Seeking trees, cafes, some walkability, 'cool' feeling - North Oak Lawn?

[BackToBigD]

Walter, I'm moving back to Dallas after a few years away in Manhattan. I would add -- like a prev post suggested -- that while Uptown/Oaklawn areas have improved in terms of urban development, there's still very few choices for a truly pedestrian lifestyle, like Williamsburrg. In south OakLawn has a great, small pedestrian strip, but it's gay neighborhood, and might not be what you're looking for. The West Village area in Uptown feels more contrived, but does have small area of compact pedestrian activity. North Oak Lawn is nice, with a bunch of new townhomes and condos -- giving it more density than most areas in dallas. And there's definitely a posh feel. Unfortunately, the density there has yet to translate into a walkable life -- the main drags are Lemmon, which is just too big (6 lanes of traffic) for a good pedestrian street, and OakLawn/Preston , which is a bit far from many of the more reasonably priced condos...

[Walter Benjamin]

That makes sense. When I visited, I also felt that Dallas's West Village was a bit contrived, and that downtown wasn't really where it's at, so I do accept that "truly walkable" is not the right goal to have. I did notice that Oak Lawn as a whole has a semi-decent "walkability" score here:

Dallas's Most Walkable Neighborhoods - Walk Score Neighborhood Rankings


Having amenities a short drive away would be a good second-best to true walkability. Although if in fact we windup with one car for two adults in the household, being able to walk to pick up groceries, and/or go jogging or to the park, would be a big plus. I notice that a few of the listings say "Walk to Whole Foods!" That sounds good (except for WF's prices...)

Originally Posted by BackToBigD

Walter, I'm moving back to Dallas after a few years away in Manhattan. I would add -- like a prev post suggested -- that while Uptown/Oaklawn areas have improved in terms of urban development, there's still very few choices for a truly pedestrian lifestyle, like Williamsburrg. In south OakLawn has a great, small pedestrian strip, but it's gay neighborhood, and might not be what you're looking for. The West Village area in Uptown feels more contrived, but does have small area of compact pedestrian activity. North Oak Lawn is nice, with a bunch of new townhomes and condos -- giving it more density than most areas in dallas. And there's definitely a posh feel. Unfortunately, the density there has yet to translate into a walkable life -- the main drags are Lemmon, which is just too big (6 lanes of traffic) for a good pedestrian street, and OakLawn/Preston , which is a bit far from many of the more reasonably priced condos...

[pepper131]

I'm always happy to defend Whole Food's prices...which I find to be not as bad as everyone thinks...considering what you are getting.