Young couple looking for unique home under $160k

[Lakewooder]

I was in Oak Cliff at the Texas Theater last night for the TCM screening of "Rio Bravo" with Angie Dickinson. Tough to find parking and I was there early.

The point is, it's getting more and more popular, so the 'amenities' will come...I'm not sure everyone will be happy about that!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Squirl

It's a tough commute between Richardson and Irving. Both are inner ring burbs. Richardson is on the east side of the metro area. Irving is central. If one believes all the cool stuf is on the East side, certainly that near sighted view draws one to conclude that a central location is inconvenient. I lived in Richardson and liked it a lot especially going to places in North Dallas and Plano. Now I live in Irving and enjoy its proximity to ALL of DFW

For me, Richardson works really well. I am rarely contacted about jobs in Irving or areas further west than that. The vast majority of jobs recruiters contact me for are located on the 75 corridor in Dallas or Richardson or along the DNT in Plano.

Irving works for some; wouldn't work for me.

[BeanyMalone]

Originally Posted by Zhest

Check out Farmers Branch. .... Can't say enough great things about the city. You might hear some bad things about it, but most of those people haven't been to the area in a while and it has changed dramatically. Anyhow, just me two cents.

I rented in Farmers Branch (near Marsh and Beltline) for three years before moving to Richardson last summer. I work from home now, but I commuted to Irving then. It is a very easy commute, especially to the part of Irving that is north of 183. The amenities in FB itself aren't that special, but it's close to Addison for restaurants, the Galleria area for shopping, and it's easy to pop on the tollway to Plano or into Dallas. In fact that's the best thing about FB, it's easy to get somewhere else. But, although it has a nice stock of mid-century houses at decent prices, I didn't seriously consider buying there. The community is very divided and the local government seems intent on furthering the divide rather than bridging it, spending dwindling resources on lawsuits rather than investing in the city, impacting schools, public safety, municipal amenities, .... To be fair, I suppose those fighting the changing demographic tooth and nail think they are investing in the city, but to my mind they are simply bickering at the station rather than steering a bus has already left for the 21st century. Just my opinion. You will want to do your own research.

[Zhest]

To say that Farmers Branch isn't investing in the city is completely absurd. Maybe you should take a drive back through your old home. I agree they should stop fighting a demographic change but they really have begun some great redevelopment projects int he city.

[BeanyMalone]

Maybe you should take a drive back through your old home.

Perhaps I should. Do you have examples? The new fire station on Webb Chapel was nice and overdue. So was the new WalMart grocery at Josey and Valley View, which the city facilitated. I don't shop at Walmart grocery very often, but it did take grocery stores from nothing to one (I don't count the Kroger at Valwood and Josey at all). Otherwise, the redevelopment at Josey and Valley View seemed stalled. I did all my commercial and entertainment transactions outside the FB city limits.

And my point was really a broader one. The lawsuits are wasteful of management time and focus. I think the single member districts provide a real opportunity in time, although some of the diehards still haven't given up and there is a lot of resentment piled up.

[HFamily]

You might try southern Carrollton & Farmer's Branch area. There are some homes there that would fit that description, but I'm not sure what the price range would be. Same with Old Town Lewisville, near Main street.