Dallas Fort Worth???

[Jeff Jagusch]

Our son is graduating from college this May (Northwood University, Automotive Aftermarket major) and is considering a job in the DFW area,
We have never been there, and I'm thinking who do I know that lives there, and it dawns on me. There must be plenty of Pelican members there!

He is looking for general advise on where to live. The position is flexible as to the location, but it should be close by all the car action!

If he accepts the position, I can list more details, for now just looking for some ideas about the area

What a great resource Pelican Parts is! Thanks Wayne!

Thanks

Jeff

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Congrats to son!!!

I have never lived there, so keep that in mind.

Stay away from South and East Dallas. He will know by looking around.

As far as I know Fort Worth has less crime but is less "sophistiated".

I'm from Houston, as a general rule Texans from Houston/Dallas do not like each other unless around non-Texans.

Lots of non-Texans in Dallas (and Houston). More Texans in Forth Worth. This is just my experience, yours will likely vary.

Traffic in North Dallas and the areas between Dallas and Fort Worth will be a major headache, especially if he is not used to the big city.

Fort Worth is cheaper to live in for housing and insurance. North Dallas and the suburban life in the area are really nice but pricey.

There are dealerships all over the place.

If it were me, I would look for something within about 20 miles of where I was going to work and lean more to the west as in Fort Worth side of the equation.

The Dallas Ballet will be well worth the time. There are many, many things to see and do around Dallas/Fort Worth as well as within a few hours drive time.

I will have to look through my notes but there was a VERY good (I believe she is still there) French Restaurant East and a bit north of Dallas. Short drive for outstanding food at a fraction of the DFW pricing.

Oh, and factor in: ZERO state income tax!!!!! Low cost of registering a vehicle! Sales tax is not very different from the rest of the country, lower than many places.

[Halm]

We lived in D/FW from '79 - '90. There was a saying that they shoot all the ugly girls at age 13. Your son will love living there.

[hardflex]

Well, I live there so I guess it must be ok. Good place to live in General.

Ft. Worth has more Character than Dallas for some reason, though wages are lower there. Population growth is creating major traffic problems there, commute speeds at rush hour maybe 30mph in some areas. Old high end neighborhoods for the most part still nice, older tract home areas can be quite run down. New growth in the outlying cities is nice, but then you have the traffic problems.

Like lot's of places, the nice places to live (Highland Park, Southlake, North Dallas, Westover Hills, cost money.

I say live near to work and don't try to do much commuting during rush hour. If you do that you're gonne be happy.

[M.D. Holloway]

been in DFW for 14 years now - love it, no matter what your into this place has it...

[Neilk]

He will definitely want to live somewhat close to work unless he has a reverse commute, like living in Uptown and commuting to Plano etc.

[scottmandue]

Don't live there but worked there for a few weeks a couple times... thus my experience was work at day and drinking/dining at night... had a heck of a good time. I would move there if I could find a job (there) and it wasn't for that dang Tejas weather!

[hardflex]

True, you need to live someplace with a pool or a lake to get through the Texas Summers.

If I were going to pick the 'automotive center', for high end cars I would probably N. Dallas, Richardson, Plano. But there are Chevy Dealerships everywhere and a zillion independents too.

[rattlsnak]

Never lived there, but travel there frequently. Look at the areas north of the airport like Irving, Addison, McKinney, grapevine, Los Colinas, etc. from what ive seen, I would move there

[Jeff Jagusch]

The input is appreciated!

Since he would be working from home, and traveling to car shows, races and any car related events, it appears that his options are pretty open regarding location.

He should know for sure early next week!

Being from the Milwaukee area, in summer we have small car shows almost every night at a drive inn or bar. And bigger shows on weekends, would it be safe to assume that the same existed in the DFW area?

Thanks again!

[onewhippedpuppy]

I don't live there but I would if I could pry the wife away from her family. I love DFW and TX in general, the pride most Texans feel for their state is addictive. I have family in Garland and Richardson and end up down there for various reasons at least several times per year. The Northern suburbs all seem nice, and my family down there that is house shopping has commented that Ft. Worth is much more "cowboy" than the rest of the area. Hot in the summer, beautiful in the winter, and stop and go traffic can strike at any time. When they secede from our socialist nation I hope to immigrate there.

[boba]

He can check out this forum dfwautoclub.com to get a sense of some of what is going on. The Metroplex is large, not LA large, but does cover a lot of geography so living close to where he will be working???
There are lots of nice areas to live in most parts of the area, the bad areas will be obvious during a drive.

[t6dpilot]

Jeff, tell him to stay away from that Porsche character boba. He is trouble. . I lived in far north Dallas for a couple of years. As a single guy, he might like the McKinney Ave area (near Turtle Creek and the Crescent Hotel) or Deep Ellum. From what I remember that is where the hipster young crowd hangs out.

When I was there in the late 90s, they were just beginning to transform downtown into apartments and town houses. I suspect that it is even better now for that downtown night life experience now. The Park Cities area is really nice, but geared more to families of means than singles iirc. Everything else is suburban sprawl, though there are lots of apartment choices all over.

Might want to check out Los Colinas and MacArthur Rd south of 114.

[Aggie93]

I lived in Dallas for 15 years, which ended in 08. I was married with children for a large portion of that time and lived in the northern suburbs as several have suggested. Not sure if that would be best place for a single guy. Granted the suburbs are big enough to find something, but might find a better crowd closer to downtown.

Couple other suggestions:
Uptown area is the latest hip area, might be too expensive.
The Village used to be the first residency of college students moving to Dallas. No idea what kind of shape it is in.

Best plan would be to set up shop near SMU and marry a rich debutante.