Sanity check: moving to the burbs (Parker, Lucas..) (Dallas, Plano: house, neighborhood)

[2L8IWON]

Hi - my partner and I have been in Dallas now for 7 years. We’re in our mid 30s. We bought a small 2/2 in the Lakewood / M Streets area. It’s been a great investment and much like the rest of DFW, appreciated significantly even in that time.

That said, while we bought what we could afford at the time, it didn’t have all of the features that we’d want (and have had in other places) in the past. So we’re considering a move north.

Our ‘Why move’ list:
- SPACE - I’m tired of squeezing tons of furniture, never having storage space, and ‘living’ in 1400 sq ft. We can’t even fit a king sized bed in our room and there’s only one closet.
- Parking - we have 3 vehicles and a 2 car garage today, so it’s a constant shuffle.
- Yard - we have three dogs, and they don’t have much of a yard now.
- Outdoor living - today we have a small deck. We would like a pool, and would love to have a small barn.
- Commute - my office is in Richardson but moving to Legacy West. My partner’s is at 75/635.
- Bedrooms - today we have 2 bedrooms, one of which is used as an office. We can’t accommodate guests visiting from out of town.
- Roads - the roads near downtown are atrocious. Every time I leave our house I feel like I’m going to lose a wheel.

Our ‘Why not’ list:
- Dining - we LOVE eating out. Being in Parker or Lucas means we will lose not only the convenience but also the variety. We have a lot of chains within ~10 mins.
- Social/Activities - we don’t have a big social circle; I’m sure that won’t improve in the country - and more than that, being a gay couple in the burbs may not always work well.
- Commute - little worse for my partner (75/635), only slightly better for me
- Investment - undoubtedly the house in Lakewood is a better long term investment. Location is always the most important part.

So - are we crazy to move? Most of our friends have moved to the burbs and said ‘Don’t make our mistake!’ but our current home isn’t doing the trick for us. Appreciate the opinions.

Mike

[biafra4life]

Yeah I dont think Parker/Lucas would be the best fit for you. Those two are overwhelmingly traditional 2 parent WASP households, very child/family oriented. I dont live in either town but do have friends who do, plus being in Wylie, the wife and I regularly drive through both towns on the way to other parts of Collin County. I think your welcome in whatever community you choose would range from indifference, to cold/shallow, and yes, even to outright hostility from a zealot or two.

Dont know your price range but if I were you I would look in somewhere like Richardson. If you can afford Lakewood then I think Richardson would be in your ball park, with much bigger yards that you need. No it's not gay friendly either, but by virtue of being more diverse both racially and economically, you would have a greater chance of acceptance, plus your commutes would significantly improve. LOTS of great restaurants both chain and non chain, and close enough to Dallas to still visit most of your old spots. Just my two cents.

[Johnhw2]

You are weighing the two things we all face to some degree when choosing where to live. The pain of too small space vs better convenience is a trade off we all face to different degrees. My question to you is why Parker/Lucas not plano? PLano has more conveniences like you are ue to but less expensive housing than your current spot. It is not a bad commute to the two job locations. So why is it off your list? No need to tell me but it seems like less of a negative trade off to your current location than Parker/Lucas are to me

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Yeah I dont think Parker/Lucas would be the best fit for you. Those two are overwhelmingly traditional 2 parent WASP households, very child/family oriented. I dont live in either town but do have friends who do, plus being in Wylie, the wife and I regularly drive through both towns on the way to other parts of Collin County. I think your welcome in whatever community you choose would range from indifference, to cold/shallow, and yes, even to outright hostility from a zealot or two.

Dont know your price range but if I were you I would look in somewhere like Richardson. If you can afford Lakewood then I think Richardson would be in your ball park, with much bigger yards that you need. No it's not gay friendly either, but by virtue of being more diverse both racially and economically, you would have a greater chance of acceptance, plus your commutes would significantly improve. LOTS of great restaurants both chain and non chain, and close enough to Dallas to still visit most of your old spots. Just my two cents.

Wait...what? Richardson isn't gay friendly? I lived there for ten years and while I myself am not gay I can assure you that gay people are accepted there. We had several gay households in my neighborhood, some with children.

[turf3]

I suspect that Parker or Lucas would not be "gay unfriendly" in the sense of people telling you you're going to burn in hell, but when every single one of your neighbors is a married couple with 2.5 school age children and can talk about nothing else but children, children's schooling, children's sports, children's health, etc., etc., etc., you may feel a bit out of place.


Plano is much the same.


At least Richardson isn't a TOTAL baby box.

[ChristieP]

That was our experience as a childless couple living in Plano in 1997. I suspect things haven't changed much.

Unless you plan to have livestock, or use the barn for weekend parties or something, you don't just want a vacant barn in a semi-rural area. Every feral mama cat, raccoon, possum, etc. within 5 miles will take up residence in it. The HGTV factor will wear off really quickly.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

That was our experience as a childless couple living in Plano in 1997. I suspect things haven't changed much.

Unless you plan to have livestock, or use the barn for weekend parties or something, you don't just want a vacant barn in a semi-rural area. Every feral mama cat, raccoon, possum, etc. within 5 miles will take up residence in it. The HGTV factor will wear off really quickly.

There aren't many children in our part of Plano. A lot of our neighbors' kids are in college or have already finished.


Our old neighborhood in Richardson was getting pretty thick with strollers.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Wait...what? Richardson isn't gay friendly? I lived there for ten years and while I myself am not gay I can assure you that gay people are accepted there. We had several gay households in my neighborhood, some with children.

I guess when I think of gay friendly I'm thinking of a place like Oaklawn, and to my knowledge there is no other area quite like that in the suburbs...I could be wrong.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

I guess when I think of gay friendly I'm thinking of a place like Oaklawn, and to my knowledge there is no other area quite like that in the suburbs...I could be wrong.

M-Streets is very gay friendly. Full of kids too these days.

[elan]

I think you might be bored in Parker/Lucas, it's a bit far out.