Moving from Chicago to Dallas: Can you live "in the City?" (Austin: rent, house)

[Russ45]

I would like a little help with deciding where to live in Dallas City proper or the Dallas area. I'm late 40's, divorced businessman moving to Dallas alone. I'm looking for an urban area but comparing it to the likes of Chicago (Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Roscoe Village). I would like good access to a variety of restaurants, cafes, theatres, jazz clubs, shops.
Being single again after 25 years, I'd like to meet other professionals but, in most cases, suburbia probably won't e what I'm looking for unless it's a fairly large and active place.
I would like to be able to access the DART to DFW. I could afford a fairly upscale place but not outrageous.
Thoughts?

[lpepping]

Downtown, Uptown and Addison would be my suggestions. What is your price range? Also, the DART rail doesn't go to DFW yet. It will be another 2-3 years for that I think.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by lpepping

Downtown, Uptown and Addison would be my suggestions. What is your price range? Also, the DART rail doesn't go to DFW yet. It will be another 2-3 years for that I think.

Bear in mind that Uptown is just the place name for the northern extension of downtown Dallas. There is a freeway called Woodall Rogers, with downtown on the south, and uptown on the north. Altogether, the urban neighborhoods in the center of Dallas comprise several square miles, although it may not be as dense as your Chicago neighborhoods.

Addison is suburban, and is what is known as an "edge city", a cluster of office buildings where access is mostly by auto rather than on foot. It does have an urban village of sorts, called Addison Circle. Another urban village is in the suburb of Plano, and is called Legacy. It is very pedestrianized.

For DART access, central Dallas is your best choice. As the previous poster mentioned, DART rail does not go directly to the DFW terminal area. There is an alternative... the TRE commuter line stops at a station a few miles from the DFW terminals, and there is a shuttle bus to take you to the airport. It is not, however, as convenient as a train to Midway or O'hare.

Hope you enjoy your stay in our city.

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by lpepping

Downtown, Uptown and Addison would be my suggestions. What is your price range? Also, the DART rail doesn't go to DFW yet. It will be another 2-3 years for that I think.

I agree with lpepping. I moved from Chicago as well but 13 years ago and those are the places you want to concentrate on. I may add Las Colinas too which is North Irving.

Naima

[austinnetx]

Take a look at Austin Ranch as well. (No Relation.) We are living here until we build our house next year.

Lots of singles and close to everything. Probably the best place to land for 6 mos to a year until you have time to get your sea legs.

Austin Ranch: Community with unique amenities in North Dallas, Plano

[SickOfTheSunbelt]

Originally Posted by Russ45

I'm looking for an urban area but comparing it to the likes of Chicago (Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Roscoe Village). I would like good access to a variety of restaurants, cafes, theatres, jazz clubs, shops.

There is nothing even remotely similar to any of these Chicago neighborhoods in Dallas. Uptown Dallas may be a little bit like the North/Clybourn area in Chicago. But if you're looking for a legit walkable urban neighborhood, you're flat out not gonna find it in Dallas. The population density just isn't there to support those types of neighborhoods.

And there's a chance the DART rail might never connect downtown Dallas to DFW airport.

Sorry.

[Russ45]

Thanks for all the input but I hope this thread keeps pulling input.

My price range is probably between $800 and $1400/mo depending on what I can get. I'll tend to go on the lower side if I decide that I want to pack $ away to buy in the near future. I'll tend to the higher side if I find something really nice in a nice neighborhood. I'll rent for at least a year but maybe much longer. I've owned homes for the past 25 years and haven't fared that well on resale. My kids are grown and out, my wife and I are split so I'm kind of starting on a clean slate.

I will check out all of the suggestions and I appreciate the time you all have taken to reply.

I checked out Austin Ranch and it will definitely be on my list of places to visit, thanks.

I travel a lot and I know that there are few urban areas that are like Chicago. That's OK but I'm just trying to find the closest type of "Urban Village" feel as opposed to "suburbia".

Russ45

[austinnetx]

I've worked in downtown Chicago. There is nothing in Dallas like it. Sections of LA, San Fran, and of course, NYC are.

Uptown area of Dallas can be best experience by going to the Green Papaya restaurant then driving around.

Green Papaya Bistro

You can also go over to City Place and look around in that area.

City Place :: Dallas, TX

Dallas might be there in 20 years.

One advantage to living downtown is you will be against traffic for the commute if you find a job in North Dallas.

Fort Worth has a much better walking city feel to it. I was over there last year and was impressed with the changes.

[Lakewooder]

I suggest Lower Greenville or maybe the MStreets if you can find anything in that range - Knox-Henderson might be another possibility (slightly more urban). I also would explore downtown itself.

You will have a lot of younger people mixed in around those areas - however there are many different types of people in abundance.

[aceplace]

In terms of "good access to a variety of restaurants, cafes, theatres, jazz clubs, shops" from your original post, the various Uptown neighborhoods will give you that, no doubt about it. But the local neighborhoods will provide reasonable access to parking, an amenity that San Francisco and DC and Boston and other cities cannot provide.

If you do like to explore on foot, then you will find cafes, clubs and theatres within walking distance of one DART rail station or another. Especially when the new Park Lane Place urban neighborhood comes on line. And your choices will be almost doubled when the Green line is opened... to Fair Park in 2009, and to Carrollton (and Denton) and Pleasant Grove in 2010. Also, 2009 is when the new concert hall and theatre for the Arts District open...

The suburbs actually have some urban places. Addison Circle is a dense urban enclave of residential buildings, restaurants, a few shops. The surrounding area on Belt Line Road has over 100 restaurants and cafes. On some blocks, every address is a restaurant. Legacy Town Center in Plano is an amazing urban district, with many restaurants, clubs, shops, an art house theatre, and a very walkable configuration of residential buildings surrounding it.

As for Fort Worth, let's not oversell the place. The small downtown is fairly walkable, but beyond that, it is an auto-oriented city. The bulk of the urban amenities you want will be within a few miles of Central Dallas.

BTW, why not go to Google Maps and use the "walk" feature to actually observe the looks of the neighborhoods we are talking about? See everything from street level.