Natalie_S

Hi all!

My husband and I will be relocating to Dallas from London, UK with our 18 month old twins and are currently trying to work out what area will suit us best. A little bit about us; I am 28, my husband is 32 and we are both very sociable people (I suppose a little less so now since the babies came along!) My husband will be opening ladies fashion stores there hence the move. We are very excited, but a little nervous about such a big move, however we are very much looking forward to it!

Our priorities of choosing where to live are:

An affluent, culturally diverse neighbourhood
Safety
Excellent schooling (a priority)
A good choice of places to eat
A good choice of things to do with the kids

We will initially be renting and looking for a 4 or 5 bedroom house for between $2000/$3000 a month. From the reading we have done so far Plano seems to fit our needs but I would love everyone's thoughts on this as we are open minded. If it is, then I wonder what parts of Plano would suit us best?

Thank you for taking the time to read and I look forward to any replies!

Natalie x

lisa67

Where will you and or your husband be working? Commuting to work, IMO, would be a huge factor for me. Traffic in and around Dallas can be a night maremin rush hour.

Married2abrit

You are moving to the South. "Affluent" and "culturally diverse" are not usually seen in the same sentence. It will be very homogenized. Best of luck in your move.

scrubbedexpat099

There is a very large Hispanic population.

If you are looking to brush up on your language skills there are differences in word usage and pronunciation.

ols-london

I havent moved to the Dallas but I have been on an exchange whilst at school (5 years ago).

I did an exchange in Southlake, which is pretty central in the DFW Metroplex. Its really an expensive area though. Great schools in Carroll High etc.

I went to school for a month there and found it to be incredible compared to english schools.

Southlake has a pretty decent town centre aswell.

The whole area, Colleyville, Coppell and Keller are pretty nice.

http://www.southlaketownsquare.com/

I know its not 'I moved here this is what its like' but hopefully its a bit of help!

Leslie

Don't listen to these people

Dallas is too big and varied, you really will need a realtor.

For affluent:

Preston Hollow
Lake Highland
University Park (Park Cities)
Turtle Creek

If you can afford to live in any of these areas you won't have to worry about the quality of the schools.

Good luck

Natalie_S

Thank you all so much for your responses.

My husband spent a couple of weeks in Dallas earlier this year and visited most of the areas mentioned. He will be moving out first and will temporarily live in uptown until myself and the kids join him early next year. As Dallas is within very commutable distance of Plano we can enjoy all of the buzz and attractions of the city as and when we want. But would prefer to live somewhere which is more family orientated and less congested. Having lived in London all our lives this is something we would value! That is why Plano seems to tick all of our boxes. Plus the fact That he plans to open one of the stores in Shops at Legacy (the others will be in Plaza at Preston Centre and West Villiage).

In terms of budget, we plan to start modestly and get the best house we can in an area that will hopefully suit us best. As we will be renting, we can always move within a couple of years should we feel the need to. For now, we just want to acclimatise well and put the kids into a good pre-k.

Are we thinking along the right tracks?

Bomjeito

Definitely get onto City-data.com for Dallas - loads of helpful folks with relocation questions there.

Plano is a great place and still be close to both Fort Worth and Dallas. Grapevine is a wee bit further from Dallas, but a nice hometown feel. It is smaller than Plano.

Texas is a bit different than the "south" - hard to explain but I'm sure those on City-data.com can explain it better.

Tons of hispanic influences in Texas (and Tejano).

Enjoy!

Brigette

Here is the link for city-data.com (the Dallas section)
http://www.city-data.com/forum/dallas/

ooops never mind... I see that you've already made a post on citydata and have gotten great advice thus far

big_j

Colleyville, just south of Grapevine, is also nice. Southlake or Trophy Club are other somewhat affluent areas. The mid-cities area has the advantage of being convenient for Dallas and also Fort Worth.

These are all something of a drive from Legacy; maybe 30 to 45 mins depending upon time of day. The massive construction work north of DFW airport is currently a huge inconvenience, but that will end in the next 18 months and will make travel around that area so much easier.

Mr Weeze

Try this for property info. If renting is anything like Houston you're in for a shock!

http://dfw.ws.marketlinx.com/

Natalie_S

Thank you all very much for all your responses and help so far, really appreciate it x

sunnysideup

I lived in that area for a while. If you move there, don't ever make the mistake of calling former president (and former Texas governor) G.W. Bush a dangerous ignorant idiot. I don't live in Texas any more - they won't let me back, and I don't want to go back.

Uncle Ebenezer

Well, there's a plus.

SATX John

Best schools and culturally diverse:

Per Leslie those areas are not diverse, but good schools, other options:

Las Colinas/Universirty Hills (Irving (North of 183)
Highland Park

Based on your prices, you will most likely be outside the city proper. http://www.dallasrelo.com/gatedcom.html