Young couple moving to Dallas

[ClarenceBodiker]

The neighborhoods being suggested are great ones, but if you can't afford them you can't afford them. There's nothing wrong with that. You can always rent in a more expensive area if you want, but let me offer this.

Don't completely rule out Casa View because others here are saying it's dangerous. I actually live in the Casa View area -- these are the neighborhoods being referrenced as scary and dangerous. Crimewise, they're not bad or worse than many other neighborhoods in Dallas proper that get routinely suggested. It's a common exaggeration on this board. It is true that these neighborhoods east of Garland Road are lower income with cheaper tract housing, and they have poorer performing schools than their more expensive counterparts. I would not recommend them if you have children. If you don't though and you just want a cheaper house, the crime is no worse than some parts of Lake Highlands, North Oak Cliff, North Dallas, and other cooler, hipper neighborhoods in Dallas that get routinely suggested. Don't take my word for it, look at a crime map of Dallas for yourself. I feel MUCH safer walking around these streets than parts of North Oak Cliff and Old East Dallas. Whites are a big minority in this area, where it is predominately hispanic. Sadly, that is another reason it's not going to be recommended and looked down on. My little bubble is about 25% anglo. The only areas I would TRULY avoid are the streets south of Gross Road.


If children are a factor or will be in the near future, around the time you cross Eastfield College you will be in Mesquite. Look for homes zoned into Motley Elementary or McKinzie Elementary. This is another area some will tell you to avoid, but it's the only place I can think of with houses between $60,000-$100,000 with EXLEMPLARY RATED schools!!! Yes, that's right. Exemplary schools! Most areas of Mesquite are full of blue and gray collar middle class folks, and the housing is very affordable. There are plenty of good housing and school options in Garland itself, too.

Just think about it.

[ChristieP]

Motley/Lawrence elementary area of Mesquite is pretty rough. My sister lived there and finally moved away 5 years ago when her kids were the only anglo kids left in their classes at school. The homes in the area, for the most part, were built in the 1960s and have not been well-maintained.

I grew up in McKenzie Elementary area. If you get in the newer houses west of the creek, you're fine, but those will probably be out of your price range. The older homes on the east side of the creek are not good. Again, they were built in the 1950s and have mostly not been maintained well, and the neighborhood was getting bad when we moved away in the 1980s.

My grandma lived in Casa View until 1995 or so when we finally convinced her to move away. She lived in the nicer part (brick homes) on Highwood Drive. There was a gang-related shooting on her block, and her house was by far the best-maintained one on the street. The little frame houses (closer to Harry Stone Rec Center) were never nice and I can't recommend anyone live there.

[momof2dfw]

Why is everyone overlooking Garland..... the very city in which his job is located. I looked and there are several homes in the $100K range that are in nice, VERY SAFE neighborhoods w/ good schools and great schools in the district that are full of young families raising kids. I'm very familiar with this area and found several. Here they are:

Home for Sale at 2030 Oak Creek Court Garland TX - Real Estate Listings - MLS #11504243 - Realtor.com®
Located in The Villages of Valley Creek. Our first house was there and we have many friends that live there. Very convienent to Hwy 190 and right by Firewheel Town Center. A lot of the people I'm friends w/ that live in this neighborhood are teachers at the area schools and it is very safe.

3006 Club Hill Dr Garland TX - Homes for Sale and Real Estate - MLS #11501853 - Realtor.com®
Nice older custom ranch home over in Eastern Hills Country Club area. My kids have a lot of friends that live in this area. Parents are all college educated and have professional jobs. Nice area that has done well over the years and well kept.

313 Bent Creek Garland TX - Real Estate for Sale and Homes for Sale - MLS #11521727 - Realtor.com®
Nice small neighborhood. My daughters boyfriend lives in this neighborhood and both parents are teachers in the district. Well kept neighborhood.

1621 Bowie St Garland TX - Listing of a Home for Sale - Real Estate - MLS #11253618 - Realtor.com®
Older home in a central location with an area that has been well kept of modest homes. Boyfriends commute to work would be about 5 minutes depending on lights and school zones.


These are just a few but there are more houses in Garland that would fit your budget and still be in a nice SAFE area w/ good schools.

[Squirl]

I wish you would stop trying to steer the OP into purchasing discussions. She didn't ask about where to buy and she has not expressed a keen interest in neighborhoods in which to buy. She asked about renting. Her BF thinks in about 6 months a home purchase may be on the horizon. They are just moving to the area, they are not prior homeowners. Give it a break.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by soflaem

I'm not sure about rent, but I know he's looking for find a house for around 100K or less, depending on what kind of condition it is in, but for rent I'd guess 800 or less.

Originally Posted by Squirl

I wish you would stop trying to steer the OP into purchasing discussions. She didn't ask about where to buy and she has not expressed a keen interest in neighborhoods in which to buy. She asked about renting. Her BF thinks in about 6 months a home purchase may be on the horizon. They are just moving to the area, they are not prior homeowners. Give it a break.

REALLY!! If you read her post above she DOES say he IS looking to buy. Just right now will be renting for about 6 months. I was SIMPLY just giving her and anyone else that is not familiar w/ the area an idea of what kind of properties are close to his work and would be within their budget. In all honesty, 6 months is not that far down the road and having a general idea of what houses are going for in areas that would be close for his work as she did express a desired commute time is actually helpful. No one is "Steering" her to buy.

[Squirl]

Wow! There's got to be some serious problems with that house on Club Hill to be so cheap. I remember that neighborhood from the early 80's when I lived in Richardson; we looked at homes there. Remember it was a beautiful neighborhood.........and the prices back then were what that house is selling for!

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Squirl

Wow! There's got to be some serious problems with that house on Club Hill to be so cheap. I remember that neighborhood from the early 80's when I lived in Richardson; we looked at homes there. Remember it was a beautiful neighborhood.........and the prices back then were what that house is selling for!

It's a foreclosure. The tax rolls have it for a lot more, $181K. If someone were looking to get into a nice neighborhood this would be an AWESOME buy. They could live there and take their time and fix the place up and update it. It does not look like the ones getting foreclosed on trashed the place either as all the kitchen cabinets are still intact. Looks like a few appliances are gone but at that price for THAT neighborhood based on what houses around it are priced at....... SMOKING DEAL! For a young couple this could give them some serious equity later on down the road when they ever wanted to move. Otherwise, it is pertty good sized (2300 sq ft) 4 bedroom on a large lot.

[ClarenceBodiker]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Motley/Lawrence elementary area of Mesquite is pretty rough. My sister lived there and finally moved away 5 years ago when her kids were the only anglo kids left in their classes at school. The homes in the area, for the most part, were built in the 1960s and have not been well-maintained.

Yes, some of the houses need some serious TLC and the streets and sidewalks need to be redone bigtime.

Saying your sister's kids were the only white kids in the entire school is a serious exaggeration. The school is 66% Hispanic, 18% White, and 14% Black. More importantly, it's just a flat out good school. For a school with that many lower income students to do so well is amazing and deserves a pat on the back, not criticism.

I grew up in McKenzie Elementary area. If you get in the newer houses west of the creek, you're fine, but those will probably be out of your price range. The older homes on the east side of the creek are not good. Again, they were built in the 1950s and have mostly not been maintained well, and the neighborhood was getting bad when we moved away in the 1980s.

Yes, some parts of the neighborhood are older and has been less cared for than others. The school is still excellent though.

My grandma lived in Casa View until 1995 or so when we finally convinced her to move away. She lived in the nicer part (brick homes) on Highwood Drive. There was a gang-related shooting on her block, and her house was by far the best-maintained one on the street. The little frame houses (closer to Harry Stone Rec Center) were never nice and I can't recommend anyone live there.

Some areas are obviously more sketchy than others. The crime rate has gone down though overall in this neighborhood every year since 2001. There are a lot of active people in this community trying to get this area back to where it used to be. If somebody wants to get a feel for where this area is heading, they should check out the Ferguson Road Initiative. A lot of people in this community have made great strides to get the seediness in this neighorbood that ran rampant over a decade ago cleaned up. It's a long road out, but there are plenty of families here making the effort. It's still a strong, diverse community in this part of Dallas. It aint Compton or the Bronx, and there's no reason for somebody on a more limited budget to completely dismiss and look over the entire area.



http://www.fergusonroad.org/milestones.html

Here is a link highlighting some of the accomplishments and you might see some differences in the area now compared to when your grandmother lived here: