I asked my brother for a tour of Oak Cliff. He about (Dallas: apartments, violent crime) - Texas (TX) - Page 5 - City-Data Forum

Modron · 01-18-2009, 04:31 PM

Well, my simple reality is I have to get out of Kansas. (The social climate here is very sick. I worked with mentally ill adolescents for seven years whose stability I would rate higher than our run of the mill social conservative, moral values, fundamentalist Christian. These people have a very tenuous grasp of reality.) I have no family of my own and my brother and his are all I have left. They happen to be in the Dallas area and being a teacher with one income I need a decent, but affordable, place to live. Not to mention finding a teaching job would probably be difficult. And I have five pets I'd feel really guilty about giving up. Parts of Oak Cliff seem to fit the bill economically but not for safety.

Anyone know a community in the Dallas area that might make this move possible?

TrueDat · 01-18-2009, 05:09 PM

What's your budget? And any clue in which part of town you might be working? Those two things could help people direct you better.

Modron · 01-18-2009, 05:54 PM

OK this will be a big help: I have no idea what part of town I might be working in. It never occurred to me to consider that, as a teacher, I would have a choice of what area of the city I work in. Where I have taught the district really controls that.

Budget-wise I do ok here. I'd have some money from the sale of my house, at least enough for a decent down payment on a moderately priced, smaller home. (Smaller because of my tastes. All one of me doesn't need a big place.) My brother's family is in Coppell. So that side of the Dallas metro area would make sense. Unfortunately, he's no help at all getting a sense of the cost of living in the Dallas area. He's terrible with money and, generally, has no idea what it costs to live.

I live quite modestly by choice. I have very few extras - except for the five pets. I guess they are my extras. If I kept them I would need a yard.

Socially, I'm rather liberal. I'd prefer a more arts-oriented environment. I love museums.

Grainraiser · 01-19-2009, 01:42 AM

Well let me approach your question like this. How much do you pay in rent/mortgage now. Is this price range pretty much were you would like to stay in Dallas. Do you prefer surburban living or a more urban enviroment (It's cheaper in the burbs). Need a little more information to answer your question.

So far North oak cliff seems like a good fit for you.

TrueDat · 01-19-2009, 02:33 PM

Yeah, but the poster seems wary of Oak Cliff so, maybe, parts of East Dallas like Junius Heights or Little Forest Hills? They're not near Coppell but they've got some older, smaller, historic homes and eclectic residents. Though the same people who think residing in Oak Cliff is like living in a never-ending segment of MSNBC's "Lockup: Raw" probably aren't too hot on Junius Heights or Little Forest Hills either.

Modron · 01-20-2009, 06:36 PM

I don't want to pay more than $825 mortage a month. I'd make a bigger down payment to keep the monthly payments low before I'd want to pay more than that a month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Well let me approach your question like this. How much do you pay in rent/mortgage now. Is this price range pretty much were you would like to stay in Dallas. Do you prefer surburban living or a more urban enviroment (It's cheaper in the burbs). Need a little more information to answer your question.

So far North oak cliff seems like a good fit for you.

Saintmarks · 01-20-2009, 08:46 PM

With your desire to live in a more artsy/liberal community but have a good safety factor as well, I am afraid you are looking at areas in the city of Dallas that are going to be some of the most costly as far as housing goes.

Ramping down to affordable and safe usually equals much more mundane suburban areas. Affordable AND Safe AND Artsy are really hard to combine. Two out of the three, no problem; all three together -- a tough one.

Dallas native · 01-21-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modron

I don't want to pay more than $825 mortage a month. I'd make a bigger down payment to keep the monthly payments low before I'd want to pay more than that a month.

Assuming you were able to do a 25% down payment, you could buy a house for about $200k and keep your priciple + interest payments down around $825/month. Be aware that real estate taxes in Texas are high. In the city of Dallas you might be paying about $2.50 for every $100 of assessed value. Assuming the house is assessed at $200k, then you're looking at another $400+/month in RE taxes. You'll need insurance too. That might add another $100/month or so. Didn't know if you were including those items in your $825 figure or not. Hopefully not. BTW, N. Oak Cliff does has safe, liberal 'hoods that are close to artsy areas and priced at or a little below $200k.

billdfw · 01-22-2009, 12:04 PM

I hope you have learned from this post that Oak Cliff is not a place to live. My suggestion would be to rent for a year in a decent area that has been suggested and then look for a house/condo that you can afford. Good luck.

mslashondapjohnson · 01-22-2009, 02:00 PM

To the original thread poster. I was born and raised in Dallas more recently just emerged out of the cliff. What area exactly was it that you were considering or you did indicate that you are out of town huh? In my opinion, I hate oak cliff for the most part Crime is Enormous and almost as equivalent to South Dallas West Dallas and East Dallas. Furthermore, there is some areas that are nice but then you blink your eye and you back in the bad spots and at the end of the day it's all the Cliff . So IDK, I would definitely recommend you go there when you can and visit in the daytime and at night and see if it's suitable for your self . The 825.00/mth is definitely feasible even in the nicer areas Richardson, Plano, Northeast Dallas, Addison, etc.etc., etc. so best advise is seeing is believing if you follow my drift.