which it is truly becoming a world class city that can cater to the needs of different peoples with different desires in housing and lifestyles. The rapid expansion of Dallas' public transportation agency (DART) is quickly changing the city and making life without a car much more feasible. Downtown and surrounding areas are undergoing a rebirth right now as people are moving into these areas and revitalizing them. If you think downtown is dead now, you should have seen it 10 years ago.. it was sad! As of right now, I believe the best city life atmosphere in Texas is the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas. There are many housing options (highrises, townhomes, single family homes, apartments), shops (west village), and restuarants that are all a walk away. Also the area has a trolley that runs through it and is at downtown's doorstep. Downtown is changing and there are about 3 or 4 highrises that are being turned into residential buildings right now. There are also several cultural institutions that are being built in the Arts District downtown right now too. Victory Park, next to downtown, is a multi billion development that is bringing a lot of development into the area as well. I encourage you to take a better look at city life.

[socketz]

Take a look at the Dart system in Dallas JRA2000, it is actually pretty comprehensive and getting better by the day. You could live in an area like Richardson, Firewheel or Plano and use the Dart to go into town to work daily. I believe lots of folks already do this....Momof2DFW can also comment as I may me missing something like perhaps the stops in downtown are not aligned to where the work exists. Also, if you want to see some nice areas close to downtown, check out the Park cities. Pretty much, it seems that if you stay along the Dallas North Tollway, all the areas are pretty nice. It's just the more south you get, the closer you are to the really bad areas of Dallas proper.

[jcp123]

DART's in its infancy and on my visit was not the easiest or most comprehensive system I've ever seen, but I agree...I'd rather be in the burbs than the urban core. Some people like that kind of living; some don't. That's why we have both.

To Dallas' credit, the freeway system is extensive and nicely laid out so the commute isn't that bad save for the narrow lanes and the signage that doesn't give you enough warning. And, I like the cosmopolitan feel of Dallas - I grew up in the Bay Area (California) and always feel pretty at home in the Metroplex.