commuting question for Denton area (Dallas, Irving: apartments, HOA, houses)

[Grace316]

My husband is looking at a job at the Denton Medical Center on S I35. How difficult is it to commute to this area from the neighboring suburbs? We need middle and high schools. Budget 500-700,000 range.

Thank you

[CREW747]

The commute will be easier if you are headed against traffic and fairly close to the hospital .In that Price range my number one pick would be Prosper. If you prefer to be closer to 35,Highland Village.When we moved here we decided on a 30 minute max commute.Everyone has different standards when it comes to commuting.

[loves2read]

look at a map
Denton has been growing in last 5 yrs but it still lacks lot of the amenities that larger towns in its area like Frisco have to offer
currently I think there is only 1 Barnes and Nobel in Denton, mainly chain restaurants
personally I think Denton is a dirty town--
there always seems to be lot of litter lying around, most of the retail areas are older and have not been spruced up
there are two basic divisions in the residents--college students from UNT and TX Women's and then regular residents...the college students outnumber the regular residents


I-35 the N/S into FTW or Dallas on either side is the pits for commuting--
377 which is 4 lane farm/market road that parallels 35 gets lot of commute traffic and moves fairly quickly because there are few lights--but that also means that getting on/off it can be difficult

the Bush Tollroad is the only one in the area that is not currently under construction--and it won't really help you out getting to Denton
121 though Lewisville into Grapevine and downtown FTW has construction in the Grapevine/Southlake area at 114...
114 running E/W and into the Las Colinas area of Irving/Dallas is under construction and gets a lot of traffic with people commuting to Keller/Haslet/Trophy Club/Southlake

towns like Bartonville and Argyle have lot of high dollar developments on acreage for people who want larger lots and maybe keep horses...their school districts are smaller and probably rate pretty well but most people would consider other districts to offer better academic/athletic programs because they are 5A schools and get more attention in news media--like Lewisville or Fisco or Carroll (Southlake)

with your price range you can consider almost any area of the Metroplex that you want to commute from--
Southlake/Colleyville/Grapevine/Keller being to the south
Frisco, Flower Mound, Lewisville to the east and south--
Grapevine Lake is big problem though for commuting--since there is no bridge across the lake at this time except the Lewisville toll bridge which is a real bottleneck and the northern E/W 377-380 route

the look of areas to the west across I35/Tarrant side vs east/Dallas side is very different--
two geo zones meet--
western is more flat, fewer trees and lower height ones because this is where the Great Plains start

the east has more natural/bigger trees--less open land-look to it, more development
bad weather usually comes from the west--hail storms in particular

the state is going to a new evaluation system--TAKS is being phased out and replaced by STAR (I think that is the acronym) but all districts will have their current rating frozen for two years--until the new system is in place

the state uses "independent" ISDs--meaning they are not tied to county or city boundaries--
some might flow into 2-3-4 towns and some towns might have 2-3-4 ISDs within their area
Denton ISD has 3 high schools I think and at least 1 of them is 4A school

Google for Region X and Region XI TEA and get the sites with links to all ISDs within those two regions--there are also links to other schools--private/charter ones

[Grace316]

No desire to live in Denton. Looking at the communities near it and am seeking traffic input here in order to determine what is reasonable.
I'm specifically wondering if it is hard to commute to FlowerMound from this location in Denton. The hospital looks to be in the se corner of the Denton area.

[getmeoutofhere]

Flower Mound would be a fairly easy commute, particularly along the Flower Mound / Highland Village border. Highland Village would also be an easy drive, and is a very nice area as well.

You might also look at Lantana, you can get a beautiful house there for half your budget. It's very family-friendly. It would also put him within 15-20 minutes of Denton Regional. I believe Lantana has its own middle schools, and then those feed into Guyer High School in Denton.

I would focus on FM / HV / Lantana, if you're looking for an upscale, family-friendly place with good schools and an easy commute. Let me know if you have any questions, as I live in Lantana.

[CREW747]

We looked at Lantana and liked the concept and builders but could not due an entire neighborhood where houses were so close together.We have people over often and needed a large yard.Lantana is surrounded by good subdivisions and there are very few apartments in the area.I am surprised the developers went the tiny lot route,Lantana is surrounded by Bartonville,Cooper Canyon,Highland Village and Flower mound where larger lots are the norm.

[getmeoutofhere]

Originally Posted by CREW747

We looked at Lantana and liked the concept and builders but could not due an entire neighborhood where houses were so close together.We have people over often and needed a large yard.Lantana is surrounded by good subdivisions and there are very few apartments in the area.I am surprised the developers went the tiny lot route,Lantana is surrounded by Bartonville,Cooper Canyon,Highland Village and Flower mound where larger lots are the norm.

There are no apartments in the area at all.

Yes, the houses are close together. I personally don't care, as I find yards to be nothing more than extra work. In fact, one of the compelling reasons in our decision to choose Lantana was the smaller yards, and the fact that the HOA dues cover front and side yard maintenance. Besides, the smaller yards are offset by the hike and bike trails, the playgrounds, the 2 community centers, the 5 pools, etc.

Front yard size is small across the board, but backyards can be pretty spacious. Nothing huge, but plenty for entertaining. It depends on the layout of the house. We could have a pool installed in ours because we have a 2 story house that goes up, not out. My neighbor's backyards would be cramped with a kiddie pool in them, because they have 1, or 1.5, story houses that sprawl out into the backyard.

Also, Lantana isn't really surrounded by an subdivisions. It's all one unincorporated area. There are different neighborhoods within it it, but it's all Lantana.

The other benefit for the OP to Lantana is it backs right up to roads that easily lead to Denton Regional, eliminating the need to get on 35, and avoiding a lot of traffic.

[Grace316]

my biggest concern is my children and their adjustment. They will be in 6th and 9th grade next fall. We don't have middle school here. Does that start for 6th grade? 6-7-8? They are involved in theatre, band, debate, fencing and tennis here. I'm assuming all areas would be welcoming to new students, but if that is naive, feel free to educate me.

[loves2read]

depends on the ISD your home is served by
some ISDs have middle schools with 6,7,8th grades and 9th goes to high school
some ISDs have jr-highs with 7-8-9th together and 10-12 in high school
and some ISDs have other arrangements
just depends--lots of individuality in how ISDs can arrange their class placements and sometimes it depends on the number of schools and students they have to arrange...

middle schools offer band, theater and probably tennis but debate and fencing--I think those would be more rare--especially fencing...
I taught in HEB ISD--farther south than Lantana--and there was no fencing offered in the district because it is not a UIL sport (I believe)--but I had a student who was a nationally ranked fencer--he took instruction from teacher in Dallas I believe and was on fencing team there
so if that is sport your children would continue you would have to find source outside school

[Grace316]

Thanks for the info.