College town vs Good School District - DFW

[Chloe Thomas]

Hi everyone! I am just starting out, right now I am thinking of buying a 2-4 unit MFR in DFW and living in one of the units so I can take advantage of the owner-occupied loan options.

The problem is, I am having trouble narrowing down the particular part of DFW I want to concentrate my search. Depending on who you talk to, there are about 6-7 million people in the Metroplex and growing. It's a sprawling urban area with tons of sub-markets to consider. Needless to say, it's pretty overwhelming. 

I know this is very region-specific, but what it basically boils down to is whether I should get a duplex in an area with a nice school district (N. Arlington/HEB), or a quad in an area that caters to college students (TCU in Ft Worth or Denton)? My main concerns with the first scenario is that the duplex will not generate the revenue to cover all expenses, and from what I can see quads are hard to come by. In the second scenario, I am worried about the kinds of reckless tenants a college town attracts, and it would mean a longer commute to work for me. 

Anyone been in this boat?