Relo to Dallas from NC - Need Family/Dog Friendly Recommendations Near Irving (Plano: 2014)

[SadieMaeMom]

My husband will be working in Irving and we are completely clueless about the area. We don't have much of a housing budget (250k) as we just bought our house here only 8 months ago (We were relocated from CA to NC and I JUST finished hanging up the family photos!)
We are used to large cities and all the eating & culture options. However, we have a 4 year-old kid so we want the best schools possible -- and an area where we could take our dog for hikes would be great.

Any recommendations for affordable housing + good schools and not too rural? We are fine if we have to rent at first while we check out the area, so I don't know if that changes anything.

Thank you in advance for any constructive help you can provide!

[nsumner]

Coppell is the city that would meet all your criteria. It is right next to Irving. Keep in mind that school districts here overlap the cities so you could be living in the city of Irving and yet be zoned for Coppell schools which is the ones you want.

The lots aren't large at all in Coppell or Irving but there are a lot of neighborhood parks.

We all typically recommend renting first but with Coppell, it's pretty much a no-brainer.

Naima

[ETex2]

You'll find that $250K will buy a nice home in many areas in or near Irving. Go north into other suburbs including Carrollton, Coppell, Lewisville, etc. for a great selection of homes in your price range. Lots of info on the net about school districts, and on this forum as well. I think all of the above cities have average to above average rated schools.

[Squirl]

Do a little research, too. Just key in the word "Irving" in the SEARCH drop down near the upper center/right of this screen. Your question is asked ALL the time because Irving is a large employment center. You'll find tons of information about Irving and surrounding communities within a reasonable commute. As mentioned above, school zones overlap so even if you rent in a town, never assume it is served by the school district (Example: Irving is served by 3 different school districts). Then you can learn more about the school you are interested in by looking it up on the Texas Accountability website. Also, don't be misled into thinking that a school district with high ratings or low ratings will have the same rating for the school you are interested in. One benefit you do have is many, many schools are rated "Exemplary" at the elementary school level so you will likely have many choices in an area you like and can afford. Can't stress too much, check out the school and don't assume it is good or bad based on the ratings of the district in which the school is zoned to. Texas Accountability Rating System

[rtloucks]

I agree with Coppell, we too actually moved from Charlotte NC to the Dallas metro. We stayed in Coppell for 5 months an liked it. I don't know if it is really what you are looking for in terms of shops, eateries etc. it is a smaller town and you will need to drive to everything except maybe a grocery store or a take out joint. But you are very close to Irving and grapevine which both are bursting with shopping and dining. There are plenty of places you can get a nice home for $250k but keep in mind that your property taxes will run you about $5-600 a month and a little more in some places. With that said, you might like grapevine much better. A large mall, a very cute downtown district, vineyard, lots of places to eat and shop, very nice people, great schools, I really can't say enough good things about it. I wish we would have went there. It doesn't feel like a suburb like every other city does. You could check out the 75252 zip code, very nice affordable part or northdallas that goes to plano schools. Very nice, lots going on, close to everything and not all that far from irving. 75063 is the nice part of Irving if you need to stay in Irving but check out valley ranch , just make sure that the home is zone for Coppell schools. Not sure of your ethnicity and im not judging but if it matters to you, Irving has a very high Indian and Asian population in the valley ranch area. We liked the area tho when we were looking. We eventually settled in arlington tho because we fell in love with an area there and loved the convenience to everything. I would stay away from the Addison and Carrollton areas tho, kind of run down and sketchy, lewisville is nice bit total suburbia, Plano and frisco are great for many reasons but getting far out, feel free to private message me if you like I hope all of this helps.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

With that said, you might like grapevine much better. A large mall, a very cute downtown district, vineyard, lots of places to eat and shop, very nice people, great schools, I really can't say enough good things about it. I wish we would have went there. It doesn't feel like a suburb like every other city does.

Grapevine is a great place to live. We have great schools, beautiful parks and lake, and lots of shopping and restaurants. Our property taxes are also very low, especially compared with Coppell. By living in Tarrant County, your car insurance will be lower, too.

[rtloucks]

I will say that I like Grapevine the best, you should really go spend a day there and go check out the little downtown, the Texan center, the lake, the big mall, I like to call it a "Hallmark Movie Town" very walkable, lots of conveniences, tons of eating options and very central to the metro with 121, 360, 114, 183, etc. there is some construction to deal with until 2014 I believe. They are expanding the highways through there but once that is done it will be very nice. Plus grapevine schools are great, my boys bothe went to them but part of grapevine also falls into Carroll schools(south lake) everyone up there is so nice and if you can't tell, I kind of miss it. Good luck to you