West Dallas?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by TeamLynn

At $2500-$3500 a month I would not be looking at Oak Cliff .....
I'd be looking at Irving, Coppell, Euless, Grapevine.
Maybe depends on what time of day you go to work.
If you work mall hours, that probably is off peak timing.

Any chance you want to buy vs rent. That's a lot of rent.
Makes sense if you'll only be here a year or two.
If longer you may want to consider buying.

Why wouldn't you look in North Oak Cliff? Rosemont Elementary is a great school and goes up to 8th grade. OP's budget is perfect for Kessler Park / Stevens Park and the commute to NorthPark is easier from there than Euless or the other places you suggested.

[lakeside15]

Rosemount Elementary has 76% of its students classified as economically disadvantaged and 40% of students with English as a second language. Most people with means do not want their children to be raised in such an environment. Compare with Stonewall Elementary, which has 23% economically disadvantaged and 6.5% ESL, and it's really no comparison at all.

Real Estate-wise, M-Streets and surrounding area is far superior in location, amenities, and value/appreciation.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

Rosemount Elementary has 76% of its students classified as economically disadvantaged and 40% of students with English as a second language. Most people with means do not want their children to be raised in such an environment. Compare with Stonewall Elementary, which has 23% economically disadvantaged and 6.5% ESL, and it's really no comparison at all.

Real Estate-wise, M-Streets and surrounding area is far superior in location, amenities, and value/appreciation.

My friend who was a top 10 HPHS graduate, Rhodes Scholar, and former college professor has incredibly high academic standards has been thrilled with the education her kids are getting at Rosemont. They could live anywhere - including HP - and chose Kessler Park. Those "poor kids" you don't want your family mingling with aren't impeding her kids' success one bit, and all families are probably better off for knowing each other instead of judging from afar. Economic and racial diversity used to be one of the draws to Lakewood area schools that Lakewooder would tout as a "plus".

North Oak Cliff is the hottest real estate in central Dallas. Prices in Kessler Park and surrounding areas are up about 75% over 2012-13 values. I live in north Dallas and can use facts to compare markets- M Streets is a fabulous area but rather equal to NOC in terms of being a great buy.

[CrudeGuy]

Thank you all for the input, and please keep it coming if there is more to add. We have been here for 6 months in a townhouse in coppell, but our commutes are both over 35 minutes ( on good days). We picked Coppell with a plan to eventually buy and settle there, but it looks more likely we'll move back to the east coast in a couple years. Therefor schools are not a concern, and we prefer renting somewhere "fun" (other young families/parks/restuarants etc) before we settle somewhere permanently.

We have been through M Streets and Lakewood and Lake highlands and really liked all of them, but I am thinking the commute from those to Arlington at rush hours would be hard for my wife.

Like the sounds of North Oak Cliff, we have lived in the city before but are not exactly Urban pioneers, I am assuming this area is reasonably safe and family friendly? Just not as familiar with it as I am areas further north and east.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by CrudeGuy

Thank you all for the input, and please keep it coming if there is more to add. We have been here for 6 months in a townhouse in coppell, but our commutes are both over 35 minutes ( on good days). We picked Coppell with a plan to eventually buy and settle there, but it looks more likely we'll move back to the east coast in a couple years. Therefor schools are not a concern, and we prefer renting somewhere "fun" (other young families/parks/restuarants etc) before we settle somewhere permanently.

We have been through M Streets and Lakewood and Lake highlands and really liked all of them, but I am thinking the commute from those to Arlington at rush hours would be hard for my wife.

Like the sounds of North Oak Cliff, we have lived in the city before but are not exactly Urban pioneers, I am assuming this area is reasonably safe and family friendly? Just not as familiar with it as I am areas further north and east.

I'm not sure what lakeside15's problem is, to be honest, thinking that no one with a good income is willing to use a school with some lower income kids. Rosemont is an incredibly popular school among people with high incomes. Yes, obviously a decent % of the school is lower income, but I'd bet that number drops to somewhere in the 60-65% range, at most, in this year's kinder class. We have a LOT of friends who I assumed would stick with private school where they were from preK but decided on Rosemont. Partners at law firms, doctors, families primarily living on trust fund money - they are all using Rosemont and loving it. It's actually getting so popular that the dual language program has too many native English speakers relative to native Spanish speakers and it's forcing them to figure out how the make the program work under a situation they hadn't anticipated.

I live in Winnetka Heights and I swear the only people buying houses these days are people with young kids. Families are everywhere, which is actually a complaint I hear from some longer time neighborhood residents who moved in during the gentrification cycle that mostly included gay people and artists. The urban pioneer era in North Oak Cliff is over, for the most part.

There is infrequent property crime in North Oak Cliff in the nice neighborhoods - car gets broken into because someone left an ipad visible in the back seat, or else some tools get taken from a garage. It's actually lower than the M Streets, but sometimes doesn't appear so on paper because in the crime stats that are put out, the gentrified neighborhoods in North Oak Cliff get lumped in with some admittedly bad areas that are far enough away that I honestly don't even consider them to be in the area. You'll never go there, and the people there won't come through your part of the neighborhood. My wife stays home with our kids and takes them on walks all the time. To the park, to restaurants, to art class. We are of course always aware of our surroundings, but we don't truly worry about the safety of the neighborhood.

Having said all this, the M Streets is a fantastic place to live, and if one of you didn't need to get to Arlington at rush hour, I'd say that it's a great fit for you. PM me if you have any other questions about Oak Cliff and which sections are the nicer parts.

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

West Dallas is an area west of the Trinity River and I would avoid it.

West Dallas is changing rapidly. In 5-10 years, it's going to be unrecognizable in the same way that Henderson Avenue looks very different from what it was a few years ago. With the increasing development expanding beyond Uptown on the north side of the river to the Design District/Lower Oak Lawn and on the south side of the river with West Dallas and North Oak Cliff, the entire area just west of downtown is in the process of moving from no-man's-land to hot property. The Morning News has a wrap-up of what's going on at the link.

A more affordable Uptown? West Dallas is newest apartment hot spot* | Business | Dallas News