Reasons to move to Dallas area or Texas in general? (San Antonio: new house, neighborhoods)

[pot_roast]

Screw what everybody else says.


Move here for the FOOD.


Gawd. I could eat at a new restaurant for each meal and never et bored around here. :-D

*BuRP*

[KantLockeMeIn]

Originally Posted by pot_roast

Screw what everybody else says.


Move here for the FOOD.


Gawd. I could eat at a new restaurant for each meal and never et bored around here. :-D

*BuRP*

Yeah... I gained 15 lbs when I went to college, and didn't realize the same would happen when I moved to TX.

[aceplace]

In a city the size of Dallas (4th largest US metro) you can get things and institutions that smaller metros cannot support. My personal favorite is the fact that there are several independent/art/foreign film houses, with a total of 21 screens in the Dallas area. Most places in the US, you get 4 or 5 if you're lucky.

Or talk about high culture. The Dallas Arts district is close to the scale of a Lincoln Center in Manhattan with the new buildings going up.

Or sports. The arena called the AA Center in downtown Dallas is the most expensive (and lavish) arena built in the United States. The new Cowboys football stadium will likewise be the biggest, most expensive and lavish of its kind.

[relocatingtodallas]

momof2dfw
Thanks for the info, I was under the impression by some of the threads I read and the research I've done that Garland doesn't have the best schools and that the city itself has a lot of "run down areas". My budget is anything under $150k...I could go higher but I like to travel and rather reserve my funds for vacations I've seen some nice holder homes in the Richards Heights/Canyon Creek and Garland areas that are within my budget...of course I'm willing to update the kitchens etc. So you said I should also look at the Spring Park neighborhoodin Garland? What zipcode is that? I can't find a realty seach engine that lets you search by neighborhood... Are you (or anyone) familiar with the "Holiday Park North" and "East Park Village" subdivision in Garland... my realtor picked out a couple houses in those neighborhoods but I looked at the overall neighborhood home values online and they seem to be pretty low... Also, should I consider Plano? I don't want to be more than a 15-20 minute drive (in traffic) to uptown... I've read there some cool places in that area. Thanks for all the advice! I'll be flying to dallas in a couple days.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by relocatingtodallas

momof2dfw
Thanks for the info, I was under the impression by some of the threads I read and the research I've done that Garland doesn't have the best schools and that the city itself has a lot of "run down areas". My budget is anything under $150k...I could go higher but I like to travel and rather reserve my funds for vacations I've seen some nice holder homes in the Richards Heights/Canyon Creek and Garland areas that are within my budget...of course I'm willing to update the kitchens etc. So you said I should also look at the Spring Park neighborhoodin Garland? What zipcode is that? I can't find a realty seach engine that lets you search by neighborhood... Are you (or anyone) familiar with the "Holiday Park North" and "East Park Village" subdivision in Garland... my realtor picked out a couple houses in those neighborhoods but I looked at the overall neighborhood home values online and they seem to be pretty low... Also, should I consider Plano? I don't want to be more than a 15-20 minute drive (in traffic) to uptown... I've read there some cool places in that area. Thanks for all the advice! I'll be flying to dallas in a couple days.

Oh, I know. Most of the people that put down Garland typically have never even been in the city limits (maybe driven "thru" on LBJ or something). The Garland schools really do offer A LOT!!! The magnet programs are very good. Since Garland is one of the older cities in the Dallas metroplex and the 10th largest city in the state it has a wide range of homes and areas. The northeast area up around Hwy 190 and Firewheel is the newest area. In your price range I'd check out the neighborhood we built our first house in the Valley Creek area which is around Firwheel Pkwy, Pleasant Valley and Mars. I know that our home was recently sold for $145K and in a nice area that has been well kept. The zipcode is 75040. Now, the zipcode do cover a HUGE area so that is tricky. The Firewheel area zipcode is 75044 and same thing w/ the HUGE area it covers. If you find a property your interested in and curious about the surrounding area just pm me and I'll let you know the scoop. I'd also check out the older ranch homes that are on either side of North Garland Ave between Buckingham and Belt Line. As for Holiday Park, eh. Okay but not as good as areas above. East Park Village....... if this is close to where the former East Gate Apartments were I'd not do it. Sure it would be an easier commute maybe to the Uptown area on surface streets but not as appealing of an area as the others. The East Gate area is getting redone since the apartments were taken over by the city and torn down. That is something the city has REALLY been doing. Any apartment complex that is not being kept up they are making routine inspections, fining the owners and giving them a short window of taking care of problems and if not they take them over. If they are pretty bad the city helps relocate the tenants and tears them down. A huge shopping center is going in at the East Gate location w/ a superWalmart. Not what everyone in that area was exactly wanting but better than the apartments. The area residents fought like the dickens to keep Walmart out. They wanted something better. I say good for them as they want their older areas revitalized and not seen as "trash" by the outsiders. As you noticed the areas your realtor picked are not seeing the appreciation rates as much as other areas. Northeast area around Firewheel is. The house we had in The Villages of Valley Creek we built in 92 for $84K, sold in 97 for $107K and they sold it two years ago for $145K. It is probably holding right there for now till all of the interest rates get settled and the development all around the mall is completed and HWY 190 goes on thru to I30 then I'll bet it takes off again.

Richardson Heights is nice and being revitalized. Some of the property values in there are going up.

Plano, in your price range your going to find better kept neighborhoods in Richardson and Garland. Not to mention MUCH closer to work. I'd add another 30 minutes to the commute from Plano.

BTW, there is supposed to be a meeting this week one night at the Garland ISD Special Events Center on Hwy 190 by the NTTA concerning the construction getting ready to fire up to finish 190 thru from Hwy 78 thru Rowlett and then to I30 in Garland.

I'd drive around the Firewheel area and check it out and get a feel for it.

[relocatingtodallas]

momof2dfw
Thanks for the info! I just stumbled upon this website looking for more information on the neighborhoods I was targeting... glad I found it! I will definitely let you know of the areas I find while I'm out there this week. I just emailed my realtor and told him take the houses in Holiday Park and East Park Village off the list...and to stick with Northeast Garland and the Firewheel area... I will also stay away from Plano, I didn't see much I liked in my price range anyway. There is a house in Garland I really like that's in the Cimmaron subdivison...hopefully that is a decent area....it seems to be appreciating in value. I have seen quite a few in Richardson I like, I'll check those out too... is there a particular neighborood.area I should stay away from in Richardson...like "above" a certain street...or "east" of a certain street? Hopefully my hotel has a business center... I'll "pm" you while I'm there... how do I do that? I'm new to this website and I've only used MSN messenger Thanks for all the info!

[momof2dfw]

Great. To pm someone just put your curser on their screen name and click and it should bring up the little box the go down to "send a private message.....". Pretty easy really. Hey, if I can do it....... and I'm NOT technical savy at all. LOL!!!

As for Richardson I'd say these areas: SpringPark, Richardson Heights, Canyon Creek.

I'm trying to place Cimmaron......... I've seen it just can't place it.

OKAY - SCHOOLS!!!!! This is URGENT if you do put in a contract on a house in Garland. Garland ISD has "open choice" schools. We have "neighborhood" schools and those that live closest get the first slots in those then anyone after can get the rest. The "Choice of School" forms are going out right now. You can pick one up at any school. So the MINUTE you decide on a house in Garland go by the neighborhood school and pick them up, fill them out and turn them in. Since you will have a contract on a house in the school district you can turn them in. I know they did change the timeline for them this year and middle schools forms are to come home today and elementary are in a few weeks. You can go to garlandisd.net and get all of the information on them. If you have any questions on a particular school pm me and I'll give you the scoop as much as I know.

Good luck

[MurphyPl1]

Although if you are looking at the North Garland area, any of the neighborhood schools are good and you won't be disappointed if you don't get the School Choice forms in.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Although if you are looking at the North Garland area, any of the neighborhood schools are good and you won't be disappointed if you don't get the School Choice forms in.

Except if you don't get it turned in those that don't live in that neighborhood zone that put those schools down as their 1st & 2nd choice will get in and you may not. You can ALWAYS get on the waiting list for the neighborhood school and many times get in after the 1st day of school and a more accurate roll has been taken (people move over the summer and don't tell the schools or the student goes into one of the magnet programs).

[cowlover]

Originally Posted by hoffmtl2

Me and my husband are looking to move to somewhere warmer, and right now anything above 10 degrees would be classified as that. We currently are in Wisconsin, barely over the IL borer. We want a better life for our 2 small boys so that we can actually go outside and enjoy life. We are trying to figure out which state to move to and we are thinking of North carolina, South Carolina or maybe Texas. I have never been there but my husband likes it. Can anyone tell me a little more about why it is nice there?

I am relocating to Texas, it's warmer. They say there are two sesons. I think it would be great for my three girls to live. and it gets me out of the FREEZING COLD! I am in chicago area, and I cant waint to I go