Commute - MStreets/Vickery Place/Lakewood to Frisco (Dallas, San Antonio: custom home, neighborhoods)

[robynintexas]

Hey - I'm moving to Dallas in a couple of months after 39 years in San Antonio. Looking at the Lakewood, M-Streets or University Park areas (open to other suggestions...). I'll be working in Frisco - at the tollway and Gaylord. When I travel now to Love Field, I hop on the tollway at 8:00-ish and traffic is fine. Likewise, when I leave Frisco around 5:00 back to Love Field, traffic is fine.

Am I missing something? Would the commute be more hellish than I think?

Also, I heard that toll tag saves money on the tolls? Is that true, or are the tolls the same amount toll tag vs cash?
Thanks

[theloneranger]

You're going the reverse direction of traffic, so it won't be too bad of a commute. It still won't be short though.

[mysterymachinebl]

No, the the traffic would not be that bad since you are going opposite traffic. You do get a discount for using a toll tag too. The discount is anywhere between .10 and .30 per tollbooth/plaza.

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by robynintexas

Hey - I'm moving to Dallas in a couple of months after 39 years in San Antonio. Looking at the Lakewood, M-Streets or University Park areas (open to other suggestions...). I'll be working in Frisco - at the tollway and Gaylord. When I travel now to Love Field, I hop on the tollway at 8:00-ish and traffic is fine. Likewise, when I leave Frisco around 5:00 back to Love Field, traffic is fine.

Am I missing something? Would the commute be more hellish than I think?

Also, I heard that toll tag saves money on the tolls? Is that true, or are the tolls the same amount toll tag vs cash?
Thanks

I'm not sure about your budget but seem to want to live in the inner city. Have you considered Lake Highlands or the nearby burb of Richardson. Both would be closer and offer the character I think your looking for.

[robynintexas]

Where is Lake Highlands?

Lived in Richardson as a teen for a few months back in the mid-1970's ... all I can think of is Spring Valley & Coit which isn't really at all what I'm looking for. Maybe it's changed and I need to reconsider?

[theloneranger]

Lake Highlands is south and east of Richardson. Essentially the area north of White Rock Lake.

The high school is near 635 and Audelia IIRC.

And Richardson is still very much the quintessential suburb. Nice, clean, good schools, but not custom homes. There are a few more Hispanic-oriented businesses on Coit now, but it's still a very nice area.

[TurtleCreek80]

I do the reverse commute from Uptown to Tollroad & Legacy. The key to your house hunt us staying as close to the Tollroad as possible because there are NO quick east-west routes across town. I lived in Lakewood for a short time & the commute is horrible to Northwest Plano! It was almost 1 hour both ways, every day. By contrast, my commute now is 25 min in the mornings and 30-40 in the afternoon.

Guessing your budget based on areas you were already looking, I would try 75209 (Bluffview, Devonshire, Greenway Parks, and West Highland Park neighborhoods), 75225 (university Park & parts of Preston Hollow), and 75229 (Preston Hollow). Get out a map- you will want to stay in the Tollroad corridor...not much east of Preston or west of Midway, and south of Forrest, if you want to be in-town. These are all neighborhoods with a variety of architecture from 1920s to new construction and near tons of amenities (restaurants/grocery stores/ retail/ parks/ etc).

And yes, Tolltag is cheaper than cash. The r/t daily toll from Wycliff to Legacy is $4.

[TurtleCreek80]

Lake Highlands is also going to be a brutal commute- nearly an hour. It is the neighborhood north of White Rock Lake, all the way north to 635. The heart of the old neighborhood is Northwest Hwy (Loop 12) and Audelia. Northwest Hwy goes to the Tollroad, but is very very slow in rush hour and a few traffic lights always have issues after storms, making it even worse.

[ChristieP]

For a few months in 2001, I commuted from Little Forest Hills/Lakewood to Legacy and the Tollway. It was awful. It took about 45 minutes a day from my driveway to the office parking lot. Yes, I was going against traffic for the most part. HOWEVER, it was still a LOT of time in the car, miles on the odometer, and tolls to pay. Also, gas is currently $2.39 a gallon, so you have to figure in fuel costs, too.

Personally, I would live closer to your work. There are plenty of nice places to live up there, and IMHO, there's no reason to make such a long commute.

[donnaaries]

If this isn't irony...

We've got folks who live out in Frisco who do a brutal commute to work downtown, and now we have someone who wants to live close-in to town who works in Frisco.