slven

My husband's job has been moved to Dallas. We currently live in the NorthEast so are use to a different "look and feel" than dallas - of course, at a higher cost! So far, my two trips to Dallas to look around seem to result in seeing cookie cutter houses in massive developments surrounded by chain restaurants and strip malls. NOTHING wrong with that, just not what we're use to and not sure this is what we want. Really struggling to find somewhere like where we live now, which we really enjoy.

Cost aside, can anyone recommend any neighborhood/town or area in the metroplex in which:
1. you can get a nice house with at least a little land...and trees! (we don't need brand new with all the best amenities). perhaps some scenery to the area??
2. houses aren't all "cookie cutter"
3. Great schools / Great daycares, etc
4. walking distance (or short drive) to a "town" area/center - ie. stores, restaurants, etc - and that aren't necessarily chain restaurants (essentially, would love to be able to walk to a cute neighborhood bar or some charming mom and pop restaurants...that serve good food of course!)
5. sense of community, community events, and access to community facilities (community pool and/or rec center, lake, etc)
6. pet friendly (ie. dog park perhaps)
7. Safe, safe, safe!

Thank you!

RoamsAround

When made a move to Fort Worth 22 years ago we were expecting to find houses with"land, lots of land" only to realize that most houses closer to the city, even the lager ones, were close together and on small plots of land.

As urban sprawl "moved the suburbs further out we notice some developers were offering larger lots but they were in the more upscale developments and a relative long commute into the city. So, you end up paying a price (higher homes costs and longer commutes) for the privilege. The same situation is found in Dallas.

Check out the following communities: Southlake, Frisco, Grapevine and Plano - they will have what you are seeking. Look north and northwest of the city.

Avoid the mid-cities area as just about everything cookie cutter there,

RoamsAround

Oh, by the way, nobody "walks" anywhere in the DFW area so doubtful you'll find the type of housing you are seeking that within walking distance of anything. Texas is definitely a car culture.

One more suggestion, if you are willing to have a very long commute to Dallas look at the town of McKinney - your wish list describes it perfectly.

slven

Thanks! Yes, we did happen to drive to McKinney just for a drive. It is much more like where we live now (nice, older town outside of NYC) and what we want. However, my concerns are the commute and the schools (the realtor implied we would rather be in the Frisco or Allen districts - but maybe he was self-motivated?).

Anywhere else similar to McKinney....or is that it? I know everyone thinks I'm asking for everything, but there are lots of places like that where we live now - of course, you REALLY pay for it. I know it's all trade-offs, but really concerned we are giving up our "way of life" here that we really enjoy and need to make a decision quickly. I just have a hard time believing there aren't more places like that in the metroplex...must be other people wanting the same.

Dukey1

"cost aside?"

Take a look; (never hurts to dream a little)

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro...homebuyers.ece

jcb

Hi Slvin,

I live IN Dallas (in the loop), live on .8 acre with lots of trees in a 1950s ranch house. Houses with bigger lots do exists but are hard to find. We moved to this house a year ago, but we found it through a private sale.

Forget about walking anywhere. It is really not possible.

Where is your husband's office located? IMO, this is key to finding a house b/c traffic can be messy.

Where I live, the elementary school is good, but I do not know beyond that. We go to private school as do many of the kids around here.

A few areas off the top of my head to look are in Northwood Hills (Alpha and Hillcrest) and the Midway/Royal area. I will try to think of more.

www.ebby.com is a good source for home listings.

RoamsAround

Also check out the town of Trophy Club.

Heed jcb's advice about commuting - traffic in/out and around Dallas can be a real bear. To be of more hep we need to know where in Dallas your husband's office is located - for instance, if he is working on the east or south side of Dallas and you live in north or northwest Dallas you could have a very long commute.

You are much better off making a concession on the size of your land and opt for being closer to work. If you can afford it, look in the Highland Park and University Park neighborhoods - both very upscale, with lots of trees, some nearby shops and restaurants and a relatively short and easy commute to downtown Dallas (assuming you husband is working in downtown Dallas).

jayne1973

Check out Coppell for really good schools and general high quality of life and safety. You can find homes with a little land, although it will cost you. Population just under 40k.

nytraveler

I don't think walking is allowed in Texas. I was at a hotel once there and had a couple of hours off from research. There was a mall across the street and I was going to walk down the hotel drive to the street, across the street (not a highway, not much traffic) and across the mall parking lot. (A total of about 4 short city blocks.)

The doorman insisted on getting me a cab - due to riaks of traffic and snakes. Weird - but I figured he knew. And when I got out there it was really too hot to walk.

Heavens

Yes, Highland Park, University Park (near SMU), M Streets (south of SMU), Plano, McKinney, maybe Frisco. Grapevine is quaint. It all depends on where the work is. No one wants to commute down Central Expressway to downtown from Plano. Nightmare. Streets East of Midway, south of Walnut Hill and north of NW Highway have lots of yard and beautiful mansions. Many of the children now go to private schools. Also maybe Lake Highlands area?

ChristieP

You might try asking here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/dallas/

The big factor here is budget. That elusive "large lot" comes with a hefty price in most areas. Initially, your want list describes Highland Park quite well, but a starter home there will bring at least $750k...

OO

Snakes....I think there was some leg pulling going on there!! I hope you tipped him well for that cab.

Slven your husband's job location is an important bit of missing information. We lived in Plano, and my husband worked downtown Dallas. It was a good 35-40 minute drive, leaving the house shortly after 6 AM, and traffic has gotten worse in the interim. We loved Plano though...terrific schools (we were being transferred from Boston and thought we knew good) and a family oriented community. Our son now lives in Frisco, and it seems to me that Frisco is today what Plano was when we moved there. They are very happy with the school system, and daycare was fantastic...with buses to pick the kids up after school and bring them back to the daycare facility.

BUT...you'll find large houses on small lots in that area and Plano, and a lot of similarity in houses as you noted. If price wasn't a consideration you might look in Highland Park area, or Preston Hollow. The bigger lots are in those older, but lovely close-in neighborhoods. You certainly pay for the privilege tho! Someone mentioned Southlake, and that's a good suggestion too, depending on the location of your husband' s job.

As much as I did not want to move to TX, we ended up absolutely loving that period of our lives, living there for 17 years. We honestly feel we couldn't have chosen a better place to raise our children. Good luck with the move.

sarge56

White Rock Lake area, around the Dallas Arboretum, is lovely, IMHO. Very "community-oriented". Definitely an older neighborhood. Here is one site I found. Click on Neighborhoods: http://www.whiterocklakeproperties.com/

You do have to consider where your husband's office is, though, because traffic can be a bear!

sarge56

PS When I wrote "older", I meant "established"!

starrs

I moved back from Dallas because I missed trees and hills.
I'm not kidding.

Your #1 concern should be the commute for work. After that, find something you can live with and stop focusing on recreating what you have at home. Texas is different.

A friend just drove back from "home" to Texas (she's working on her doctorate) and her Facebook status was a comment about no trees but big skies. I don't think I would have believed it then, but I do miss that about Texas. You'll settle in and find things you like about it too.

travelerfromtx

LOL, starrs! That's a common misconception, but there are plenty of parts of Texas with tons of trees. It's a huge state. East Texas is overflowing with them!! Beautiful oaks, pines, hickory trees, dogwoods and more. There are actually 4 national forests in east Texas: Sabine, Angelina, Sam Houston and Davy Crockett.

slven, when I read your post the first place I thought of was Southlake. If cost is not a factor, then the nearby Westlake. I agree it really depends on where your husband's work is located as commute times can be a deciding factor.

BigRuss

>

Dear G-d no. Water in Trophy Club tastes like it came from a municipal pool. And it is NOT near Dallas.

There are tons of trees in Dallas and its suburbs. Where do you think we live, Midland?

I don't know what "houses are all cookie cutter" means - fact is row houses in Queens, brownstones in Brooklyn, and tons of little New England homes look alike too. In our neighborhood outside Dallas, we have various "looks" to the houses.

If you have some land, you're area is pet-friendly.

What is "great schools"? Does that mean PUBLIC schools? There are a LOT of great private schools.

Quite honestly, with no cost considerations, you're asking for information in a vacuum. Sure, Turtle Creek has some of the best homes in Dallas, and you'd love most options along Armstrong Pkwy, but can you afford to drop that kind of cash?

I vetoed nice areas in Plano and Richardson because I refused to commute 35-45 minutes on a good run to my downtown offices. Rule 1 is simple: be able to live with the commute.

starrs

"That's a common misconception, but there are plenty of parts of Texas..."

Didn't say there weren't parts of Texas with trees. I said I moved from Dallas back home because I missed trees and hills. The OP is looking for:
"1. you can get a nice house with at least a little land...and trees!"

Hence my comment.

I transferred with my job and had trees at eye level on the 4th floor of my office in Atlanta. In Dallas, they planted tiny trees outside the building and curved the sidewalk around little dirt piles (okay, berms) to give the appearance of something other than flat ground. In the winter, it took two people to open the giant glass doors of the office building when the cold winds came whipping down the plains.

The Texas sky is beautiful with horizon to horizon sunsets. But the trees of New England - and the Appalachian foothills?
I didn't see them in the Dallas burbs.

BigRuss

>

The Dallas burbs north, northeast, west and northwest of the city are shot through with flora. South of Dallas and FW are more farmland areas. Immediately east of Dallas (Mesquite, Garland) are more low to mid-industrial areas. Southwest Dallas (old Oak Cliff and Kessler Park) have areas with serious tree covering.

If you moved from Dallas to see trees, you weren't in the right places.

Considering the climate, we're highly motivated to have a ton of trees here.

travelerfromtx

"A friend just drove back from "home" to Texas (she's working on her doctorate) and her Facebook status was a comment about no trees but big skies. I don't think I would have believed it then, but I do miss that about Texas."

Sorry starrs, I guess my eyes focused on the last part. So many people have this idea that all of Texas is the same that it was easy for me to make an incorrect assumption about what you were saying.