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Old 08-30-2015, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Arlington
641 posts, read 794,286 times
Reputation: 720

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I see Arlington's population density is one of the largest in Texas (2nd behind garland). Is Arlington considered an urban and vibrant place (minus public transportation). And is it family friendly for a young family? I hate the boredom of the suburbs (currently in N Fort Worth) and rural is definitely out. I'm considering a move to W Arlington near Martin HS or a little more north, south of I30 to homes that feed into Lamar HS.

Should homes that feed into Lamar be avoided at all cost? That school seems a little shady. We found neighborhoods we love that feed into that school but school is a priority.

We are a young black family, elementary school kids. Looking for home under 300k in a diverse area. I work in Downtown FW, she works at DFW. We liked Cedar Hill but didn't care for the country, non urban vibe.

I'm not expecting uptown Dallas or Sundance Square but we want a vibrant place to live. Thx

Last edited by FJB327; 08-30-2015 at 10:40 PM..
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Old 08-30-2015, 09:34 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,869 times
Reputation: 10
Is already very uncomfortable
http://uiwalls.tk/37/o.png
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Old 08-30-2015, 09:59 PM
 
80 posts, read 108,502 times
Reputation: 60
Sorry that I don't have anything to add, but would love to know what others feedback is.
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Old 08-31-2015, 06:38 AM
 
288 posts, read 342,808 times
Reputation: 122
No. The only things that any Texas city excels in are COL and job market.
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Old 08-31-2015, 07:13 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
2,169 posts, read 5,147,369 times
Reputation: 2473
Arlington is neither particularly urban nor vibrant, especially considering it's the home of a large university. The city is trying to change that -- with Levitt Pavilion and other stuff downtown -- but it's a long, slow process.

There's really not much between Dallas and Fort Worth that checks all your boxes -- urban, equidistant to Dallas and FW, good public schools. If kids weren't involved, and one of you were willing to have a long commute, I'd suggest North Oak Cliff in Dallas, near the Bishop Arts District. It's close to downtown Dallas but it's near I-30 so the person going to Fort Worth would have a straight shot into Fort Worth with no tolls (and i'm assuming they work in downtown Fort Worth). It's a long (30 miles) drive but it's against traffic. But the public schools, especially at the high school level, aren't great.

Some places in between like Grapevine or Coppell have good schools but they aren't particularly urban and your housing budget would have to be higher.
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Old 08-31-2015, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Arlington
641 posts, read 794,286 times
Reputation: 720
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueDat View Post
Arlington is neither particularly urban nor vibrant, especially considering it's the home of a large university. The city is trying to change that -- with Levitt Pavilion and other stuff downtown -- but it's a long, slow process.

There's really not much between Dallas and Fort Worth that checks all your boxes -- urban, equidistant to Dallas and FW, good public schools. If kids weren't involved, and one of you were willing to have a long commute, I'd suggest North Oak Cliff in Dallas, near the Bishop Arts District. It's close to downtown Dallas but it's near I-30 so the person going to Fort Worth would have a straight shot into Fort Worth with no tolls (and i'm assuming they work in downtown Fort Worth). It's a long (30 miles) drive but it's against traffic. But the public schools, especially at the high school level, aren't great.

Some places in between like Grapevine or Coppell have good schools but they aren't particularly urban and your housing budget would have to be higher.

I currently live in N FW near Trophy Club/Roanoake. I'm familiar with Grapevine and that is definitely out. Has the suburbia feel to it that I don't like and it lacks diversity. House Budget is under 300k.

I guess I stated it wrong. I'm not necessarily looking for urban. I just don't want that suburban feel. Ie: Cookie Cutter homes, lack diversity, boring, bedroom community type stuff, long drives to entertainment... I do want vibrant with diversity.

I thought Arlington would fit the bill.

For non suburban feel: They have two or three older neighborhoods that we really like. All homes in those hoods have character w/ mature trees and no cookie cutting going on. Arlington itself is smaller in land area (90sq miles) than Dallas and Fort Worth (340sq miles each) but beats both cities in population density which I think would take away from that feeling of surburbia boredom.

For vibrant: Within 10mins we can get to: Highlands, Bars/clubs/restaurants near UTA, amusement parks, stadiums, the mall. All of those places are diverse. Within 20mins we can get to downtown fort worth, within 30mins we can get to downtown dallas. That gives a feeling of being less suburban and also vibrant.

At least I think so or am I giving Arlington too much credit. Population is only increasing and it has no other choice but to get more urban as it's populatin density is already higher than any other city in TX with over 300k people and it's land mass is much smaller and can't be extended.
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Old 08-31-2015, 10:30 AM
 
Location: Old East Dallas
110 posts, read 253,549 times
Reputation: 189
Probably the only reason the population density is so high is due to the abundance of apartment complexes in Arlington. But these are suburban-style apartments, not high rises

Arlington is definitely still suburban. But like you said, it’s an older suburb and some neighborhoods have a lot of character. If you’re looking for a neighborhood with mature trees and custom homes, some homes in the Interlochen area might be in the upper end of your price range. You’ll just have to plan to go out of town during ChristmasJ.

Also, the area around north Bowen road is very hilly and wooded. It doesn’t even look like Texas.

I’m pretty sure these areas feed in to Lamar though. I honestly don’t know too much about Arlington schools– other than Martin is decent. Hopefully someone on here has experience with Lamar and can shed some light.
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Old 08-31-2015, 10:44 AM
 
Location: Arlington
641 posts, read 794,286 times
Reputation: 720
Quote:
Originally Posted by trc_everything View Post
Probably the only reason the population density is so high is due to the abundance of apartment complexes in Arlington. But these are suburban-style apartments, not high rises

Arlington is definitely still suburban. But like you said, it’s an older suburb and some neighborhoods have a lot of character. If you’re looking for a neighborhood with mature trees and custom homes, some homes in the Interlochen area might be in the upper end of your price range. You’ll just have to plan to go out of town during ChristmasJ.

Also, the area around north Bowen road is very hilly and wooded. It doesn’t even look like Texas.

I’m pretty sure these areas feed in to Lamar though. I honestly don’t know too much about Arlington schools– other than Martin is decent. Hopefully someone on here has experience with Lamar and can shed some light.
Yes,,, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Me and the wife went to Interlochen and the area near north Bowen. We absolutely loved the neighborhood. It looked like an escape from TX. We definitely liked the look of it more than the area around Martin HS. The area around Bowen appeared to be more affordable than Martin HS area (probably bc the school) and you definitely get more for the money.

The only cons about it was that it seemed like there was more sketchiness in a one mile radius of this area than the Martin HS area. (Which is probably why Lamar isn't a desirable high school). Other cons is it's slightly further from the Highlands/Parks Mall area but the trade off is it's closer to both of our jobs (DFW Airport and Downtown FW). That area definitely didn't have that suburban feel I mentioned before and I know it's still not urban. It was just different. Definite wow factor. At the end of the day, if Lamar is that bad..it's a definite no! My kids are in elementary school and I can only assume Lamar will get worst in eight years, not better. We are coming from Northwest ISD, I don't want my kid to experience a complete culture shock.

Thanks for replying!!
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Old 08-31-2015, 11:10 AM
 
Location: 89052 & 75206
8,097 posts, read 8,227,474 times
Reputation: 19885
Prestonwood is a lovely neighborhood and Butler is a great elementary. Interlocken is a total jam at Christmas for about a month. The north side of 30 has better neighborhoods in general.
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Old 08-31-2015, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Old East Dallas
110 posts, read 253,549 times
Reputation: 189
Quote:
Originally Posted by FJB327 View Post
Yes,,, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Me and the wife went to Interlochen and the area near north Bowen. We absolutely loved the neighborhood. It looked like an escape from TX. We definitely liked the look of it more than the area around Martin HS. The area around Bowen appeared to be more affordable than Martin HS area (probably bc the school) and you definitely get more for the money.

The only cons about it was that it seemed like there was more sketchiness in a one mile radius of this area than the Martin HS area. (Which is probably why Lamar isn't a desirable high school). Other cons is it's slightly further from the Highlands/Parks Mall area but the trade off is it's closer to both of our jobs (DFW Airport and Downtown FW). That area definitely didn't have that suburban feel I mentioned before and I know it's still not urban. It was just different. Definite wow factor. At the end of the day, if Lamar is that bad..it's a definite no! My kids are in elementary school and I can only assume Lamar will get worst in eight years, not better. We are coming from Northwest ISD, I don't want my kid to experience a complete culture shock.

Thanks for replying!!
Yeah, anywhere close to Division Street is going to be sketchy. But those areas in North Arlington should be far enough removed.

If you do need to stay in the Martin school area, take a look at the neighborhoods off of Perkins Road by Lake Arlington. Some of them will be way out of the price range, but there should be some less than $300K. You might like it - it's not cookie cutter and has rolling hills and shady streets. And I mean shady in the literal sense .
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