Am I looking for something that doesn't exist in Dallas Suburbs? (Garland: cul-de-sac, apartment)

[racehorse]

Sure, but I think it's important to note that most of the schools in the district are quite good.

[PrincessKick]

Originally Posted by racehorse

Sure, but I think it's important to note that most of the schools in the district are quite good.

I apologize if it seemed I was saying otherwise. You are correct. But I just see a lot of times on here where people poo poo certain districts or act like others are the holy Grail. Again, *in my opinion* this goes for any district: Before just automatically assuming every school in the district is a certain way some non-ratings due diligence should be performed. And I really like the schools my kids are in and the vast majority of schools I have interacted with professionally. I hope that is not damning by faint praise or whatever. I am not an authority. I have never portrayed myself to be. I am one person with some opinions based on my experiences.

[chvelo]

OpenBook:

What is the name of the neighborhood in NC that you're leaving?

[chvelo]

Originally Posted by PrincessKick

damning by faint praise

What a great phrase.

I think it's important to remember that under Texas TAKS and STARRS and under no child left behind, schools' and districts' scores are determined significantly more or less bythe performance of their lowest scoring group, nor their average. These testing programs are relatively new. For the first few years, buyers used a rating as an overall measure of quality but I think people are starting to get a little more sophisticated to realize that ratings should be put in their context.

LISD educates a significant number of economically disadvantaged students - generally concentrated in the district's center and does a fantastic job at it. It's recognized ratings reflects its success at doing this. Anyone interested should dig into the TAKS data and track scores for economicaly disadvantaged through the system. The scores start out in bad shape in 3rd grade - in the 40%-ish for passing - and steadily rise through 12th grade into the high 80's%. So that's a measure of what LISD can do.

For the LISD elementary schools without the challenges of a large number of economically disadvantaged students, almost all of them are exemplary.

[OpenBook777]

Originally Posted by chvelo

OpenBook:

What is the name of the neighborhood in NC that you're leaving?

Sunset Oaks
Sunset Oaks

[skids929]

Originally Posted by OpenBook777

We came from a fantastic neighborhood in Raleigh, NC where we had regular block parties, kids had sleepovers and ran from house to house to play like the good ol' days, the adults all got along and partied together, and we had a community 'resort style' pool where we would gather at and hang together on a very regular basis during the summer.

Does that exist anywhere here in D? We are extremely social as are our children. "Keeping to ourselves" is the opposite of our character. Just an example, when I said my goodbyes on my Facebook page, there were 33 responses, mostly from my neighborhood friends.

So, does a community, like I described above, exist somewhere in D?

TIA!

What you described here is the general definition of the DFW burbs..You will find this in alot of places. It's one of the things we love about the area and you don't get this in alot of places in the US, particularly older places like where I live in MA.

DFW is your proverbial Oyster when it comes to this. Good luck!

[chvelo]

Got it. Castle Hills is designed around a set of principles designed to create a strong community like you describe. A lot of other "master planned communties" implement some form of these principles as well. I live in and really like Castle Hills but the commute from SE Denton County to Richardson will be rough.

So I think you should look at Twin Creeks in Allen. It's similar to your old neighborhood. I've heard Twin Creeks compared to Castle Hills. There are some differences that are important to me - like Castle Hills having a small commercial/retail area in the middle of the neighborhood - but I don't see that type of thing in Sunset Oaks so you won't miss it. We'd love to have you but unless you expect to have to commute to Ft. Worth, Irving or Arlington, I think the crosstown/with traffic commute should be avoided.

As for rentals - I think you'll have a hard time finding a neighborhood first, then finding rentals because there aren't many rentals. You may need to find a school system you like, find some place to rent for now and then look for neighborhoods in the same schools to buy.

[OpenBook777]

^^ Thanks so much chvelo! Twin Creeks is actually on my radar. I've scouted by schools first (my middle school son struggles with academics so I'm scouting a 10 school with 5 stars for him) then community. So, you're absolutely right about having a hard time doing it that way.

So you think a commute from Castle Hills to Richardson is too much?

Thanks for the warm welcome.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by OpenBook777

What? Turtlecreek you must have good friends in Sparkman! I thought you would have surely steered me to UP or HP .

We REALLY liked Heritage Lakes in Frisco, but we aren't fond of the Lewisville ISD school ratings. So we've been searching Allen, and I have yet to find a neighborhood that mimics what I've mentioned. I stop and talk to the residents when they're outside so I collect info rather aggressively. (makes me good at sales hahaha!).

Keep the great suggestions coming. I appreciate the feedback!

I think one issue you're facing is that you're looking in the newer developments where there are mainly corporate transients from all over the US who move there for a few years and then move out. Their roots aren't very deep in the neighborhood and they never will be. That is one reason I would look in the older, more established areas around Dallas and in Dallas itself. Ninety percent of Dallas is suburban single family homes. For a suburb, I think Richardson would be a fine choice. So would Lake Highlands and the Sparkman area that TC80 proposed in the city of Dallas.

[racehorse]

We have driven from CH to Richardson to visit family, and it's probably 20-30 minutes on the weekend. During rush hour it would be a nightmare.