A little direction needed, please (Dallas, Fort Worth: rentals, house, neighborhoods)

[karatemomx4]

Hello,
My family is planning a move to Texas and we are trying to gather information about the DFW area. I'm planning on posting this in the Dallas forum as well. Here's what we are looking for:

1. We're a family of 6 so we'd like a 5 bedroom home. We prefer homes in more mature areas with lots of large trees. A pool would be great, but not necessary. We will be renting, and our budget is $1600-$1700 per month, maximum. We also have 4 cats that are coming with us, and that could be a challenge as far as finding a rental that doesn't have a pet limit.

2. Our younger kids are home schooled so school district is not that important. However, we do have older kids that will need access to colleges in the area. Kids range in age from 10-20, so activities for little kids are not really that important.

3. Husband commutes to work, so close access to DFW is critical; preferably no more than 30-40 minutes, including traffic.

4. Right now, we live on the outskirts of a city and we have to drive into town for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. This is getting extremely old, and we really want to be closer to things like shopping, restaurants, nightlife, things to do like museums, festivals, movie theaters, etc. We like to get out and do things; both cultural and outdoorsy stuff, and we'd really rather not be waaaaay out in the 'burbs, stuck an hour or more away from everything that's happening.

5. As my username indicates, our kids are heavily involved in karate and we would like to find a new dojo for them to train in. They practice traditional Japanese karate. If anyone knows of a place, that would definitley have an impact on where we would live, as it would be nice to be fairly close by.

Hopefully that gives you enough to suggest some areas we might look into. Thanks for any assistance you can provide!

[centercab]

Originally Posted by karatemomx4

Hello,

3. Husband commutes to work, so close access to DFW is critical; preferably no more than 30-40 minutes, including traffic.

Where in DFW does your husband work? Going from one side of Dallas to the other side of Fort Worth is a lot longer commute than 30-40 minutes.

More info please!

[RockyJoe817]

Hello;

The only problem is finding a five bedroom at such a low price. Everything else is easy.
I found this location using a search link. The only problem I think is it is also located
to close to the george bush tollway/warehouse district (Irving/Grand Prairie)
/just south of the DFW airport.





1,300 - 3150ft² - Too BIG to BELIEVE. To INEXPENSIVE to PASS up!
5 Bed, 3 Bath
Full Term Lease
1905 Hard Rock Irving Tx US (Irving)
Source:
Craigslist, Added 5 days ago
(972) 203-9005

[karatemomx4]

Originally Posted by centercab

Where in DFW does your husband work? Going from one side of Dallas to the other side of Fort Worth is a lot longer commute than 30-40 minutes.

More info please!

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. He's commuting to the airport; he's an IT consultant and works all over the country, flying out on Monday and home on Friday. So we'd like to be in fairly close proximity to the airport.

[hypocore]

You might find something suitable in Grapevine which would put you in close proximity to DFW Airport. Also there is plenty of shopping, entertainment through out much of Grapevine.

College access will depend on what is a good fit. UNT is a drive north from there, TCC is a little south, UTA is in Arlington and TCU is in Fort Worth just for starters. The drive could be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour without major traffic.

Karate I know nothing about....sorry. :-)

There are all kinds of other cities that might be a good fit as well. Close enough to DFW Airport---North Richland Hills, Keller, Roanoke, Hurst, Euless, Bedford. Many of the cities have mature trees in older neighborhoods. You won't find any newer builds.

I'd say your biggest obstacle would be finding a 5 bedroom for rent in the first place, or one within your price range, and one that accepts pets.

[karatemomx4]

Thanks for all of your input. I appreciate it.

[loves2read]

you can check realtor.com but I don't think you are going to find a house that large for that price range in nice area with any of the attributes you want
would be VERY surprised if you did--despite what that Craigslist posting says
rentals in nice areas in DFW are expensive--competitive--often more expensive than buying that house

ran search for many towns in DFW area that would be 40 min drive to DFW airport (I think)
http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/...111&source=web
was surprised how many 5 bedroom homes came up-just 5 and I had about 9 towns on the list
don't know anything about the areas because I did not check each home
look at them and then run search on the FTW and Dallas forum for the towns they are in
the one in Valley Ranch is out in Haslet area--there is lot of growth going on there with retail construction


plus your college kids will be paying out of state tuition even at community colleges--
you won't have any trouble finding colleges in DFW area--plenty of them around