Are hoods overrated? (Dallas, Plano, Mesquite: high crime, new home, neighborhood)

[Lakewooder]

You could get even more bang for the buck in Pottsboro.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

If your going to live south of I30 on the east side of DFW you better go atleast 15-20 miles south of the interstate!

Are you implying that everything in Dallas within 15 miles to the south of I-30 is a ghetto? That would be news to a lot of middle and upper middle class people who live in the SW quadrant of Dallas.

[pepper131]

Originally Posted by Lutalo

Thanks, the 75228 zip seemed to be the most bang for the buck for my 'ghetto tolerance'... Now is there a rule about how far south of I-30 one should go as far as living is concerned?

North of I-30:
I know some people on Dorrington that enjoy where they are and don't seem to have many problems.
You really need to drive it if you can. There are low-income apartments on Ferugson near the Claremont area (including Dorrington). And same type apts on Buckner south of Ferguson. Also down Lakeland east of Ferguson...more nasty apts.
But you will find affordable older houses.

South of I-30 is mostly 75227. I know a few people down there and they don't seem fearful of their lives or anything.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by pepper131

South of I-30 is mostly 75227. I know a few people down there and they don't seem fearful of their lives or anything.

Just to clarify for the OP, south of I-30 has a lot of zip codes. Zip 75227 would be in the SE part of Dallas. I think that zip is where the Parkdale/Lawnview neighborhood is located, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, that area looks pretty nice and it is pretty affordable: Home ‎(Parkdale/Lawnview Association of Neighbors (PLAN)‎).

The OP might also want to look in some of the zip codes below I-30 in SW Dallas. Zip 75208 where the Bishop Arts District is located has the most diversity of home prices (from < $100k to > $1.5m) and due to it's proximity to Uptown, Downtown and the Trinity River Corridor project (if that ever happens) it has seen the most re-development. Other SW zips that the OP might want to investigate for moderately priced quality housing would be 75211 and 75224. The OP can find out a lot about the many neighborhoods of this area from this website: The Neighborhoods of Oak Cliff

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by Dallas native

BTW, where does one go in Plano to find "cute" housing? That's something that Oak Cliff has a lot of, but I never thought of Plano that way.

Well what I said was some places in SD "are actually cuter than Plano". I'm not suggesting Plano is cute, but for all the hoo-hah about the "wealthiest city in America", I'm saying there is definitely bang for the buck for those willing to buck the trend and go south rather than north.

Quality schools? Well that may be a different story.

[DaveG99]

Originally Posted by Dallas native

Are you implying that everything in Dallas within 15 miles to the south of I-30 is a ghetto? That would be news to a lot of middle and upper middle class people who live in the SW quadrant of Dallas.

Generally speaking yes. But of course there are exceptions to the rule. I was mainly refering to the areas south of I30 starting at a few miles west of downtown going all the way to just before you get to mesquite. That area south of I30 is pretty rough.

[Lakewooder]

Rawlins Gilliland: Why I have little use for cookie-cutter neighborhoods | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Viewpoints

[pepper131]

Good article.
Mentions the Piedmont neighborhood. I have an architect friend who lives there - gutted a ranch and it's awesome now!...But it's very unassuming from the outside.

[unseengundam]

Actually you find tons of new houses under 180K in DFW, just a do MLS search! OH WAIT, most of those are in ghettos!

There tons of new houses under 180K in Southern and Eastern suburbs of Dallas. But not in the "nice" areas of Plano/Frisco/Allen. Seems like alot of people consider Good ares as anything above 300K, new, and in Plano/Frisco/Allen/etc. Anything under 300k or in rest of DFW is definitely in hood!!!

Consider my price range, I will probably end up buying a house in so called hood.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

Generally speaking yes. But of course there are exceptions to the rule. I was mainly refering to the areas south of I30 starting at a few miles west of downtown going all the way to just before you get to mesquite. That area south of I30 is pretty rough.

Oh, I see. So based on those parameters, what you are saying is that everything south of I-30 from around Hampton Rd. (that's about 3 miles west of downtown) all the way east to the Dallas/Mesquite border and all the way south to the city limits is pretty rough. I've lived in Dallas for 3/4 of my life, mostly in N. Oak Cliff, Kessler Park and Stevens Park. That's a pretty large area. I had no idea that I was living in a ghetto all of that time. Thanks for the clarity. Lucky for me there is someone like you who has lived in Dallas and Plano for a little more than 2 years to set the record straight.