Where to Live
Uptown and Knox-Henderson areas are great places for recent grads … with restaurants, bars, shopping, and the Katy Trail (a great exercise trail) within walking distance. And, if you can't bear the thought of leaving Vandy Vans behind, there is a free trolley that runs down McKinney Avenue until midnight. '11
Most young professionals choose to live in Uptown Dallas. It's within walking distance of the Turtle Creek shopping center, DART public bus and rail, the free Trolley line, 2 beautiful parks (Griggs and Klyde Warren), and has many bars and restaurants perfect for new college grads. ‘22
Uptown is a really fun neighborhood with lots of recent Vandy grads! Everything is within walking distance and there are tons of bars and restaurants. '15
I live uptown in the State Thomas neighborhood, which is a great place for recent grads. It's made up of mostly young professionals and is very pretty with lots of trees, cute apartments, and townhouses. It's also very safe. You know you live in a good area when people from all around come there to walk their dogs after dark. I've found it to be very affordable. It's also within walking distance of lots of fun bars and restaurants.
Uptown and Lower Greenville are great for new grads! '14
- Uptown - If you are working downtown, or anywhere in the Park Cities, Uptown is a great place for young graduates. Many places are within walking distance to great restaurants and bars. This is where the "young professionals" tend to go out.
- Plano, Frisco, Carrollton and Coppell are all good places to live if you are working on the North side of town, but they are more "family oriented."
Things to Do
One of my favorite places in Dallas is HG SPLY-there's an amazing rooftop balcony that overlooks the Dallas skyline. '14
- Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers games - Always fun (even if the team isn't having a winning season!)
- Vandy football games - At Christie's Sports Bar on McKinney
- Glass Cactus - Located at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine
- The Katy Trail - (located in Uptown) A great place to run, walk, rollerblade, and bike. It's full of young people after work and on the weekends.
- White Rock Lake - A popular place to enjoy the beautiful Dallas weather. You can rent sailboats, pack a picnic or take a walk along the paved trail that goes around the entire lake.
- Highland Park Village - Visit anytime and take a drive through the Highland Park neighborhood during the holidays-the lights are absolutely beautiful!
- State Fair of Texas - Has been held annually at Fair Park since 1889. It is a massive event that takes place in the fall. It's something everyone needs to experience at least once in their life.
- The Red River Shootout - The football game between heated rivals Texas and Oklahoma, is a great experience. The two teams "meet in the middle" at Dallas' Cotton Bowl.
- American Airlines Center - Gets some awesome concerts-check Ticketmaster frequently or you might miss out!
- Museums
- The Sixth Floor Museum: this is the museum dedicated to the life and assassination of John F. Kennedy. Definitely a must-see for everyone.
- The Dallas Museum of Art
- The Nasher Sculpture Center
- The Meadows Museum of Art (on Southern Methodist University campus) o The Dallas Contemporary
- Shopping - Dallas is a great place to shop.
- NorthPark Center (10 minutes north of downtown): Everything from Forever 21 to Neiman Marcus. It also has a nice food court and a movie theatre.
- Dallas Galleria Much like NorthPark, but further away from the Park Cities area o Highland Park Village - Very upscale outdoor shopping center. Even if you can't afford most of the stores, it's a great place to window shop. Rumor has it, this was America's first shopping center.
- West Village - Located in Uptown: outdoor shopping with eclectic mix of shops, bars, restaurants and The Magnolia movie theatre.
- Plano and Frisco - Great, brand-new shopping malls.
- Allen Premium Outlets - A little-known secret: if Northpark and Highland Park Village are a little out of your budget, you can find great deals here. Everything from
Neiman's Last Call to Nike to JCrew. From downtown, take Central Expressway (also known as "75") north about 25 miles. You will see signs along the Expressway that direct you to the exit.
Getting Around
Traffic is a severe challenge, especially around rush hour, so live near your job if possible-or live somewhere where you will be driving against the flow of traffic. The DART commuter train system is very easy and convenient. Buy a Toll Tag-even if you don't anticipate driving on the tollway much. You'll be glad you did! Take advantage of the other great cities in Texas! San Antonio, Houston, and Austin all make great weekend trips and if you find a cheap fare on Southwest, you can be there in no time!
