Atlanta(midtown) moving to Uptown Dallas, lots of questions (Houston: good schools, gated)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

How long of a drive would it be from Irving/Las Colinas to Uptown?

20-25 no traffic and up to an hour with.

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by sassymoi

Thanks for all the helpful responses. I'm planning to take a trip to Dallas to check out all the suggested areas. I'm also interesting in renting from condo owners. I actually prefer to rent from condo owners than apartment complexes. I could not find info on the condos in the Uptown area and Addison. I noticed in my search they aren't that many condominiums in Dallas or maybe i'm searching in the wrong place. I'll drive around Addison, especially Addison Circle( looks interesting, i hope it's just as lively), Virtruvian Park, Uptown, and possibly Bishop Arts District( on Google map it looks like it's downtown-i'm really not trying to live in the downtown area). I want to have access to all lively entertainment yet and still have access to a nice walk-able park). Also, does anyone here know if the apartment complexes are gated communities in the Uptown area, that's a deal breaker for me. The more i think about with the cost of school my max rent is $1000.
thanks a bunch

There are lots of condos in Uptown, Oak Lawn, and in the Knox-Henderson area. I don't know Addison all that well but I'm assuming there are lots of condos up there as well. Not so much in the Bishop Arts area which is not downtown but just southwest of it, across the Trinity River.

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

How long of a drive would it be from Irving/Las Colinas to Uptown?

The Uptown to Irving/Las Colinas is going to be the easiest drive you're ever going to want, excepting maybe to Starbucks to pick up a coffe and head back to the house.

The typical route would be Oak Lawn to I-35, break off on 183, then break off on 114. The highway portion may be 10 or 11 minutes, tops unless something drastic happens... like the freeway collapsing. I drove that route for ten years an recall only one occasion of a traffic jam. The weather had gone drastic and laid a coat of ice over the city. Big ice. Traffic was okay until the Trinity River bridge where the speed dropped to about a half mile an hour.

Luckily, a remote office was just off the last exit before the bridge so I made the jump. Just had to take a break. Done, I drove to the back of the building and onto Harry Hines where there was ABSOLUTELY NO traffic whatever. Up to Northwest Highway with very little traffic and over to Hidden Ridge.

Some days, just to keep my memory fresh, I'd take Lemmon Ave to the Northwest Hwy to Irving.

Return trip, you can exit Mockingbird and drive over to Love Field then south to Uptown. On some occasions, I-35 is stacked up southbound at downtown. Sometimes you can catch the Inwood Rd or Wycliff exit to avoid the wait at the Oak Lawn light.

Traffic will NOT be a problem, excepting - sometimes - on local streets.

[amillion3147]

I am a native New Englander as well and have lived in ATL many moons ago. It just doesn't compare to Dallas for me at all. I found Atlanta to have it's own upper echelon of African Americans much more than in the north. It just wasn't my type of scene as I like more diversity. I have been in Dallas for a month and I am enjoying being here. Still getting a feel for the city.

[binkyman]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

Apparently, the burbs must be where all of the minority professionals are because I've lived in Uptown, Oak Lawn, and East Dallas area and it's quite rare that I would see more than one or two Hispanics or AA's. When I was single, I didn't see it and now that I'm not single and now a mom, I still don't see it. Dallas just seems a lot more segregated than other areas I've lived (NY and DC). If I get off the Dart at Westmoreland or Downtown, I see a lot of diversity. I just don't see the diversity of minority professionals here in Dallas proper.

Just because an area isn't checkered with every ethnicity doesn't mean that it isn't diverse. Until people quit being pretentious about diversity, it should be okay for them to be left alone to feel comfortable with their own kind. It's okay. Don't feel bad about it. Think of a movie. We aren't in the movie watching it for the purpose of having to do a lot of thinking and working. Basically, like reading a book, we expect the writer to do most of the work for us. If their is a part in a book or in a movie that is about something having to do with a lot of work, it should only be about half a page in length if depicted in the book and only about thirty seconds if viewed within the movie. In the end, we really don't want to learn anything more than just a simple moral to the story, right? For cripes sake, most of us don't even want to work hard at working! Trust me, I'm going to get along with everyone, but it is going to be an easy thing for me to get along with them or I'm just not going to get along at that second. No big deal. Don't force me. The important thing is to do whatever makes you comfortable. Relax. In the end, we shouldn't be working at getting along. Instead, we should all be happy to get along. Ultimately, when we all zip up to those clouds in the sky, we will all be rich living in jeweled gated communities of infinite diversity.

[CGGirl]

Having all blacks living in one area and all Asians living in one area is not what people mean when they refer to diversity. Living separately is what breeds racism. I lived in a community growing up where people of all ethnicities and religions lived together. There were so many prejudices that people had before they lived next door to someone different. There was a Jewish elderly couple who thought all Hispanics were dirty until she moved into our community. There were Hispanics who thought all blacks were thieves until they moved into the neighborhood. And so on and so on.

People who say that people should be left alone to feel comfortable with their own kind remind me of the things that people said in the 60's when the South still had legal segregation. That argument was used to have separate schools, separate water fountains, etc. Just reminding people who may not know the history of the U.S.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

Having all blacks living in one area and all Asians living in one area is not what people mean when they refer to diversity. Living separately is what breeds racism. I lived in a community growing up where people of all ethnicities and religions lived together. There were so many prejudices that people had before they lived next door to someone different. There was a Jewish elderly couple who thought all Hispanics were dirty until she moved into our community. There were Hispanics who thought all blacks were thieves until they moved into the neighborhood. And so on and so on.

People who say that people should be left alone to feel comfortable with their own kind remind me of the things that people said in the 60's when the South still had legal segregation. That argument was used to have separate schools, separate water fountains, etc. Just reminding people who may not know the history of the U.S.

So when an Indian family for example posts on CD-Dallas wanting to find an area with a high concentration of Indians is that person is being racist? I get that in the really narrow sense that is racist but it isn't bigoted or unexpected or in anyway wrongheaded. Like it or not most individuals tend to like living near people who are significantly like themselves. If this wasn't the case Chinatown in San Francisco as an example would have disappeared decades ago.


As an aside we've more or less completely ruined the terms racist and racism. People tend to confuse them with bigot and bigoted. For example strictly speaking it's racist to say that African Americans have straighter femur bones than whites. That statement is also 100% correct and not bigoted in any way.

[CGGirl]

It means that they are not looking for diversity. When someone IS looking for diversity, however, pointing to a segregated community would not be diversity.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

Having all blacks living in one area and all Asians living in one area is not what people mean when they refer to diversity. Living separately is what breeds racism. I lived in a community growing up where people of all ethnicities and religions lived together. There were so many prejudices that people had before they lived next door to someone different. There was a Jewish elderly couple who thought all Hispanics were dirty until she moved into our community. There were Hispanics who thought all blacks were thieves until they moved into the neighborhood. And so on and so on.

People who say that people should be left alone to feel comfortable with their own kind remind me of the things that people said in the 60's when the South still had legal segregation. That argument was used to have separate schools, separate water fountains, etc. Just reminding people who may not know the history of the U.S.

People tend to move into areas where they have something in common. In inner ring suburban areas, more times than not, there is a lot more mixing of cultures and races. But what people overlook is that in the suburbs most areas are planned out and the housing in particular areas have a similar costs associated with them. The conclusion that draws is the commonality people cling to in the suburbs is socio-economic. People of all races, religions, and cultures live right next to each other, but it doesnt matter because they all make roughly the same income and seek the same things the burbs offer (good schools and quiet living).

In the urban areas, there is a much greater gap between rich and poor. As a result many times the commonality people seek is cultural or racial.

[CGGirl]

I grew up in an urban area, not the suburbs and we had a mix of people, including a mix of socio-economic groups. We had quiet living, a community feel, and good schools. People seem to think that all 50 states are like Texas and it's not. There is not such a big divide between the cities and the burbs in other states.