Can anyone tell me what Lancaster is like ?? (Houston, Dallas: hardwood floors, middle-class)

[millie61]

Any info shops schools good/bad areas

Thanks

[HookEm']

It has an old area that use to really be nice. The price of homes has really decressed over the years, people just aren't moving there. There are even home builders who had to stop building for a year or so. Personally I would go a little farther South to REd Oak or Waxahachie

[laysayfair]

You should do a search. There are tons of Lancaster threads on this board.

[MaryS80]

It hasn't had the best reputation, but it hasn't had the worst. It's has been a little ecomonicaly depressed in the past, but recently there has been a real push to bring some growth to the southern sector. It will take some time to see if things work out.

It's really not a bad area, it just not highly desired.

[Acntx]

Lancaster is a nice community. My family and I moved to the city in 2006 and have enjoyed staying here. I also lived here briefly as a young boy from 1988 to 1990, when my parents fled the Highland Hills section of Dallas after the area began to deteriorate rapidly. The city has a number of well-kept neighborhoods and homes. Like any other community, there are a few areas that are not as nice as others, but overall it Lancaster is a good place to live.

The 1990s were a tough decade for Lancaster and that is when a lot of the negative perceptions about the city started. There local economy wasn't doing well, few people were moving in, and a tornado destroyed much of the historic downtown in 1994. There has been a turnaround in the past few years, however. The population has grown by nearly 40% (25,894 to 36,225) since the year 2000, making it one of the fastest growing cities in Dallas County. The city is also attracting commercial businesses in conjunction with the Dallas Logistics Hub, a huge inland port development located on the eastern fringes of Lancaster. Unlike other inner-ring suburbs of Dallas, Lancaster is still only about 30% to 40% developed, so there is a lot of vacant land available for future development.

As for shopping/retail, there are only the basics at present, but more businesses are coming in. Whatever you can't find in Lancaster proper, you are sure to find it in one of the neighboring communities – DeSoto, Cedar Hill, and Duncanville. Lancaster is only 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Dallas and all it has to offer as well. For years, people in this region had the choice of shopping at the declining Southwest Center Mall (formerly Red Bird) or driving quite a distance to Mesquite (Town East Mall), Arlington (The Parks Mall), or North Dallas for major retail purchases. In March, new mall opened in Cedar Hill, which is only a short drive from Lancaster.

Home prices in Lancaster and the other southern suburbs have never been as high as those in the northern suburbs. You can get a spacious house for a reasonable price here. That is one of its most attractive features. It is a solidly middle-class community and most new homes are priced at between $120,000 and $200,000.

In my personal opinion, some of the nicest new home subdivisions are Ames Meadow, Boardwalk, Pleasant Run Estates, Wellington Park, Bear Creek Ranch, and many of the neighborhoods located off of Belt Line Road. Some of the nicer neighborhoods with homes built during the 1980s and 1990s are Millbrook, Meadow Creek Estates, and Brookhaven Estates (where I live). There are a few good apartment complexes in the city as well.

Regarding the schools, they are not the best in Texas, but students can get a quality education in them. Houston Elementary in northern Lancaster and Pleasant Run Elementary in an older part of the city are usually the best performers in the district when it comes to test scores, but the other campuses aren't that far behind. My brother is a student at the high school and likes it. The high school campus has all of the programs and new technology that are found in other suburban districts across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There is also quite a degree of school spirit in the community. Lancaster also has three, small private schools as well as a charter elementary school that opened this year.

A lot of posts about Lancaster on this site tend to trend negative and are usually made by people who don't live in the city or moved away many years ago. When I first came across this site and read the posts, I couldn't believe some of the things that were being said about the city that were plainly untrue. I created an account here to tell people that perception doesn't automatically equal reality and that Lancaster is just a typical suburban city. Its positives outnumber its negatives and I am proud to call it home.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just let me know.

[millie61]

Thanks thats really helpful
My Husband has applied for a couple of positions with the VA in Dallas.
We were looking at Lancaster as it seems close by, what is the town area like we saw an old house on 7th Street but wondered what that area is like. We don't have to worry about schools just us now !!! but want a nice safe area.

[Acntx]

I visited the Dallas County Appraisal District's web site and did a quick search of homes on 7th Street. Of the approximately 30 properties on 7th, the overwhelming majority of them are considered to be in Average, Good, or Very Good condition. There were even three that were considered to be in Excellent condition, which is usually only given to newly constructed homes. Considering that most of the homes are well over 50 years old, it indicates that area residents put a lot into preserving these older homes and keeping the neighborhood up, which is a definite positive.

In January, all households with students in the Lancaster ISD began receiving the local newspaper every week. They publish a log of police activity that has taken place in the previous week. I went through four months (January-April 2008) of articles and found that the downtown area is one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. There was only one report of a minor disturbance on 7th Street and only few minor incidents on neighboring streets during this period.

[millie61]

Thank you so much that is so helpful

[ladihawkae]

Hello,
I posted on a previous post that might be outdated, but this one is newer so here goes...my husband and i are truck drivers and were looking all over dallas for a nice place to retire. we basically team together in the big rig and are just basically looking for a place to come home to after being out on the road. Our home terminal is in Lancaster and we decided on the boardwalk housing development behind our terminal since it is sooooo convenient. We found a spacious 3 br 2bath, 2 car garage with hardwood floors for $150,000 brand new. we couldn't ask for anything better. We drive all over this great country of ours and we want to live everywhere we go, lol, as there is so much beauty but texas is retirement friendly and we are finding we like the cold weather a little less each year. we have driven around Lancaster, at night. been to the walmart, all over and for being a so called bad area, from what threads i've seen..i'm amazed that people don't see a diamond in the rough when they see one. We have NEVER been approached, robbed, NOTHING. we stop at ihop off of 35, we've been to the downtown lancaster post office at night. i'm sorry, but i just don't see what all the hype is. we see an old neighborhood that is flourishing and growing (slower than other areas) but none the less, it is growing and it takes time. it also takes the citizens of the community to make it better. a community is nothing without its neighbors and residents to make it shine. with the influx of businesses and an inland port in the forseeable future, and the movement of colleges into the area, I just don't see the downside of moving here. the colleges alone are going to bring the college town atmosphere, complete with starbucks, whole foods, the whole shebang. the port and industry is going to bring jobs. oh darn. that means we get to actually "work" where we live!
Now it may not be pristine looking, and it may not be the ritz, but it is homey, comfortable, and i would prefer that over anywhere else. sure don't want the taxes. but thats just me.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by ladihawkae

Hello,
I posted on a previous post that might be outdated, but this one is newer so here goes...my husband and i are truck drivers and were looking all over dallas for a nice place to retire. we basically team together in the big rig and are just basically looking for a place to come home to after being out on the road. Our home terminal is in Lancaster and we decided on the boardwalk housing development behind our terminal since it is sooooo convenient. We found a spacious 3 br 2bath, 2 car garage with hardwood floors for $150,000 brand new. we couldn't ask for anything better. We drive all over this great country of ours and we want to live everywhere we go, lol, as there is so much beauty but texas is retirement friendly and we are finding we like the cold weather a little less each year. we have driven around Lancaster, at night. been to the walmart, all over and for being a so called bad area, from what threads i've seen..i'm amazed that people don't see a diamond in the rough when they see one. We have NEVER been approached, robbed, NOTHING. we stop at ihop off of 35, we've been to the downtown lancaster post office at night. i'm sorry, but i just don't see what all the hype is. we see an old neighborhood that is flourishing and growing (slower than other areas) but none the less, it is growing and it takes time. it also takes the citizens of the community to make it better. a community is nothing without its neighbors and residents to make it shine. with the influx of businesses and an inland port in the forseeable future, and the movement of colleges into the area, I just don't see the downside of moving here. the colleges alone are going to bring the college town atmosphere, complete with starbucks, whole foods, the whole shebang. the port and industry is going to bring jobs. oh darn. that means we get to actually "work" where we live!
Now it may not be pristine looking, and it may not be the ritz, but it is homey, comfortable, and i would prefer that over anywhere else. sure don't want the taxes. but thats just me.

First, it is great to see another Lancaster resident posting on this forum. I totally agree with you that the negative perceptions of the city are largely unfounded. Lancaster has many positive assets and is only starting to realize its true potential, especially with the coming projects (inland port, college, etc.) you mentioned. The community's affordable home prices attracted my family here in 2006. You can get a spacious home in a nice neighborhood for a reasonable price. The mixed small-town/suburban feel was another plus.

By the way, the Boardwalk neighborhood is one of the nicest in Lancaster and best of luck in your new home.