Considering moving to Texas

[Ambassador]

Originally Posted by Acntx

You are right that Lancaster is not "in the middle of things." Go south of the city and it is decidedly more rural in appearance. Also, we are a mid-sized city in the metroplex (pop. 36,000) compared with the smaller communities you mentioned up north.

I know that the northern suburbs are favored by newcomers, but the point that I was trying to make to the OP was that if she ultimately chooses to live in the Dallas area, there are a lot of choices outside of that area that are suitable too. That is one of the best things about living in DFW - we have such a variety of choices when it comes to housing and lifestyle.

Agreed. The northern suburbs are not the only options. They are the only options in my opinion if a person wants something a little more in the middle of the city. Otherwise, I am with you on the southern suburbs of Lancaster and Cedar Hill. They are both nice places to live.

[ricwil]

Well said. I agree with Acntx on Lancaster not comparing to Pilot Point or Prosper, which are small growing far northern towns easily an hour plus drive to DTN Dallas.
Google streetview doesn't know about Cedar Hill last time I checked either. If they did, I think it would clear up some confusion of what Dallas's southern burbs really looks like down here. People might even find out how beautiful most of our neighborhoods really are!

[FarNorthDallas]

I don't think the job market for Admin Assist type position is all that good right now.

[jpeagle21]

Originally Posted by Ambassador

Personally, many parts of Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Irving, and McKinney are not what I would consider "nice". The few pockets within those areas which I would do not have homes for less than $180k...and that is under the current economic and real estate climate.

I don't know about the other cities you mentioned, but this is not true of Mesquite. Plenty houses in "nice" (IMO) areas for under 180K. Check the Creek Crossing subdivision.

[DaveG99]

There are plenty of houses in the $140k-$180k range in Plano. I live in one of them.

[TexasNina83]

If you were to land a job in the northern suburbs, like Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, there are many houses up this way that are lower in price and are in new subdivisions. Celina has a subdivision called Carter Ranch and there are brand new homes from the $110's. I wouldn't want to commute to downtown Dallas from there, but to Plano/Allen/McKinney, it would be fine. It's a nice family community, still a small town, but about to experience explosive growth due to new highways and the amount of area available for development. McKinney still has some new home developments as well, and so does Little Elm (in Denton county). Frisco tends to be a bit more expensive but there are so many businesses there that they have lower property taxes.

Good luck with the job search. It is slow right now, but hopefully things will pick up after the holidays.

Blessings,
Nina

[ljarnew08]

Thank you everyone for your information. I will see where my employment leads me, and that will help me decide where I need to live.