Looking to move over to Lakewood in Dallas. Was just wondering if anyone had any heads up on cool spots or places to live. Thanks
I think Jive Turkey has a hard on for the area. Lakewood is cool. If you find a decently located place you are damn close to a lot of the best stuff Dallas has to offer. I wish I lived in Lakewood, but the deal I got on my current apartment (halfway across town) is too good to pass up. If I had to move somewhere else in Dallas, it would be to Lakewood.
currently live in that in that area and have been there for nearly 3 years. feel free to shoot me any questions. There have been a lot of teardowns going on in the Bob'o'link through Kenwood (east of Abrams) streets lately. knocking down the old houses and putting up some monsters. Lot values increased (at least for me) about 20% on the tax rolls this year. Seems to be plenty of houses for sale though. If you need a realtor, I was pretty happy with mine.
I do, and it ******* owns. There's a few decent parks about you might want to live off of, I also love that I'm easy walking distance to a bunch of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc. (the upstairs deck doesn't hurt either ). To me it seems the further west from Abrams you go the more homes are up for sale. When I was driving around in March looking for places/areas (I literally drove up and down every bloody street at least twice) it seemed like Lakewood Heights and Belmont Addition had a bazillion new homes for sale, didn't seem to be 1/10th of that east of Abrams but it's there. Personally, I'd get as close to the lake as possible if I could afford it (I love cycling around there or just reading out there on a wknd afternoon). But I'd stay towards the southern end where you can walk to the "town center" dealie, or over to all those places by the Tiperary Inn.
Yeah, I've heard it's a really cool area, but I am looking for an apartment and all of the places I've seen around there are shitholes. Any leads on decent apartment complexes? Edit: the houses don't suck, it just seems the apartments do.
Way back in my single years in Dallas(10 years ago), I shacked with a chick who lived right behind Lakewood Country Club. Seemed a good complex at the time and the location was solid.. Lakewood Oaks
GF just moved over there from Uptown, I like it a lot more... Try Power Properties, they purchased a ton of run-down apartments and revamped them. She is on Gaston & Munger and the place is pretty nice, not huge for a one bedroom, but the pool is great and it is really easy to get to Lakewood, Uptown & Greeneville
yea I did the house thing b/c most of the apts I found were pretty ******. try looking into duplexes, there's loads of them around skillman. Also, I remember going to a party at a pretty decent apt complex on Gaston a few months back. Granted I never would've considered living there b/c I didn't want to move into a larger apt complex. But at this place when you walked into the atrium in the middle it was pretty snazzy, fountains & pools all around, all sorts of different lounge areas with table and chairs & deck chairs interspersed throughout, even a thatched roof "kitchen" area with a grill & bar counters & stools. It seemed like an actual community and was pretty well kept, can't remember the name though...
^ - I'm sure you were in one of the Power Properties.. I've hesrd so-so stories about them depending on who I asked. Some loved them (nice finish, "elegant" look for the area, etc), but some complained about the maintenance / repairs take a long time or things breaking. After all, it is a 40 year old apartment complex you are living in... LW Oaks is still nice. I live 30 seconds away from it and see families / young professionals / attractive women pulling in and out of the parking every day. Otherwise, like was stated above, grab a duplex off of Skillman on Palo Pinto or Goliad or something.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to check out LW Oaks tomorrow. I checked out a couple of the Power Properties and they seemed nice, but the ones I visited were in shady parts of Dallas. Maybe I just visited the wrong ones. Any heads up on restaurants/bars/places to go? I know White Rock Lake is cool, Lakewood Landing, Cosmo's and that's it.
I lived in the area from 2002-04. One of the best decisions I've made was jumping on a unit in Munger Place, the historic district just to the west of Lakewood off Munger Boulevard south of Gaston. Almost all of the homes have been restored into their single-family 1910s/20s glory, but a few still remain as duplexes or fourplexes. My place wasn't luxurious, but I had 700 square feet with off-street parking and a GIANT covered front porch perfect for sitting, all for less than $600 per month. Plus, I worked downtown (only 3 miles away) so I often rode my bike to work. The areas on the periphery of Munger Place (Columbia Avenue and Live Oak Street, specifically) can be a bit seedy, but the neighborhood itself is wonderful (most homes are 400k and up now) and my neighbors were top-notch. I never felt unsafe, either - and I never regretted not living in a complex further north or east.
The Tipperary - I went there on a Saturday thinking it would be packed from hearing about it, but there were about 10 people there. Seemed more like a happy hour spot. I checked out another Power Property today (I think it was called 5400 or something) and still seemed shady. I like the area near it, so maybe I need to suck it up and make it happen.
Oh, and definitely hit Barbec's for breakfast. It's on Garland Road a little bit past the Arboretum if you are heading north. Make sure to order some beer biscuits. You'll thank me.
I second the biscuits at Barbec's, just don't go there on a weekday morning, you'll think you walked into an AARP convention...
My wife and I are looking for a house. We're considering lakewood. Rumor has it the schools are better than they have been in the past with a lot more parental involvment. Anyone know if this is just an urban legend?
Depending on exactly which part of "Lakewood" you are looking in.... Lakewood Elem. & Stonewall Jackson Elem are both outstanding. Long Middle School has sucked in the past but is slowly being cleaned up. WWHS is getting better - I know many upper-class LW families who sent their kids there. My niece goes to St. Thomas currently and is in 2nd grade. She loves it.
This is the reason I bumped the Lakewood thread up yesterday. Wifey and I will be moving to Dallas and are looking closely at Lakewood. No kids yet, but I worry about the schools. We've heard from many people that Lakewood Elem. is awesome and Stonewall J is pretty good. That said, my concern is what do people do after elementary school? Private? Move out of Lakewood? Any other advice on specific neighborhoods is appreciated. As my early thinking is that we spend 260-285k, it might be that we stay in this house for a couple years and then move to good public schools. Also considering Mstreets area... Thanks for the help!!!!!
Sparkman would fit within your price range and school requirements. It is bounded by Webbs Chapel, Royal, Marsh, and Merrell.
Aqua- If you don't have kids yet, then you are at least five years away from even worrying about schools. And if the elementary schools are acceptable (and both Lakewood and Stonwall Jackson are more than acceptable), then you are at least eleven years away from having to consider moving. I am in the same boat you are. I bought a house in Lakewood and have been very happy. And if I have a kid in the next year or two, I would have no problem sending the little bastard to elementary school at Lakewood Elementary. There are a few benefits to Lakewood that other parts of Dallas doesn't have. I think it is too easy to say that it is "Austin-esque." For better or worse, only Austin is Austin. But Lakewood is unique from the rest of Dallas in that it is hilly and has a large number of mature trees. There are a large number of parks that are easily accessible by foot, which is pretty nice given that Dallas is not really a "park" city. And best of all, I'm walking distance to the best sports bar in Dallas--Bailey's First and 10.
Check Hollywood Heights/Santa Monica. Great neighborhood. Or the "C" streets - Coronado, Casa Loma, and Clayton.
I live near Lakewood, and I STRONGLY suggest Scallini's (great pizza), Cosmo's (Very cool bar), and Gold Rush Cafe (Old school breakfast spot). I lived in Uptown last year and moved over here this year, and if I end up staying in Dallas, I will stay in this area.
I grew up in Lakewood and went to Lakewood Elementary, Long and Woodrow. These are all fine schools. Granted your kid won't get some incredible education but as long as you are an involved parent, they will be fine. Every year kids graduate and some go to all of the top colleges in the country. Going there has certainly not stopped any properly motivated kid from going to a good college. I would still go to all of those schools if I had the option of doing it over again. No question. Lakewood is the best place to live in Dallas. There really isn't any question around this. As others have said, you are right next to everything that is interesting and fun to do in Dallas. And you are next to White Rock Lake which is pretty cool. The lake creates a very unique living environment in the middle of a large metropolitan city. I also second the restaurant picks and will add one of my favorite restaurants, Bangkok Inn on Oram. Fantastic Thai food. I go there every time I am town, along with Matt's and Scalini's (awesome Italian). And if I'm lucky I'll get some beer biscuits with sausage gravy at Barbecs....but yes you will be the only person under the age of 70 in the entire place. It's always been like that.
A brand new Whole Foods is going in at the corner of Gaston/Abrams, which will seriously add to the neighborhood. The Times 10 Wine bar is the new hot spot in Lakewood. Lots of hot *** hanging out there. Angelo's is great homestyle Italian. The Lakewood Theater gets some good acts (hell, Sufjan Stevens was there last year). The Balcony Club next door has strong drinks and great live jazz. And Cosmo's is in my top 3 bars in Dallas. As for the schools, Lakewood Elementary is supposed to be bad ***, and if the top 10% rule is still in place, a smart kid can easily finish in the top 10% at Woodrow and get easy admission to UT. Definitely give Lakewood a look see.
