Need help- looking for a DFW neighborhood satisfying multiple criteria! (Dallas: for sale, real estate)

[MovingtoDFW]

Hi folks,

We are moving to the Dallas area from the Northeast in late April and need some suggestions on where to look for homes.

I will be working in the Dallas medical district and my spouse is in the tech / finance industry. She has not yet started looking for a job and will only be moving between 6 -9 months after me due to unavoidable circumstances.

We both are used to and like using public transport to get to our places of work. This is truer for her than me as she has practically never driven on highways, and is anxious about doing so. So the neighborhood we are looking for should be somewhere close to where the tech jobs are, or reachable there by public transport.

I am aware that Dallas is a car friendly city, public transport is not that good, etc. We will have cars and will use it for weekend leisure, shopping and entertainment – only that we do not like using it for our daily morning commute. For weekday commute, we do not mind driving to a nearby DART station and parking there, and then taking public transport (even if it adds to our time and expense).

We also have a 4 year old non-verbal son with significant developmental delays and therefore need to live in an area with good special education / services. (If that is hard or impossible to do, we will consider a private school that caters to kids with significaant developmental delays.)

We are of South Asian / Indian origin, and would prefer areas that are diverse and have a good South Asian population.

Our home budget is 250-350K, which can be upped up to 500K, if there is that perfect neighborhood fit. We would have liked to live in a picturesque wooded area, but I am aware we may be throwing out a lot of variables that may all be hard to satisfy : )

To summarize, we need to find a location that matches the following requirements, arranged in order of importance:

1/ DART or TRE (or other public transport) travels to areas with tech / finance jobs.
2/ School district with good special education / services.
3/ DART or TRE (or other public transport) travels to the medical district.
4/ Diverse, with a South Asian population
5/ Picturesque / wooded / if possible, near water

I plan to be there mid April and rent a place for the first six months, scope out a few places, etc. I will be doing my due diligence, but any leads folks here can provide will be helpful in getting us started.

Thank you!

[CREW747]

Richardson would be a great choice. Take a look at homes online in your price range.Dart is easily accessible from Richardson...

[RockyJoe817]

Hello;

With all due respect to CREW747, I would initially agree due to
a large indian population in Richardson and an exceptional educational system.
But with the construction of 635 in the next couple of years which may affect this initial commute to 35E at Motor street where the Dallas Medical community is located.
My choice would be Las Colinas by Lake Caroline.
North Irving/Las Colinas has a large Indian population as well.

1/ DART or TRE (or other public transport) travels to areas with tech / finance jobs.
Dart Transit located at O'conner and Northwest Hwy
DART.org - Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Many Company Corporate offices in this area.


2/ School district with good special education / services.
DFW School report card:
2009-10 School Report Card


3/ DART or TRE (or other public transport) travels to the medical district.
Please see website to determine bus route.

DART is Dallas Area Rapid Transit
TRE is the Train shuttle between Dallas and Fort Worth.
The Dart rail runs into Carrollton (north to south) into town.
am not sure where dart rail stops south of 635.
or The Dart rail runs into East to West in the southern part of Irving (south of 183)

4/ Diverse, with a South Asian population
North Irving/ Las Colinas has a large Indian population.
Dallas Indian Community, Dallas Desi Community (Dallas Indian, India): Indian (India). Connection to Indian (Desi) Community in Dallas Area

In addition; I did an internet search on "Indian community in Irving"
and got a large amount of information as well.
You can do a internet search for the information for yourself and be able to form
your own opinion.


5/ Picturesque / wooded / if possible, near water
Community Trails/Campion Trail

Walking/Jogging Trail Information
lake caroline irving tx - Google Search


I would recommend to stay on the west of 635 and 35E would put you in the Las Colinas area.
Your question sounds like one that I responded on a previous posting.
Someone asking about housing developments around O'conner and Escina.
This is by what was the Equestrian Center of Irving.
O'conner, Macarthur, 635 at Luna to 114 and West. (See a map).
There are plenty of apartments, Lofts, and a new housing development.
All your amenities area located within a five mile radius.
Close to the intersection of 35E and 635 for a quick commute down to the hospital district,
DFW, Dallas, and all points in-between. Closeby are movie studios, movie theater,
hospitals, golfing, Exercise, shopping, restaurants, Pubs, Sports Bars, Irving Convention Center.
If I am not mistaken there is a movie theater south of 183 at w.Irving and story road that plays
Bali movies.

Lake Caroline between Hwy114 and hwy635/ Luna at 635 West to Beltline road.
This location would put you around your 20-30 minute limit commute to work (by automobile).

Thank You

[Macbeth2003]

CREW747 has hit the nail on the head. Most of the medical district can be reached by parking at a Dart Rail station in Richardson and catching one train and then one bus.
A home in the J.J. Pearce or Richardson High School catchment areas will provide excellent school, with wonderful special needs programs from K all the way through High School. For some beautiful treed areas in walking distance, check out Cottonwood Park and watch the Ducks there.
There will be Asian and Indian groceries, restaurants, and clothing stores within a mile or two.
The Tech corridor is reachable by the same train, or would be a mile or two drive, with no highway.
This really is an area that should meet all your requirements easily and be well within your preferred price range. It is, frankly, the only one that comes to mind that meats all your requirements. I appreciate what RockyJoe is saying, but if you will be taking Dart to work the 635 construction shouldn't matter.

Look at the Area bounded by Campbell to the North, Dumont to the South, Coit to the West, and US75 to the west.

Welcome.

[Texas is only OK]

Richardson Richardson Richardson.
It has absolutely everything you described in addition to having a diveristy of population from everywhere, really, but definitely South Asian and Indian. You will find grocery stores for Indian specific foods, Asian specific foods, Halall (sp?), as well as worship centers for Islam, Buddhism, Jewish temples and Christian churches with worshipin Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, etc.. Of the top of my head I can think of two grocery stores specific to South Asia within 5 minutes of my house. The schools here are great. The sped kids are in some classes inter-mingled with the non sped kids, as the school system believes in the beauty that this experience brings to both. As long as I have kids I will never live anywhere but the city of Richardson. I don't have a sped kid, but I see and hear about the opportunities they do have in Richardson schools.
The DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) goes right through from the east side.Incidentally, all that I mentioned above is slightly more true of the east side than the west side. To get to the hospital district, unfortunately, you will have to cross downtown. Well, I mean, there are other routes, but on more days than not, going ahead and remaining on the road through downtown will be the best bet. And if you are on public transportation, it may be your only choice- I am not sure as I don't typically utilize the DART system. I can't say the traffic from Richardson to the hospital district will be a dream by an stretch, but it won't be as bad as LA, Chicago, etc. Also, in terms of your spouse, many of the tech-oriented businesses are in Richardson or Richardson-adjacent and he may possibly end up with a very easy commute.

[Squirl]

strongy recommend Irving. Irving ISD actually has good special ed programs and the Asian community is well represented. If you want to live close to public transit, focus on zip code 75039. Highly rated elementary schools serve that area. Rent for a while first to get to know the area, home sales priceses are pretty flat in Most areas of DFW so you won't lose out by waiting to buy and you will be a much better educated consumer by living here while house shopping.

[Debsi]

510 W Shore Dr Richardson TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11670362 - Realtor.com®

This is probably more bedrooms than you want, but it's in a great neighborhood in Richardson, and on a creek (i.e. large, wooded) lot.

You can spend a lot less in Richardson and get a very nice home. Creek lots are at a premium. We do have very nice parks all over town though, for those of us who do not have a park in our backyard.

[MovingtoDFW]

Thank you all, those are all great suggestions and leads. For somebody without much clue about the area - outside of a couple of short visits - this is immensely useful information.

Does Richardson have good schools for special ed? I had been researching these forums and Irving seemed to pop up for that.

What areas are tech or tech / finance jobs located at?

How would Plano fit my requirements? Can we live in Plano and drive to a DART station?

Our most important requirements are good special ed schools and public transport. The Indian community + wooded areas come lower on the list and are not dealbreakers per se.

[tippybarber]

Plano is an excellent choice not Richardson,Plano, a lot of the suburbs are right by each other so you wouldn't have any trouble at all, and most of plano schools have exemplary schools and some in richardson as well.

[Macbeth2003]

Plano certainly has good schools, and does have public transit; however, the public transit you would need is the DART light rail, and it runs through East Plano. East Plano is a mix of fine and not so fine areas, and the ones close to the rail tend to be the latter.
According to a speech pathologist friend I have, and a special ed teacher friend, Richardson is superior for that.
For you, there is really no question that Richardson is a better fit. Plano is a great fit for many looking for suburban living, but for your specific wants and needs, it is less than ideal.... and Richardson really is ideal.
I am pretty objective in this "I have no dog in this fight." I have lived in Richardson, and chose to leave it, as the suburbs are not for me. I have worked in Plano, and have many friends in both. I would strongly recommend you look more at Richardson than Plano.