Relocating from Detroit area to Dallas, TX...help! (Plano, Irving: sale, apartments)

[b4tunate]

My family is looking to relocate from the Detroit metro area to the Dallas area. My husband will be working in Irving and I'll be working in Plano. Any thoughts on where we could reside at in the middle of those two areas? We have a daughter who will be 2 so good schools are definitely a must and definitely a diverse and safe neighborhood. We're an African-American family so looking to intermingle with all walks of life that we hear Dallas has to offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

If you can give us a price range, that would help us target some choices for you

[lh_newbie]

First off - I grew up in "downriver" (Gibraltar to be exact) in the Detroit metro. Moved here in 1999. Welcome to Dallas. Even the "questionable" schools here kick the snot out of our schools back in Michigan... so keep that in mind, cause some people on this forum will make you feel like an inadequate parent if you don't get your kids in the best school in the entire metro.

[b4tunate]

Originally Posted by TriumphOfTheSprint

If you can give us a price range, that would help us target some choices for you

For now we'd be looking to move into an apartment until we found a home and have gotten used to the city and area, but thought it'd be good to get an idea of where to stear our search so we can begin looking after being there for a couple of months. As far as homes, I would say our price range is around $150K-$225K and a little bit flexible. From what I see you get much more dollar for your home then we get here in MI so anything would be an improvement. Any thouhts on both ends as far as apartments or homes would be useful. Thanks again.

[b4tunate]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

First off - I grew up in "downriver" (Gibraltar to be exact) in the Detroit metro. Moved here in 1999. Welcome to Dallas. Even the "questionable" schools here kick the snot out of our schools back in Michigan... so keep that in mind, cause some people on this forum will make you feel like an inadequate parent if you don't get your kids in the best school in the entire metro.

Yeah, we live in Oak Park so the school system here is not that great either. Any advice you can give us since you know what we've experienced as far as weather, crappy roads, state taxes, etc.? Let us know.

[sonshinelife]

Between Irving and Plano... Carrollton would be a place to consider. There are many homes in the 150 to 200 range. Both Irving and Plano can be gotten to off George Bush Tollway. Carrollton has some reputable schools in the price range I made reference to. (Carrollton -Farmer Branch ISD)

You'll probably want to look the area that is north of Frankford. Rosemeade, Rainwater, and Kent all have awesome schools and the area is reasonable and safe. If you get any further north in Carrollton you'll be in Lewisville schools. My son will attend Coyote Ridge which is a Carrollton zip, but Lewisville school. It appears to be a top notch school and is in Carrollton but on the edge. Some of the homes in this area (Indian Creek sub division) are in your price range. Another area is in South Carrollton on the edge of Addison. The sub division is Country Place. Country Place Elementary is a top notch school. This area and school are located off Marsh and Beltline. Good luck and welcome to Texas.

[sonshinelife]

Another location would be the area off Mac Arthur in Coppell. These are Coppell homes and Coppell schools (some top ranked schools in this area as well and a great day care (Discover and Share). A little closer to Irving than Plano though.

[Big G]

I'd look at Carrollton-Farmers Branch as a decent school district in a location between those two cities. You'd have an acceptable commute to Irving and a very reasonable one to Plano.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by b4tunate

Yeah, we live in Oak Park so the school system here is not that great either. Any advice you can give us since you know what we've experienced as far as weather, crappy roads, state taxes, etc.? Let us know.

From a former Michigander, here's my comments:

Texas has no state income taxes.

Property taxes are roughly 2.25% of your home sale price. Property value for tax basis can increase by up to 10% per year - Michigan's property tax limitation was much better. Moral of the story... buy a little less than you can afford, just to be safe. Moving into an apartment is smart - learn the areas, as you'll find out there are many, many different areas here. It's HUGE!

Even a "bad" road here would be considered "new" in Michigan. Seriously. I-94 is used by trucking companies to test packaging materials. 'Nuff said.

Weather is obviously hotter. This is something to keep in mind with vehicles - cars without A/C here just don't exist. Also, your cooling bills in the summer will obviously be higher than in Michigan. Electricity here does cost more - it's about 12 cents per KwH. Peak summer bills can range from $200-500 - all depends on the age of your AC unit, the size of your house, if someone is home all day, windows, etc. Apartment bills tend to be on the higher end, since they usually have crappy AC units. If you're on the top floor - definitely expect a shocking bill in June/Jul/August.

The lakes here are, well, small. I wouldn't want to live on a lake here and have jetskis and boats zipping by my back yard. Michigan has rivers wider than most any lake in TX.

Michigan is a very vehicle-centric state, so that isn't a change here. Drivers here are crazy, too.

Sweet tea. Learn what it is. It's AWESOME. You'll also notice that service in restaurants is amazing. A buddy of mine visited a while back and said he TRIED to finish his soda (not pop - I finally gave into the "soda" thing)... without success. He still talks about that!

Dr. Pepper - I still think it's gross... but it's everywhere here.

A&W - there's one or two around the metro area if you look hard enough.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other Michigan based questions. FYI: My parents moved form Michigan about 8 months ago - they moved to Grapevine. My niece was just too cute - the lure of Grandparenting was just too strong.

Brian

[peripie]

Thanks for the clarification- I went to school in Lansing, my husband in Wayne- so of course I kept envisioning my school every time I would read a thread about this district vs.that district-I can now keep my panic down to a minimum!