“Best Southwest” is what locals call the cluster of cities just south of downtown Dallas — Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, and the smaller towns around them. If you’re moving into the area for the first time, here’s what our crew notices on a regular basis: the housing stock varies more than people expect, the commute depends heavily on which highway you’re closest to, and the calendar matters more than most movers will tell you upfront.
The Housing Stock Varies More Than the Zip Code Suggests
Someone moving in from an apartment in Uptown Dallas is usually surprised by how different two houses ten minutes apart can be.
- Duncanville leans toward single-story homes built decades ago, which usually means straightforward loading but sometimes narrower driveways and older garages that weren’t built with modern furniture in mind.
- Cedar Hill has filled in with a lot of newer two-story construction over the last couple of decades, especially closer to the lake, which changes the math on stairs and crew size compared to a single-level home.
- Lancaster mixes older homes near its historic downtown with newer development further out, so the right move plan really depends on which side of town you land on.
- The smaller towns around the edges — Balch Springs, Wilmer, Hutchins, Seagoville, Ferris, Ovilla — trade density for lot size, and it’s common to find a shed, workshop, or detached garage that ends up part of the move.
None of that is a problem for us — it just changes what we plan for. A two-story home with a long carry from the street gets an extra hour built into the schedule; a single-story home with a pull-up driveway usually doesn’t need it.
Commute Considerations Before You Pick a Street
Three highways do most of the work connecting the Best Southwest to the rest of Dallas-Fort Worth, and where you land relative to each one changes your daily drive more than the city name on the address does.
| Route | Connects To | Worth Knowing |
|---|---|---|
| I-35E | Downtown Dallas, Oak Cliff, north toward Denton | The most direct line into downtown for Duncanville and Cedar Hill addresses, but it backs up hard during evening rush hour |
| I-20 | Arlington and Fort Worth to the west; Mesquite to the east | The main east-west option if your job is toward Tarrant County rather than downtown |
| US-67 | Cedar Hill and Duncanville into I-35E/I-30 toward downtown | The usual route for anyone commuting from further out, like Red Oak or Midlothian |
A Duncanville or north Cedar Hill address near I-35E usually beats a Lancaster or Ovilla address for a downtown commute, even when the mile count on a map looks about the same. It’s worth driving your actual commute at 7:30 in the morning before you sign a lease or close on a house, not just checking the distance on paper.
Moving in Texas Summer Heat
Anyone relocating between April and September in North Texas needs a plan built around the heat, not just the calendar.
- Start early. Our trucks are typically loading before the worst of the afternoon sun, both to keep the crew fresh and to get ahead of traffic on I-20 and I-35E.
- Have the air conditioning running at the new place before move-in day, if you can swing it. A house that’s been closed up in July heats up fast, and it’s harder on the crew and on anything you’re unpacking that afternoon.
- Keep heat-sensitive items — electronics, certain wood furniture, some houseplants — off the truck during the hottest stretch of the day if the move is going to run long.
- Hydrate the day before, not just the morning of. It sounds obvious, but it’s the single biggest factor in how a summer move day actually feels.
- Ask your mover what their heat plan actually is. Water on the truck and a shaded loading routine shouldn’t be a special request — it should already be standard.
By August we’re basically running on a different clock than the rest of the year — first truck out the gate before seven, water breaks built into the schedule before anyone has to ask for one.
— Wesley Broussard, Crew Chief
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Land
Cedar Hill’s lake access is part of why its newer subdivisions have filled in so quickly over the last several years. Duncanville tends to sit a little closer to Dallas proper, which shows up in the commute for anyone working near Oak Cliff or downtown. Lancaster’s older downtown gives that city a different character than the newer streets on its outer edges. And the smaller towns around all three — Balch Springs, Wilmer, Hutchins, Seagoville, Ferris, and Ovilla — generally mean a longer highway commute in exchange for more room on the lot.
Wherever you land in the Best Southwest, our crew works this area every week and knows which streets get tight for a full-size truck, which subdivisions want advance notice on moving day, and how to build a schedule around a July afternoon instead of fighting through one. If you’ve got a move coming up into Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, or one of the surrounding towns, call (888) 278-9005 or send us the details and we’ll build the plan around your actual address.