DFW Relocation Question (Dallas, Arlington, Plano: middle-class, hotels, house prices)

[DallasBound...woohoo]

Hello, My husband and I (late 20's) recently accepted new jobs in the Dallas area. He will be working in Plano, while I will be working on the SE side of Arlington. We're not very familiar with the DFW area and are hoping someone can give us advice on where to look for houses convenient to both jobs. We are very active and enjoy being on the water during the weekends. We are also very interested great schools. We are probably in the mid to high $200ks in terms of house price. Also, any advice on local lakes would be great, we are the sandbar type of boater. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by DallasBound...woohoo

Hello, My husband and I (late 20's) recently accepted new jobs in the Dallas area. He will be working in Plano, while I will be working on the SE side of Arlington. We're not very familiar with the DFW area and are hoping someone can give us advice on where to look for houses convenient to both jobs. We are very active and enjoy being on the water during the weekends. We are also very interested great schools. We are probably in the mid to high $200ks in terms of house price. Also, any advice on local lakes would be great, we are the sandbar type of boater. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

Well, you both certainly chose jobs AWAY from each other!

Plano and Arlington are approximately 40 miles from each other, which equals to about 1-2 hr commute each way during peak hours (we DO have traffic issues) if you were to choose to live in either.

Lewisville would put your husband's commute at about 20 miles one way, but yours from Arlington at about 25 miles, but Lewisville does have a large lake for boaters. Another option would be Grapevine and Grapevine Lake, which would be approximately 18 miles from Arlington and approximately 27 miles to Plano. Trust me when I say that none of these commutes are going to be enjoyable time-wise or gas-wise! Even 18 miles can be an hours time in commuter traffic some days.

Frankly, I would prefer Grapevine to live in over Lewisville. Look on Realtor.com for housing in either areas. I'm sure others can help you out that are familiar with more choices.

Good luck and welcome to Texas!

[FarNorthDallas]

Yikes!! Those two employers are quite far from each other. I don't know what to suggest. Carrollton? Coppell? That's a tough one. What part of Plano is it? Is there a chance one of y'all might end up quitting, then you could focus on the other city?

[jorywalker]

Many people are in the same boat with jobs around the Metroplex. I would suggest Grapevine, Carrollton or North/NorthEast Dallas. There are several great neighborhoods with easy access to the main freeways located in each city for you. Lake Lewisville & Grapevine are popular and near all of those cities.

Best wishes,

Jory

[CMDallas]

Coppell or Northern Irving would probably suit you best. The House prices are what you're looking for and the distance from Arlington is not too bad, Plano is a little far, but you might want to consider Richardson, Carrollton, and Farmer's Branch.

I was talking to someone from Los Angeles today, and she said she had trouble understanding what city she was in. I told her that there is a city and then there are sub cities-ish things. Like in Irving: Las Collinas and Valley Ranch are some areas you may want to look into. but they are all Part of the city of Irving. I would HIGHLY recommend these areas: Coppell(all), Valley Ranch(part of Irving), Las Collinas(Part of Irving), Carrollton, Farmer's Branch, and maybe Lewisville.... Richardson is a little far from Arlington.

[MaryS80]

Dallas proper is worth checking out, especially since you two are young, and I assume you have no kids.

Dallas has the benefit of being centrally located, and all major highways run through the city. You could live near White Rock Lake, which is an long time favorite. I believe that motorboats are not allowed on White Rock, so that may be an issue.

On the eastern side of Dallas, and into Collin County there is Lake Lavon, and Lake Ray Hubbard. Lavon is big with fishermen, and Ray Hubbard is popular for recreation boating and skiing.

[katrique]

Those 2 are far apart okay. I totally think Grapevine near the lake. White Rock is too far East for Arlington...Joe Poole is okay but too far for your husband. Grapevine appreciates really well and you can find something in that price point. It is north of DFW and actually has some character...a true authentic Texas town from days gone past..not one that just built that looks like an old town. Great taxes because they pick up revenues from DFW airport and large convention hotels. They have a lot of festivals in that town also. Your husband can take some back roads to Plano which will help and you can shoot down 360 south.

[Lakewooder]

If you were to concentrate on the SMU/E. University, M-Streets, Uptown and Knox-Henderson areas you could get on Central Expressway in a minute or two and the trip to Arlington might not be too bad (but you must get past the mixmaster or Woodall Rodgers downtown). Then your husband could take the DART rail (depending on where he works up in Plano). Of course prices in this area are problematic but it's possible to find something in the 200s. If you do you will be assured of high appreciation. Most of what I am suggesting is in highly sought after Stonewall Jackson Elementary. The Henderson side of Knox feeds into exemplary Bonham, but the upper schools there are less respected. Plus the students there are mostly lower middle-class. However, that whole area is gentrfying at an prodigious pace.

I love White Rock but it's more of an city oasis - only crewing and small sailboats - most recreation is jogging and cycling. If you are near Central you can shoot up to Texoma on the weekends (my family has owned a cabin there since the early 1960s). It's one of the largest lakes in the country and has islands in the middle with sandbars everywhere.