Single looking to relocate to Dallas Area (Austin, Amarillo: apartments, for rent)

[mAcOdIn]

Hey guys, newbie here hoping to see what you all think.

I'm planning to move to the Dallas area and I'd prefer N Dallas or Addison area apartment but tI'm willing to give up the area if need be.

That said, I have no job lined up since my employer closed down here in Amarillo and my car's not in the best of shape. It's great for zipping around this relatively small town with light traffic but I'm not sure it'd handle a real commute. I'm not opposed to using public transportation but the map of the DART system makes it look pretty limited right now.

I have no college degree but 5yrs of military and 5 years of varying warehouse and retail experience so I'm looking for a place that'd be near entry level jobs that pay around 10 an hour.

I am looking to go to college for a teaching degree and would like to be relatively close to a college or two.

Due to finances I can only swing 650 or so a month for rent.

So I know I'm asking for a lot but what I'm looking for is a place around 650 that'd be within a 20 minute drive to lots of places of entry level employment that could pay around 10 dollars an hour and be in range of a college. I'm jobless here and I'd be jobless in Dallas but I figure my chances for employment would be better in Dallas and frankly I'm tired overall of Amarillo and once I do get back on my feet I'd rather be in Dallas. As I said in the beginning I'd prefer N. Dallas or Addison but if you guys think it's not doable at all or maybe Ft. Worth or some other area would be better for me at least initially I'm all ears.

Any input is greatly appreaciated.

[Lakewooder]

You could go to SMU (I know it's expensive) and live along E. University in the apartments between Greenville Ave and Skillman (see 75206) - then you might work at North Park or along Greenville Avenue or Mockingbird. Your transportation costs would be minimal. You can walk many places, including the SMU campus or take a free shuttle bus to campus and the rail stations. I believe there is also North Park shuttle at the Park Lane rail station (also there is a new shopping center adjacent, Park Lane Place, with many stores opening with positions to be filled).

Those apartments are inexpensive but nice - also ideal for room-mates.

[4eversearching]

I think SMU is hard to get into, just as a heads-up.

[compSciGuy]

Would the places near the colleges have depressed wages? I know that's the case for Austin in general, don't know if it replicates itself on a micro-level here ... I haven't been looking for 'entry-level' in quite a while ...

[mAcOdIn]

I've looked at SMU on-line, was pretty pricey but not undoable since I'd be able to use the GI Bill to really put a dent in any college loan. I was checking out some of the Dallas community colleges for starters just to get some of the basics out of the way. I'll check out the 75206 area code.

Ah I love Texas, we've got a Tornado warning.

My real fear is that a poor or cheap neighborhood in Dallas might be rougher than a cheap neighborhood in Amarillo and locations are hard for me to scout from up here so that's really my main concern.

Dallas seems to have a ton of community colleges and while their credit should transfer over to the public universities anyone know if they would to any of the private ones?

[4eversearching]

That's one reason I thought Dallas could be good, because of all the school opportunities.
Wow, it's warm there and you have tornado weather? That's very cool. I had to use my winter coat in Chicago yesterday--in June. So depressing.

[mAcOdIn]

Originally Posted by 4eversearching

That's one reason I thought Dallas could be good, because of all the school opportunities.
Wow, it's warm there and you have tornado weather? That's very cool. I had to use my winter coat in Chicago yesterday--in June. So depressing.

The Panhandle's weird.

Chicago always looked nice to me but I don't like the cold, if I could I'd move to Hawaii or something, maybe later in my life I suppose.

You should try Georgia in July, by far the worst weather in my opinion. The humidity was insane and it would be so hot and humid at 3 in the morning that I'd be in my underwear sweating in my room. You'll wish for Chicago weather.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by 4eversearching

I think SMU is hard to get into, just as a heads-up.

Not really. Expensive, yes. Selective, no.

[Bostonian08]

University of Texas at Dallas is easy to get to by train/bus. You take the Red Line to Galatyn station then there's a shuttle that goes right to UTD. That would open up that whole corridor along the Red Line to you. If you live downtownish, you ca easily take one train and transfer to another. I suggest as a fellow veteran to look into opportunities with the big medical centers. There are many entry level positions and many opportunities to grow and advance within the business. Plus there's also all those pretty nurses.

[JayDizzl]

You might check out Western Governors University. It's got an online teaching program that's NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) accredited. In fact, it's the only online teaching college that's got NCATE accreditation plus it's nationally and regionally accredited. In addition, it's very affordable and it doesn't matter where you live. Might be worth looking into.

Western Governors University

You should't have any problems finding a decent apartment in the $650/mo range in the Dallas area.