Moving to Dallas - Where to live?
 

Hi all-
My husband recently got offered a job in Irving to begin in June. We are currently on the west coast and are a young family, so we are pretty excited about the move. We are first looking to rent for about a year then to buy. We have one son under 1 year and a dog. Safety is a huge thing for us, as I will be home alone with my son while my husband works and want to know I can go out and about with no problem. What are the best areas to look to live in? My husband will be taking a trip out in April to look at different places, and I'd love some insight on where and where not to go. Our budget is for a 2 bedroom, looking to stay under $1300 if possible. Thank you in advance!

Welcome to Texas. What are the cross street of your husband's office?

My first thought would be to look in Coppel. There is a new development called Cypress Waters - don't know much about it, but it is a huge mixed use area.

Depending on the location of his office, I might also suggest some areas of Carrollton, Farmers Branch or Addison. I'm not a big fan of Irving, but I think there are some nice apartments around Royal and Riverside.

Personally, I would look for a mixed use area b/c there are usually people out walking during the day. - plus they look fun.

I was going to suggest you post your question on City-Data as well, but see that you already did.

Check out what's available in the La Villita area of Irving/Las Colinas.

http://www.lavillitaapts.com/

La Villita has townhomes, apartments and full houses in a large subdivision with good outdoor areas for the hobbit and the puppy.

If he's working downtown look at Lakewood on the east side. Renting there is a good way to check out the area for later purchase. The public schools are very good and there is a lot of upscale shopping moving in such as Trader Joe's. Search under Old East Dallas, Lakewood, Lower Greenville Avenue and Gaston Avenue. The Knox-Henderson area has tons of nice apartments also.

Happytourist - The job is in Irving.

The Las Colinas area is a great location. Valley Ranch area could be a good possibility, but it is congested. Almost anything in north Irving would be worth looking into. Coppell and Farmers Branch are options, but Addison is further than you would want to be - traffic-wise.

Welcome to TX

Thank you, everyone. We will be sure to look into Valley Ranch and the Las Colinas areas! I appreciate all of your input - anything is helpful at this point ;)

If you have kids who will be in public schools, check out options located within Coppell ISD, which extends beyond the boundaries of the City of Coppell.

Some of Valley Ranch in is within the Coppell school district.

Cypress Waters is in Coppell ISD but is technically located in the City of Dallas, but is sandwiched between Irving and Coppell. (Long story on that one.) The majority of the apartments are one-bedroom, but there are some larger units. Have heard the rents are are high, but it is worth a look.

RE: schooling - also check into North Hill Prep in Las Colinas. Charter school that gets good ratings (at least it has in the past).