FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE

This could possibly be the biggest decision you make upon moving to Dallas. Everyone I know spends 95% of their time (outside of work) within a 2 mile radius of where they live. If you live in North Dallas, you will go out in North Dallas and your best friends will ultimately live there. Same goes for all the areas around town. I LOVE to go out, so one of the main criteria for me when choosing a place to live is I have to be within walking distance of a bar. I know, sounds kind of dumb, but I don’t drink and drive so I have to be within walking distance of at least a neighborhood bar and within a $5-$10 cab ride of places to go out. I lived in North Dallas for the first 3 years I lived here and I went out on Greenville about 3 times and downtown/uptown about 3 times in my entire first 3 years here, the majority of the other time was spent at Fox and Hound on Midway. Wherever you live, you will become friends with people that go the same places as you, which will ultimately live around you. When you look for a place to live, keep in mind what you like. If you are more of a homely person that doesn’t like to get out much and likes to be out of the way, then North Dallas/Addison area is a good fit. If you like to be in the middle of things and within walking distance to places to eat and bars, then Uptown/Downtown is a good fit for you. Choose an area of Dallas that has a personality like yours. Before you decide where to live, go out in different areas both during the day and at night to take in what they are all about. Ask people that live in those areas what they like and don’t like about it. Some places I recommend checking out before making a decision:

Knox/Henderson
Uptown/Mckinney Ave
Downtown/Main St
Addison/North Dallas
Greenville Ave
West Village

Make sure your place has a kick ass pool as well and ask about the pool scene when you look at apartments. This will be your biggest adversary to making friends during the summer. If your pool is a happening place, you will make friends. Just remember every area has advantages and disadvantages. Think about what you will be doing in most of your down time and live close to a place that has access to that. I love to run, go to events and go out, so I live in a place that I can walk to the Katy Trail, AAC and bars and restaurants. If you are on a tight budget and you can live in a place that has all the amenities around you that you want, but you may have to pinch pennies to live there, I’d say do it. In the long run your quality of life will be much better and you will be a happier person. Not to mention you will live around and meet people that like to do the same things you do. Think of it as an investment in your future. Keep it real…