re: Which areas of "Greater Dallas" should I avoid at ALL costs?

I wish Dallas had a little better weather. So many IT job openings and so many people I know have moved or are moving there. As far as I can tell it's got by far the best job market in the Texas if not the entire South. Austin can only compete if you're a programmer.

Anyway, it's going to boil down to your price range and how ballin you want your house to be. The lesser suburbs of Dallas are still good by most standards. The nicer suburbs in north Dallas are getting expensive AF due to the large influx of F1000 offices.