Best Area to Live (for single guy in 30s) (Houston: apartment, to rent)

[WonderfulAlex]

Hi everyone, I'm thinking of making a move to Dallas and was hoping to get some advice from this group. About me: 37, single male, working in the energy/utility industry, and currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am East Asian if that matters.

I was wondering if you could suggest where the best areas to live around Dallas are. Some things that are important for me (in no particular order):
1. Cost of Living: Ideally, rent under $2300 a month, but willing to stretch it higher.
2. Dating
3. Proximity to healthy food and grocery stores
4. Gyms nearby
5. Safety
6. Cleanliness
7. Friendly locals
8. A home/apartment with good natural light (and AC of course)

I plan to visit for 3 weeks to get a feel for the city and see if this could be a good place to relocate long term. Unfortunately, I am still working for a company based in California and do not have a job lined up in Dallas.
I also will not bring my car and was planning on using Uber for my trip.

I also have money saved for a down payment on a home. Could reasonably afford something in the ballpark of $600k.

Any tips, advice, and info would be much appreciated! Cheers.

[Texan#1]

I think you should consider the Knox Park or State Thomas neighborhoods. There are many established professionals in these pockets and they are fun areas to live in. You can also consider apartment buildings from Victory Park and northward along the Katy Trail. You should be able to find a one bedroom for $2500 or so. Good luck

[CMC_TX]

Originally Posted by WonderfulAlex

Hi everyone, I'm thinking of making a move to Dallas and was hoping to get some advice from this group. About me: 37, single male, working in the energy/utility industry, and currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am East Asian if that matters.

I was wondering if you could suggest where the best areas to live around Dallas are. Some things that are important for me (in no particular order):
1. Cost of Living: Ideally, rent under $2300 a month, but willing to stretch it higher.
2. Dating
3. Proximity to healthy food and grocery stores
4. Gyms nearby
5. Safety
6. Cleanliness
7. Friendly locals
8. A home/apartment with good natural light (and AC of course)

I plan to visit for 3 weeks to get a feel for the city and see if this could be a good place to relocate long term. Unfortunately, I am still working for a company based in California and do not have a job lined up in Dallas.
I also will not bring my car and was planning on using Uber for my trip.

I also have money saved for a down payment on a home. Could reasonably afford something in the ballpark of $600k.

Any tips, advice, and info would be much appreciated! Cheers.

I’d pay to rent a car for at least part of the time so you can drive around to multiple areas on your own timetable - at least for part of the 3 weeks.
Uber will add up to quite a bit of money and limit what you can see.

[Leonard123]

Originally Posted by WonderfulAlex

Hi everyone, I'm thinking of making a move to Dallas and was hoping to get some advice from this group. About me: 37, single male, working in the energy/utility industry, and currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am East Asian if that matters.

I was wondering if you could suggest where the best areas to live around Dallas are. Some things that are important for me (in no particular order):
1. Cost of Living: Ideally, rent under $2300 a month, but willing to stretch it higher.
2. Dating
3. Proximity to healthy food and grocery stores
4. Gyms nearby
5. Safety
6. Cleanliness
7. Friendly locals
8. A home/apartment with good natural light (and AC of course)

I plan to visit for 3 weeks to get a feel for the city and see if this could be a good place to relocate long term. Unfortunately, I am still working for a company based in California and do not have a job lined up in Dallas.
I also will not bring my car and was planning on using Uber for my trip.

I also have money saved for a down payment on a home. Could reasonably afford something in the ballpark of $600k.

Any tips, advice, and info would be much appreciated! Cheers.

What brings you to this area if not a job? It's better than the Bay Area, but most of the rest of the nation is, and you could probably do better. Regardless, I would advise you find a local job before moving and then renting a few months before committing to buying. You will want to live close to work. It's a big area, the traffic is heavy, and the roller coasters are not for the faint of heart.

[TeamLynn]

Find the job, then a place to live.
Live close to work.
Everything else is possible after that.

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by TeamLynn

Find the job, then a place to live.
Live close to work.
Everything else is possible after that.

OP, I suggest you look at a MAP. The DFW area is larger than the state of Connecticut and other than DART rail and a few other lines, there is minimal mass transit. It's mostly by buses, which of course sit in the same traffic jams as cars. Also, from July through September it's surface-of-the-sun hot out there, so your mile walk from the bus stop to home or office will definitely leave you very sweaty, if that matters to your workplace.

The way it works here is you find out where your job will be located, rent a place near there, and live there while learning where you want to put down your stake.

[tcualum]

It would be very helpful if you would tell us why you chose Dallas when you don't have a job lined up here especially since the energy sector is much stronger in Houston. Dallas is very diverse and there are people here from all over the world. Does it matter for you live near people from your own culture and/or near a district that focuses on your ethnicity with shops and restaurants

[tmtex]

He chose several cities. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, New York. But he can only afford a 500K house in Houston and he can also afford a 750K house in NY, Miami and with various rents

[Luka4MVP]

Uptown could be a good choice—tons of restaurants, bars, etc, and its where the majority of young, single professionals live in Dallas.

Have heard good things about Victory Park. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll be able to catch a ton of games.

Knox-Henderson could be an option, but it might be a bit younger than you’re looking for—very much continued UT/SMU/TCU/OU fraternity/sorority life.

[WonderfulAlex]

Originally Posted by Texan#1

I think you should consider the Knox Park or State Thomas neighborhoods. There are many established professionals in these pockets and they are fun areas to live in. You can also consider apartment buildings from Victory Park and northward along the Katy Trail. You should be able to find a one bedroom for $2500 or so. Good luck

These areas looks very nice, thank you for the recommendation!

Originally Posted by Leonard123

What brings you to this area if not a job? It's better than the Bay Area, but most of the rest of the nation is, and you could probably do better. Regardless, I would advise you find a local job before moving and then renting a few months before committing to buying. You will want to live close to work. It's a big area, the traffic is heavy, and the roller coasters are not for the faint of heart.

It's a good question. Honestly, still doing research and weighing different options. What I can say is, cost of living and dating are probably the two biggest factors for me, and in both areas, the Bay Area is the worst Lol. The job situation is also tricky, I agree it would be difficult to thrive here without a job already lined up. I don't have that figured out tbh.

Originally Posted by tcualum

It would be very helpful if you would tell us why you chose Dallas when you don't have a job lined up here especially since the energy sector is much stronger in Houston. Dallas is very diverse and there are people here from all over the world. Does it matter for you live near people from your own culture and/or near a district that focuses on your ethnicity with shops and restaurants

Dallas is just based on anecdotal things I've heard from people who visited and enjoyed their time, along with the values I listed. I would say I'm more concerned about friendliness and receptiveness toward people from my own culture, which in my experience can vary from city to city. However having Asian shops and restaurants nearby would be a definite plus (I wouldn't rank it higher than having healthy options available tho).

Originally Posted by tmtex

He chose several cities. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, New York. But he can only afford a 500K house in Houston and he can also afford a 750K house in NY, Miami and with various rents

Yep, just doing the DD at this point. The variation is a bit arbitrary, a rough estimate of how much more I'd have to swing it to maintain the same standard of living, which in larger cities means paying more.

Originally Posted by Luka4MVP

Uptown could be a good choice—tons of restaurants, bars, etc, and its where the majority of young, single professionals live in Dallas.

Have heard good things about Victory Park. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll be able to catch a ton of games.

Knox-Henderson could be an option, but it might be a bit younger than you’re looking for—very much continued UT/SMU/TCU/OU fraternity/sorority life.

These look like great areas! I've noticed that Dallas looks very modern and well developed. The infrastructure and amenities look very good from what I can gather on Google maps.