Tell me about Blue Ridge ISD please? (Dallas, McKinney: for sale, to rent)
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I'm looking for anecdotal information from parents or students, not just the state test results.
We are moving to TX from MD and have my elem. age son in a great school system here. I don't want to jeopardize his progress in a less than stellar ISD there, but we do have constraints on which ISDs we'll be near based on property types we need.
One of the properties we really like is in Blue Ridge, and there's another possibility there. We need horse property. And inexpensively.
So, any word on Blue Ridge for me?
Thanks
Last edited by KaLioMele; 10-07-2011 at 07:42 AM..
I don't want to jeopardize his progress in a less than stellar ISD there,
If you're looking for stellar, you'll need to keep looking. Blue Ridge ISD is OK for what it is - a rural ISD where going on to anything higher than the local community college is the exception, not the norm.
Back in my CC teaching days, I would have the occasional Blue Ridge student, since it is part of Collin County. They tended to struggle to get above the "B" level.
You could do worse than Blue Ridge, but you could also do better. IMO, the best rural district is even further out - Pottsboro ISD by Lake Texoma.
None of the rural school districts are that good. They very rarely have even a single National Merit Finalist. And few of their grads go on to college.
If your child is in a good urban or suburban school and they end up in a rural ISD, then they will not only be severely under challenged, but they will also be in for a culture shock of major proportions. Rural North Texas is not suburban Maryland. I would strongly caution you against doing this to your kids if you wan them to have an academic future.
The average stay for people in rural areas is seven years. They have a romantic vision of rural life that is soon broken by the bad weather, muddy roads, crazy neighbors, vindictive cliques at school, high true cost of livestock raising, the pain of dealing with sick livestock, and the lack of intellectual stimulation. Then there is the high cost of commuting to work, shopping, and fun. Then there are the long hot summers and droughts which we are in right now. Hay is hard to find and very expensive. Come late winter, I'll bet there will be none at all.
You would be better off becoming a member of a local stable and riding club. There are quite a few around even in downtown Dallas where you can ride every day. And a number of well regarded horse trainers also offer riding lessons at their places along 380 and US 82 or will even board a horse for you. You will come out ahead financially with the arrangement.
I would recommend renting in Frisco or Allen or where ever is close to work, then taking your time to get to know the area.
Well, I also had Farmersville students in my classes. They were a mixed bag. An important distinction, though, is that the better students from Farmersville went off to 4-year schools. The ones at the CC were the ones who couldn't even get into TAMU-Commerce. IMO, the addition of "townies" in the district tends to bump up aspirations of the students.
All in all, Farmersville would probably be a good choice. It's a slightly different animal, as Farmersville itself is a good sized town by rural standards - around 3000. The school system is probably 2-3X the size of Blue Ridge. It's going to be more diverse than a 100% farm district - the city of Farmersville is 10% black and 15% Hispanic. The town is reasonably prosperous. (As opposed to completely broken-down, like most similarly-sized towns around Texas.) Its proximity to DFW will ensure its continued health.
Nope, McKinney, and we already live rurally with horses....here in Maryland. I've boarded enough to know I NEVER want to do that again. We've been here since 2002, but now moving out of state, obviously. All the pitfalls you mention happen out here, too.
I don't want to be near big subdivisions (remember the Rush song? That's how they have always felt to me) and lots of bustle and people. I also don't want to live in the boonies, but I do want space. And we need acreage.
I don't want to be near big subdivisions (remember the Rush song? That's how they have always felt to me) and lots of bustle and people. I also don't want to live in the boonies, but I do want space. And we need acreage.
Phase 3 will start construction soon and phase 1 will follow.
There are 5000 homes in Melissa now with several more phases on their way. A number of REITs have bought up most of the large tracts in the area, too. So unless you go all the way up past Van Alstyne, you will have subdivisions within the next ten years.
The area you have picked is mostly houston black clay. Its really bad in the winter when its cold and wet. A lot of cow operations don't shoe because of it. I don't shoe my horses at all its so bad. I cannot stress how bad it gets. People routinely get their tractors bottomed out in it just putting out hay.
So, based on my 30 years of farming, in this area, the must-haves are:
You want a hill top place with southern exposure and slopes to it.
You want an established barn area with lots of gravel that has already been beaten down.
You want a gravel road. No dirt ones. Period.
You want a corral that has a roof so it stays dry.
There are no wells in this area, so you will be on local water coop. Dont assume there is a water line anywhere near you.
Some years it does not rain at all. Don't plan on growing anything except rye grass in the spring.
You want some bottomland for hay.
I would lean to building a new home rather than buy an older one. The older homes on the black clay are money pits and the AC bills in the summer are very big.
Don't buy anything on a creek or a river. You WILL get flooded out.
There are a few places where the austin chalk is close to the surface. it takes time to find these, but they are great.
Again, your best bet is to rent/board and take your time to find what you want by looking at a lot of places. There are a lot of places up for sale now, but only a handful will work for you.
As for school districts, outside of McKinney they are not that good. Of the ones in the area you indicated, Melissa is the best by far.
BTW, the best area for horses in the area is the triangle between denton-gainesville-munster. The ground stays hard. Munster has the best schools for a town of its size.
Just to add one more thing, people from back East are not used to the wind in Texas. It can be windy for days here. We are talking 30 mph winds. If you live outside of town, there is usually nothing to stop it.
The area you have picked is mostly houston black clay. Its really bad in the winter when its cold and wet. A lot of cow operations don't shoe because of it. I don't shoe my horses at all its so bad. I cannot stress how bad it gets.
What he means is that they don't shoe their horses because the black clay will literally pull the shoes off the horses' hooves when it is wet. It is AWFUL! I put up with this for the first 10 years I owned a hrose because I simply had no other choice of where to keep him. His feet always looked horrible just a week or so after being trimmed. Once I moved him further east onto the sandy loam, his feet immediately improved and I didn't even have to pay for shoes anymore! If you could possibly keep your horses ANYWHERE else, DO IT!
TX75007, thanks for all the great information! Yes, I am aware of the Outer Loop and am reviewing the map again based on your info of what will go first.
We really are constrained to the areas mentioned due to not wanting large commutes (we already have that in MD, and want more family time) and our friends who live in Celina (just east of) want us as close as possible. They also have horses.
I don't shoe my guys anyhow (I'm a barefoot enthusiast) but I would like to have an arena with real footing in it someday soon, or be close to someone who did that I could mooch off of for a bit I don't think we can get far enough out to the sandy loam based on our needs. We have red clay here that, in winter, becomes a slippery mess, and I'm SO over not having a good place to ride and train in winter (or in summer when it becomes hard as concrete). Any place we get I will somehow budget in an arena.
Our biggest consideration is price. We don't have a huge budget, and the really nice places don't fall in it. We do have a custom builder friend, but that will entail waiting, which I am not good at And it may not be cost effective anyhow. It'd be nice to find a piece of property with a barn on it, but no house, then we could keep horses there whilst building.
Thoughts thoughts thoughts.....
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They were a mixed bag. An important distinction, though, is that the better students from Farmersville went off to 4-year schools. The ones at the CC were the ones who couldn't even get into TAMU-Commerce. IMO, the addition of "townies" in the district tends to bump up aspirations of the students.
I don't think we can get far enough out to the sandy loam based on our needs. We have red clay here that, in winter, becomes a slippery mess, and I'm SO over not having a good place to ride and train in winter (or in summer when it becomes hard as concrete). Any place we get I will somehow budget in an arena.
And it may not be cost effective anyhow. It'd be nice to find a piece of property with a barn on it, but no house, then we could keep horses there whilst building.
