Best neighborhood between Fort Worth and Dallas? (Arlington, Irving: fit in, buying a house)

[lers708]

My husband and I will be relocating to the Dallas / Fort Worth area. His office will be in Fort Worth and I will be working near the Dallas Love Field Airport. We have been looking around in North Arlington, Irving, and Grapevine, but we don't really know much about any of those areas (or if I'm missing any other places we should look at).
Our budget is between $200,000 and $300,000. What is the best area between FW and Dallas that would fit in that budget? We are 28-30 years old and would prefer a suburb with more of an urban feel (shopping, things to do, parks), rather than a small, country town.
Thanks for the help!

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by lers708

My husband and I will be relocating to the Dallas / Fort Worth area. His office will be in Fort Worth and I will be working near the Dallas Love Field Airport. We have been looking around in North Arlington, Irving, and Grapevine, but we don't really know much about any of those areas (or if I'm missing any other places we should look at).
Our budget is between $200,000 and $300,000. What is the best area between FW and Dallas that would fit in that budget? We are 28-30 years old and would prefer a suburb with more of an urban feel (shopping, things to do, parks), rather than a small, country town.
Thanks for the help!

I am new to the DFW area and I'm still learning the area so I will try to give you what information what I can as a fellow newbie to the area.

I currently live in North Arlington. Just know that driving to either Dallas or Fort Work from Arlington can be at least 20 miles minimum in either direction, with it being even more miles going from Arlington to Dallas depending on where you are going. So far I have noticed even driving to places within North Arlington, you can drive at least 15 miles unless you are doing things in your immediate area. This has been my experience so far. This area is HUGE! So understand that while Arlington may be between Dallas and Fort Worth, you will still be driving long distances. People say the traffic is bad here. But I moved here from Atlanta and to me the traffic isn't bad here at all. There is a commuter train called the TRE that goes between Dallas and Fort Worth that will connect you to the DART transit system in Dallas which can get you to Love Field, so that could make for an easier commute. You can park for free at the station. There's a station in Fort Worth that a short drive from North Arlington. The only downside is that the trains runs every 30 minutes.

I'm a native of Chicago and while I like Arlington and the Dallas-Fort Worth area very much so far, there is nothing urban about here. The areas you mentioned very suburban in that there are lots of strip malls and chain restaurants but is doesn't have a "country feel." I think Grand Prairie is pretty. I really like Fort Worth as well. Very pretty. There are also many lakes around the area.

However, North Arlington is very walkable and there is lots of shopping here. Everything you need is right here and easy to get to. The only downside for me is that the nearest Trader Joe's is 17 miles away in Forth Worth. But Whole Foods is here (if that's is your place to shop). There are also lots of nice parks. Where I live in North Arlington, I can walk to the Cowboys stadium and Six Flags. The area around the stadiums is very nice in my opinion.

The libraries here are excellent as well. I don't know if you care about that sort of thing (I'm a bit of a nerd who values and appreciates the resources offered by public libraries lol), but if you like going to the library,the Arlington Public Libraries are great, especially the central one near UTA (University of Texas Arlington)

I don't know where you are moving here from but don't expect much urbanity. However the areas you are considering are very nice and aren't country. Though I don't plan to stay in this area as of now, I'm really liking it. I can't speak on home prices though. I'm not in the market for buying a house so I can't tell you what the prices are.

Also know that the people here are very friendly, polite and helpful. This is all the information I can share right now because I'm still learning the area myself. If I can think of anything else I will let you know.

[ChristieP]

Where in Fort Worth will his office be located? That's going to make a big difference. If it's downtown, the TRE will definitely be an option. If it's up near Alliance, that's going to totally change the recommendations.

[goodhugh]

N. Arlington would be my recommendation...

[lers708]

Thanks for the awesome responses!! His office is located in downtown Fort Worth.

[WorldKlas]

if you are buying,for resale in TARRANT county burbs its all about the schools, so be smart and buy in convenient areas for you with good schools. Areas I recommend: North Arlington, Hurst, Bedford, Euless because of your drive. You might like Las Colinas in Irving, too but here's where I'd look:

In North Arlington, I would NEVER consider anything unless the house is zoned for Butler elementary in zip 76012

In Hurst, stick with 76054

In Bedford, all Meadocreek Elementary or Bedford Heights are top elementary schools and zone into good High Schools

In Euless, stay with zip code 76039 and stay away from any house under $150K because likely that Midpark elementary - not the best. Focus on Bear Creek and some houses in zip 76039 are in the Grapevine Colleyville schools which are great

[ChristieP]

I agree that if schools aren't important, north Arlington will be the best choice.

[HockDad]

I would take into consideration which spouse is going to have the longer commute. If you live in North Arlington, and work at Love Field, your commute could easily be 30 minutes (at least) every day. The commute to DT Fort Worth would be much easier.

My point is that if the Fort Worth spouse has the easier hours, I would strongly consider living in the Bishop Arts district or West Dallas (the new places that they are building). The commute to DT FW would be 30-35 minutes and the commute to Love Field would be 20 minutes. Don't just assume that a suburb in the middle means an equal commute time. That is hardly the case. The flow of traffic makes a huge difference. Plus, Arlington might not be ideal for DINKs. I would pick Bishop Arts and live in a decently cool part of the city.