Job Possibility in Forney...I want the "city feel" though. Where to live? (Dallas: apartments, loan)

[skyview222]

I am relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I have a friend in Bedford and I really like that area--I can go for a walk safely, but am close to lots of stuff. I want to be in the middle of things so I am close to social things since I am 30 and single. I am not a bar-goer kind of gal, by social I mean a scrapbooking group or socializing club (i.e. like the clubs on meetup.com)

I have applied to over 30 school districts (am a teacher), but right now Forney ISD is the only one I have an interview with. So, I'm looking at this option seriously.

Given this situation...

Where would you live (rent)?

--20 min or less commute to work (Forney)
--closer to the city
--as close as possible to social options
--as close as possible to Bedford
--a nice apartment ( I especially like the kind with resort-style living which I toured while looking in Justin, TX. By resort style I mean nice pools, workout gym, social events etc. My pricerange is around $600)
--safe neighborhoods. I'd be walking a dog a lot.

Would I improve my options much by increasing my commute time?

Thanks!!!

[FarNorthDallas]

Well, as you probably have seen on a map, Bedford and Forney are not near each other. I would look at Mesquite - closer to work than your friend, but you don't want to be driving across downtown Dallas every day to get to work.

[ETex2]

I would also suggest looking at Mesquite. You can be in uptown in 20-30 minutes depending on traffic, and maybe 15 minutes to Forney. You should be able to find a nice apt. in your price range there as well. Not exactly a hotbed of singles, but there are none of those anywhere near Forney.

[skyview222]

Thanks. Are there any other suggestion? I was definitely looking at Mesquite as the most likely option too.

I should clarify that I wasn't hoping to live too close to Bedford, but that would be a place I would be driving to pretty often.

Is there anything slightly more West of Mesquite worth considering?

[Grainraiser]

You could look at the apartments out near Lake Ray Hubbard. These would be the ones located right off I-30. I prefer the ones that are north of 30 since they seem to be much quieter and you can walk along the shoreline at the park.

[ETex2]

Originally Posted by skyview222

Thanks. ...

Is there anything slightly more West of Mesquite worth considering?

No. Stay away from those areas.

[Smito]

You might try the Lakewood area in East Dallas. It would be a 20 mile trip one way and opposite the traffic flow during rush hours.

[fray]

i don't think you are going to find what you are looking for within those parameters. you may need to do a little readjusting to your goals.

first, forney and bedford are around 40 minutes away from each other. second, $600/mo is going to be a challenging budget to work within for a "nice" complex with resort style amenities between those areas.

i agree with the post above to look into rockwall. you won't have the resort style amenties in that budget, but, the area is nice and is about 10 minutes from forney.

also, you may want to look into getting an agent and looking at homes in forney. where interest rates are right now, you can buy a short sell or a pre-existing home for the cost of what you are looking to spend in rent. that would be a great use of your funds. forney and some of the surrounding areas are still considered "rural" so they qualify for the usda loan which is 100% financing.

good luck.

[DaveG99]

Where are you moving from? $600 a month isnt going to get you much. You will get more for your money if you live in Forney.

I would live as close to work as possible. I would rather dcommute to do out of work activities than commute every day for work. Forney isnt a bad town. Its starting to grow and become a really nice place.

[LQQKOUT]

With that budget, you might need to stick with Forney all together.