DFW Neighborhood/Suburb Advice (Dallas, McKinney: apartment complexes, how much, new home)

[kittyhox]

Hi!

We live in Seattle and are considering relocating to the DFW area. Just wondering if anyone has suggestions re: what area to start investigating.

Here is what I'm hoping to find:

1. An that has a smaller/medium town vibe/sense of community. You know, cute downtown, Fourth of July parades, that kind of thing.

2. Something far from Midlothian, which I understand has some air quality issues.

3. Rolling hills, mature trees. I'm not opposed to new developments, if done well (and if trees are left on lots). In fact, something with a gate and community pool would be a huge asset. Not sure if that's a possibility in our price range, however.

4. Some kind of charm. Not brick house after brick house after brick house. I like brick houses as much as the next girl but after seeing all of the availables on the mls listing I am already sick of looking at them. A mixture of different kinds of homes in a neighborhood would be preferred.

5. Decent sized lots.

Is there such a neighborhood/suburb/town, in your opinion?

Oh, our price range... $400,000 is absolutely the most I would want to spend and I would be happier the closer we could get to $300,000 or $350,000.



The commute is not particularly important as my husband does a lot of work from home.

Also, I don't want to be so close to the airport that the noise is bothersome.

And although we aren't commuting I'd like to be able to drive to the grocery store and church without getting stuck in traffic.

Sorry so many questions! Any advice?

[FarNorthDallas]

Do you have school needs, too? Kids?

[Lakewooder]

Lakewood is famous for its Fourth of July Parade, trees, homes that do not look alike, open-minded people who are not conforomists, etc...we are in East Dallas close to Downtown, adjacent to Park Cities and Uptown and there are also popular areas such as Lower Greenville, MStreets and Knox Henderson next to us. And we have the jewel of DFW, White Rock Lake. See: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...-lakewood.html and search here for threads about the above-mentioned places. Our home prices are rapidly escalating but you might be able to find something in that range.

Doing home searches use 75214. Also 75206 and 75223 are sometimes considered Lakewood.

[lh_newbie]

Since you want rolling hills and mature trees, I would say either Lakewood or Lake Highlands - both are in Dallas proper. North and East of downtown. If you look on a map, these areas will both be inside the 635 loop, but East of Central (aka 75). Lake Highlands would be the North/Eastern Quadrant - Lakewood would be the more eastern.

My wife and I went to the 4th of July parade this year. I was amazed at the number of kids on their bikes - totally reminded me of growing up.

In your price range, either location would be great. Lake Highlands prices are in the $100-130/sq ft range; Lakewood - $160-200/sq ft. Both neighborhoods have many established neighborhoods with a spattering of new homes - so the choice is yours.

Our lot is 0.21 acres. Decent back yard. Gorgeous mature trees (two live oaks in the front, two red oaks out back - all are 35+ feet tall). My particular neighborhood is located between Abrams and Skillman (north-south streets) and Walnut Hill and Church (east-west streets). Houses range from 2100 sq ft up to 3500+ sq ft, so prices start at $250K and go up from there - sounds well within your range.

White Rock Lake is certainly one of the biggest draws in the area. There is a trail system that comes within 1/2 mile of my house. Once on the trail, it's about 3 miles to the lake - so it's a pretty easy bike ride. Beautiful trails also!

The recreation center is about 1/2 mile away also - it has a park, a pool ($2 for adults, $1 for kids) and a free spray park which kids just love (water spraying everywhere). My wife and I go there sometimes to cool off and see everyone having a blast.

There is also a DART rail (light, commuter rail) that goes through the area - again, about 1/2 mile from my house (electric rail - so it's quiet). They are putting in a DART station at Walnut Hill and Skillman, so public transportation will be very easy to get to. Additionally, they are tearing down (3) sets of apartment complexes to integrate a "Transit Oriented Destination". It will have new residential, a specialty grocer and office space along with a few single family (zero-lot line) homes. That will be completed by 2010... which excites me, cause when we fly... at that time, light rail will take you all the way to DFW airport! WOOHOO!

Hope this gives you some info and an idea of where these two areas are located.

Brian

[Lakewooder]

Here's a link Lakewood Parade you can click on 'one good neighbor' near the top of the page for some pics.

[lh_newbie]

Another place to think about is Grapevine. Plenty of established neighborhoods, along with many new homes. Lake Grapevine is cool and downtown historic Grapevine is very nice - restaurants, shopping, wineries (yum!).

It's located just the other side of the airport. My parents and brother live there. The only thing I'd watch out for is getting a home in the flight path of DFW - if you are... it can get loud. Prices run the full gambit - $200K up to multi million.

Brian

[Willys]

Kitty, sit down... brace yerself. Your not going to like it. Think Spokane, unless of course the Seattle area to which you refer is Federal Way. If you want to live in Dallas, then the Lakewood area is as good as it is going to get. Otherwise, look to McKinney or Greenville; more like old Issaquah. No pine trees but then, no black ice either. If the hub is working from home you can check in advance for DSL at broadbandreports.com.

If you have two cars, sell the old one now. Buy a new one with air conditioning when you get here.

[lh_newbie]

Good point about working from home. Grapevine offers FIOS (Fiber Optic Service) - it's TV, Internet and telephone over a fiber to the home service. Blazing fast - I believe it STARTS at 15Mbps... which blows anything else away. It's offered by Verizon and I know it's in Grapevine, my brother has it - that lucky jerk!

Brian

[scyogi]

We just moved to Mckinney (from SC) and it has those requirements you are looking for. Tons of housing in your price range. Let me say you will be doing the happy dance when you see how much house you get for your dollar here. The downtown area of Mckinney is really charming. Now with full disclosure I have not been to Grapevine which was featured in Southern Living a few months ago. This week one of my best friends was out visiting and we had lunch at Poppy's in downtown Mckinney. SO cute and SO yummy. It had a great outdoor patio. Me and the hubby may go back this weekend to have a nice dinner. The down side to Mckinney---if you are working in downtown then this is probably not the community for you due to traffic. If you are a frequent flyer it takes around 45 minutes to get to the airport. Good luck with the search!

[galore]

Lake Highlands and Lakewood have a lot that you want but given that #1 on your list was about a small town, charming downtown feel, I am wondering where you can find this in LH and LW ?! I live in LH but I don't know where we have a charming downtown... Is the LW "downtown" the few shops/restaurants around the LW theater ??

Given that you don't have to commute, I'd recommend to check out McKinney instead.