Yuppie couple, clueless about Dallas, needs your help please! (Plano: apartment complexes, rentals)

[desibear]

Hello all,

Any help would be much appreciated. I've read some of the threads but haven't found something quite similar to our situation. I've got a new job lined up at EDS in Plano. My wife's employer is likely to transfer her to their office in downtown Dallas. We both live in downtown Chicago right now with our 2 kids, both under 4 years old.

Where would you suggest we look to live, if we have the following requirements?
- 3 Bed/2 bath place. Sweet rent spot is $1500-$2200
- Urban to 'urbanish' locale. We are yuppie scum and make no apologies
- Good pre-K and elementary schools, private or public
- A location that minimizes my commute time to Plano (almost to Allen on Google maps) and hers to downtown Dallas. Eyeballing Google maps, the intersection I-635 and I-75 seems about half way. How's that area?
- If DART is nearby to this place so that wife can take it rather than drive to downtown, so much the better

What's your favorite website to check out rentals in Dallas? We actually prefer townhomes or condos while it appears that most rental sites are geared towards SFHs.

Many, many thanks in advance. I'll likely be making a scouting trip to Dallas based on the suggestions on this.

[theloneranger]

You're basically going to have to pick--either a yuppie area or a settled down area. I can't think of any areas that are really "happy medium." Addison is probably close to this vibe, but the condos and townhomes are largely going to be singles/childless couples, not couples with kids, and there are limited numbers of single-family homes available. Also, the public schools aren't the best in the area, so many families choose one of the myriad private schools, which adds significant money to the cost of rent. I would also say that parts of the East Dallas/Lakewood area can pull it off. Living in Plano is probably the archetypical suburban area--happy couples with young kids, parks and good schools, but very monotonous and boring in my opinion. The Uptown area is yuppie heaven, but there won't be many couples and not too many couples with kids. Perhaps look in the State-Thomas neighborhood of Uptown, but this is more single-family homes than townhomes and condos--though the rest of Uptown is largely condos and apartments. The public schools are awful (not counting the magnet schools), so you'd have to transfer your kids to a different public school zone (Stonewall Jackson and Lakewood aren't terribly far), get them into the magnet schools, or else pony up for private education.

I-635 and I-75 is Lake Highlands, essentially, and that's a very good area with pretty good schools. Just make sure you stay in the Richardson ISD portion of that area--the Dallas ISD portion of that area feeds into Conrad High and is not very good. If you look a little south, the M-Streets/Lakewood area may be good for you. Lakewood is very family friendly, as is M-Streets, and there's lots to do for both families and yuppie-types. The K-5 schools are exceptional, and while the 6-12 schools aren't the best rated, they've got impressive plans for improvement and do a pretty good job. Look for areas in the Lakewood Elementary or Stonewall Jackson Elementary districts in Dallas ISD--these feed into JL Long Middle School and Woodrow Wilson HS.

[lh_newbie]

I would second Lake Highlands. You can easily rent a single family home here for your price range and the schools are good. Both you and your wife's commute would be pretty easy. There is a DART station at Walnut Hill and Central (aka TX-75) Expressway. Lake Highlands is a not an urban area, but it's about as close as you can get to it. My wife and I spend most of our time out-of-the-home at the Knox/Hendersen and Uptown areas for dinner/drinks/shopping, which is a short drive. It's a pretty good balance between urban proximity while still getting amazing trees and nice sized homes for an affordable price. Our area code is 75231.

If you plan to be here long term, I think Lake Highlands is in the path of growth (for better or worse, some folks are really against change). Over the next 10-20 years, this area will steadily increase in density and urban feel. At Walnut Hill and Skillman, there were a couple of older apartment complexes knocked down and a "Lake Highlands Town Center" project is in progress (Lake Highlands). There will be a DART rail directly in this complex, which I believe opens in 2010 or 2011.

[pepper131]

Shops at Legacy (Plano) may be a happy medium keeping in mind it's very new and very planned.
Legacy Village Apartment Homes Apartment Floor Plans - Find Dallas - Ft. Worth Apartments for Rent in Plano, TX
This looks like the only 3br apt.

[Cupcake77]

What about the Brownstones in Southlake?

[mysterymachinebl]

Originally Posted by Cupcake77

What about the Brownstones in Southlake?

The commute would be horrendous.

[MSPMom]

You would absolutely love Uptown, but I'm afraid the commute to Plano would be pretty long though it's a reverse commute.

We live in the State Thomas neighborhood and it's actually filled with townhomes, brownstones, apartments and condos. We are renting a fabulous three-level brownstone. There are a lot of couples here and some with kids. We have two little girls and we see parents taking their little ones to the pool or strolling down the street all the time. The thing is, if you don't live here it just seems like only single professionals live here. Not the case though. It is VERY yuppie. Lots of fancy cars, well-dressed folks, etc. We have fantastic restaurants, shops, galleries, antique stores all within walking distance. It all depends on what you want.

We also love Lakewood/M Streets and Lake Highlands. Can't go wrong with those and Lake Highlands is probably in the best location to address your commuting issues. As lh_newbie said, you'll just drive a few minutes to get to Uptown, Knox-Henderson, Lakewood, downtown and so on. So it's a great compromise. The yuppie factor would be lower though.

[nmnita]

lake Highlands and Addison come to mind, not uptown Dallas. It would fit your life style without kids, not with kids. I was going to suggest Richardson as well, but it is very established and might be to full of middle aged and older families.

Nita

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by Cupcake77

What about the Brownstones in Southlake?

The commute for both the husband and wife would be 60 minutes plus in traffic and no DART access. Please pay attention to what the original poster asks.

Originally Posted by pepper131

Shops at Legacy (Plano) may be a happy medium keeping in mind it's very new and very planned.

No DART rail access anywhere near this location - and your wife would be stuck taking a tollroad (and a VERY busy one at that) to downtown.

I'm thinking the person needs to look at Uptown, M-Streets, West Village, The Village Apartments, Mockingbird station and Lake Highlands.

[momof2dfw]

I second lhnewbie. Lake Highlands, M-Streets, Lakewood, Uptown, State-Thomas. Hook up w/ MSPMom for the lowdown on what to do in her area w/ kids. There really is a LOT to do in that area with kids (movies at Victory Park Plaza on summer nights). Addison would STINK with kids. NO WAY! More of a "singles scene". Lake Highlands is a GREAT area and you could rent in an area that you might later purchase in and not have to worry about uprooting the kids from school and friends. Lake Highlands would probably be better for the commute for you to Plano than M-Streets and Lakewood. Though I LOOOOOOVE Lakewood and the architecture of the M-Streets.