Dallas Bound, End of August! (Corpus Christi, Greenville: to rent, fingerprints, hotel)

[mostie]

Hey all, just had a couple of questions...if anyone is bored and pores over my old posts, they will see that I've been a few places over the years, lol- we are in Omaha at the moment, and had honestly figured that this would be the place we would settle in simply because the job market was really good, family relocated over the years and some live here, etc.- you get the picture, lol.



However!



Life is funny in the fact that 'the best laid plans', etc. don't always turn out to be what we plan/think they will be, lol. And as luck would have it, my husband (who is originally from Michigan) has accepted what is probably the best job he's ever been offered with awesome benefits, etc., in as secure a venue as one can have these days, lol - and it just so happens to be in Dallas~! Interesting story here, for those who live in Texas and I'm sure you will understand...from start to finish (interviews, paperwork, more interviews, fingerprints, more paperwork, etc. etc.), it took Dallas all of...maybe six business days to get things taken care of- my husband was shocked at how quickly it all went, you know how jobs are...hurry up and wait a couple of months while they decide, blah blah blah...I told him, since I'm from "The Western Side of the Country" (lol), "Well, I have to tell you...I've heard that Texans are the kind of people who just don't mess around, they basically make a decision and get it done", and this just proved it to be true, lol. Which is why, by the way, that we will be relocating from out of state at the end of August. Whew, lol.



I won't go into all of the morbid details about moving per se, I'm sure I've already put a few people to sleep with this long-winded post, lol....but I have been doing my homework for a week and a half or so (since I've known about this, which hasn't been long at all, lol), and due to several variables, I am looking at the White Rock Lake area neighborhoods...


Now I know, they are a little pricey (or seems to be that way, just a little...), we're looking to rent and there are several neighborhoods around the lake itself that I've been looking at, between...I want to say Fair Park (woot! 24 days of a fair, omg! lol), and over to...North Central Expy. And finally...drumroll...my questions! lol


1 - Since I'm not there, what sort of area am I looking at? Seems to be amazing from what I've read, but we all know how it is when you're reading about it as opposed to seeing it...we're not looking for anything in particular other than a good area- and this, from what I can tell, seems to be- it also seems to be in close proximity to restaurants, etc.- and then there's the lake...


2 - In that area, where do I want to steer clear of, etc.? We're older, kids are grown and have left home so I'm not concerned about schools, etc.- I do like the idea of a lot of trees, but that's just me, lol...


3 - Humidity - - - you knew SOMEthing about the weather was coming, lol....I'm originally from the Central Valley in California, lived there up until a dozen years ago so I know what 'hot' is, we even lived in a town on the Mojave Desert for a few years - however, we're talking dry heat here, and I have to admit I didn't respect hot/humid until I lived out here and in Michigan for a while, mercy- sucks the will to live right out of you, lol.....Soooo.....we have had a somewhat muggy summer here in NE, I've heard that Corpus Christi and a few others can get really humid..what about Dallas, is the humidity as bad there as those other places? And..just how bad is 'bad'? lol. I know there's been a heatwave over there for a bit, I think it has traveled all over the country- I've also been doing comparisons here and there with humidity levels with Omaha/Dallas.



Ok, whew, long-winded me lol- anything anyone can tell me would be welcome- I have to admit, I'm looking forward to getting there (as opposed to 'packing and moving'...nobody is looking forward to that, lol). Maybe it's just me and call me biased, but...the further West I've been, the friendlier and more laid-back people seem to be. Trust me on this, they despise my way-too outgoing personality on this side of the country, lol!

[calgirlinnc]

I've lived all over but primarily Southern California and the southeast (NC/GA)...regarding the humidity here I can say that DFW is less humid than than the eastern states, and more humid than the Western states.

The degree to which that varies is often hotly contested on here.

Welcome and good luck.

[stephwin]

Will your husband actually be working downtown? What is your budget? What do you want in a house (size, style, etc.)? What do you like to do and what type of amenities do you want nearby?

The Fair Park area is...not good. It's perfectly fine during the day if you want to go to the Fair, but most posters wouldn't recommend living there.

Go take a look at the Dallas heatwave post. There are lots and lots of posts about humidity and heat index . I don't like humidity, so I generally don't like April-ish through June-ish. And then of course I don't like July and August because it's just hot. But I love October in DFW. It's typically humid this time of the year in the morning and then it burns off as it gets hotter.

[TurtleCreek80]

I’m a little unclear about where you’re house-hunting.

The north, west, and east sides of White Rock Lake are all great- mostly safe city neighborhoods with a variety of housing stock (new, old, traditional, modern, etc).

It gets dicey south of the lake where neighborhoods range from amazing (Forest Hills, C Streets, Hollywood Heights) to transitional (Junius Heights) to no-go (most of the areas around Fair Park, parts of Lower Ross, the area around CityPlace). It’s a super block-by-block part of Dallas so to give you better guidance we’d definitely need to know what streets you’re considering.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I’m a little unclear about where you’re house-hunting.

The north, west, and east sides of White Rock Lake are all great- mostly safe city neighborhoods with a variety of housing stock (new, old, traditional, modern, etc).

It gets dicey south of the lake where neighborhoods range from amazing (Forest Hills, C Streets, Hollywood Heights) to transitional (Junius Heights) to no-go (most of the areas around Fair Park, parts of Lower Ross, the area around CityPlace). It’s a super block-by-block part of Dallas so to give you better guidance we’d definitely need to know what streets you’re considering.

I know people in Hollywood Heights; the location is great and the neighborhood itself is lovely. It has some kind of historical overlay designation so the city has some say-so in how your house looks. Apparently the grocery shopping options aren't great either, if that's important.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I know people in Hollywood Heights; the location is great and the neighborhood itself is lovely. It has some kind of historical overlay designation so the city has some say-so in how your house looks. Apparently the grocery shopping options aren't great either, if that's important.

There’s a gigantic Whole Foods a mile away from Hollywood Heights. It’s just on the other side of the Lakewood Country Club. The grocery options are virtually the same as any for Lakewood residents, + a 3-4 minute drive around the country club.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

There’s a gigantic Whole Foods a mile away from Hollywood Heights. It’s just on the other side of the Lakewood Country Club. The grocery options are virtually the same as any for Lakewood residents, + a 3-4 minute drive around the country club.

I know that Whole Foods, it's a zoo. What else besides Tom Thumb?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I know that Whole Foods, it's a zoo. What else besides Tom Thumb?

Sprouts at Ross & Henderson is nearby. Trader Joe’s on lower Greenville about 2 blocks from Sprouts. Big Fiesta right there, too (don’t laugh, good cheap avocados there!) For that matter, it’s maybe 10 minutes to the Farmers Market. I would think between all of those plus Tom Thumb, there’s not much you couldn’t find. Plus several wonderful specialty stores in Old East Dallas like Jimmy’s Italian Market and Village Baking.

[mostie]

Thanks so much for the replies, I do appreciate the input! Calgirl I had to laugh at yours, I completely agree with your weather assessment- dry on the west coast, humid on the east coast- I pretty well came to the same conclusion, figuring that Dallas isn't going to be as humid as, say, Corpus Christi (had a friend who lived there), etc.- I'm hoping for the best, because mega-heat and humidity, mercy that isn't good, lol!



Stephwin, I honestly don't even know where 'downtown' actually is...he will be working on North Central Expy, but where that is in relation to downtown I don't have a clue- maybe that's considered to be 'downtown'? The area around the lake is in somewhat closer proximity to where he would be working- we just didn't want to have him working on one side of the city, and commuting from another if we can help it- from what I've read, it's a bigggg city, lol. As far as the 'what' we're looking for, I'm not 100% on that, but once I've had a chance to check things out over there I think that I will know it once I see it, lol. I was more concerned about getting into a...'dicey' area, I suspected that simply because a fair would be located in a certain place, that probably wasn't the place we would want to end up, lol. Seems to be that way in most big cities!



TurtleCreek I'm not 100% sure exactly which streets I would be looking at, either- since we will be there at the end of the month, and since we will have a little bit of time to look before we actually rent, maybe I can get a better idea of just 'where', exactly- unfortunately, we will be staying at a hotel for roughly a month, simply because this has happened so fast and I honestly don't have enough time to find/rent a place between now and...roughly 3 weeks from now- thank goodness that I have daughters who work for a very large hotel chain's main office here, and they are able to get us fantastic rates or the stay would financially finish off what the actual move will leave of us, lol! As 'ugh' as staying at a hotel sounds, it sure beats renting a place sight unseen, and being miserable because I chose the wrong place. That has happened to me before, and it sucks, lol.



Thanks again for the input, everyone- I will let you all (y'all! I'm going to acclimate, lol) know how it goes

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Sprouts at Ross & Henderson is nearby. Trader Joe’s on lower Greenville about 2 blocks from Sprouts. Big Fiesta right there, too (don’t laugh, good cheap avocados there!) For that matter, it’s maybe 10 minutes to the Farmers Market. I would think between all of those plus Tom Thumb, there’s not much you couldn’t find. Plus several wonderful specialty stores in Old East Dallas like Jimmy’s Italian Market and Village Baking.

Not exactly the food desert my friends described. I guess they must be unhappy that there's not a Kroger nearby.