Moving to Dallas from North East (Plano, Irving: sale, apartment, renting)

[davekothi]

[SIZE=3]Hi, my fiancé and I have an opportunity to move to Texas this summer and I have started to do my homework on this topic but it doesn’t hurt to ask the experts that actually live in TX! Some quick facts:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]We’re an Indian couple – our family is from India but both of us were born and raised in New York.
I would be transferring to our remote office in Plano, TX (off Plano Parkway)
I’m an IT Director and earn a decent salary for NYC standards
My fiancé would need to look for a new job – she currently does Accounts Payable but doesn’t like her job very much.
We are planning on starting a family soon so schooling is very important to us[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Some general questions:

What are some great neighborhoods near Plano, TX that are good for young married couples?
Is living in Downtown Dallas fun? Does it have a good city life feeling to it?
Are there any lakeside towns that are near Plano? I would love to live on the lake.
How is the housing market in Dallas? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all[/SIZE]

[rdfw]

Originally Posted by davekothi

Hi, my fiancé and I have an opportunity to move to Texas this summer and I have started to do my homework on this topic but it doesn’t hurt to ask the experts that actually live in TX! Some quick facts:
We’re an Indian couple – our family is from India but both of us were born and raised in New York.
I would be transferring to our remote office in Plano, TX (off Plano Parkway)
I’m an IT Director and earn a decent salary for NYC standards
My fiancé would need to look for a new job – she currently does Accounts Payable but doesn’t like her job very much.
We are planning on starting a family soon so schooling is very important to us
Some general questions:

What are some great neighborhoods near Plano, TX that are good for young married couples?
Is living in Downtown Dallas fun? Does it have a good city life feeling to it?
Are there any lakeside towns that are near Plano? I would love to live on the lake.
How is the housing market in Dallas?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all

As an Indian couple, you might be pleased to find out that DFW has a very large Indian/South Asian community. Plano/Richardson/Irving in particular. The first Desi radio station is in DFW (http://www.radiosalaamnamaste.com) and there's even a second AM station (AM700) broadcast from Richardson (right next to Plano). Richardson (and Irving) also has an Indian movie theater (FunAsiA - Theater - Banquets - Restaurants - Desipages), not to mention various grocery stores, etc etc.
The nearest lakeside town to Plano of interest would depend on whether your job on Plano Pkwy is in East Plano or West Plano, there is Lake Lewisville to the West, Lavon Lake and Lake Ray Hubbard to the East.
Many of the schools in the area are considered very good, I'll leave that to others to describe better.
There are areas near downtown that are much more urban: uptown, turtle creek, lakewood, and others.
You'll find that the housing market here never got overheated like in many other places and the economy, while still affected by the downturn, is being affected far far less than most other places. Median home prices are much lower than in NY - you can get a larger home for a much better price. Property taxes are something to look out for, anywhere from 2-2.5% (before exemptions, etc).

[Grainraiser]

Plano has a healthy population of people from India and there are many neighborhoods that would fit the bill. Your NYC salary will give you a severe boost here. Couple that with cheaper housing prices and you will be very happy. Knox-Henderson and Downtown are great places for single people. They are the place you would want to be if your starting a family. Those area's are for the young, hip, trendy folks. Plano has great schools and frankly if your going to work in Plano I see no reason not to want to live in Plano or the surrounding burbs. There are indian grocery stores in Richardson that should satisfy your cravings for indian food. Dallas want be as cosmopolitan or diverse as NYC but your gonna be in for a treat once you see what your dollar will bring you. Lakefront living in close to Dallas is pretty tough. When those homes go on sale they last a week or two at the most. Living in the DFW area is a different experience than living in NYC but I think you would like it.

[SusanDuarte]

Hi,
There are some wonderful place in the city near White Rock Lake...
I have lived here in the 80's and moved back last year from Chicago.
Be prepared for lots of heat come July and August. Right now it is wonderful.
Plano is very nice. I know the city, so if you are interested I can give you some great neighborhood that are walkable and fun.

Susan

[EinsteinsGhost]

If you want a balance between fun and schooling, I would recommend Richardson. Good schools, and not too far from uptown Dallas and North Dallas/Addison. If you want a quiet, family oriented neighborhood within 25-30 minutes of activities, Coppell would be an option (a sizeable Indian community presence) or Flower Mound where I live (even though I'm single).

I have a friend who moved from Boston a few months ago. He is originally from Turkey, loves the area and opted to live in McKinney which is (IMO) way too far out while he works close to downtown. But he really likes it, compared to what he had in the North East.

[MurphyPl1]

You might be very happy in the area of Richardson near Renner and Northstar. I have a sandwich shop there and there's a lot of diversity, including a lot of Indian families. The schools near there (Schell, Stinson, Miller) are all solid schools.

Also Murphy would fit your needs as well. Both areas are very near Plano Pkwy (it merges with FM544) toward the eastern end.

[x2cme]

Lake Lewisville is beautiful... there are many small communities there and the drive is very quick to and from DFW --- assuming you would have to fly back & forth between home office and regional. Loads of Indian networks can be found all over North Texas.... or all over Texas for that matter!

There is a lovely temple in Irving, if you are concerned about religious studies.

But there is one thing that is very important to keep in mind... Texas is BIG... much bigger than what you are used to... so even if someplace looks close on a map.. ITS NOT!!! Expect no less than a 30-45 minute commute - and that's if you work across the street from where you live! Dallas is a big city, but not big as in "sky-scraper" big... its big as in "URBAN SPRAWL!" You can literally drive for hours and never leave the 'city'...

Pockets like Lake Lewisville can give you the 'remote, country' feeling without actually living outside of the hot spots found in Dallas common.

Plano has a few nice areas, but my opinion is that it is VERY over rated and a bit worn out.

Addison is AWESOME, but be prepared to spend some money to live there! Its a very well planned community with extremely high standards in its schools, businesses, streets, police, etc...

Your best bet would be to have a friend who lives in the area drive you around some weekend... that will give you a nice visual of just how spread out things really are here... also, you might consider renting an apartment for the first year you live here... then you take your weekends to explore all the wonderful nooks & crannies that surround the DFW area... and that will also give you time to find the place that feels like HOME SWEET HOME!!!

Good Luck!!!

BTW - You can check out statistics at : Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
I started you off with Double Oak --- its a part of Lewisville... that's the other thing about Texas... there are MILLIONS of little towns like this one, which make up the whole of the larger named towns, such as Lewisville... unfortunately, unless you are a native to the neighborhood, its almost impossible to know all the names of these hamlets! Again,,, Best of Luck!