Suburbs for UTSW Commute (Dallas, Irving: homes, transfer, buy)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by mom2dr

Hi all! We just found out we will be moving to Dallas for at least 4 years, but hopefully longer. I’ll be commuting to UTSW and want to keep the commute under 30min in off peak hours. Bonus if I can stay off the highways for peak hours to get home in under 45ish min. We are looking for neighborhoods where we could buy a home that’s zoned for good elementary schools (not necessarily test scores, but happy teachers and happy kids) and has great diversity. We thought we were going to move to Houston and loved the Sugarland area (especially the house we could afford/amenities/schools coupled with how diverse it is), but have also visited Dallas for a day and checked out Coppell, Carrollton, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, and quickly drove through Richardson before it got dark.

We did not like Farmers Branch (farmers branch seemed old/run down) or Coppell (our budget isn’t high enough for the nicer areas, I think. Also didn’t see any parks in the neighborhoods??), but loved Carrollton/Flower Mound, and could see liking Richardson if we explored more. Some discussions on here indicate that Carrollton isn’t great, but we really liked the number of parks/green space we saw and the houses we drove by. Flower Mound seemed similar but much better schools, but less parks. Also, a friend of ours said that flower mound is not very diverse, not sure how true that is.

Our budget is lower (600k absolute max, looking for a 4 bedroom 2200+ square feet). Our priorities are safety, schools, and walkable parks/amenities that are close to drive to. I like the look of older neighborhoods/homes. We also would love a diverse neighborhood. Any suggestions for suburbs (or specific neighborhoods) to look in? We are not buying until next spring/summer, so we have time but I want to start narrowing things down now. Thanks so much!

Sorry for bits of this already covered. I don't have time to read the thread well.


Is the 4 year hitch for any of med. school, residency, fellowship, graduate school? I bring this up because most of these will have at least some VA duty and that would complicate the commute angle greatly. Parking for students and many workers UTSW workers involves parking and then walking a good bit if that applies to you make sure and add appropriate minutes to your drive time.

If the commute will be UTSW only I generally second rabbitt33's logic.

Get on the computer today and see if any homes within Withers or DeGolyer (both in Northwest Dallas) attendance zones will work. Lots of UTSW employees and students live in each. I don't know Irving well enough to comment much except to say lots of UTSW affiliates live in Irving.


Good luck.

[astropath]

Lakewood may work too, although I am not sure what the prices are, but its just on the other side of park cities, so the commute to UTSW should be under 30 min.

[ChristieP]

Waze is telling me that the commute from downtown Grapevine to UTSW is typically 35 minutes at peak morning rush hour, and the reverse evening commute is typically 28 minutes. I would hardly consider that "hellish" at all! There are also several different routes in case a major accident ties up one freeway. I can say that when I lived in Grapevine and commuted to the southern part of Las Colinas, once I got past Las Colinas Blvd, there was hardly any traffic.

There is really no reason for the OP to spend $1M+ on a house in the Park Cities or Lakewood, to put their kids in marginal public schools, or pay $$$ for private schools, just to avoid a 35-minute commute.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Waze is telling me that the commute from downtown Grapevine to UTSW is typically 35 minutes at peak morning rush hour, and the reverse evening commute is typically 28 minutes. I would hardly consider that "hellish" at all! There are also several different routes in case a major accident ties up one freeway. I can say that when I lived in Grapevine and commuted to the southern part of Las Colinas, once I got past Las Colinas Blvd, there was hardly any traffic.

There is really no reason for the OP to spend $1M+ on a house in the Park Cities or Lakewood, to put their kids in marginal public schools, or pay $$$ for private schools, just to avoid a 35-minute commute.

It's not the 8 or 9 of 10 times one could make it from say SW Grapevine to UTSW in 35 minutes....it's the 1 or 2 times in 10 when one can't.


Also I simply do not believe it's reasonable to expect a Grapevine driveway to UTSW workstation commute of 35 minutes. Some mandated UTSW parking is a 6 or 8 minute walk.

[ChristieP]

No matter where you live, there will always be that one-off day when your commute is horrible. It happens. That's just life in the big city.

Look at the commute times on Waze for yourself. I think a lot of people misunderstand how close-in Grapevine really is. I've seen people here say that Flower Mound is an easier commute to Las Colinas than Grapevine, and that is a seriously incorrect statement. SO it would be 40 minutes from driveway to desk in the morning. You're not going to get any closer than that without either paying a fortune for a house or private schools.

[pisekar]

If you will work as a resident, do not plan more than 20 mins of commute (per google map). It can easily jump from 20 to 40 mins during rush hours. Richardson is not a good option since it can be easily turn to 1.5 hours of commute during busy hours. Do you have kids? If yes, pick a good elementary school and move to that area.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

No matter where you live, there will always be that one-off day when your commute is horrible. It happens. That's just life in the big city.

Look at the commute times on Waze for yourself. I think a lot of people misunderstand how close-in Grapevine really is. I've seen people here say that Flower Mound is an easier commute to Las Colinas than Grapevine, and that is a seriously incorrect statement. SO it would be 40 minutes from driveway to desk in the morning. You're not going to get any closer than that without either paying a fortune for a house or private schools.

That simply isn't true. If you live in NW Dallas, a commute to UTSW will be on city streets. It won't change much and a bad day will be 3-4 extra minutes. A bad day on the highway (especially 35) sucks the life out of you. My wife deals with this every day on the way to and from school. It becomes a hellish situation, and that's on the tollway which in comparison to 35 is pretty mild. My commute home from Uptown isn't as short as it once was, but I have the option to take highway (a 12 minute trip home when traffic is light, 20ish in bad traffic), or city streets (always about 16 minutes unless there is torrential downpour or an event at the AAC that I accidentally ran into).

[ChristieP]

And if she picks NW Dallas, she’d have to pay for private schools, or hope here kids get into a decent DISD school. She already said her budget didn’t allow that.

Commuting from Grapevine will never involve I35.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

And if she picks NW Dallas, she’d have to pay for private schools, or hope here kids get into a decent DISD school. She already said her budget didn’t allow that.

Commuting from Grapevine will never involve I35.

Not true. This house is walking distance (2.5 blocks) to sought-after DeGoyler Elementary. Remodeled 4 bed/2.5 bath with pool on a .25 acre lot for $529k. It’s 2 blocks from the Northaven Trail for biking / walking / scooters, 2 blocks from the park at Royal & Cromwell and 2 blocks from Club Royal, the popular community pool for this neighborhood that is a bargain at $390/year for a family membership. http://www.clubroyalpool.org/ Super social & diverse neighborhood with July 4th parade, Halloween party, movie nights in the park by the school, etc.

15-18 minute commute to DFW, straight shot down Marsh > Lemon > Inwood.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...9_M82374-47176

Several other similar & nearby listings on the market in the $500-600k range.

[TeamLynn]

When you say diverse, what does that mean to you? Everyone has a different definition.
#1 I would probably look at Coppell, not sure what you didn't like about it?
#2 Grapevine-Colleyville.
#3 Euless....when you say diverse, ISD says something like 80 different languages spoken at home from the kids in high school, so that is diverse to me, but you may have a different opinion.
#4 If you don't mind stressful traffic....and tolls...southern Frisco and near toll road.