Commuting in Dallas - I (Irving, Richardson: new construction, move, metro)

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by xS☺Be

A very good option for the OP. At least some of that area is route to PISD as well.

Richardson in Dallas County = RISD
Richardson in Collin County = PISD

[Lakewooder]

There is a sliver of homes north of E. Mockingbird Lane see map: http://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX0...Wilson2011.pdf in 75214 that are mostly 50s and 60s ranch homes that you could get for around $250K - however they will probably be under 2500 square feet. Very convenient to Presby, White Rock Lake, Downtown etc..

I would say these homes would be a good investment (we have a couple of posters who live in this area) and even if you have to pay a bit more you would save so much money on gas and tolls vs. Frisco and other northern exurbs. You could be at Presby in about 10 minutes - NO FREEWAYS.

[TX75007]

I'd live in Richardson or N Garland, ie Firewheel, or maybe Allen.

[AK2TX]

I am a 39 y/o single, professional female who is moving to Dallas from Alaska because I took a position at my company's HQ in downtown Dallas. I am looking to keep my commute to South Akard street in downtown to 30 minutes or less. I am also looking to rent first and don't want to go above $1500 per month for a 3 or 4 bedroom (I will have my father and teenage son moving in with me at some point). I have researched commute times and the following areas seemed to fit (according to Google, so I realize there is some +\- in the travel times in reality):

Addison, Flower Mound, Arlington, Irving, Farmers Branch, Coppell, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Red Oak, Garland, Carollton, HEB areas, and ????

While I would love to live someplace with trees, is established, has shopping, is close to a DART rail station, and has trails etc.....my main concerns for this first year is commute time and getting the most house for the money.

Are the above above suburbs good places to look based on those 2 needs? What other areas should be on my radar?

Specifically regarding Mesquite--- I have read up on that town and heard great things and bad things. It reminds me of my hometown actually with great neighborhoods and not so great areas side by side. What are the "nicer" areas of mesquite in terms of lower crime, clean neighborhoods, etc (I don't give a rats ass about the ethnicity of my neighbors)? Mesquite seems like an easy commute to downtown via car and the rentals there seem like a lot of "bang for your buck".....I just don't know what areas to focus on so I would love advice about Mesquite particularly. I have family in Frisco and they seem horrified that I would look there. I would love to prove them wrong

Thanks so much in advance for any advice/pointers!!!!

[getmeoutofhere]

Carrollton would be good. The DART Green Line has two stops in the area, and it runs right to the Akard station. It won't be 30 minutes or less, it's about a 42 minute ride, but it's pleasant enough.

Flower Mound is nice, but probably too expensive and not even close to 30 minutes, at all. Maybe 20-30 minutes just to get to the Carrollton DART stop, then an additional 42 minutes in. Similarly, cross of HEB and Arlington, way too far away.

[ggolf]

Richardson might be good. Dart rail, probably lots of rentals. Good neighborhoods.
Stay tuned, others are a lot smarter than me on this issue.

[Squirl]

Mesquite is a bedroom community where you can get a lot of house for your money. During rush hour it would be reasonable to plan about 40-45 minutes from your garage at home to desk at work. Idon't thinkMesquite has public transportation. I used to own a rent house there. Its an Ok place, nothing too wrong with it. It doesn't attract most newcomers or professionals but it has its share of nice, custom home neighborhoods. There's plenty of shopping and a gazillion chain restaurants. It is close to Lake RayHubbard, so there are some nice places around the lake for recreation. The schools are not highly ranked among the area schools. Next door is the burb of Garland.....which has more highly ranked schools. Also the town of Sunnyvale borders Mesquite -- it has better schools, too.

[ChristieP]

Mesquite and Sunnyvale have zero public transportation, which means you will have to drive into downtown (and pay for car parking about $7 a day) or drive to the rail station and take the train. Neither one is a good option IMHO. I grew up in Mesquite and I cannot recommend it anymore. The neighborhoods and schools are getting rougher, and all of my family has moved away to nicer areas.

Honestly, look at Richardson. The train to downtown goes right to it, and there are good schools, nice houses, etc. it is also much safer then Mesquite.

Flower Mound, Frisco, etc are too far away.

[loves2read]

check DART
DART.org - Dallas Area Rapid Transit
maps show each one of the current /anticipated lines
you can plan route from start to stop and see how many connections are necessary along with schedules

I think your price point might be problem depending on what you want/expect for the price

there is TRE train from Tarrant county side that goes into the AA station--there are areas in the HEB ISD that might make using that train an option but the commute would take longer than 30 min

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

I would look into Carrollton, Richardson, or East Plano since they have DART. You can get downtown that way in about 25-40 minutes.

What part of Alaska are you coming from? The biggest shock will probably be the climate change. Alaskans and Texans remind me of each other a little.