Best places to live for young professional (Dallas, McKinney: apartment complexes, rental)

[sneha_manohar]

Dear all,

I am a 22 yr old girl who will be relocating to Dallas, after my graduation from University, in July to take up my first full-time job. My office is located at Cedar Springs Road in Downtown (?) Dallas. I wanted to get your advice on where the best places to live would be.

As a young, single woman, my most important criteria are
a) safety of the neighbourhood
b) proximity to my work place (I plan to get a car about a week or two after I move to Dallas, and would Ideally like to keep my commute to a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes - easy access to public transport access would be fantastic, of course!)
c) the area must have plenty of "life" and activity - I hate dull areas that are devoid of life and people - shops, restaurants, must be within walking distance
d) I am NOT a party-goer, so proximity to bars/clubs is not a priority - but must be close to good restaurants
e) my budget is about $600 a month (studio/single bedroom apartment)

I would greatly appreciate your suggestions and comments on which localities I should narrow my search down to.

Do most young professionals in Dallas live in Downtown/Uptown? Are there any specific Apartment Complexes that any of you recommend?

Thank you ever so much for your help!

[Grainraiser]

I had some perfect area's for you until I saw your budget. If you can raise it by at least $200 your options will open up a great deal. You may be able to get a Jr 1 bedroom apt in the Village for $600 but that would be about it.

[superkaty]

agreed, uptown would have been my suggestion, i am 31 and lived there all through my 20's. but you are pretty far off on budget from what i remember...last i looked you can't get much of anything for less than about $1200 a month. my husband and i lived in the gables villa rosa in uptown the year after we got married, and payed $2000 a month for a large one-bedroom.

you may want to look into the village, as grainraiser suggested. or maybe a condo or garage apartment in the m-streets/east dallas? if you aren't familiar with dallas, search for greenville, east dallas, m-streets, lakewood...any of those should lead you to that area. you could try searching rental sites or even craig's list. this area would still be very close to uptown (about 3 miles) and to work. there are a lot of neat shops and restaurants on and around greenville and lakewood. i live in the m-streets and work near where you will be...it takes me about 10 minutes to get to work and no highways! hope that helps!

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by sneha_manohar

My office is located at Cedar Springs Road in Downtown (?) Dallas.

Your question mark implies that you are not certain if where you will be working on Cedar Springs Rd. is in Downtown Dallas. It's not. The starting point of Cedar Springs is in Uptown (that's just across Woodall Rogers freeway from Downtown). It winds through Uptown, Turtle Creek, Oak Lawn and leads directly into Lovefield Airport. So, it stretches about 4 or 5 miles from start to finish. Do you know the street number of the building in which you will be working? That will tell us what part of Dallas you will be in.

[sneha_manohar]

Thank you all for your quick responses!

I will be working at 2101 Cedar Springs Road:
2101 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75201 - Google Maps

As for my budget, I was budgeting about 800 a month for rent + Utilities; but if that is completely off the mark then I guess I would be better advised to raise my rent budget to about 750-800 (exclusive of Utilities).

On that point - I live on a campus dorm, and have no idea about expected utilities charges a month. What should I be budgeting for heat/Aircon/electricity/water on a monthly basis for studios/1br?

Also, you mentioned "The Village" - I've been trying to get a map of Dallas that shows what these names refer to in terms of location, but unable to find one online - any pointers?

Finally - are there any up and coming apartment complexes or localities within a 10-15 minute radius of my work area that are good places for me start looking for accommodation?

Thank you all so much, again! I appreciate your help!

[sneha_manohar]

Thank you superkaty, I will look at those areas you suggested! Does morning/evening traffic get pretty nasty in Dallas?

[mysterymachinebl]

Originally Posted by sneha_manohar

Thank you all for your quick responses!

I will be working at 2101 Cedar Springs Road:
2101 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75201 - Google Maps

As for my budget, I was budgeting about 800 a month for rent + Utilities; but if that is completely off the mark then I guess I would be better advised to raise my rent budget to about 750-800 (exclusive of Utilities).

On that point - I live on a campus dorm, and have no idea about expected utilities charges a month. What should I be budgeting for heat/Aircon/electricity/water on a monthly basis for studios/1br?

Also, you mentioned "The Village" - I've been trying to get a map of Dallas that shows what these names refer to in terms of location, but unable to find one online - any pointers?

Finally - are there any up and coming apartment complexes or localities within a 10-15 minute radius of my work area that are good places for me start looking for accommodation?

Thank you all so much, again! I appreciate your help!

The Village:

TheVillageapts.com | Home

You can find one bedrooms for $600 - $700 in the Village, then with utilities, that would put things at about $800.

[Dallas native]

OK, 2101 Cedar Springs is at the corner of Olive St. That is near the Ritz Carlton, the Crescent, the Rosewood Bldg. and the Rolex Bldg. in the heart of Uptown. If you are interested in public transportation, you would be within walking distance of the DART rail line that stops on Pearl St. by the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown. Don't know the name of that stop. The McKinney Ave. trolley would also be nearby if you just want to commute to Uptown or Downtown. Anyway, the traffic can be heavy during rush-hour but it is not completely hideous like in NYC, DC or some other metros because there are lots of alternative routes besides the freeways. I don't think you'll find much, if anything, in Uptown or Downtown at your pricepoint, but you probably could find something along the DART rail line headed north up I-75 (aka Central Expressway).

[mamalee01]

Anyone else think of Addison?

[billdfw]

Check out the village as other suggested, www.villageapts.com
You might get a studio in uptown for $800. Oaklawn might be an option, but there are some not so nice parts.