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I absolutely liked reading people's posts here, and I got a bit of an idea of Dallas... But still I would like to ask some questions, if I might
Now I live in a wonderful city of Berlin in Germany, where public transportation is amazing, people are very polite, to rent a nice apartment in a central place (pubs, cafe's, parks, lots of people in the streets) is affordable... I am moving to Dallas because I've got a post-doc position at UTD. Otherwise I would never ever leave Berlin...
So my first question is - how lively is Dallas? One of my colleagues returned from a trip to some small town in NY state and he was pretty shocked. He told us that he was the only person traveling by foot there, and that there are no sidewalks for walking! Once a police stopped him and asked why he is walking (Is walking a crime in US?!). I am so scared that Dallas will be like that! Please, tell me that it's not true! I hope so much that one does not need to go by car EVERYWHERE!!!!
My second question: I am not driving (I feel really bad about making our planet dirty....) - so would I survive there with a public transportation ? (it's not 100% green, but yet, if everybody travels by public transportation, each one pollutes less...)
My third question is related to the second one: What would be the best place to rent an apartment so that the public transportation will connect me the best with UTD? I would also like it to be a lively district, with cafes and people on the streets (walking ...) Does it exist in Dallas?
Regarding renting an apartment : how long does it typically take to find something? Are the flats usually furnished? How high can be the rent for let's say two-room apartment with a kitchen (I mean, a flat similar to Jerry Seinfeld's in "Seinfeld" comedy series? or Monica's in "Friends'?)
I am aware that I can not bring Berlin to Dallas, and that I will need to adapt to so many things... But if I could find something a bit similar, it would make my two-years stay much more pleasent And I really-really hope that Dallas would turn out a good place!
You have no idea how scared I am to move to a different continent!
There are districts that are pretty lively and where you can usually find people walking, but on the whole, Dallas is very much a driving city. If you can afford the rent for apartments, I would recommend the Uptown area, especially the West Village. That area is very, very walkable, and is just steps from an Albertson's (supermarket), Borders (bookstore), and other amenities. There is also an cinema in the West Village that shows independent films. Rent there for a two-bedroom apartment is expensive (around $2000 per month), but if you can afford it, I think it would be the best option for the lifestyle you are looking to live.
In other parts of the city, the rent prices are typically cheaper. The prices vary based on location and complex quality.
Public Transportation in Dallas and Richardson (where UTD is located) is operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). DART offers bus and light rail service. Unfortunately, the rail system does not reach UTD, so you will need to take a bus for at least part of the trip. DART.org - Dallas Area Rapid Transit
If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!
UTD also has a bus system, so you might look into their routes as well as DARTs route. Uptown is the lively walkable area of Dallas, but it's not exactly close to UTD in Richardson. It's also expensive.
UTD isn't close to much of anything useful. It has undeveloped land, office buildings and single family homes adjacent to it, and one small section of retail that doesn't have much. Go out a mile or two from UTD and you get to some retail - shops, restaurants, grocery stores - at Coit and Campbell intersection and at the Campbell/Hwy 75 intersection. There are UTD owned apartment complexes on campus.
I would look at the mass transit available before deciding on a place to live so you can make sure the apartment is on a DART or UTD route.
I love Dallas but compared to Berlin (!), it is positively dead.
You can survive on public transportation - it is nothing compared to Berlin but it gets you to places just fine.
As you said, don't expect Dallas to be anything like Berlin. Dallas is an ocean away on a different continent with very different people and very different history and very different city planning. When I moved here from a small city in Austria, the analogy that came to my mind was that Dallas is like a super-sized Dorf.
UTD is not in Dallas but in Richardson, a suburb. There might be a DART bus connection but it isn't connected to Dallas by light rail. UTD is surrounded by single family homes subdivisions which are nothing like a European city like Berlin. It is very pretty but it isn't lively in the sense of people walking and chatting and having a snack in patio cafes.
Awecelot's suggestions are the closest to what you'll desire but connection to UTD is not good (especially without a car - I wouldn't rent in the WV, if I had to commute to UTD). Downtown Plano might be an option (closer to UTD but much smaller). Or maybe Addison.
Renting an apartment is super easy. Nothing like in Berlin. Each apartment community has a sales center (typically in a very pretty, impressive building on-site) and you usually can just walk in and sign a lease on the spot. When I moved to the US, I had to pay 2 months rent in advance because I didn't have a credit history. I had to show 4x gross (brutto) monthly income to qualify.
Furnished apartments are expensive, I would suggest renting a room. There is also some very affordable housing on the UTD campus, and they are regular apartments, not dormitories.
With the exception of the northeast, cities in the country just aren't that walkable. This a very car dependent region, lots of sprawl. Having a car is not necessary, but getting around without one can be a challenge. Public transportation here does not run 24 hours a day. Buses typically start around 6am, and stop around 10-11pm. Most of Dallas County has bus service, and about half of Collin County does. I myself do not drive, and people find it very odd. My best friend and her husband do not even have a car, and people think they are crazy.
You might look into Mockingbird Station in Dallas. It's right on the light rail line, and there are shops, restaurants, bars, and a movie theater right there at your doorstep. Rent is a bit high, but it would be a good fit for you.
You might also want to check out Parkside at Firewheel in Garland. They are also loft style apartments adjacent to an open air shopping mall. There is a bus that goes to the area, but I'm not sure how often it runs.
The crime in this country is quite often exaggerated by the press outside the US. My uncle spent a year teaching in Korea and they too had the same impression. His colleagues in Korea were quite surprised that he had never been the victim of a crime, or witnessed a crime. Each city has its good and bad areas.
Overall you will like Dallas, yes it is different, but it's not a bad place. You are coming with an open mind, and willingness to adapt, that is probably the biggest step.
If you get homesick we do have a few German restaurants and delis around.
An European, the posters above have given you some useful advice.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area is spread over a large area, think Essen-Dusseldorf. The public transportation links between the more densely populated nodes are meager, however, and nonexistent for most of the municipalities in the conurbation. The DART system is reasonably functional within the municipality of Dallas, however, and several other municipalities adjacent to it, such as Richardson and Plano. There will be some small areas that contain street life, such as the downtown/Uptown areas and near transit stations, but the question is how to reach your university from them.
The good news is that the DART rail system is expanding quickly, and many new stations will have service, some as early as October of 2009. Developers are building shops and blocks of flats nearby in anticipation of station openings. More long term, the City of Dallas is adopting a new type of city planning and zoning that will make it easy for developers to create walkable, mixed use neighborhoods with much street life. Within the last 10-15 years, American cities in general have become more interested in developing urban neighborhoods with street life.
But for the present, you should focus on finding a neighborhood close to the DART Red line. It is the convention in many American cities to name rail transit routes after colors, unless there are too many of them, such as in New York City.
The West Village area is a lively and interesting district, as others have mentioned, and is a short walk to the CityPlace rail station. The eastern side of the CityPlace station is less lively, but has access on foot to West Village and the flats are less expensive.
I've gone to the DART website and found a typical schedule for a morning commute to UTD. You leave the CityPlace station at 7:27AM, and arrive at the Bush turnpike station at 7:53AM. The shuttle bus to UTD, the 833, leaves at 8:05AM and arrives at 8:14AM.
There are other Urban Villages, as we call them, on the DART Red line. Mockingbird station is somewhat lively, and is close to another university, SMU. It is 3 minutes closer to UTD. Park Lane Place is currently under construction and will have much shopping in a pedestrian-oriented environment, and there are several pedestrian-oriented communities being built between CityPlace and the Bush Turnpike station. You might also consider downtown Plano, somewhat pedestrian.
Another option is to live in downtown Dallas, which will be the most walkable area in Dallas. It will add between 5 to 10 minutes travel time to UTD, but many people find it a fascinating place to live, with many restaurants, cafes, museums, etc., within walking distance. Also, you would be centrally located to access other rail lines.
Good luck in finding your neighborhood, and welcome.
A poster above mentioned Addison. The Addison Circle village may be familiar to you, it physically resembles a northern European town. It also has blocks of flats with shops on the sidewalks, some street life, and an adjacent transit center that will connect you to other parts of the DART region via express buses. The number 362 bus will take you directly to UTD in about 35 minutes, and it runs every 30 minutes. The nearby road, Belt Line road, has many restaurants and shops, although it is several blocks from the village. Also, you will be within bus range of the Dallas Galleria, a major shopping mall.
There are other walkable, mixed use villages in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and you might enjoy visiting them on the weekends. My favorite is called Legacy Town Center, in the northern suburb of Plano, also served by DART.
Perhaps he most unusual, yet most authentically European, urban village in DFW, if not Texas, is called Adriatica. It is basically a copy of a Croatian waterfront resort town. It is quite unusual and precious, although not too practical for your commute. More of a place to visit. It is still incomplete, but the authenticity of the buildings and surroundings is breathtaking. Not that I've ever been to Croatia or the Dalmatian coast, but I've seen photos. The pictures of the village are at Adriatica :: News of the Village (http://www.adriaticamckinney.com/news.htm - broken link)
To me UTD is out in the boondocks. But it is not going to be much fun taking transit there every day. If you can a find an on-campus or adjacent apartment that might be better. Then you could visit the 'cool' places on the weekends - those places are Uptown, Downtown, Knox-Henderson, West Village, Lower Greenville, etc. However there are some inexpensive apartments near the Lover's Lane and Mockingbird Station DART rail in the area bounded by Greenville, Lover's Lane, DART line and Skillman. A lot of SMU students live there and there is a free shuttle. E. University runs through - it's in zip code 75206. You might also find a small apartment or duplex in the area just south of Mockingbird between Greenville Ave. and Central Expressway (75). You could very easily walk to many places from there...
I would like to say that I went to the New Year's Millenium Celebration in Berlin and was quite impressed.
Welcome to Texas. I think you will find that Texas is a great place to live - though a lot hotter than Germany.
Take a look at these apartments if you want a walking-city feel within quick distance of UTD. There are whole lot of shops around these and you can just about walk to everything you need. I was up there this weekend and was very impressed. This is a lot closer to UTD than the stuff downtown and its a lot safer. Anything below Highway 635 is going to have a higher crime rate. Police in Plano ( town where Apts are ) are very friendly.
You should be able to ride a bike to UTD or take a bus to campus most days. Worst case, get a scooter.
UTD is a good school and is quickly getting a great reputation.
I know this won't be a popular post, but I'll do it anyway.
I don't think you'll have as rich an experience living here if you don't have a car. I understand why you want to avoid it, but I really believe that you'll miss a lot of what it's like to live here if you don't bite the bullet and get a car.
This isn't Europe, we don't live as you do in Europe, and part of the value of living overseas is experiencing the culture of the place you're going. I lived in Europe and didn't drive for a year (and LOVED IT.) I had a completely different lifestyle there, and have always felt that "stretching" was a wonderful opportunity for me.
We drive here...it's not good, but it's the reality of life here. If you come here hoping to recreate your life in Berlin, you will probably not have a very enjoyable stay. We're different...our lifestyles are very different.
Here's one way to think of it. Many Europeans find it baffling that we insist on driving so much. If you come here, get a car, and try it out for a few years, you will have a much better insight into why we choose live this way.
Good luck on your move, and I hope you have a great experience here...
Deb
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And I really-really hope that Dallas would turn out a good place!
