Uptown apartments

[RonnieinDallas]

was disappointed to learn that the firm I'll be joining was building an office in Plano. Their offices in other major cities, like Boston, DC, and Seattle, are all in downtown/financial districts, so I was expecting the same for Dallas.

Good point! I really don't know why they would locate it there either...

I won't say Legacy is horrible, but it's not for me at all. I use to work off Legacy, west of the tollway. I commuted from Oak Lawn. The worst part of the morning drive will be, Oak Lawn Ave Heading to the tollway. Depending on where you live in Oak Lawn you will access the north Dallas toll road from either Oak Lawn Ave, or Wycliff. You can exit Lemmon Ave coming home, to avoid a toll charge. The commute back to Oak Lawn is generally longer than the morning commute.

ChristieP: If I move to Oak Lawn I'll be avoiding the massive construction you spoke of, correct?

Yes you'll avoid the horseshoe project.

If you watch that video carefully, the Italian restaurant the reporter is at is in Oak Lawn.

TrueDat: "It's a mix of older apartments and newer condos. It's green, relatively quiet, and full of young professionals but doesn't have the more hectic vibe of Uptown." - Thats exactly what I liked about North Oak Cliff, so if I can find a similar setting in Oak Lawn then it'd be a good fit for me. I'm not looking to spend more than $1,200/mo for a 1b/1b so I should be good, correct?

$1200 will get you a nice safe place down here. (75219)

You may wanna check out 2929 Wycliff apartments. Easy access to the toll road.

[Willsson]

Also, check out north Oak Lawn, between Lemmon Ave and Highland Park. Principally streets Herschel, Prescott, and Hawthorne. This has been an old established neighborhood which is transitioning to lots with up to four townhomes on each. If you can, try a google map at street view for a look at the neighborhood.

There are also a number of apartments closer to Lemmon Ave., particularly Holland Ave. I had a condo there for a while, several were rented by original owners. The only way to find them is to drive looking for signs in yards, or by word of mouth.

From that neighborhood, there is a road that parallels DNT through Highland Park and provides one access to the north bound toll road, a couple of streets before Mockingbird Lane.

And it's an awesome area for neighborhood bicycling.

[jason87x]

Related to the OP's situation, I am interviewing at a company right on the Tollway in Addison. I may also be interviewing for comapnies in Legacy area as well. I also checked out the nice complexes ilume and 2929 wycliff, the latter is literally right next to a northbound Tollway exit. That shouldn't be more than 15-20 mins to Addison or 30 max to Legacy, right? I have actually driven the Tollway at 5pm Friday evenings only going southbound and it was a breeze except for an accident that forced all traffic onto Dallas Pkwy.

Also, are there any worthwhile reasonably priced apartments in the Addison, FND, or Legacy areas near the Tollway? I am also interviewing for a company located in the downtown loop, and am wondering if there is anything in the 700-800 a month range for 1bed (yes I know the two I checked out are ~1100/month) commutable to downtown. From these replies it sounds like downtown traffic is pretty crazy.

[Ventjock]

Originally Posted by RonnieinDallas

Good point! I really don't know why they would locate it there either...

The only thing I could think of is cheaper prices for office space versus DT?

I won't say Legacy is horrible, but it's not for me at all. I use to work off Legacy, west of the tollway. I commuted from Oak Lawn. The worst part of the morning drive will be, Oak Lawn Ave Heading to the tollway. Depending on where you live in Oak Lawn you will access the north Dallas toll road from either Oak Lawn Ave, or Wycliff. You can exit Lemmon Ave coming home, to avoid a toll charge. The commute back to Oak Lawn is generally longer than the morning commute.

I feel the same way about the Plano area; it's too "new". I lived in Chicago for two years and I loved the feel of the city: the density, the neighborhoods with history, and mass transporation. Granted there are few areas in Dallas that resemble Chicago, I'd like to stay as far away from "master planned communities" such as Plano.

Yes you'll avoid the horseshoe project.

If you watch that video carefully, the Italian restaurant the reporter is at is in Oak Lawn.

$1200 will get you a nice safe place down here. (75219)

You may wanna check out 2929 Wycliff apartments. Easy access to the toll road.

The office is actually right off the Tollway at Legacy and I'm looking at the 2929 Wycliff units. What would be a fair estimate for a commute from those units to Legacy/Tollway?

[Ventjock]

Originally Posted by Willsson

Also, check out north Oak Lawn, between Lemmon Ave and Highland Park. Principally streets Herschel, Prescott, and Hawthorne. This has been an old established neighborhood which is transitioning to lots with up to four townhomes on each. If you can, try a google map at street view for a look at the neighborhood.

There are also a number of apartments closer to Lemmon Ave., particularly Holland Ave. I had a condo there for a while, several were rented by original owners. The only way to find them is to drive looking for signs in yards, or by word of mouth.

From that neighborhood, there is a road that parallels DNT through Highland Park and provides one access to the north bound toll road, a couple of streets before Mockingbird Lane.

And it's an awesome area for neighborhood bicycling.

Willsson,

Thanks for the insight and advice! I'm planning on getting a bike and I'd like to be a fun safe neighborhood for that so thanks for pointing that out.

[Willsson]

Greater Dallas Bicyclists

[RonnieinDallas]

Originally Posted by jason87x

Related to the OP's situation, I am interviewing at a company right on the Tollway in Addison. I may also be interviewing for comapnies in Legacy area as well. I also checked out the nice complexes ilume and 2929 wycliff, the latter is literally right next to a northbound Tollway exit. That shouldn't be more than 15-20 mins to Addison or 30 max to Legacy, right? I have actually driven the Tollway at 5pm Friday evenings only going southbound and it was a breeze except for an accident that forced all traffic onto Dallas Pkwy.

I use to live at the Ilume. I loved it! 2929 Wycliff has great access to the tollway, and I know a few people who live/lived there who liked it. Those times seem right. I always left early just in case, but 30 minutes was average.

Originally Posted by jason87x

Also, are there any worthwhile reasonably priced apartments in the Addison, FND, or Legacy areas near the Tollway?

I'm not a big fan of Addison, but the Addison circle apartments are slightly cheaper than what you pay in town. Not a fan of Legacy either, go to any of the restaurants that have added a store in Legacy(Naan for example), then go to the original in Uptown, and the difference is chrystal clear. The apartments there are nice, but again you pay the same amount you would pay in town.

Originally Posted by jason87x

I am also interviewing for a company located in the downtown loop, and am wondering if there is anything in the 700-800 a month range for 1bed (yes I know the two I checked out are ~1100/month) commutable to downtown. From these replies it sounds like downtown traffic is pretty crazy.

Downtown has some great places, but it's difficult to get to the highway from it. If you work in DT Dallas or nearby it's an exciting neighborhood to be in right now. So many things are happening down there.

Originally Posted by Ventjock

The office is actually right off the Tollway at Legacy and I'm looking at the 2929 Wycliff units. What would be a fair estimate for a commute from those units to Legacy/Tollway?

I would budget 30 minutes to be safe

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by Ventjock

Thanks to everyone's super helpful responses.

I was disappointed to learn that the firm I'll be joining was building an office in Plano. Their offices in other major cities, like Boston, DC, and Seattle, are all in downtown/financial districts, so I was expecting the same for Dallas.

ChristieP: If I move to Oak Lawn I'll be avoiding the massive construction you spoke of, correct?

TrueDat: "It's a mix of older apartments and newer condos. It's green, relatively quiet, and full of young professionals but doesn't have the more hectic vibe of Uptown." - Thats exactly what I liked about North Oak Cliff, so if I can find a similar setting in Oak Lawn then it'd be a good fit for me. I'm not looking to spend more than $1,200/mo for a 1b/1b so I should be good, correct?

You should be able to find something in that area. I had 2 friends who were sharing a 2-bedroom and paying about $600 each. That was a year ago.

My feeling is that a lot of those places don't advertise so you need to ride around, preferably on bike perhaps to see the signs.