Where in the Dallas metro should 50 Somethings buy? (Arlington, Plano: house, transfer)

[nanomatrix]

OK, after lurking in the Dallas forum for the past month I decided to ask my first question.
We 're planning to move to the Dallas metro from the Bay Area In California.
We're both over 50 with a backgrounds in tech and no kids. We managed to spend a couple of weeks last month looking around Arlington and Plano and Frisco for something in the $250K to 300K range but couldn't find the right match. We both like to cook but most of the kitchen layouts we've seen in our price range are a bit cramped to say the least. Anything with a decent kitchen for entertaining seems to require a 5 bedroom house which is too big.

So there a really 2 parts to this question:
Where in the Dallas metro does the over 50 crowd hang out?
Which Dallas communities are we most likly to find a 3 bedroom, energy efficient home with an Entertaining Kitchen?

[loves2read]

my question is where are you working and what kind of commute do you want--or are you working from home?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by nanomatrix

OK, after lurking in the Dallas forum for the past month I decided to ask my first question.
We 're planning to move to the Dallas metro from the Bay Area In California.
We're both over 50 with a backgrounds in tech and no kids. We managed to spend a couple of weeks last month looking around Arlington and Plano and Frisco for something in the $250K to 300K range but couldn't find the right match. We both like to cook but most of the kitchen layouts we've seen in our price range are a bit cramped to say the least. Anything with a decent kitchen for entertaining seems to require a 5 bedroom house which is too big.

So there a really 2 parts to this question:
Where in the Dallas metro does the over 50 crowd hang out?
Which Dallas communities are we most likly to find a 3 bedroom, energy efficient home with an Entertaining Kitchen?

wow, I wish I could have a gourmet kitchen as well, I love to cook yet always seem to find the right house with the wrong kitchen. Actually the best kitchen I ever had for cooking was in this cheap, 0 lot line house in Lewisville, you might know it would be something like that.

Anway, to answer your question, is the same as lovestoread, what else is important to you, where will you be working, are you more into the burbs or a more urban life? Do you want to live near the action or a quiet, peaceful setting with lots of trees? I could probably give you places not to look more than too look. for us, Arlington would not be our choice, now the east side of Dallas.

Are you looking for a conservative neighborhood or do you lean toward a more artsy and liberal life?

Obviously it sounds like you may not want to be in young neighborhood, filled with little kids. That would leave Frisco and parts of Plano out. Maybe that is why you didn't find a match. If you don't mind older homes you may want to check Richardson. I would guess some of the homes have updated their kitchens and the neighborhoods are pretty quiet with lots of trees. This also applies to lots of areas around Flower Mound and Grapevine. North Dallas might also be a place to consider as well as Las Colinas, but the nicer areas in Las Colinas are pricey.

Hope this is a start, I am sure others will have suggestions. As I said, it would be easier to suggest areas not to look, but I don't think most of us want to upset people who might live in those towns.

Nita

[nanomatrix]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually I will continue working with the technology transfer team out here in California which means, in the beginning, I will probably be working out of my house. We're working with group of Asian investors that look for emerging technologies to develop for the Asian markets. Texas is interesting because many of these technologies haven't caught on here yet and so it represents a huge potential market.

One of the things we've learned here in California is that it's easier to move electrons along a wire than to push a car up and down a freeway. So we really big on applying the telecommuting option where ever possible. But in the couple of weeks we were out there last month I do remember the Plano to Dallas commute. Reminded me of US 101 after ~3:30. You work late or leave early.

Politics : I'm with Arnie on this one. Radical Centrist. I'm very liberal where technology is concerned and conservative with my politics.
Kids: Best observed from a distance... not in my backyard. That's a bit harsh; I used to be one. Still I'd like to hang with people in my own age group... people who've been around the block...

Architecture: Well... we looked around M Streets and the historical district. And while we loved some of the curb appeal they lacked some of the features that we would depend on from energy efficiency, functional layouts, media cabinets. So I guess the point is, I'd like to avoid having to do $50K+ remodel on a new purchase. Now I've seen some of Darling's layouts like the Maybery model which are interesting. But the issue once again is to try to find a community where the adults hang out. But I think the style we are most used to with would be soft modern, although we did see some nice looking traditional communities like Stonebriar in Frisco.

Actually we had dinner in Las Colinas without realizing that it would be a potential candidate. I didn't find out until we got back that that they had a growing tech community. We've heard a lot about Grapvine; my only concern would be living on the flight path from DFW. We had to deal with that here in Mountain View before they shut down Moffet Field.

We didn't get a chance to look at Stonbridge in Mckinney, but online it looks like there is a lot of property avialable. I know there are a lot of it is zero lot line properties in there but is it the kind of place that will hold its value in the current market?

Once again thanks for the replies

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by nanomatrix

Thanks for the replies.

Actually I will continue working with the technology transfer team out here in California which means, in the beginning, I will probably be working out of my house. We're working with group of Asian investors that look for emerging technologies to develop for the Asian markets. Texas is interesting because many of these technologies haven't caught on here yet and so it represents a huge potential market.

One of the things we've learned here in California is that it's easier to move electrons along a wire than to push a car up and down a freeway. So we really big on applying the telecommuting option where ever possible. But in the couple of weeks we were out there last month I do remember the Plano to Dallas commute. Reminded me of US 101 after ~3:30. You work late or leave early.

Politics : I'm with Arnie on this one. Radical Centrist. I'm very liberal where technology is concerned and conservative with my politics.
Kids: Best observed from a distance... not in my backyard. That's a bit harsh; I used to be one. Still I'd like to hang with people in my own age group... people who've been around the block...

Architecture: Well... we looked around M Streets and the historical district. And while we loved some of the curb appeal they lacked some of the features that we would depend on from energy efficiency, functional layouts, media cabinets. So I guess the point is, I'd like to avoid having to do $50K+ remodel on a new purchase. Now I've seen some of Darling's layouts like the Maybery model which are interesting. But the issue once again is to try to find a community where the adults hang out. But I think the style we are most used to with would be soft modern, although we did see some nice looking traditional communities like Stonebriar in Frisco.

Actually we had dinner in Las Colinas without realizing that it would be a potential candidate. I didn't find out until we got back that that they had a growing tech community. We've heard a lot about Grapvine; my only concern would be living on the flight path from DFW. We had to deal with that here in Mountain View before they shut down Moffet Field.

We didn't get a chance to look at Stonbridge in Mckinney, but online it looks like there is a lot of property avialable. I know there are a lot of it is zero lot line properties in there but is it the kind of place that will hold its value in the current market?

Once again thanks for the replies

Not all of Grapevine is on flight patterns and you can get that in many areas.

Nita

[nanomatrix]

Nita,

Which part of Grapevine isn't on a DFW flight path?

[Rakin]

We are 50 something empty nesters, just built a very nice home in La Villita in Las Colinas. You would love it there & close to everything.

[TXNGL]

"Kids: Best observed from a distance... not in my backyard. That's a bit harsh; I used to be one. Still I'd like to hang with people in my own age group... people who've been around the block..."

Oh my gosh, forget Frisco! Seriously. I like kids, I HAVE a kid, but Frisco is so kid-centric I can't wait to get out of there when we go visit friends. It's a very young city, kids and parents. The people who have kids my daughter's age are in their 30s there. I'm approaching mid-40s, which seems to be the norm in my area.

[Grainraiser]

Have you considered Rockwall. They have some great laid back neighborhoods with many older home owners. The areas around the lake are outstanding.

[TootsieWootsie]

I noticed a great amount of Srs. in the 75230 zip code demographically (I'm in the Midwest now and not there to look personally). I just put a post up about that area, so you might take a look in 75230.