any dallas neighborhoods with Hippies, academics, artists types? (Garland, Lewisville: appointed, houses)

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Thanks, does Cochran Heights have a its' own zip code?
Sounds like Lakewood and Cochran Heights would be really good to check out.

Whad do you think of Little Forest Hills and Casa Linda Forest as well as Old Lake Highlands?

Sounds like the suburbs (all of them?) don't have the character and charm, or the liberal bent, that the other places noted in this thread have.

Just wanted to check on that because you can get a new house for $250K plus. I had heard about someplace called McKinney, Allen, North Dallas near Hillcrest and Frankfort, preston south of 635, and Grapevine, Addison, and just wondered whether they were all conservative, strip mall, types of communities...

FYI, my husband just called to let me know he did get the job in Dallas so it looks like relocating will be a realty.

Any recommendations on a good real estate agent for Lakewood, Cochran, etc.? What do you think of the other places above?

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

How great for me to get your post that your neighbor moved from Boston and loves it in Cochran Heights. I am definitely going to check it out via ziprealty to see what homes are for sale. I appreciate the name of the architect too-- I take it most of the homes here are older. Pluses- they have character; Negatives- some of the newer homes are actually less expensive out of the city- such is life. I'd rather minimize the culture shock for sure and be really happy where I live. Thank you!

If there are areas I should look at outside the city that are liberal and have a walkable center/aren't just strip malls and conservative then definitely let me know: McKinney? Allen? North Dallas near Hilcrest & Frankfort and south of 635 (never been- just mentioned in a thread), Addison, Grapevine, Plano? than definitely let me know- otherwise, I'll try not to pay attention to the new 3,000 square foot home for $250K plus, and just focus on these areas here.

Let me know what you think and thanks for extending the helping hand to get a sense of where I should look for homes. Any suggestions on a realtor are also welcome!
Thanks!

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

Thanks! I totally didn't realize that White Rock Lake is so close to Lakewood, etc. Good education for me and I could use it so thanks very much.

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by Boston Tampa Dallas area?

Thanks, does Cochran Heights have a its' own zip code?
Sounds like Lakewood and Cochran Heights would be really good to check out.

Whad do you think of Little Forest Hills and Casa Linda Forest as well as Old Lake Highlands?

Sounds like the suburbs (all of them?) don't have the character and charm, or the liberal bent, that the other places noted in this thread have.

Just wanted to check on that because you can get a new house for $250K plus. I had heard about someplace called McKinney, Allen, North Dallas near Hillcrest and Frankfort, preston south of 635, and Grapevine, Addison, and just wondered whether they were all conservative, strip mall, types of communities...

FYI, my husband just called to let me know he did get the job in Dallas so it looks like relocating will be a realty.

Any recommendations on a good real estate agent for Lakewood, Cochran, etc.? What do you think of the other places above?

Judging from what you say you want, I'm not sure you'd like those suburban 'hoods (McKinney, Allen, Grapevine, Far North Dallas, etc.) though you might get more house for your money.

[Lakewooder]

Don't go out to those other areas or you may face the same thing you had in Tampa. There is a large Jewish presence in North Dallas mostly south of LBJ but the homes are much more expensive for the most part and not much is walkable. You might check out another recent post on here where someone is saying it takes her husband 2 hours each way to go to Downtown Dallas and other drawbacks to living way out north...

BTW Cochran Heights is also 75206 -- but it is a very small area and I must warn you some of the homes are small but very charming and rare - check the streets listed above.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by Boston Tampa Dallas area?

How great for me to get your post that your neighbor moved from Boston and loves it in Cochran Heights. I am definitely going to check it out via ziprealty to see what homes are for sale. I appreciate the name of the architect too-- I take it most of the homes here are older. Pluses- they have character; Negatives- some of the newer homes are actually less expensive out of the city- such is life. I'd rather minimize the culture shock for sure and be really happy where I live. Thank you!

If there are areas I should look at outside the city that are liberal and have a walkable center/aren't just strip malls and conservative then definitely let me know: McKinney? Allen? North Dallas near Hilcrest & Frankfort and south of 635 (never been- just mentioned in a thread), Addison, Grapevine, Plano? than definitely let me know- otherwise, I'll try not to pay attention to the new 3,000 square foot home for $250K plus, and just focus on these areas here.

Let me know what you think and thanks for extending the helping hand to get a sense of where I should look for homes. Any suggestions on a realtor are also welcome!
Thanks!

Congrats to your husband on getting the job! Cochran Hts. is too small to have its own zip code, but it is a part of zipcode 75206. It is bound on the west by I-75 (aka Central Expressway), on the north by Henderson Ave. and on the south by Fitzhugh Ave. It is really only about 5 north/south streets with the eastern-most one being named Mission Ave. However, development continues to occur further down Henderson and Fitzhugh to the east. There has been new construction over the past few years on the southern end of Cochran Hts. Most of the homes with lots of character are on the northern end of the 'hood, but all of CH is well situated and walkable.

As for the suburbs, you can get a lot of house for the money. So if that is of utmost importance to you, then some of these burbs might be worth looking into (depending on where the job is). Mckinney does offer a charming old downtown area. But, outside of that, it is still a distant suburb with all of the attributes that that implies. Addison does offer some urban-ness, but there aren't many single family homes there. And what is there is generally going to be lacking in character (circa 1980's forward). I don't like to generalize, but most of the suburbs that you mentioned are pretty generic and very Republican (no insult intended). My advise is to either rent for 6 - 12 months so that you can explore OR restrict your search for purchase options to areas within Loop 12 (that's a loop around the central city within about 7 miles of downtown Dallas).

Since you asked, at the risk of being accused of trolling for customers I will tell you that I am a Realtor. That's really not what I'm up to. I just found this forum a few days ago and have become somewhat addicted to it. I just find it is a great way to help educate newcomers and dispel old stereotypes. Very therapeutic! Moderator cut: advertising

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

What's your perspective on Lake Dallas or Lavon Lake?

Also, for all of the neighborhoods above, including Lakewood, are any of these on the flightpath for the airport?

Thanks!

[John Shaft]

Sorry to intrude, but I do get a chuckle hearing people fume intolerantly about the "intolerance" of the other side of the political spectrum: "I don't want to live around their kind! They're all the same! They are so much less enlightened/intelligent/etc. than MY group is!"

I lived in Dallas for 5+ years, and am now in Portland, and whatever amount of beat-over-the-head rhetoric I heard from the "right-wing/conservative/Bible Belters" there, I hear at LEAST as much of exactly the same thing from the "left-wing/liberal/pinko commies" here. It is EXACTLY the same in the "enlightened" areas of the west coast, just the other way around.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by Boston Tampa Dallas area?

What's your perspective on Lake Dallas or Lavon Lake?

Also, for all of the neighborhoods above, including Lakewood, are any of these on the flightpath for the airport?

Thanks!

I'm from here, but I've never been to either of those lakes. I think they are both about an hour away from downtown Dallas, but not sure. You are probably not going to find a lake in the city of Dallas in which you can swim. I think that Lake Lewisville and Cedar Creek offer opportunities for boating and water-skiing. Also, in the eastern suburbs there is the very popular Lake Ray Hubbard. It borders Rowlett and Rockwall and is probably about 20 miles from downtown Dallas.

Regarding being on the flightpath, we have 2 airports that serve Dallas. The big one is DFW and it is in the NW suburbs (Grapevine is one) between Dallas and Ft. Worth. In inner city Dallas there is Lovefield Airport (mostly served by SW Airlines). Located about 5 miles north of downtown, the flight path does go over Downtown, Uptown and Oak Lawn. If that is a problem, then avoid the Cedar Springs and Lemmon Ave. corridors as they lead right into the airport. Some of the adjacent 'hoods can be quite noisy.

[Boston Tampa Dallas area?]

I am really psyched that my husband landed the job he wanted. And, I really appreciate your educating me and I would like to connect with you on a househunting trip to show us some homes, if that's a possibility. I've already learned so much today from everyone who has responded to my posts. I was almost ready to encourage my husband to say no to the job and we'd move back to MA, but after what I've learned, it looks like there are wonderful aspects to living in the Dallas area and places that we might really grow to love.

Re: the not being in a very Republican area, I also mean no insult intended, it's just that I'm trying to minimize my culture shock and feel as connected as possible to put down roots. MA is so left on the scale that I spent my first month in Tampa in tears most of the time with people calling me ma'am all the time and police on Sunday's directing traffic from the churches- it was kind of a huge shock and of course I made good friends here, but because I'm more liberal and artsy, it's harder to feel connected. So this time around, I understand more about myself and would like to shorten the adjustment period and maximize the feeling of connectedness.

Thanks for the info on Cochran Heights- I hadn't realized it wasn't the whole zip code and am glad I saw some great houses in both Lakewood and in that 75206 zip code.

If I could impose- could you tell me what your perspective is on a few areas that I've seen beautiful houses and more green (in Tampa, we live on a pond it has just been my saving grace)... I've been seeing great homes at Lake Dallas, plus great houses near White Rock Lake and zip codes: 75218, 75228, 72218. I'm wondering if those areas provide the green and lake that I think we'll crave, with being close enough to West Villiage, Knox-Henderson,Cochran Heights, or Lakewood. I also saw Lavon Lake on the map but have no idea about that area. I was wondering what these areas are like--

Ideally, it'd be wonderful to be close enough to uptown/West Villiage areas, Knox Henderson or Cochran Heights so that this becomes a natural hang out- either by living there, or by living close enough to get a little more house for the money while also gaining life near a lake or more green without living in an area that is very Republican/conservative, and yet still be near the artsy, liberal area with great movies and restaurants so that I can feel like I fit in.

What do you think? Any thoughts? Thanks, and please email me your info and I will do the same.