Welcome to Dallas

PROLOGUE

Moving is a pain. Period. End of story.

Each step in the process is worse than the last, and the people who are supposed to be helping you seem to  (at best) only complicate the matter more or (at worst) to get paid exorbitant amounts of money for providing very little service. Yet almost all of them fail to even answer the most fundamental question:

“Where should I live in Dallas?”

After multiple apartment searches myself since moving to Dallas five years ago, I came to the realization that there had to be a better way. Despite the dozens of “apartment locators” and over 10,000 Realtors in DFW (I’m not kidding), no one had a website that allowed me to search for the things I cared most about.

Which ultimately forced me to ask the question, if in 30 seconds I can find the best restaurants in Dallas, why can”t I do this for where I want to live?

This is where I come in.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

So it’s at this point that you’re probably wondering, who is this guy and how is he qualified to guide me through Dallas?

Thank you, I’m glad you asked.

I am the founder of RentSavy.com, which will soon become the web’s first apartment decision engine. It’s a concept that originated from my experience in real estate learning what ultimately drives people’s decisions. I would have thought it was price or location, but I quickly realized that those are usually nothing more than starting points.

In fact, the number one question I get from my clients isn’t a specific question about the best apartments or the best deals, it’s a general question about where I think someone like them should live. A question that more often than not leaves me feeling more like a dating coach for people and their homes!

WHAT TO EXPECT

Over the next few months I’m going to unpack the ins and outs of the major areas of Dallas. Sort of a “20’s and 30’s Guide to DFW.” Hopefully by the end of our time together, you (the readers of ILiveInDallas.com) will be able to make a more informed opinion of where you want to live, grab a bite to eat, or drink your next cup of coffee.

In other words, my goal here is to save you time (and a few grey hairs) during your future housing searches.

(You can thank me later).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Many of you will no doubt remember the incomparable An Insider’s Complete Guide to Oak Cliff Dallas from back in June. A post that, if you’re like me, left you wanting more. Well Neil and Jennifer kindly asked me if I’d lend my expertise to continue mapping out this fair burg of ours in a way that makes it easily digestible.

So with the bar set high, I’ve decided to tackle Dallas in the following manner (check back here for the updated links once the series is complete):

1. Lakewood & East Dallas
2. Deep Ellum
3. Oak Cliff
4. Uptown
5. Downtown
6. Greenville Avenue
7. Park Cities

Then we’ll close out our series with some additional thoughts about where to rent in Dallas to get the best bang for your buck, a look at up-and-coming areas of Dallas, and maybe a little Q&A section from reader comments (this is where you come in).

CHAPTER 1

We’ll start our series with a spotlight on Lakewood aka “A City Within a City for People Who Hate Big Cities.” In it I’ll highlight everything from, “Who lives in Lakewood” to the “Top 10 locally owned eateries”, to the… well you get the picture.

In the meantime, feel free to chat with me on twitter @mike_ivey or leave a comment below with any suggestions for future posts.

To be continued…

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