moving from new york to dallas!!!! (Garland, Richardson: transplants, for sale, apartments)

[deziholla]

I've lived my life in the east coast and I'm definitely ready for a change and a place to start my career. I've decided to move to be closer to family, dad's side and to start my career in marketing. The problem I'm encountering is finding a safe place to live in that's near restaurants, movies, and entertainment. I like to be near the action but I must feel safe. I was kinda interested in city central in the white rock lake sector of dallas but have been warned of crime. I'd also be willing to live in any of the surrounding towns on the borderline of dallas such as garland, addison, carrollton, etc. My husband will be working at the northpark mall with neiman marcus. we were looking for an apartment no more than 800 a month. Any suggestions would be great!!!

[MaryS80]

Apartments can be hit of miss, definitely places out before you commit to anything.

I can't recall the name of the place, but over off Lovers and Greenville next to Central Market there are some nice townhomes/condos. It's a stones throw from the mall, Old Town Shopping Center is across the street, and of course Central Market and all their yummy food. Greenville Avenue is of course the hotspot for bars and clubs. Mockingbird station nearby has tons of stuff. I don;t think you could beat the commute time. I'm not really sure what the rates are there, a pal of mine lived over there and it seemed like a fun area.

The city of Richardson is also worth checking out, 75 runs right through it so it would be short drive down 75 to the mall.

I just moved into a new apartment in far north Garland about two weeks ago. My 660sq ft unit is just under $700/mo. They have several other one bedroom floor plans for under $800 those run between 770 and 830 sq ft, some have attached garages. My only complaint is the pet deposits is really high if you have two pets.

[aussie_rachel]

I just moved from Long Island and love it here.

Good luck!

Apartment Ratings - Apartments for Rent with Ratings and Reviews from Actual Renters will provide apt. info.

[saleen245]

Hey deziholla,

If I were you, I wouldn't do it! I was born in New York and lived there until I was about 13. I'm 24 now. Although I only had to endure Texas' wrath for about four years (I went to college in the Northeast), those four years were the worst of my life. I now live in New York and don't ever want to go back again. My first reason is that Texas is HIGHLY bible-oriented. I do not know if you are Christian, but I AM. Even though I am Christian, it always got really annoying to hear people talking about God every single damn day. There was absolutely no diversity there. My second reason is that the heat during the summer is UNBEARABLE. The first time I came to Texas, the highs in October were in the 90's! During the summer the highs are in the 100's for a good part of the season. My third reason is that the weather can get really bad in the spring. Severe weather is not uncommon, and considering the fact that the DFW area is in tornado alley, tornadoes aren't rare! Although snow can sometimes get annoying here in New York, it is worth dealing with. The only mass transportation is in Dallas County and although you may think you're okay with driving 50 miles everyday (if you haven't come here yet) you definitely won't be in a little while. I currently live in Manhasset Hills and I am glad to be out of that horrifying ordeal.

[Willys]

deziholla, yeah, it gets hot but it's not like were camping out in pup tents or anything like that. We do have air conditioning in our homes, offices, auto, malls, restaurants, shops. But we don't have air conditioning in our roadside parks.. bummer.

Apartments can be found for 800. East of NorthPark towards White Rock has some nice apartments but you'll need to be careful about choice. There's an entire zip code of apartments north of the Northwest Hiway but quality has declined somewhat. Most anything south of NorthPark that is west of US 75 to the TollRoad is suitable though rents tend to be higher. There's dozens of smaller apartment buildings with high occupancy that don't advertise. You may want to check out Craigslist at craigslist.org, choose Texas -Dallas -Apartments. Also, you might want to check online at dallasobserver.com, a local magazine/newspaper. There are also some duplexes and multi-unit buildings (four/eight plexes) on the three streets south of Highland Park. Most do not advertise, you just have to drive the streets and get phone numbers. The duplexes are high rents but the multi's can be had for less than 800. Just depends on what you're looking for. I've just lived there for a year and was safe walking my dog anytime of day or nite.

NorthPark is the only mall I will go to. It just has a nicer ambiance even though it's recently done some massive reconstruction. I think its' location dictates its' clientele which it seems to exclude the north Dallas crowd.

[lategreattex]

Originally Posted by deziholla

I've lived my life in the east coast and I'm definitely ready for a change and a place to start my career. I've decided to move to be closer to family, dad's side and to start my career in marketing. The problem I'm encountering is finding a safe place to live in that's near restaurants, movies, and entertainment. I like to be near the action but I must feel safe. I was kinda interested in city central in the white rock lake sector of dallas but have been warned of crime. I'd also be willing to live in any of the surrounding towns on the borderline of dallas such as garland, addison, carrollton, etc. My husband will be working at the northpark mall with neiman marcus. we were looking for an apartment no more than 800 a month. Any suggestions would be great!!!

Dallas is #1 in pollution, #1 in crime, worst traffic (passed LA & NY), & #1 in transplants who are no longer welcome here....Do yourself and us a favor and keep looking! I hear Chicago is nice and I'm sure they have a Neimans.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by lategreattex

Dallas is #1 in pollution, #1 in crime, worst traffic (passed LA & NY), & #1 in transplants who are no longer welcome here....Do yourself and us a favor and keep looking! I hear Chicago is nice and I'm sure they have a Neimans.

Crime? Not true. There are many major cities, such as Washington DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, etc, that have a higher violent crime rate than Dallas. A recent study by the local paper ranked Dallas as 58th. It should be noted, though, that in whatever city you consider, violent crime is concentrated primarily in ghettos.

No, tornadoes in the DFW area are rare. Only 2 tornadoes in the last 50 years caused a fatality.

The current temperature at 3:15PM CST for October 14, 2007 is 84 degrees, with a low humidity at 43%. A very pleasant day.

Many more people move from Chicago to Dallas than the other way around.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by lategreattex

Dallas is #1 in pollution, #1 in crime, worst traffic (passed LA & NY), & #1 in transplants who are no longer welcome here....Do yourself and us a favor and keep looking! I hear Chicago is nice and I'm sure they have a Neimans.

Never trust a guy who spells please "pleez."

Dallas is a great place to live. I've never been a victim of crime.

And frankly, the pollution hasn't been that bad. It's quieter in my neighborhood in Dallas than my father-in-law's place in the rural Texas Hill Country.

And finally, nobody cares if you're a transplant. They probably won't even notice. 500 people move to Dallas every day.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by saleen245

Hey deziholla,

If I were you, I wouldn't do it! I was born in New York and lived there until I was about 13. I'm 24 now. Although I only had to endure Texas' wrath for about four years (I went to college in the Northeast), those four years were the worst of my life. I now live in New York and don't ever want to go back again. My first reason is that Texas is HIGHLY bible-oriented. I do not know if you are Christian, but I AM. Even though I am Christian, it always got really annoying to hear people talking about God every single damn day. There was absolutely no diversity there. My second reason is that the heat during the summer is UNBEARABLE. The first time I came to Texas, the highs in October were in the 90's! During the summer the highs are in the 100's for a good part of the season. My third reason is that the weather can get really bad in the spring. Severe weather is not uncommon, and considering the fact that the DFW area is in tornado alley, tornadoes aren't rare! Although snow can sometimes get annoying here in New York, it is worth dealing with. The only mass transportation is in Dallas County and although you may think you're okay with driving 50 miles everyday (if you haven't come here yet) you definitely won't be in a little while. I currently live in Manhasset Hills and I am glad to be out of that horrifying ordeal.

My wife grew up in Far Rockaway, NY and the 5 Towns and then lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan for a number of years. She loves it here. I'm not sure how a self described religious person would be bothered by talk about God "every single damn day" but we're Orthodox jews and we ourselves talk about God every day. To each their own. As far as diversity goes, it's a very diverse area so again I have no idea what this person is talking about. Religously there are mostly christians here, but we live in a very Jewish neighborhood and there are also neighborhoods where lots of muslims live. Racially it is segretated along black/white lines, but here in north Dallas there are many Asians, South Asians, Latinos and others. It does get hot here in the summer but it gets hot and much more humid in NY. I do not find it unbearable and I am quite enjoying the balmy 80 degree evenings. I prefer heat myself to snow so again to each their own. Coming from Los Angeles I also don't find the traffic nearly as bad as everyone says it is. Come down and check it out and decide for yourself!

[kt2le]

I've lived in Dallas my entire life (except for going off to college) and I've never been bombarded by Christians talking about God on a daily basis - ever. As for saleen245's post - who wouldn't hate a place their parents made them move to when they were 13 years old?! No teenager is going to choose to leave their friends and be uprooted to halfway across the country. I would have hated Dallas, too - lol!

I think you'll like it here, especially if you arrive with an open mind and realize that no two places are exactly alike - there are pros and cons to every city. Some of the information provided by others in above posts is very good. You ought to be able to find something not too far from NorthPark. There is a lot of traffic around there so try to find something nearby to minimize your commute. Good luck and welcome!