any dallas neighborhoods with Hippies, academics, artists types? (Plano, Lewisville: for sale, rent)

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Wow, you're terrific! Thank you So Much for helping to have some hope that I can make this work! I really appreciate that! Sounds like you've been to Boston so that's great.

How far is Lakewood or Oak Cliff to the Uptown/West Villiage area?

I'm totally fine about living outside West Villiage in order to get a single family house as long as the area I'm in would work too and then I can get into West Villiage/Uptown, if things go in that direction, given that my husband has a clear preference for a house vs a townhouse.

Where do folks go if they want to go swimming--are there any swimmable lakes?

If other areas come to mind, let me know- I'd like to put a few on the list to check out. FYI, in terms of other possible areas and what could drop off the ideal list, the gay friendly criteria is less critical in terms of all the other things mentioned- I mentioned it more to get a sense that the area really wasn't a hot bed of conservatism.

I'm thrilled to find that there are some areas which might work. Thank you so much!

Thanks also for the realistic picture of the weather. Doesn't sound like tornadoes go through Uptown or Lakewood from reading the threads and you're right I would hate to go back to that Boston weather- 99 inches of snow and still possibly more, even now (though it's 70 degrees there today!).

Thank you again! Take care and have a wonderful rest of your week!

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Thanks for letting me know. I didn't realize that SMU and TCU wouldn't enter into the affairs of the campus. That's great. I saw Dick Cheney and Laura Bush are on the Board of Trustees at SMU so that's kind of what scared me away as I thought maybe it was really conservative. It's great that you went to SMU and so can share a more realistic perspective than myself, as an outsider looking at their webpage. Did you like SMU? In addition to SMU and TCU, are there other colleges you think might be good to take a look at, from the plethora of colleges and universities in the area (U Dallas, others?)

I noticed you've posted about Lakewood. Can you share what you love about it most? Given my post, would it be a good option for me do you think, and does anything else come to mind that I should be looking at?

Thanks very much! I really appreciate it! We'll make a trip to check areas out but it just makes me feel so much less anxious about a potential move to hear from folks who live there and have great feedback from experience to share. Thank you!

[Spree]

There are many thread about Lakewood on the forum .. do a search, click search at the top of the forum

[cityconvo]

[quote=Boston Tampa Dallas area?;3418166]Wow, you're terrific! Thank you So Much for helping to have some hope that I can make this work! I really appreciate that! Sounds like you've been to Boston so that's great.

How far is Lakewood or Oak Cliff to the Uptown/West Villiage area?

Where do folks go if they want to go swimming--are there any swimmable lakes?

Yes. I love Boston. It is one of my favorite cities to visit. The M Streets and Lakewood are going to be between a 5 and 15 minute drive to the West Village, but you will have tons of other options in between as well such as the Lakewood shopping center with the landmark Lakewood theater and Mockingbird Station (location of the Angelica I mentioned earlier).

From Oak Cliff you would be about 15 to 20 minutes away maybe less. But along the way you could stop at Victory Plaza in Downtown or check out Main, Elm, and Commerce streets in Downtown. As I mentioned earlier, Oak Cliff is going through a revitalization and a few mixed use projects are in the works to compliment the enormously successful Bishop Arts District that is already there.

Do some searches on zip codes 75206 - M Streets, 75214 - Lakewood, 75208 - Winnetka Heights in Oak Cliff, and 75211 in Oak Cliff. For 75211 limit the neighborhood to Ravinia Heigths, Northcliff, and El Tivoli Place. There is also Beckley Club in 75216, a very artsy area but not much in the way of basic services nearby.

As for swimming, I can't offer much. I have seen some threads in here before. Just do a search.

On a side note, In my opinion you really won't have any problems culturally or politically here. Especially if you stay in some of these general areas, and probably not even in the northern burbs. You will however experience baseball cultural shock. I can't imagine you are not a rabid Sox fan, so the first time you go to a Rangers game you will not even recognize you are watching the same sport. But again, it isn't all that bad, just different.

Good luck.

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Thanks for making me chuckle! Yes, I'm a rabid Red Sox Fan for sure. First time my husband and I saw a Red Sox Game here playing the Devil Rays (now the Rays), it' was a sea of red in the stadium and they had to pipe in applause when the Rays made a hit. But hey, at least we could get in to see a game and didn't have to pay a small fortune for it!

I'm starting to check threads now for different things like being Jewish and also Lakes. Thank you! And I'll definitely check the zip codes you mentioned plus check out Lakewood and Oak Cliff. I'm sure you remember from visiting Boston that it could be an hour or more commute on 128 to get anywhere so 5-20 minutes is awesome to get to where you want to hang out. How wonderful.

Thanks also for the additional ideas of places to check out. I feel like you really helped to launch my search in a positive direction. I also feel so much better about the potential relocation than I did before I posted here. It's hard to relocate from Boston to Tampa and then look at another relocation even farther from family so I really appreciate your kindness, and I'll definitely follow up and then eventually pay it forward and share my experience with someone else who is considering a relocation!

Thanks again.

[TrueDat]

I would also check out Oak Lawn, which is very close to Uptown/West Village and has been the traditional hub of the gay community. It's centrally located and is undergoing revitalization as well. The upscale urban community of Oak Lawn in Dallas, TX.

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Thanks TrueDat,
I'm going to go on ziprealty.com now and do that.

Can I ask you- of the places out of the city that offer newer housing, are any places worth checking out for a liberal artsy kind of person? I had heard about McKinney, Addison, North of Dallas near Hillcrest and Frankfort or south of 635 near Preston, Allen, Plano, Grapevine, and also White Rock Lake... should I just write these off and focus on the areas mentioned in this thread?

Thanks!

[Dallas native]

Also check out the Cochran Heights neighborhood (zip 75206). Street names such as Pershing, Milam, Alcott, Homer & Mission will probably have something for you. It is on the east (liberal) side of I-75 just 2 miles north of downtown. The northern end of the 'hood is Knox-Henderson and you can walk to numerous restaurants, retail and bars and then you can stumble home. It is also a mile north of West Village and 1 mile south of SMU and Mockingbird Station. You could get a nice newer 3 story townhouse (3/2.5/2) with a smallish yard for $350k. Or you could get an older, smaller home (many of them by a well known Dallas architect from the 1930's named Charles Dilbeck). The area is rich with character. My neighbor across the street moved to Dallas kicking and screaming from Boston several years ago and she LOVES it here. Dallas is a huge city and it has many different types of people, so I KNOW you can find a place that will work for you.

[cityconvo]

Originally Posted by Boston Tampa Dallas area?

Thanks TrueDat,
I'm going to go on ziprealty.com now and do that.

Can I ask you- of the places out of the city that offer newer housing, are any places worth checking out for a liberal artsy kind of person? I had heard about McKinney, Addison, North of Dallas near Hillcrest and Frankfort or south of 635 near Preston, Allen, Plano, Grapevine, and also White Rock Lake... should I just write these off and focus on the areas mentioned in this thread?

Thanks!

Keep in mind that much of Lakewood backs up to White Rock Lake, so pretty much anything around there is going to be really cool. The homes and neighborhoods will offer a lot of charm and character like the ones mentioned earlier.

Also, just on the east side of White Rock Lake is Little Forest Hills and Casa Linda Forest (I think they are both zip 75228, parts of Little Forest Hills maybe in 75218 though). Also just north of the lake is Old Lake Highlands in zip 75218. It is really charming also, mainly 50s style ranch homes.

Oak Lawn is a really cool area too. I don't think there is much in the way of single family homes there and I believe it is not going through revitalization, I think it is completely gentrified at this point.

The northern burbs you mention might be ok. They are more diverse than some people want to admit, but they are going to be very surburban and lack the type of charm and character that most of the neighborhoods mentioned provide.

[Lakewooder]

I lived in Cochran Heights for 8 years and I still have some properties there. A real advantage is being able to walk to all the cool places on Henderson - also Knox. I still go to neighborhood association meetings, which are held at The Candleroom. This is a bit of a younger vibe than Lakewood and parts of Lower Greenville.

Cochran Heights used to be a secret, now many people know about it and there is a lot of redevelopment all around.