Seeking Advice on Moving to Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Lancaster

Hi there! Being that I was totally new to the DFW Area - I found it hard to find any information on the towns at all.

I know that Lancaster is a HUB for lots of Transit Companies so you most likely will have lots of 18 Wheelers causing you some issues.

Cedar Hill had some really nice areas - that I liked - but I could never get any information on the over all feeling of the city itself.

We ended up right at 360/20 - in Arlington - but in Mansfield Schools (which are suppose to be the top schools in the area) and on the edge of Grand Prairie.

The AA Center - is right near where I work (InfoMart) and the drive that I take is easy to handle. 20 to 408 which merges to the 12 - to the 30 - then from there I jump off at Berkley and take some back roads to Oak Lawn/Industrial.

I can tell you that if you are buying - you will score a big deal due to the market.

Good Luck!

M.

Try HEB (Hurst, Euless, Bedford) area... Colleyville, Keller... even Irving.

I grew up in DeSoto (my entire life- my parents still live there). The schools are awful now- my mother took my brother out of public school when he was in the 8th grade- and that was 7 years ago. My parents would move if they could- it isn't as safe as it was when I was growing up there. I have heard the same thing about Duncanville, Grand Prairie and the others. When we moved from Arlington 2.5 years ago our realtor advised us against moving to south dallas areas. Yes there are still good neighborhoods there, but unless the towns do some drastic work- they are going to continue to go downhill.

I havbe been looking in Glenn Heights and Desoto myself. I think it will be affordable for one income and I like it out there. I am new to TX and have heard a lot of bad thing about the South side of Dallas but after looking and driving through at night it is really nice. Yes there are some bad areas but you really have to drive to get to them. I think I'm going to move to Desoto because it is nice clean and the schools are good I checked.

I would do a lot of research on schools. I grew up in Duncanville and have a lot of family still there. They are starting to get out. All my firends moved out of Duncanville. When I was in school 15 years ago it was OK, I would never put my child there now. My in-laws are getting out of Grand Prairie do to it's current trend of decline. They live in a very nice part also, off 20 and carrier nehind the movie theatre. More and more of the houses are turning into rental property and goiung down hill fast. I live in Cedar Hill a few years after high school. I would never move back. I have heard bad things about Lancaster schools and Lancaster itself. Have never lived there. I also have never lived in Duncanville. I live in Hurst now and love it. I work at Presby Dallas so it takes me about 30 minutes when I leave at 6:30 am. We did a lot of research before buying our home, and fell in love with the mid-cities, NRH area. HEB is one of the top 4 districts in the state.

Duncanville is an awesome little town with a LOT of activities. I taught there for 3 years and the school district is wonderful! It's like a big city with a small town feel. You'll like it. It's really close to 1382 which is a highway in Cedar Hill that has all of the shopping you can stand. South of town is very nice so please don't allow people to turn you against moving because lots of people (especially on this site)have never even driven south of downtown much less lived there. I've lived there most of my life and it's great! Good luck!

you should check out their school districts. I have a friend who lives in Lancaster and is determined to move out of that district before her 2.5 year old starts school. Otherwise, she'll send him to private school.

try www.city-data.com and go to their forums. I found the forums to be pretty helpful when looking at new areas....you get a lot of difference of opinion - this site seems to have real estate agents & investors as the primary commenters - but that's a good perspective to get.

You may also want to try south Arlington close to Mansfield. The area is nice and growing quickly but housing is still affordable. To get to AA you would take 2 to 360. It is about 25 mins in traffic (or at least it was two years ago when I took that route to work).

I actually have a house for sale in that area but if you are looking for something new it might not be a good fit, it was built in 1993. It was an investment property for us but we are ready to get it off the books (so I can be a SAHM) so we have it listed at about $7,000 under market.

Here is the link if you are interested: http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=760...

Our realtor used some really bad pictures so we took some new ones and they should be out on the site in a day or two.

I lived in Lancaster from 1971-1990. I WOULD NOT live in Lancaster now due to the very poor school system (you can look up lots of school info, rankings, etc. on the web). My sister-in-law moved from Duncanville two years ago because her then 8 and 10 year-olds hated school and she felt the school system was horrid compared to where they live now (Whitney). Of the towns you listed, I would say Cedar Hill is probably the better of the bunch. I would not want to commute from any of these towns to the AA center, though! I-35 is HORRID to commute on! Unfortunately, inexpensive housing can be tricky to find if you want to send your children to outstanding public schools. Good luck!!!