So is Garland a good place? (Dallas, Plano: middle-class, apartment complex, foreclosure)

[sunshineguy60]

I just HAD to post something here. We visited our old neighbor hood in Garland this year while passing through on vacation. We lived in Garland from the mid-to-late '80s. We were shocked to see how bad it is now.

Driving north on 78 from LBJ was like going through a Ghetto... in Tijuana.
We went to child birth classes in Garland HS before our oldest was born in 1985. Now I wouldn't get our of the car there on a bet.

...And I grew up in Detroit!

Our old house was a Gibralter 'custom', built in 1983. It was/is west of 78 and North of Buckingham. That neighborhood is now run-down so bad, with fences decorated with graffitti, that we didn't feel safe just driving through it. Many houses had "HUD" stickers on the windows - foreclosures. Much of the reason for this was the Pulte cracker boxes that were built there in the latter 80's. They didn't hold up, nor hold their value. Same goes for the General Homes built just west of 78 off Beltline. My friends all lived over there but none do now. Too scary...

Just north of the 'new' 190 - everything changes. It looks like the Beltline/Buckingham strip of the 1980's. New and clean. But ti will just be a matter of time (10-15 years) before the blight moves north and encompasses it as well.

I would strongly suggest look further North than Garland, like Wylie, Sachse.

If we were to move back, it would be up by the Lake (Lavon).

[momof2dfw]

Oh pah-lease. Ghetto....... lmao. Give me a break. Sorry, but I drive thru those areas all the time in my car(s) and am NOT scared (high end luxury cars to boot) and GET OUT IF THEM. I've been to Tijuana and it does not even compare. LOL!!! If the area around Garland High School was THAT bad it would not host as many events as it does and the parents would not be there much less take their kids there. We have friends that live a block away and my own daughter walks w/ her friend from there over to GHS for events. I also own property right there and it is not crime ridden. You are OVER exagerating and exploiting an area simply because it is older and not shiney new. Besides, there are some LOVELY new homes being built in the downtown area of Garland. Drive thru the parking lots sometimes and count how many high end luxury cars you see....... there are PLENTY!!! Not the kids driving them but their parents. Not ONCE has ANYONE had ANY trouble there.

It won't be going downhill. As a matter of fact it is going UPHILL even in the older parts of town w/ the city taking over rundown apartment buildings and tearing them down. Your a crack up. Put down the crack pipe. If your scared to get out of your car in Garland then you can keep on driving as the rest of us LOVE where we live and proudly call it home and are NOT scared to get out of our cars. Geez, your a trip. Grow up.

And you don't think the areas up around Lake Lavon are not rundown............. lol. That's a good one

[momof2dfw]

To whom ever left me this neg message:
"Insulting. You may disagree, but that's no reason to name-call"

I was not insulting. The poster sunshine was INSULTING as he is totally out of whack w/ the truth. I hope you neg'd him too as he was basicallly calling those of us that live in Garland names that were not too nice. What I posted was not in disagreement it was in setting the truth straight. BIG difference. Like I said, just because something is not sparkling brand new does not make it "ghetto" nor on the same level as "Tijuana".

[MaryS80]

Originally Posted by sunshineguy60

I just HAD to post something here. We visited our old neighbor hood in Garland this year while passing through on vacation. We lived in Garland from the mid-to-late '80s. We were shocked to see how bad it is now.

Driving north on 78 from LBJ was like going through a Ghetto... in Tijuana.
We went to child birth classes in Garland HS before our oldest was born in 1985. Now I wouldn't get our of the car there on a bet.

...And I grew up in Detroit!

Our old house was a Gibralter 'custom', built in 1983. It was/is west of 78 and North of Buckingham. That neighborhood is now run-down so bad, with fences decorated with graffitti, that we didn't feel safe just driving through it. Many houses had "HUD" stickers on the windows - foreclosures. Much of the reason for this was the Pulte cracker boxes that were built there in the latter 80's. They didn't hold up, nor hold their value. Same goes for the General Homes built just west of 78 off Beltline. My friends all lived over there but none do now. Too scary...

Just north of the 'new' 190 - everything changes. It looks like the Beltline/Buckingham strip of the 1980's. New and clean. But ti will just be a matter of time (10-15 years) before the blight moves north and encompasses it as well.

I would strongly suggest look further North than Garland, like Wylie, Sachse.

If we were to move back, it would be up by the Lake (Lavon).

Tijuana, oh heaven forbid there are hispanics!!! I lived a block over from GHS for 8 years, and there was little to no crime in the neighborhood.

Why do people feel the need to equate anyplace with a lot of minorities as a ghetto? Or anyplace that is the hot brand spanking new 'burb of lily white utopia is a ghetto.

Your post is so over the top I have a hard time taking you seriously. Many parts of Garland aren't sparkling pretty and new, but that does not mean its the equivalent of a third world penal colony.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Oh pah-lease. Ghetto....... lmao. Give me a break. Sorry, but I drive thru those areas all the time in my car(s) and am NOT scared (high end luxury cars to boot) and GET OUT IF THEM. I've been to Tijuana and it does not even compare. LOL!!! If the area around Garland High School was THAT bad it would not host as many events as it does and the parents would not be there much less take their kids there. We have friends that live a block away and my own daughter walks w/ her friend from there over to GHS for events. I also own property right there and it is not crime ridden. You are OVER exagerating and exploiting an area simply because it is older and not shiney new. Besides, there are some LOVELY new homes being built in the downtown area of Garland. Drive thru the parking lots sometimes and count how many high end luxury cars you see....... there are PLENTY!!! Not the kids driving them but their parents. Not ONCE has ANYONE had ANY trouble there.

It won't be going downhill. As a matter of fact it is going UPHILL even in the older parts of town w/ the city taking over rundown apartment buildings and tearing them down. Your a crack up. Put down the crack pipe. If your scared to get out of your car in Garland then you can keep on driving as the rest of us LOVE where we live and proudly call it home and are NOT scared to get out of our cars. Geez, your a trip. Grow up.

And you don't think the areas up around Lake Lavon are not rundown............. lol. That's a good one

I actually have a few friends who live in Garland, and they say the side they live in is ghetto. I don't remember what side of Garland they live in, but they do have tagging, etc. I guess it is just appearance, because crime in Garland isn't as bad, as say Arlington.

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

I actually have a few friends who live in Garland, and they say the side they live in is ghetto. I don't remember what side of Garland they live in, but they do have tagging, etc. I guess it is just appearance, because crime in Garland isn't as bad, as say Arlington.

There have been gangs in Garland since way back in the 80's. How active or how numerous, I don't know, but they've been there both in the junior high and high schools since 80's and 90's... it's just kept quieter than a lot of places. I did some part-time work in the evenings and weekends at the rec centers when we lived there, and you'd be surprised at how open the kids were about relating what really went on at school... a lot more than my own kids did, but certainly helped me deal with whatever they might be facing on a daily basis.

So, this isn't something new or limited to any one area, or the metroplex, or the state... but it is something that parents have a hard time acknowledging... as it's a scary thing to deal with knowing what your child might be exposed to on a daily basis.

[galore]

LOL! The fear of the brown people strikes again.

Yeah, there are hispanic neighborhoods in south Garland. So what. They are poorer than other areas and it shows. What TV shows (or probably AM talk radio) are you ingesting that you think that those areas are ultra-dangerous?!

I am probably naive but I regularly visit hispanic friends in San Antonio, south side, an area that is so hispanic "ghetto" in many people's eyes that south Garland looks like White Settlement in comparison and NEVER had/have a problem with crime (going on for 10 years now). And yes, I drive a $50k+ SUV and also have a luxury Audi convertible. Both cars have survived the "hispanic cesspool" just fine...

[cha cha]

i'm from e. st louis, is garland as bad as where i live? from some of these posts i feel fortunate to live where i do. gotta go someones trying to break into my house.

[Grainraiser]

Man these threads crack me up. Garland is basically just like Dallas but on a smaller scale. There are great parts and bad parts of Garland just like any other city. Just like any other city when you start taking good and bad you need to start with a home price range. If your looking for a house for 80k you will find it very difficult to find a place in a nice neighborhood. As the prices get higher the homes and neighorhood will also. You can't compare Plano with Garland because the average income in Plano is way higher. Not everyone can afford a 300k house with luxury car/SUV's park out front. I live in Mesquite which is the burb over from Garland. It's a blue collar town and I was known as a place were trailer park trash would live. There are still plenty parts of town where this would still be the case but it also has some newer developments that are fantastic for middle class people looking for a home 200k or less. Burbs are no different than any other cities. There are great areas and areas that should be avoided. I can show these area's in any city in Texas including Plano and Frisco. I found that once you live in a large subdivision everything that happens to you is pretty much contained in that area. Your not even aware what goes on outside your little world.

[WVMMRH]

I WAS RAISED IN GARLAND and yes,it's a ghetto as is most of the dallas area.better places to move to would be plano or rockwall.i can't stand people who live in the ghetto and will tell others it's NOT a ghetto (as though they've never lived anywhere better).people will tell you garland isn't a ghetto merely from intimidation.the average working class person is stocking at walmart!! give me a break..most of the people in garland under 50 are either hispanic or black and on some kind of governement assistance. as i poinred out,plano or rockwall are much better choices over garland!! i was sick and tired of living around voucher and section 8 whioch you'll be living in the middle of if you plan to live in garland. people can argue with me all they want..you can't change facts!!! people will argue simply from feeling intimidated!! i moved to plano last year and i love it!!! if you have the uncommon sense to move to garland,stay clear of the walnut and jupiter road areas as well as the centerville road areas.ghetto centrals.far east garland is a bit better. i've lived in garland since may of 1966 ,i'm 54 years old and i know what i'm talking about.garland went downhill terribally in the 90's with an influx of illegal aliens.garland is one of those cities that harbors and encourages illegal aliens to reside there in the manner that apartment complexes in garlan let ANYONE move in without much question (if you're hispanic esoecially). if somebody else wants to live in that mess that's fine with me.but i'l stay here in plano. if you're section 8 or voucher or welfare asisisted,you'll fit right in with garland texas! i assure you