Fort Worth or Arlington (Dallas, Austin: apartments, rent, high crime)

[Wittyusername17]

I'll be moving to Texas next year and I have the choice of living in Fort worth, Dallas or Austin and anywhere in between/surrounding areas but I'm leaning towards fort worth.
I'll be traveling all throughout Texas as well as the surrounding states. Im in my late 20s and like to stay active. Bars arent super important but an area with things to do is.
I want to spend 800-1000 but can go up to 1300 a month.
I just want to go as low as possible so I can aggressively pay off my student loans.

With that in mind, where would be the best place to live and would it make more sense to go further north where it's cheaper or can I get into a nice area closer to one of these cities.

Thanks.

[ChristieP]

Considering that average rent on a 1 bedroom in DFW is around $1050, looking that far below average is likely going to put you into a high crime area. I understand about wanting to pay off student loans, but maybe you should consider finding a roommate so you aren't living in a dangerous area. Going north of DFW (Plano, Frisco?) will not be any cheaper.

[TheProtege]

The southern areas of Dallas & Fort Worth are usually the cheaper areas.
Just looked up the apartments close to where i'm at in the mid cities.
They start right around 850 and go up to 1300 on the low end.
To the south of me in the northern Arlington area.
They start right around 800 and go up to 1300 for the average.
So I wouldn't say that your budget is bad. Just that $800 is going to be a very small one bedroom/studio and it's probably not in a newer complex with a lot of amenities.

[ChristieP]

Beware of the streets in north Arlington with the presidential names. That’s a fairly high crime area.

[asiatrails]

Originally Posted by Wittyusername17

I'll be moving to Texas next year and I have the choice of living in Fort worth, Dallas or Austin and anywhere in between/surrounding areas but I'm leaning towards fort worth.
I'll be traveling all throughout Texas as well as the surrounding states. Im in my late 20s and like to stay active. Bars arent super important but an area with things to do is.
I want to spend 800-1000 but can go up to 1300 a month.
I just want to go as low as possible so I can aggressively pay off my student loans.

With that in mind, where would be the best place to live and would it make more sense to go further north where it's cheaper or can I get into a nice area closer to one of these cities.

Thanks.

If you are going to be travelling that much then downtown Fort Worth with the commuter train to DFW is your best bet, good places there are probably $1200 per month, for $800 you are not in an area that has a high survival rating

Austin has similar prices and no light rail to the airport

[abelinkkin]

Originally Posted by asiatrails

If you are going to be travelling that much then downtown Fort Worth with the commuter train to DFW is your best bet, good places there are probably $1200 per month, for $800 you are not in an area that has a high survival rating

Austin has similar prices and no light rail to the airport

Might want to increase those numbers a bit. I highly doubt you can find anything near downtown for that cheap.

[calgirlinnc]

Choose Austin.

[RonnieinDallas]

Out of the three I would definitely go with Dallas. Fort Worth would probably be my last choice. It’s definitely the cheapest of the 3 but getting a nice apartment in an area where there are a lot of active single young adults in your age group will be similar in all 3. Dallas just has a lot more to offer for your demographic. It has the largest concentration of late 20’s and early 30’s professional people. Uptown, Downtown, Deep Ellum, Oak Lawn all kind of merge into one another now, and those areas offer way better amenities for someone like you. You can find a nice small 1 bedroom at the high end of your budget. Definitely worth it IMO. I would absolutely not recommend any of the Tarrant County suburbs, especially not Arlington.

[bmantx]

Originally Posted by Wittyusername17

I'll be moving to Texas next year and I have the choice of living in Fort worth, Dallas or Austin and anywhere in between/surrounding areas but I'm leaning towards fort worth.
I'll be traveling all throughout Texas as well as the surrounding states. Im in my late 20s and like to stay active. Bars arent super important but an area with things to do is.
I want to spend 800-1000 but can go up to 1300 a month.
I just want to go as low as possible so I can aggressively pay off my student loans.

With that in mind, where would be the best place to live and would it make more sense to go further north where it's cheaper or can I get into a nice area closer to one of these cities.

Thanks.

I prefer Fort Worth over Dallas or Mid cities. Wife and I live between Azle and Lake Worth. Love it! Lots of land and have options to expand. Kids go to Azle ISD which is smaller and less crowded. They also are a more family oriented district. Hope this helps and welcome to Texas! Best choice I ever made!

--B

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Don't live in Arlington at your age. Seriously, live in either Fort Worth proper or Dallas (near Uptown). You've got a whole life left when you can move to the suburbs and eat at TGI Fridays. Nothing against Arlington (it's the least "suburb" suburb, IMO) specifically, but live in a real city with other young single people.

Either way, I would try to find a roommate. I'd much rather live in Uptown (Dallas) or West 7th or Magnolia/Fairmount (Fort Worth) in a decent place with a roommate than in the ghetto by myself. Besides, the right roommate might end up being a friend.