Living around the Dallas VA (Garland, Grand Prairie: middle-class, apartment complexes, loft)

[jocodi]

Hello all,
I may be selected to work at the Dallas VA Medical Center located on 4500 S. Lancaster Rd. Is it possible to find a decent apartment in that area? Also, is the area itself good to live in, crime-wise, or would I have to live in an apartment further away? Are the prices resonable? Any suggestions?
Thank you for your insight?

[FarNorthDallas]

Nope. Bad area. You'll have to look futher away. Also avoid Wilmer, Hutchins, Balch Springs and Seagoville. Do a search as this question comes up over and over. I am starting to wonder if the VA recruits from out of town because everyone here knows it's in a bad location.

[catluvr]

Fed gov is all that is hiring nowdays and Dallas is a mass exodus for people to get out of their state! Everybody suddenly wants to be here. Weather, Federal jobs avaliable, etc. Also VA has great benefits, but rumor has it other hospitals in the area pay more. That may be why out of staters may be flocking here, but Dallasites stay away. Great way to relocate. Also long commute for most everybody which deters some of the locals.

My two cents.

[Grainraiser]

Like stated VA is in a bad part of town. The hospital itself is surrounded by a huge fence and it is safe on hospital grounds. Outside that fence is very sketchy. If you want the option of catching the transit train you should look consider the Cedars area of downtown or in the Village. If your going to drive in everyday you could look at Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill or Mesquite. If your single and want to be near the action I would suggest you look at the Village apartment community. It's pretty boring in the burbs for a young single person.

[Acntx]

Although we regularly get inquiries from people planning to work at the VA on this forum, the activity has really picked up in the last month. While it is true that the neighborhoods surrounding the VA aren't the best, there are decent options only a little further out. To start, I would base my search on what type of lifestyle you prefer outside of work. If you prefer areas with nightlife and singles, I'd suggest narrowing your search to certain areas within the city of Dallas like Uptown, Downtown, and North Oak Cliff. These areas are within a reasonable commuting distance and are also served by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).

If you prefer living in the suburbs, I'd recommend looking in Lancaster, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Mesquite. Lancaster and DeSoto are the closest suburban communities to the VA Hospital. They are both mostly middle-class and border Dallas to the south. In fact, it is possible to commute from Lancaster without using any interstate highways. State Highway 342 (known as Dallas Avenue in Lancaster and Lancaster Road in Dallas) runs alongside the VA and is also one of Lancaster's main north-south routes. I currently live in Lancaster and prior to that, I lived in DeSoto. Both cities have nice complexes that might be suitable to you. There are several apartment complexes in Lancaster and some are better than others, but the two nicest in my opinion are Creekwood Place and Rolling Hills Place. They are both well maintained and are situated near the retail businesses that lie along either side of the Interstate 35E corridor. Over the past few years, several newer apartment complexes have been built in DeSoto. Two of them, DeSoto Ranch and Huntington Ridge, are located on South Polk Street. The third, DeSoto Town Center Apartments, are located at the intersection of Hampton Road and Pleasant Run Road. They were developed as part of the city's first mixed-use project. Some of the older complexes in DeSoto are worth looking into as well. Mesquite, located east of Dallas, is a much larger suburb with a wider selection of apartments. Cedar Hill, Garland, and Grand Prairie are located further away from the VA than the places I mentioned earlier, but they too could be an option if you don't mind the longer commute.

[theloneranger]

I would look at the Cedars (though the area around the Cedars is sketchy, the Cedars itself is nicely gentrified), Bishop Arts District, or North Oak Cliff. Short commute in areas that are nicer and safer than many other parts of southern Dallas.

[Philip T]

Consider Concealed Carry options.

[MochaCaliGirl]

I moved from Huntington Beach, California to Dallas about 8 years ago. I am also a disabled USMC veteran so I go to the VA hospital a lot. Like most people I rented prior to purchasing. Being a Cali Girl I thought living a few blocks south of the Farmers Market in an old flour mill would be a kewl idea. That was mistake number 1. Then I thought I would look around the area of the VA hospital because it has a rail station that stops directly in front of it and I figured it couldn't be that bad. Mistake number 2. Suffice to say I wound up purchasing a small condo in a "nicer" part of town called Preston Hollow which I loved. Now I live in Deep Ellum because I was able to find a loft and I can catch the rail everywhere. Epiloge: The neighborhood directly surrounding the VA is not desirable nor safe. If you go out about 20 to 30 minutes in any direction you should be ok. Good Luck.

[txtoal]

The VA is hiring out out the wazzoo. My husband was interviewed 6 months ago at the VA and after driving several times to the area from Coppell/Lewisville he decided no way. Too far to drive and he said the area was very sketchy.

[Pete53FR]

The Dallas VA has DART rail service which can get you to the better places to stay in Dallas. Good luck I use the VA and it has improved quite a bit in last three years.