Thanks for the tips. I'll look into Richardson.
Yep, I'll be FIRE/semi-FIRE for a while (going to try it out for a year at least if not longer), so I'm ultra flexible with area. We picked Dallas area because its larger size (more amenities, larger airport), decent COL, and has lots of things that we like to do close by - I especially love all of the Asian food choices.
Our current plan is that come mid-October about, we'll to live out of an AirBNB for a few weeks while we find a place to rent. I know it's a big place and my criteria doesn't narrow down things much but really a general idea of areas to avoid would be helpful.