Thinking about moving from LA to Dallas- ??? (San Antonio, Austin: apartments, to rent)

[Ready to leave LA]

Hi all, I am a single 50ish gay male thinking moving to Dallas from LA. I am an LA native and it is crazy expensive here now!

I will keep my current job and salary.

What are the nicer areas to live in, I am looking to rent to start with?

looking to rent a studio or 1 bedroom and am willing to spend up to $1700 a month

Appreciate any recommendations, i will maintain my current job which involves extensive domestic travel - almost every week. So airport accessibility is important as well.

Thank you for reading and i anxiously await your help!

[TurtleCreek80]

If you prefer city neighborhoods, you may enjoy any of the following: North Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, Knox-Henderson, Uptown, Design District, North Oak Cliff, etc. These are all vibrant neighborhoods in the "inner loop" of Dallas' sprawl. $1700/mo is a great budget for a nice one bedroom in a full-service Turtle Creek high rise or a trendy apartment in the Design District. You may be able to find an older but larger condo along the Katy Trail (Uptown or Knox-Henderson neighborhoods) or a historic duplex in North Oak Lawn or North Oak Cliff.

If you like great restaurants (ranging from trendy to low-key), the arts (performing and visual), walkability, diversity, access to gyms/ trails/ other fitness activities, etc - these neifhborboods are among the best Dallas has to offer.

They're all convenient for your work travel; all are within 5-15 minutes of Love Field and 15-30 minutes of DFW International Airport.

Dallas has a large gay population so no matter where you land, you won't be the only one (even in some of the more obscure suburbs), but if you would like to be in a neighborhood with more gay neighbors and businesses, the Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, and North Oak Cliff are the top picks. Oak Lawn's Cedar Springs "strip" is gay-borhood central and is a bit over the top. North of Lemmon (North Oak Lawn) is a nice enclave tucked between overt gayborhood and prestigious Highland Park. Turtle Creek is more mature and you'll find many prominent and refined residents living up in the treetops in the highrises (so many fabulous decorators & architects!) North Oak Cliff has been the "up & coming" place that has definitely arrived. Neiman Marcus' fashion director Ken Downing lives there with his partner, as do many other movers & shakers in the business and arts communities (who happen to be gay). It's probably the most mixed demographic area of the three- kind of a nice split 1/3 gays, 1/3 young families, and 1/3 single professionals or empty nesters.

[Ready to leave LA]

Thank you so much for all the advice, I really appreciate it!

[Adamson865]

Same demographic here, and I moved from Palm Springs (to Austin) to Dallas. I miss the desert scenery but I don't miss the CA prices (when I left in Nov 2012, super-unleaded was $5.05 a gallon and my earthquake insurance had just gone up yet again), and having to battle traffic on the 10 (since you're in CA, I can say "THE" 10 but once you're here, Texans will slap you upside the head for saying "THE" before a freeway). Because I's po-folk I can't afford to live in the gay areas of Dallas, but I can visit! Gay men here are legendary for their attitude - Austinites for years always referred to the "Dallitude" but since you're coming from LA, you should be used to that sort of thing.

No state income tax, the gas tax is lower, and gas prices are much lower than in CA because the hotbed of nut-job-ism, the California Legislature, has stricter mandates than the feds for gasoline so it costs much more there.

The gay areas are close to Love Field if that's the airport you'd be using - otherwise, DFW is out yonder west of town a bit.

[kidicarus89]

I highly recommend the areas TurtleCreek80 said. Tons of things to do within a 2-mile radius, great restaurants, Katy Trail, and doesn't have the uptight conservatism of the further-flung suburbs.

[Adamson865]

But then again, I'm friends with a lesbian couple who live in Plano and they tell me that a huge chunk of their subdivision is gay - but they're all coupled. It seems gay folk start out in the hip areas here, find themselves a partner, and relocate to a nice house in the burbs. I might just skip the partner part and go directly to Collin County next year.

The "further-flung suburbs" aren't nearly as bad as some might portray.

[TrueDat]

Just be prepared for the summer heat and what will seem like high humidity if you're coming from California.

[RonnieinDallas]

I would definitely look at Oak Lawn (75219) first. Oak Lawn is very close to Love Field. DFW airport is only 15 miles away. $1700 is a really healthy budget for Dallas. You could actually cut it by a few $100 and still get a nice 1 bedroom.

Since your new and single, you may want a place in the center of the action. The Ilume is on the strip, and walkable to everything gay in Dallas. They just opened their brand new building, and both buildings have excellent amenities.

[R1070]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

If you prefer city neighborhoods, you may enjoy any of the following: North Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, Knox-Henderson, Uptown, Design District, North Oak Cliff, etc. These are all vibrant neighborhoods in the "inner loop" of Dallas' sprawl. $1700/mo is a great budget for a nice one bedroom in a full-service Turtle Creek high rise or a trendy apartment in the Design District. You may be able to find an older but larger condo along the Katy Trail (Uptown or Knox-Henderson neighborhoods) or a historic duplex in North Oak Lawn or North Oak Cliff.

If you like great restaurants (ranging from trendy to low-key), the arts (performing and visual), walkability, diversity, access to gyms/ trails/ other fitness activities, etc - these neifhborboods are among the best Dallas has to offer.

They're all convenient for your work travel; all are within 5-15 minutes of Love Field and 15-30 minutes of DFW International Airport.

Dallas has a large gay population so no matter where you land, you won't be the only one (even in some of the more obscure suburbs), but if you would like to be in a neighborhood with more gay neighbors and businesses, the Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, and North Oak Cliff are the top picks. Oak Lawn's Cedar Springs "strip" is gay-borhood central and is a bit over the top. North of Lemmon (North Oak Lawn) is a nice enclave tucked between overt gayborhood and prestigious Highland Park. Turtle Creek is more mature and you'll find many prominent and refined residents living up in the treetops in the highrises (so many fabulous decorators & architects!) North Oak Cliff has been the "up & coming" place that has definitely arrived. Neiman Marcus' fashion director Ken Downing lives there with his partner, as do many other movers & shakers in the business and arts communities (who happen to be gay). It's probably the most mixed demographic area of the three- kind of a nice split 1/3 gays, 1/3 young families, and 1/3 single professionals or empty nesters.

I concur

[Ready to leave LA]

Thank you all for the great suggestions! i really appreciate it- i was torn between San Antonio and Dallas, but after spending this whole week in San Antonio I think Dallas wins me over. I'm going look for apartments the second week of March and will definitly follow the advice I have received