Young Professional in Dallas on $60,000 (McKinney, Greenville: apartments, condos, townhomes)

[lazybassplayer]

I am a young professional considering a move to Dallas, a few years out of college. My salary would be around $60,000. I hear that uptown is a cool place to live for people around my age. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Basically I am looking for a fairly young, lively area with a good nightlife and tons of stuff to do. Can I find that in Dallas?

[mysterymachinebl]

Uptown, Downtown, West Village, Knox-Henderson, & The Village would all be areas to look in. You won't have any problems finding cool stuff to do. These areas are all very close to many restaurants, bars, clubs, etc.

[Lakewooder]

Ditto, plus check out Lower Greenville. Hang out some afternoon/evening on a patio there or on Henderson and also Primo's on McKinney and you shall find what you seek...also there really is a lot happening in Downtown and Victory.

[unexpected]

lazybass, I'd love to answer this question, but tell me if you're a dive bar guy, a lounge guy, or a full out club guy?

Dallas is a big city, and public transportation is a nightmare (no subway to stumble home on at 2 am). It's best if you're located close to your "favorites".

Also, do you want to live alone, or are you going to have a roommate?

[Ambassador]

Yes, uptown or downtown is your place. Plenty of nightlife. However don't think that just because you live in one of these places you will be free from driving. Unless your apartment/loft/condo sits right on top of the club/bar you are going to you will have to drive.

The difference is that by living in these areas you are looking at maybe a 5 to 10 minute drive...more if you factor in the Dallas weekend nightlife traffic and all the $30k millionaries who are out and about at those hours.

If you live anywhere else you will be facing a 30 minute drive to anykind of nightlife or hip activity. The exception being if you live in the Addison area. That area has some of the best nightlife options of the entire Metroplex.

[Lakewooder]

Also you can take a taxi to any of the hotspots for ten bucks or so if you live close-in.

[wesley_willis]

i'm in the same position as you, and i chose uptown. go for it!

[lazybassplayer]

Thanks for all of the quick replies. Unexpected, I am more of a lounge or full out club guy, and I would probably live alone.

I realize that Dallas is a fairly spread out city, and coming from the northeast, I just want to be in a hip area where there is a lot to do near my apartment.

[unexpected]

Then you totally want to do uptown. The Victory area and downtown are super nice, but living there is really expensive (>$1500 for a 1 BR). If you live around Knox-Henderson, you could probably get a 1 BR for $1100-$1300, and if you lived in the heart of Uptown, you could get a 1 BR for $1300-$1500.

If that's out of your budget, you could live in a 1 BR in Addison for $900-$1100.

The Village is nice, but it's a little further away, and not really in the heart of Uptown. Also everything in the Village seems to revolve around the Village.

[Lakewooder]

You may be able to find something for less around Henderson and Lower Greenville. Some of the 1 bedroom duplexes are around $850 still but those will rise as the area get hotter. Also some new apartments, townhomes and condos coming on line there soon. About 20 acres of 50s and 60s apartments have been demolished there in the last few months. The duplexes will probably be from the 30s and there are some similar 4-8 plexes around.