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Better QOL: North Dallas Suburbs, North Atlanta Suburbs, or South Charlotte
We are contemplating moving from Gaithersburg, Maryland for a better QOL, which for us means lower cost of living, less traffic compared to the DC metro area, excellent schools, and good job opportunities. We have narrowed our choices down to Frisco, Texas, Marietta, Georgia and South Charlotte, NC. We have visited Frisco and loved the area and the schools, although I am concerned about the lack of diversity that I saw. I have family and friends in the Atlanta area and I know the traffic is insane. I was told that Marietta (specifically East Cobb) would be a good choice given its proximity to downtown Atlanta where we would be working. I have never been to Charlotte, but plan to visit in the next few weeks. I was told that South Charlotte is a nice area and would be a good place to consider as well. I am seeking comments from anyone that has relocated from the D.C. metro area to any of the areas that I mentioned. Specifically, I would like to know in your opinion if the QOL is better, i.e. housing costs, commute, and schools. Thanks for the replies.
That being said, I grew up in Plano Texas and would highly recommend it. Sure there is a lack of exciting geography, but the schools are great!
As far as lack of diversity, I would have to disagree. True, there isn't a large African American community in that area, but there are large populations of East Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners. Also, seeing as diversity is more than skin color I can say there is a diverse religious and political community as well.
That being said, I grew up in Plano Texas and would highly recommend it. Sure there is a lack of exciting geography, but the schools are great!
As far as lack of diversity, I would have to disagree. True, there isn't a large African American community in that area, but there are large populations of East Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners. Also, seeing as diversity is more than skin color I can say there is a diverse religious and political community as well.
Okay well I think I can contribute a lot here...So again I am not bashing Charlotte but keep in mind that we lived in Frisco, TX for 8 years, transferred to Charlotte and have been here for a year and a half. Here is the thing, if you are looking for excellent schools all around then you can't do any better then Frisco isd. The schools there are just so different, locked doors, security cameras, no trailers. So for me coming here to Charlotte it was sooooooooo different. My second grader was being taught in an overcrowded trailer here in Charlotte in a school that had no security cameras on the doors or on the grounds, did not lock their exterior campus doors, (so pretty much anyone could have just walked right in), and whos scores were much lower then Frisco ISD. Now granted, I am giving you this info because I have lived in both areas, so I can honestly compare. Now the other thing is CMS has its good schools and its bad, but I love Frisco and all it has to offer so for me it would be a no brainer.
Frisco is diverse just in different ways, the african american population is much lower then in Charlotte, but you are comparing a town of 100,000 people to a city much larger so it is hard to compare. There is a higher mexican population in Frisco so I wouldn't say it is all one race there b/c that would not be an accurate assumption.
As far as housing, you will get a lot more house for your buck in TX. And there is no state income tax in TX, but there is in NC.
And the food...we miss the restaurant choices in Frisco more then anything. The crime in Frisco is much lower and overall in my opinion I feel that it is much more family oriented. Good luck!! Let me know if you have any additional questions about Frisco and I will be happy to answer them
Lol I can't believe I forgot to mention latinos when talking about diversity! Apologies.
I agree with you 100%. I moved to Plano in 1986 and graduated from Plano Senior High. The city of Plano absolutely blew up in population during that time (as Frisco is doing now) and there were never any problems with school overcrowding (in fact they had the best schools in the nation, like Frisco) and the traffic always seemed to move along fairly well.
I've been in Charlotte for four years now. I can say it is probably is one of the nicer 'larger' cities in the US but it still doesn't hold a candle to North Dallas. My wife and I have great jobs in Charlotte, but we always look for something new in Dallas and are willing to take a pay cut to make it happen.
Cons - in the interest of disclosure!
- No income tax but property taxes are a bit higher. Not close to NE standards though, but marginally higher than here
- Natural beauty. It is hard to beat this area for its beauty - the trees, spring/fall, mountains/beaches close by. Dallas is a bit flat and definitely more hot.
- You do get more house for your buck, but it rains houses in the north suburbs so be sure to check for quality. With so much development, don't expect your house to increase in value a lot either unless you're in the high price ranges. There is just so much on the market there. Good news is the real estate market there is similar to Charlotte; not too much of a bubble.
One thing I thought of too is that GA and NC are a lot alike. So I guess you have to chose which area is right for you. The weather is quite a bit hotter in TX and the land is flat with less trees, but it is so nice to be able to go to so many different shops and restaurants in Frisco. The Frisco mall with its ice rink is pretty cool too
Yes, property taxes are higher in TX, but without the state income tax there we still spent less money on taxes in TX then we do in Charlotte. The other thing, groceries are cheaper in TX
As far as crime, well Dallas does have its share, so more specifically stay away from Oak Cliff and you should be okay. The main difference I have seem between Charlotte and Frisco is that crime doesn't leak out into the suburbs in the Dallas area as it does in the burbs of Charlotte.
Okay well I think I can contribute a lot here...So again I am not bashing Charlotte but keep in mind that we lived in Frisco, TX for 8 years, transferred to Charlotte and have been here for a year and a half. Here is the thing, if you are looking for excellent schools all around then you can't do any better then Frisco isd. The schools there are just so different, locked doors, security cameras, no trailers. So for me coming here to Charlotte it was sooooooooo different. My second grader was being taught in an overcrowded trailer here in Charlotte in a school that had no security cameras on the doors or on the grounds, did not lock their exterior campus doors, (so pretty much anyone could have just walked right in), and whos scores were much lower then Frisco ISD. Now granted, I am giving you this info because I have lived in both areas, so I can honestly compare. Now the other thing is CMS has its good schools and its bad, but I love Frisco and all it has to offer so for me it would be a no brainer.
Frisco is diverse just in different ways, the african american population is much lower then in Charlotte, but you are comparing a town of 100,000 people to a city much larger so it is hard to compare. There is a higher mexican population in Frisco so I wouldn't say it is all one race there b/c that would not be an accurate assumption.
As far as housing, you will get a lot more house for your buck in TX. And there is no state income tax in TX, but there is in NC.
And the food...we miss the restaurant choices in Frisco more then anything. The crime in Frisco is much lower and overall in my opinion I feel that it is much more family oriented. Good luck!! Let me know if you have any additional questions about Frisco and I will be happy to answer them
Thanks nkjaws for your response! I really appreciate the comparison. I have heard from someone that I met recently that the top rated schools in South Charlotte are on par with the schools in Frisco ISD. Do you know if that is the case? I didn't get the names of the schools in South Charlotte, but plan to do further research to determine if that is true. With regard to diversity, I didn't see many African Americans in Frisco and my concern is that I do not want my child to be the only African American in the class. However, after doing further research, I found that this wouldn't be the case.
Thanks again for all the responses. Frisco is definitely our first choice so far. I am headed to Charlotte and Atlanta in the next few weeks. I will let you know the final decision once I return.
Thanks nkjaws for your response! I really appreciate the comparison. I have heard from someone that I met recently that the top rated schools in South Charlotte are on par with the schools in Frisco ISD. Do you know if that is the case? I didn't get the names of the schools in South Charlotte, but plan to do further research to determine if that is true. With regard to diversity, I didn't see many African Americans in Frisco and my concern is that I do not want my child to be the only African American in the class. However, after doing further research, I found that this wouldn't be the case.
Well here is the thing. My daughter did not go to a top south Charlotte school in CMS so I can't really compare. What I do know, however, is that nearly EVERY school in Frisco ISD has very high scores, all have security cameras, locked doors, do not use trailers, where nearly every school in CMS has trailers and only a few in comparison are rated highly. In my daughters kindergarden class in Frisco of the 22 students I believe 4 of them were african american, 3 or 4 were hispanic, one was asian, and the rest were caucasion, so it certainly isn't all one race by any means. But as far as safety is concerned, Frisco ISD takes preventative measures where Charlotte does seem to be lacking in that department.
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