Neighborhoods along Dart Orange line. (Dallas, Henderson: best neighborhood, real estate, apartments)

[mjtinmemphis]

I will be relocating to Dallas in early to mid 2020. I am tired of moving and I hope to find Dallas as a great place to settle in.

I am a late 40s year old gay black male currently residing in downtown St. Louis and love the urban lifestyle with walkability so I am looking for similar living experience in Dallas. I need direct access to DFW so I guess I will be looking at something along the Dart orange line. Correct me if I am wrong.

I love the young entrepreneurial energy of the city and it seems to be an easy place to make friends and network. It also seems to be a sunnier place to live during the winters. There seems to be a lot more resources given its a metro of 7 million vs 3 million. 22 f500 companies compared to 10. Dallas is a beast with over 300 people per day moving there. St. Louis is good but stagnant.

My main quality of life issues that I can see is long commute times (hate traffic), higher cost of living mainly real estate and taxes that go along with it and I hate bugs and snakes. I have a very masculine disposition but when I see bees and bugs and wasp and crawly thingys, that changes quickly.

When visiting Dallas in a few weeks, what neighborhoods should I check out. I will be renting for the first 12 months or until I get a feel for the city and different neighborhoods and how my money flows. I would want to stay as close to $1000 as possible but from my understanding, that is impossible. I will need a one bedroom apartment with washer dryer connections.

Any suggestions would be nice especially from those who have made the transition from St. Louis or Chicago without issue.

[MarshaBrady1968]

If you have the money to live down around Victory Park, look there. I believe you would be in close proximity to all rail lines, or at least a couple of them, and that way you could get to work in a variety of places without worry about traffic. Being close to/ in downtown, as one might imagine, it is rather hipster, and welcomes everyone. My step son is gay and black (though younger) and I am not aware of him having any problems anywhere, but he prefers the Oak Lawn area, and this is where you will also find many LGBTQ bars and hangouts if that's your thing. Area is pricey, maybe $1500 for a one bedroom at the low end if that works for you. Best of luck. You will like Dallas.

[Cd225]

I'd check out Alta Strand. Rent appears to start at $1,055. It's about a mile from the Market Center station. Comes with laundry machines. Alta Design District, too. That one is closer to Victory Station.

[f4shionablecha0s]

So most of the people on this forum don't really understand walkability and using transit. A mile away from a DART station ain't gonna cut it for you. The best neighborhood for your quality of life is going to be downtown proper, which is where all four of the DART lines converge as well as being the main hub for the bus system. You can get an apartment in the neighborhood for about 1300 a month. Plenty of stuff in walking/scootering/cycling distance. I've lived car free downtown for years and I love it.

Unfortunately DFW is out in the middle of nowhere, so it's going to be a 45 minute ride on the orange line to get out there.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by MarshaBrady1968

If you have the money to live down around Victory Park, look there. I believe you would be in close proximity to all rail lines, or at least a couple of them, and that way you could get to work in a variety of places without worry about traffic. Being close to/ in downtown, as one might imagine, it is rather hipster, and welcomes everyone. My step son is gay and black (though younger) and I am not aware of him having any problems anywhere, but he prefers the Oak Lawn area, and this is where you will also find many LGBTQ bars and hangouts if that's your thing. Area is pricey, maybe $1500 for a one bedroom at the low end if that works for you. Best of luck. You will like Dallas.

You can certainly get a studio for closer to $1100 and that is at a nice place.

I know a couple of people who live in a few of the last dumps in Uptown/Knox-Henderson and pay around 800-900ish.

At the OP I would also look at Victory Park, specifically "The North End" the price is good and it's about a 7 min walk from Victory Station.

Be warned though, Dart is super slow, so it will take 45min ish to get to the airport via the Orange line on Dart.

Los Colinas is quieter and less urban but if you go to the airport a lot it will be more like a 20 min trip.

For a guy who prefers urban environments, I would go with Victory Park though.

[Cd225]

Originally Posted by f4shionablecha0s

So most of the people on this forum don't really understand walkability and using transit. A mile away from a DART station ain't gonna cut it for you. The best neighborhood for your quality of life is going to be downtown proper, which is where all four of the DART lines converge as well as being the main hub for the bus system. You can get an apartment in the neighborhood for about 1300 a month. Plenty of stuff in walking/scootering/cycling distance. I've lived car free downtown for years and I love it.

Unfortunately DFW is out in the middle of nowhere, so it's going to be a 45 minute ride on the orange line to get out there.

I understand the issues of walkability and using transit, but this OP didn't look to me like a total reliance on transit every day with no car. It mentions commutes. If the usage of transit is only to the airport, I'd deal with a little inconvenience if the budget is important. If total walkability with no car is the idea, then my earlier comments can rightfully be dismissed.

[mjtinmemphis]

I will be relocating with a car so transit will only be used for getting to certain parts of town for work and travel. Walkability is important because I like urban living. I know Dallas isn't like Chicago but I am sure there are options.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will look at the north end of Victory Park as a starting point. The higher rents are due to a larger luxury apartment community. Dallas seems to give you something for the money.

[turf3]

Do you need to make a daily commute to DFW Airport, or just intermittently? If the latter, anywhere along the line up to Mockingbird Station could suit you for lifestyle, depending on just how urban you want to get. I can't comment on apartment rents. There are some pretty nice looking apartments around Mockingbird Station, and I bet it's the case all the way down to downtown.

[Taynxtlvl]

Good advice thus far from the posters. I also recommend the Knox henderson area, design district and medical districts.

[WorldKlas]

There are apartments right near the Mockingbird DART Station, just slightly west on Mockingbird. I think they have small units in your budget