Affordable rural area close to Dallas (Arlington, Richardson: real estate, rent, house)

[aquietpath]

My son will be transferred to the Dallas area and I plan to move to TX to be closer to him. I hate the hustle and bustle of a big city and would like to live somewhere that is both affordable and very rural - not a suburb - yet close enough to Dallas for work, shopping and visiting. Is there such a place? What area would you recommend?

[momof2dfw]

What is your budget? Do you want acreage or just a "city lot" inside of a small town or rural development? How far is too far to get to "the city" (ie: major shopping, movies, etc)? What interests do you have that you would want to be involved in around the area you live in? Do you want to be near a lake or not? Since your son is being transferred here and will probably end up closer in..... do you want to have to cross a good portion of the Dallas Metroplex to get to his house or not? If you don't, then what area where will he be living?

[DFWNewHomeSpecialist21]

Originally Posted by aquietpath

My son will be transferred to the Dallas area and I plan to move to TX to be closer to him. I hate the hustle and bustle of a big city and would like to live somewhere that is both affordable and very rural - not a suburb - yet close enough to Dallas for work, shopping and visiting. Is there such a place? What area would you recommend?

What is your price range?? You can try Aubrey, Lake Dallas, Little Elm, Murphy, Oak Point, Sachse, or Wylie.

[aquietpath]

I'm on a pretty limited budget...right now I am renting a house on 5 acres in the country for less than $500, and while I realize that may not be possible in the Dallas area, I'd still like to be off the beaten path, and have some acreage for gardening and my animals. I am used to travelling 1/2 -1 hr. to get to major shopping, so that wouldn't be a problem. Is crossing the Dallas metroplex an ordeal?

[MurphyPl1]

I would take Murphy off the list. There are acreage lots, but it is definitely a suburban environment.

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

I would take Murphy off the list. There are acreage lots, but it is definitely a suburban environment.

I definitely agree. Wylie and Little Elm should also e pulled off the list because these have suburban environments.

[theloneranger]

Go South. Try Ennis/Waxahachie, maybe a little further south. I would not doubt you could rent that cheap in Italy, and you definitely could once you cross into Hill County--but then you're looking at an hour to get to downtown Dallas. If your hubby is working north of downtown, I wouldn't recommend that you look south.

Maybe also Royse City or Quinlan or Kaufman, toward the east of Dallas, or Forney, which is southeast.

In Collin County, try Celina or Anna or Farmersville or Van Alstyne or Pilot Point.

[GayleTX]

There are many places that meet your criteria, but you need to know first of all what part of Dallas your son will be living in. That makes a huge difference in the area that you would want to choose because, yes, driving across Dallas (even half of Dallas!) is an ordeal, especially if you are accustomed to a slower pace. If you can let us know where he'll be, then we can give you better suggestions....there are lots of great small towns less than an hour from the edges of Dallas.

[aquietpath]

Thanks for your input. I know he will be working out of both Arlington and Richardson, but not sure yet where he'll choose to live. What is Hill Country?

[ChristieP]

The Hill Country is the part of Central Texas where there are actually a lot of hills. It is VERY pretty, but the real estate tends to be more expensive. The beginning of it starts around Stephenville and Glen Rose, but the best parts are farther south, like Fredericksburg and Llano.