We are relocating to DFW for my husband's job. He will be working out of the house and driving all over DFW to see customers. This means we can live anywhere we want. I have no idea where to start looking. DH used to live here, but that was 15 years ago and I know areas have changed and grown.
What we want:
close to recreation (lakes, biking trails, parks)
a large lot (hopefully an acre+)
Good schools
An area with a young (hopefully liberal- it might be a strech) Catholic Church
Our Budget- $250K, 3bed 2 bath, 1700 sqft
We are coming from a hippy area of Colorado where we have hiking trails and fishing in our backyard.
Where should we start looking?
Re: Need suggestions as to where to live
My suggestion is to start with a realtor.
Here are a few of my thoughts on your list:
recreation/lakes/trails: White Rock lake area in Dallas
Large lot: Nowhere in Dallas that I can think of. Suburbs would be better.
Good Schools: Not Dallas, unless you move to HPISD (but not for that price or lot size) or send your kids to private school.
Young (as in people?): Uptown
Catholic Churches are everywhere.
Dallas is pretty conservative.
Are there realtors that cover all of Dallas/Fort Worth?
We are just wanting to narrow down our search because the area is so large. How is the area around Joe Pool Lake? DH doesn't think it is a good area, but it looks like it has grown and changed since he has been there. Another area he suggested is Pilot Point.
Not trying to over-promote my mom, lol, but she is an apartment locator and real estate agent. so she can totally help you if you'd like. If you need her info, just LMK.
With the lot size and good schools, I'd shoot for Southlake, Keller, Coppell, or Flower Mound. Those are amazing school districts in "suburbs" around DFW airport. Lake Grapevine is a pretty little lake with trails etc, which is right between Grapevine, Southlake, Coppell and Flower Mound.
Once we get closer to the move, that would be great. I know this is going to be a culture shock for me.
Personally, I would not live in the Joe Pool Lake area. I don't consider that to be a very safe area.
Pilot Point seems pretty far from DFW. Depending on what areas your husband will be travelling to, that would make for a pretty long commute.
These are what I would suggest also. Keller and some of Grapevine have a little older homes are bigger lots. Keller has Bear Creek Park that has trails, sand volleyball, grills, and a big open area to start touch football or disk golf. Grapevine has Lake Grapevine and a cool vintage downtown with shops and festivals.
I work in Murphy, and this is where H and I were planning on buying a home before he got a job out of Dallas. You can get a lot of house (and some decent space) for your budget out here, and there are lots of parks and Lake Lavon is not too far.
There's a Catholic Church nearby in Wylie... I don't know much about the parishoners there because we go to Christ the King in Park Cities, and we would have driven down there even if we'd moved up.
I don't know about anyone else, but I hated living in Richardson. It's pretty and the houses are great, but dealing with the city was a giant pain in the butt.
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Krum has a few steals! When i was a kid, We used to live on 5 fenced acres out there, in a 4 bedroom 3 bath, with a garage apartment (fully renovated) with a barn.. and I don't think it listed for much higher than $300k or so. It's right at an hour drive to DFW airport. The schools aren't exceptional, but have that "small town" feel, where everyone knows everyone. Great when you're the parent, not so much when you're the mischevious teen.
I am from Fort Worth area, so I know more about it than Dallas area. I would look at the Mustang Creek addition in Benbrook. Nice area and very pretty scenary. Sterling Classic Homes have a good website to look at for acre lots and nice homes in nice areas. Also, Granbury is very nice with lots to do. I would use realtor.com very informative and you can put in all your search criteria. John Houston Homes is another place to look at some really great homes in nice areas. Southlake is very nice, but may be hard to find a house for sell in that price range. DH's grandmother lives there and it seems to be 400K and up in her neighborhood at least. Mansfield has some nice areas also. I hope this helps.