Small Towns outside the Dallas-Fort worth Metroplex (Plano, Garland: HOA, homes)

[turf3]

Well, with a job that requires the person to regularly drive between Rockwall, McKinney, and downtown Dallas, and only pays enough to be able to afford $200-250k for a house, in a city where that's not very high for a house, it starts to become clear why they had to hire someone from California.

[GigiTer]

We are also transplanting to the DFW area. However we are coming from the east coast. If you can make a trip out to the area, I highly recommend! It gave me so much more perspective of what people were talking about on these boards!! The area is really spread out and traffic is constant on much larger highways than we have in our area. We haven’t decided on exact location but have narrowed it down. You can also tour and interview schools which in our case is top priority.

Good luck on your search!!

[turf3]

But...but....but...


Everyone in California says the houses in Texas are so cheap, and the rubes there are so out of it they don't even know what they have!

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by turf3

But...but....but...


Everyone in California says the houses in Texas are so cheap, and the rubes there are so out of it they don't even know what they have!

My parents bought a really nice home in 1968 for 18,000. My first home cost me $32,000 in 1980. DFW was only 1.5 million people back then and DFW Airport was built was out in the middle of nowhere.

OP is about 10-15 years too late unless they want to be in Oklahoma.

[turf3]

I think people have the idea that DFW is kind of like Kerrville or Temple in size, with oil wells, cattle ranches, and tumbleweeds everywhere. It doesn't matter how many times you point out that there are 7 million people living in this small Texas town, they just can't comprehend it.

[WorldKlas]

I would look in Melissa, Tx. Some lower priced properties with land and good schools. I have some friends who live in Tyler. The issue isn’t the hour drive to get to Dallas, its the next 45 min once they arrive in Dallas to deal with the city traffic. For the OP to find something under $400K an hour from Dallas, it really means a minimum 90 minute commute each way.

OP, a double wide or manufactured house also means you need to invest in some kind of tornado protection or shelter; easily another $15K for that.

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by jlove3596

Lets assume my budget is 250K .... any suggestions?

If $250k was possible, people would have said, "You'll need to go up a little..." but as you can see, no one is saying that. You need to go up A LOT... not trying to be rude, seriously not. Just trying to set some expectations that what someone said about being 10 years too late is about right.

You need to get to Dallas, rent for several months while you drive around, and then have a serious look-over on your needs, wants, and gotta haves within your budget. Until then, you're dreaming with your main setting in the middle of some mid-west state, not Dallas...

[TeamLynn]

With those locations I'd probably be looking NE of Mckinney....maybe Bonham, Commerce, Honey Grove....depending on how far out you want to go.
Town is growing that way, but probably a while before it gets to Honey Grove.
If you want to buy for appreciation, I'd probably look at one of the towns between 75 and I35...all the way to the border.
The closer to DFW the faster the growth will probably happen, so depends on how long you want to be in the "country"

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by Rakin

My parents bought a really nice home in 1968 for 18,000. My first home cost me $32,000 in 1980. DFW was only 1.5 million people back then and DFW Airport was built was out in the middle of nowhere.

OP is about 10-15 years too late unless they want to be in Oklahoma.

May I share a secret with you? If you want to be close to utilities, airport, paved roads, good schools and Internet - I found it to be higher.

[Wrecked]

Originally Posted by turf3

Well:


1) Have you looked at a map?


2) Dallas, Rockwall, or McKinney? And where in Dallas? From Red Bird Mall in southwest Dallas to McKinney could be a solid hour of driving. From Harry Hines and Walnut Hill in northwest Dallas to Rockwall would probably be 45 minutes average.


3) If you want real "Piney woods" East Texas you're going to have to get past Athens/Tyler, which is a solid hour and a half from Downtown Dallas. Athens and Tyler are nice, but definitely not an hour from "Dallas" whatever that means or McKinney. Maybe you can get from Athens to Rockwall in an hour if you drive like a maniac.

These days Forney can easily be a hour drive to Dallas during rush hour and it’s only 18 miles from down town. For most of November and December my 38 mile commute was hitting close to 2hrs for my evening commute from Las Colinas to Forney.

Two years ago you could get what the OP was asking for in Forney for around $300k. Prices have gone up a great deal.