VA Medical Center (Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie: house, neighborhoods, schools)

[millie61]

My Husband has applied for a position at the Dallas VA medical center. Where would be a nice area to live within easy communiting distance, looking for 4 bed with pool under 325,000. Don't have to worry about schools

[Grainraiser]

The VA hospital is not in the greatest part of town. I would take a look at Lakeridge area of Cedar Hill, Desoto or Grand Prairie. Sunnyvale would another option since you would be going againist traffic.

[Acntx]

I would recommend the following cities – Lancaster, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Ovilla, and Red Oak. All of them are suburbs located south of Dallas with nice, reasonably priced housing and only a short distance from the VA Medical Center.

Lancaster is the closest city to the VA. It is possible to commute from Lancaster without using the interstate highways. State Highway 342 (known as Dallas Avenue in Lancaster and Lancaster Road in Dallas) runs alongside the VA and is one of Lancaster's main north-south routes. I moved here a little over a year ago and have found it to be a nice community. The population has grown by over 30% since 2000 and it is starting to attract new development. When it comes to shopping/retail, the city has only the basics. A new open-air mall opened in Cedar Hill earlier this month and that is only a short distance from Lancaster. The big city entertainment venues in Dallas are only a few minutes away as well. The home prices are quite affordable, and that is one of the main reasons why people choose to move here. You can get a lot of house for your money. The average price of a newly constructed three-bedroom home in Lancaster is approximately $120k to $140k, with four-bedroom homes from about $150k into the low $200s.

DeSoto is the largest of the southern suburbs with around 50,000 people. It has a very diverse housing stock ranging from smaller, single-family homes to neighborhoods with upscale estate-type homes on the western side of the city that are priced at over $500k. I grew up in DeSoto and it is a very nice community as well.

As I noted earlier, Cedar Hill is the retail and shopping hub for the southern portion of Dallas County. In my opinion, it is one of the most scenic areas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with lots of trees and hills. It also lies on the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake. Like DeSoto, Cedar Hill has a wide variety of housing choices. As Grainraiser suggested, you may want to look at homes in Lakeridge – a master-planned community located near Joe Pool Lake.

Ovilla and Red Oak are smaller cities that are south of Lancaster, DeSoto, and Cedar Hill. Ovilla is a small, more upscale community with homes built on larger lots. Most four-bedroom homes in Ovilla will cost at least $200k. Red Oak is more suburban and less pricey than Ovilla. Like Lancaster, it is possible to commute to the VA from Red Oak using State Highway 342, therefore avoiding the sometimes-congested interstate highways altogether.

Hope that helps!

[millie61]

Thanks so much that is a help can now start looking at those areas