South - Advice on corporate-type apt living in Dallas

So I am not 100% sure that this belongs in this forum; however, I am not sure exactly where it belongs :P Nonetheless, I am posting because FT people rock and are usually very informed and I thought where better to look than the others on FT!

So, I just accepted a job offer (today in fact) that requires an immediate move to Dallas on or before 11/14. My partner will be coming to Dallas (we live in Austin right now) at around Feb 1st so I am really looking for something from 11/14 - 1/31.

I am looking for recommendations on places to check out, etc. While the offer was great there is no relocation package so I will be footing the bill for this. My partner is staying in Austin until 1/31 since our lease will not be up until then...

So, on the real reason for the post!

Does anyone here have any experience with corporate housing especially in the Dallas area? The job is located in Westlake (NW Dallas) so ideally I would like to find a place around there.

I have explored several options:
1) A corporate apartment (furnished): looks like a good deal, but pricey at around $2K/month (I havent done a lot of research here so that may not be entirely representative
2) Extended stay hotel: ok option at $1K/month but not sure I want to do an extended stay hotel... have no experience there
3) Getting a 1BR apartment on a short lease and moving half of my stuff there. Could be around $700/800/month plus utilities and move costs

Any experience from anyone on these options? Any thoughts about Dallas (Westlake area) in general? Advice on how to do this?

Thanks for anything that you can comment on!
Corey

No specific DFW recommendations, sorry, but I can say that quality of extended stay properties varies greatly, even within the same chain. I did 2+ months at one that was very nice; I did a weekend at another that was 2 nights too many.

I'd suggest checking with your new employer. Even though they are not reimbursing you, they may have recommendations or even negotiated rates somewhere.

And let me be the first to say, Welcome to Dallas! Make sure to check out the DFW thread in the Community Buzz forum!

swag- Thanks for the suggestion; I will have to ask them on Monday. I hear that you can sometimes negotiate rates with properties that you will be staying at for an extended period of time so I will look into that as well.

Also, thanks for the welcome to Dallas! To be honest I am somewhat nervous because I am leaving my partner behind in Austin and moving to Dallas with knowing no one and having no support structure and starting a completely new job. So, to say I am nervous is to say the least :P

I can give some advice on extended stay properties since that is usually what I stay in when away. The Extended Stay America/Studio Plus/Studio 6 type chains are not really an option anymore in my opinion. When you start getting rooms for under $30 a night that is a walk up rate then that is the class of walk-up person you get. These arevery limited service places. Maybe weekly maid service (that doesn't really do much cleaning), limited office hours and when there is a problem (noise, safety, mechanical) you can be out of luck getting it resolved.

Try negotiating directly with a Marriott or Hilton. Both have extended stay facilities and the sales office in the hotel might can do you a great deal. At least at these places you will know what you are getting.

Corporate apartments can be really expensive but everything is taken care of. All you do is walk in with your clothes. Just remember that you can be in a crappy apartment complex or if the local office has bad people then you are at their mercy.

Will you be renting in Dallas or buying after Jan? If you will be renting then many apartment complexes will let you move into a small one bedroom (maybe even furnished) and the transfer over to a larger unfurnished later. This might be a good option if possible.

Welcome to Dallas - if you will be in Westlake, you'll probably want to check out properties along the 114 corridor (Grapevine, Lewisville, Las Colinas).

I know several folks who have stayed at various extended stay properties in Las Colinas and had fairly good experiences. I've had to coordinate a few and one group I recommend is Oakwood Corporate Housing. They are national but based in Las Colinas and the quality of their properties in the Dallas area is pretty high because of that. Oakwood tends to put their extended stay apartments in nicer complexes and they come furnished with everything you would need for a mid-term stay (kitchen equipment, etc.)

Dallas being Dallas, this is also a good way to "try out" a neighborhood before you settle in one. The suburban areas near Westlake tend to be a bit "sleepy" - which isn't entirely a bad thing, but DFW is so large that different neighborhoods each have their own feel so I encourage you to do a lot of exploring before you settle on one area to live in.

I also second swag's recommendation that you check out the "DFW Monthly Gathering" thread in the FT Community forum. We try to plan at least one get together (usually dinner) every month and it would be a good way to chat with more folks who live in various areas of town and find out more about Dallas.

I hope you enjoy it here - I've lived in DFW for 26 of my 33 years so if I can be of any help, feel free to shoot me a PM.

MoreMilesPlease- Thanks for the suggestion on contacting the specific properties. I am going to start calling them next week and see what kind of negotiating I can do with them! Hopefully they will negotiate a great rate for me since I will be staying there for 60-90 days!

I will be renting (or buying) at the end of that time because that is when I expect my partner to move to Dallas from Austin (he is going to stay here and ride out the lease and work) so a lot of that depends on whether or not he can find a job in Dallas also.

techgirl- Thanks for the specific area recommendations! I had remembered the 114 road when I flew in for the interview but didnt know what areas were around there. I am definately going to look into both extended-stay hotels and corporate housing but I have heard that corporate housing is so expensive... do they negotiate at all with rates?

And yes, I definately plan to get out and explore so I think the DFW monthly FT meetings would be awesome! To be honest I am somewhat nervous (ok, and I bit scared to) about moving to Dallas with no support structure, no friends there, a new job, at a new company, and without my partner, so I will need to get out and meet people or I will drive myself crazy!

And it sounds like you enjoy DFW which is awesome! I am sure I will be shooting you a PM for some recommendations on places to go/see/do!

-C