I'm doing something that is unheard of for me. I've prequalified myself for a home mortgage and I'm actively searching with a real estate agent now. I'm going to need a little bit of luck to find something inside Dallas that's affordable.

It's not too long ago that the very notion of anchoring myself to some place so tightly would have sent me into hyperbolic fits. But this was the plan when I came back to Dallas and now I have a job that will let me continue that plan.

I was pleased to hear architect Doug Newby talking on a local talk show about how Dallas has some of the best neighborhoods, architecturally speaking, in the country. He was practically rhapsodic about Dallas architecture along Turtle Creek, Old East Dallas (where I live), Lakewood and Swiss Ave.