Relocating from SF Bay area to Dallas (north suburb) HELP

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by joellen1

Thank you for your recs. I do appreciate the responses as we are very new to the area.

Someone mentioned Lakewood to me as a cool place? Would anyone recommend that? Just curious.

We lived in SF for a number of years before we moved to Napa Valley, so love the idea of a cool community where you can walk to cafes etc.

Do any suburbs such as Highland Village, Flower Mound have Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Target?


Thanks!

The city neighborhoods IN Dallas are a far better match - culturally & aesthetics - to your current life in Cali with regards to independent stores & restaurants, an outdoor lifestyle, and some pockets of urban walkability. While the Dallas suburbs are clean, new, offer good public schools , and large/ cheap housing compared to the coasts....they have little culture and could really be any suburb of most any US city in the sunbelt.

East Dallas- where Lakewood and many other neighborhoods are - is on the banks of White Rock Lake, a haven for runners, cyclists, non-motor boating enthusiasts, etc. It is home to a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and Central Market and close to three Targets (two of which are Super. Targets). It's about a 30 minute drive to DFW. It's close to Downtown (check out all of the kid activities in the Arts District - DMA, Nasher), Uptown (check out Klyde Warren Park), the Dallas Arboretum and it's new Children's Discovery Garden, etc. Lower Greenville and Henderson Ave have awesome locally owned restaurants for date night, too ! Several neighborhood elementary schools are outstanding - Stonewall Jackson and Lakewood Elementary schools are regarded as the best and Dan D Rogers and Lee are the next best options. Zip codes 75206, 75214, 75223 if you want to real estate surf.

You could also look in North Oak Cliff (75208), another beautiful historic city neighborhood with a great public elementary school (Rosemont). The Bishop Arts district is one of the best clusters of restaurants in the city and the new Trinity Groves restaurant area is 5 minutes away. The Belmont Hotel is the area's "living room" with pool access, movie nights, and concerts open to the public. Best view of downtown is from their patio! A new indie grocery just opened there and it's about 10 minutes from the Whole Foods in Oak Lawn. The Dallas. Farmer's Market is also nearby. About 25 minutes to DFW.

The upside to these areas is that, frankly, they are more fun, diverse, and pretty than the Dallas suburbs. The downside is that if you dream of moving here to buy a 4,500sf new construction home for $350k, that will absolutely not happen in the city. These city neighborhoods are around $200- 300/SF & up so your $350k will put you in a 1200-1700 SF home. Most historic homes have been completely updated and modernized with marble or granite countertops, Pinterest-worthy kitchens & baths , master suites, outdoor entertaining areas, etc... Lot sizes will be around .2-.25 acre, many of which have multiple 80-100+ year old mature trees.

[mSooner]

Someone mentioned Lakewood to me as a cool place? Would anyone recommend that? Just curious.

It is, but you are going to get much less house and the drive to DFW is not short or easy. However, it is easy access to Love Field if your husband thinks he will be flying Southwest often. There is a Trader Joes nearby and a SuperTarget.

I also say focus on Flower Mound, Coppell, and Grapevine/Colleyville. Flower Mound and Coppell both have SuperTargets nearby. Flower Mound has a Whole Foods opening soon. Coppell does not have one nearby, but it does have a Sprouts (as does Flower Mound) and a Market Street (as does Flower Mound). Not entirely sure about the offerings in Grapevine/Colleyville, but I believe there is SuperTarget nearby and Southlake has a huge Central Market (similar to whole foods but caters more to foodies vs health nuts). Southlake also has a Trader Joes going in shortly.

The closest Trader Joes to Flower Mound and Coppell is in West Plano right now. The Southlake one may end up being closer depending on where in each city you are.

[joellen1]

Thank you both. Turtle Creek, the area's you mentioned sound right up our alley. Will check out. Very helpful

[4Movingeast]

Colleyville has Whole Foods, and Grapevine has Eatzi's. Lots of great restaurants and great schools. Totally agree with PP- check out Coppell, Colleyville, and Grapevine. And yes, TJ's is coming to Southlake. I wouldn't say that Southlake is walkable unless you live in the townhomes in the Southlake Town Square, but you're not far from good stuff. Colleyville has some walkable/bikeable areas- and recently got some distinction for having the best air quality in the area or something like that. Lots of big trees and community support for protecting the two lane roads, etc so they don't become busy (well, maybe I should say busier) thoroughfares.

I wouldn't rule out Lakewood, Lake Highlands or M Streets as long as the drive to DFW is not a daily commute. If the drive back and forth happens at off times that is not bad at all. My husband travels frequently and uses DFW probably every other week, sometimes weekly, but when he is not out of town he prefers to work from the office which is very near the airport. As a result, DFW proximity was truly as much of a priority as excellent public schools.

My sister and her husband just moved to Kessler Park and it is lovely. They do not have children but have friends that do and none of them are considering using Rosemont to my knowledge. That is just one group of people but just wanted to make sure you really check out the school. It does not have the reputation of Stonewall Jackson or Lakewood Elementary, or even Withers or DeGolyer, which are in N Dallas and would be a relatively painless commute to DFW. Of those 4, Withers also has a dual language program like Rosemont. Look at zip code 75229. Your price range works for lots of good neighborhoods around there- Disney Streets, Sparkman Club, Midway Hollow to name a few. Now, all this public school love kinda comes to screeching halt when you enter middle and high school unfortunately. But, you have 6 years before you have to worry about that- a lot can happen in 6 years, you know?

If you want further info on the specific elementary schools or neighborhoods in GCISD feel free to send a message! Good luck on your search.

[seat21d]

Originally Posted by JTC Mom

Love, love, love Lakewood. It's not convenient to the airport and your budget won't stretch far there. You've lived in SF - are you willing to live in a small house (1500 sq ft ish)? If so and if your DH is willing to drive a bit to the airport? If so, Lakewood is great!

Originally Posted by mSooner

It is, but you are going to get much less house and the drive to DFW is not short or easy. However, it is easy access to Love Field if your husband thinks he will be flying Southwest often. There is a Trader Joes nearby and a SuperTarget.

I also say focus on Flower Mound, Coppell, and Grapevine/Colleyville. Flower Mound and Coppell both have SuperTargets nearby. Flower Mound has a Whole Foods opening soon. Coppell does not have one nearby, but it does have a Sprouts (as does Flower Mound) and a Market Street (as does Flower Mound). Not entirely sure about the offerings in Grapevine/Colleyville, but I believe there is SuperTarget nearby and Southlake has a huge Central Market (similar to whole foods but caters more to foodies vs health nuts). Southlake also has a Trader Joes going in shortly.

The closest Trader Joes to Flower Mound and Coppell is in West Plano right now. The Southlake one may end up being closer depending on where in each city you are.

I live near the Lakewood Country Club and travel weekly. It's 30-35 minutes to DFW, especially early mornings just before rush hour. The upside is that I hardly leave the neighborhood when I'm at home - and I'm very close to the downtown office if I ever need to go in.

Lakewood has it's own Whole Foods, Trader Joe's is a stone's throw on lowest Greenville, Sprouts in on Henderson, and Super Target isn't too far away up at Abrams & Skillman (plus the smaller Medallion Target is slightly closer at Abrams & Northwest Highway). Also Central Market is on Lovers. And Fresh Market is coming to the new Arboretum Village at Gaston/Garland/Grand.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by seat21d

And Fresh Market is coming to the new Arboretum Village at Gaston/Garland/Grand.

The Fresh Market is also opening a location in a couple months right near Central Market/forthcoming Trader Joe's in Southlake. I'm a little nervous of its viability due to the proximity to Central Market, but if the OP does look at Grapevine or Colleyville, it would be nearby.

Agree that Lakewood or similar might be a better fit for them coming from the Bay Area...but really, there isn't anywhere in DFW that's much like there.