Opinion on Sunnyvale Schools (Dallas, Coppell: homes, neighborhood, to buy) - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

dallas90210 · 01-14-2012, 05:31 AM

Heath is a nice town. But honestly, I think over a 30 year period, Sunnyvale will fair better property value wise than Heath.

Sunnyvale will have the George Bush freeway coming down the far west side of the lake, and that will spur all kinds of future growth and development there over the next 10+ years.

Sunnyvale has the "exclusive" school system, which is to the most part is limited to upper income / high achieving kids. More money doesn't necessarily mean better kids, of course, but it does mean more resources and usually a far more morally supportive household, so in the end it's a proven fact the upper income children perform a lot better than the lower income children on average. Just look at the Southlake and Highland Park school systems...they are just flat out awesome. Even though they will have that one small quad-plex development in the industrial area in the south side of the city, the city has now complied with the court order & proven it's not racist, so they're now free to keep their good and restrictive residential zoning rules in place. So in time, Sunnyvale should develop into the Southlake of the east.

Heath has a "shared" school system, which is split between Rockwall and Heath. Rockwall is a very nice town, but in time will become more like Mesquite as more poverty and blight creeps into town over time. But honestly, that won't happen for probably 30 years. It will be a long time. It has happened to Mesquite / Richardson / Garland / Irving / etc already and is even happening in east Plano right now ... including some parts west of 75 (ugh).

Don't get me wrong, those older suburbs I mentioned still have FAR better schools systems, police services & city services than the city of Dallas itself, but even they don't fair in comparison to Rockwall, Heath or Sunnyvale (or another upscale / newer suburb with first class schools).

The grand-daddy of exclusive school systems in DFW is the Highland Park / University Park school system. The guys who developed the Park Cities back in the day were geniuses...they knew what was coming their way...Dallas and Dallas ISD. Ugh. LOL!!!! 95% of the city of Dallas middle class fled to the suburbs in the 70s/80s, and blight remained behind in that city ... except where the Park Cities were. And low and behold, their kids & grandkids that live there today are still benefiting from extremely high property values and extremely good schools.

If you can't afford HP / UP, then Sunnyvale, Southlake, West Plano and a few other exclusive suburbs / public school systems are great alternatives.

ravt2012 · 01-14-2012, 03:28 PM

Thanks dallas90210 and Grainraiser for all the valuable information. We are feeling better about our choice already, can't wait to visit the area once before taking a decision.

We certainly can't afford the HP/UP area homes and feel Southlake and West Plano are too hard to commute to downtown dallas on a daily basis.

One more question, anybody here who live in/know about Stoney Creek development? What are your thoughts about the community there?

dallas90210 · 01-14-2012, 06:15 PM

Yep, I know about Stoney Creek. It's got homes starting in the upper $200s to $500s on one side of the street, and probably $400k to $1mm on the other side (it's on both sides of Collins Rd, N of highway 80). Both "sides" of the development are incredibly nice - no problems with either. One of the builders on the more expensive side likes building these gigantic 1-story homes...like 4000 or 5000 square foot 1-story homes...which I personally dislike. But there are plenty of huge 2-story homes over there too. LOL!! Their HOA fees are slightly high, so I've heard, but you do get an incredible (gigantic) neighborhood swimming pool and nice jogging trails. There may be a small lake ... but I might be wrong. It's one of the nicer neighborhoods in Sunnyvale.

Be sure to also look in the Homestead (no current developers are there / Ryland moved out ... but custom homes are still an option), Stone Canyon (all custom homes, from $250k to $500k+) and The Falls (all custom homes, $400k-$1mm+). There are some other neighborhoods sprinkled throughout Sunnyvale with very nice homes too ... the only two I personally would not pick are Creekside and Glenwick Estates. The are sister developments located near Town East Blvd & Beltline on the southeast corner. The homes are too close together & too track-home like in design in those neighborhoods ... those also tend to be the most affordable in Sunnyvale (one is on the MLS now for $209k, and that thing needs a ton of updating - see MLS ID # 11691320) ... and I think there's another one on there for ~$260k if I remember right.

The best way to browse a list of homes sorted by price / features / size / etc, if you don't have MLS access, is to to use a free website like Zip Realty or Texas MLS

Anyway, good luck. Let us know if you have any more questions about the area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravt2012

Thanks dallas90210 and Grainraiser for all the valuable information. We are feeling better about our choice already, can't wait to visit the area once before taking a decision.

We certainly can't afford the HP/UP area homes and feel Southlake and West Plano are too hard to commute to downtown dallas on a daily basis.

One more question, anybody here who live in/know about Stoney Creek development? What are your thoughts about the community there?

CREW747 · 01-14-2012, 07:50 PM

Sunnyvale's build out is about 17,000.It is ludacris that ICP was allowed to force section 8 in.We have only been to Sunnyvale twice and the only disadvantage we saw (before the section 8) was the location.Pretty much wedged inbetween Mesquite and Garland.If Sunnyvale does not remain strict with zoning, bleed over from could happen.It is hard to believe no one has been able to completley stop ICP from bullying suburbs that owe the city of Dallas nothing

Hey ICP,you are quick to update your lawsuits on your website when you file them,why dont you update them when you lose? Major kudos to Flower Mound on the win ....

biafra4life · 01-14-2012, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CREW747

Sunnyvale's build out is about 17,000.It is ludacris that ICP was allowed to force section 8 in.We have only been to Sunnyvale twice and the only disadvantage we saw (before the section 8) was the location.Pretty much wedged inbetween Mesquite and Garland.If Sunnyvale does not remain strict with zoning, bleed over from could happen.It is hard to believe no one has been able to completley stop ICP from bullying suburbs that owe the city of Dallas nothing

Hey ICP,you are quick to update your lawsuits on your website when you file them,why dont you update them when you lose? Major kudos to Flower Mound on the win ....

Question crew, does this make you worry up there in Prosper? It would appear ICP is taking aim everywhere in the metroplex; Flower Mound, Frisco, McKinney, Sunnyvale...what would stop them going after Prosper? Prosper seems to be somewhat similar to Sunnyvale; small, affluent suburb with little to no low cost housing. What say you?

roskybosky · 01-15-2012, 10:23 AM

I would make sure to visit Coppell before you make any decision. Wonderful town and great schools, affordable housing, parks, recreation.

I raised 3 kids here-competitive, but friendly. Caring teachers.

dallas90210 · 01-15-2012, 10:47 AM

Sunnyvale is a 25 minute commute on a good average day to downtown Dallas - I know - I have made it untold thousands of times. LOL.

Coppell...probably 45 minutes to an 1 hour with I-35 as bad as it is.

dallas90210 · 01-15-2012, 10:51 AM

From what I have been told...they're a bunch of people living in the 1960s and 1970s who think the white man is out to get the black man, and that a black man can't do anything a white man can. They seem to have forgotten about the asians, indians and mexicans. They have good intentions and are actually good people, but they are out of touch with the times and their lawsuits actually do nothing but hurt growing cities. Anyone can live in Sunnyvale, Flower Mound or Highland Park for that matter - all you need are $$$ - race does not matter like it did back in the day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Question crew, does this make you worry up there in Prosper? It would appear ICP is taking aim everywhere in the metroplex; Flower Mound, Frisco, McKinney, Sunnyvale...what would stop them going after Prosper? Prosper seems to be somewhat similar to Sunnyvale; small, affluent suburb with little to no low cost housing. What say you?

ravt2012 · 01-15-2012, 03:06 PM

Have one more question regarding Stoney Creek.. looks like there are three builders in that community, Beazer, Standard Pacific, and Paul Taylor for those 1 acre+ homes. How does one distinguish whom to buy from in the same community? How do these builders differ from one another?

Thanks for all your input on this topic so far!

dallas90210 · 01-15-2012, 04:22 PM

You just really need to go into their sales offices and/or call their sales office numbers to get those specific answers. BUT...I think Beazer & Standard Pacific are are on the more affordable side, and Paul Taylor & the other custom homes are on the more expensive side. However I think Beazer and/or Standard Pacific may be able to build homes on the more expensive side as well, but don't quote me on that, LOL.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravt2012

Have one more question regarding Stoney Creek.. looks like there are three builders in that community, Beazer, Standard Pacific, and Paul Taylor for those 1 acre+ homes. How does one distinguish whom to buy from in the same community? How do these builders differ from one another?

Thanks for all your input on this topic so far!