relocating to Dallas or Austin from San Diego (Fort Worth, Arlington: for sale, real estate)

[silverbluenote]

My wife and I will be relocating to either austin or dallas. i will be keeping my job and will work from home 95% of the time (the rest would be in downtown austin). she will be looking for a part time job and will go to school.
we'll visit both metro's and decide which one we like better but I'd like some help with neighborhoods/burbs to focus our search.
our budget is 400s-600s. depends on location and property tax. we'd like a 4 bedroom. 2 car garage (3 would be perfect), close to shops, good restaurants and walkable areas. view would be nice but not a necessity. There are no kids and there wont be any so i'd happily trade the good school district for a lower property tax area.
thanks for your help!

[WorldKlas]

Highland Village has some beautiful views. 3126 Overlook Cir, Highland Village, TX 75077 - Home For Sale & Real Estate - realtor.com®

And North Arlington has a good location between Dallas and Fort Worth, with University Of Texas Arlington right there. http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...2_M88948-78350

[ChristieP]

I agree with North Arlington!

[silverbluenote]

thanks! both of these areas look great! hows the commute from arlington to downtown dallas?
any other ideas?

[WorldKlas]

Commute to Dallas during rush hour about 45 min. Normal traffic about 30 min

[silverbluenote]

is north arlington safe? crime maps dont look too good.

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by silverbluenote

is north arlington safe? crime maps dont look too good.

There are some areas with high concentrations of apartments that have more breakins, etc. but in the nice residential areas quite safe.

[tcualum]

There's a great park in North Arlington for walks called River Legacy. The nature trails are very nice. It's also an easy drive to downtown Fort Worth. The commute to downtown Dallas depends on the traffic. The traffic in and around downtown Dallas can be pretty awful. You'll be able to get a really nice house there for that amount. If you're interested in a new home you might consider Viridian. It's a huge master planned community in north Arlington that has some great amenities.

[TeamLynn]

I live in DFW, but have lived in both Austin and DFW and moved here from Bay area.....
Austin is more expensive, but I think you would like it better.
There are views there in some area.

For the most part no views in DFW area. Occasionally, but it is the exception.

I can send you a tax list for DFW area. Taxes are normally 2-3% of the home value. I don't know that it always makes sense to buy in a lower tax area, but it might.

One place I'm thinking you might like is Roanoke. Nice combination of some homes with views, newer homes, lower taxes, decent schools. I'm thinking Fairway Ranch area where Byron Nelson the famous golfer had his ranch. After his death they've made some nice communities there.

[TheOverdog]

(the rest would be in downtown austin).

Do you mean if you live in Dallas you will be commuting to downtown Austin or downtown Dallas? If my budget was $600k, I'm not sure I'd be picking Arlington to commute to downtown Dallas. I'd be aiming for something closer to Dallas, especially since Arlington's tax rate is the same as Dallas and the commute would be on interstate highways which would be awful.

You could get to Richardson, which is a better commute, more walkable, better access to shops, and offers a rail line to downtown Dallas. I think at $600k, you can probably afford University Park, which is much closer to downtown Dallas and very nice and better than Richardson and a lower tax rate. You clould also check around areas of Dallas itself - like Oak Cliff, Lakewood, and some others.