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Old 03-13-2012, 06:59 AM
 
764 posts, read 1,650,422 times
Reputation: 570

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You comments are exactly the way I felt living in Roswell/Apharetta, GA and the reason I couldn't move to Flower Mound/Frisco/Plano when we came here. It happens everywhere - see the book "next stop reloville". And the crazy part is that you can live 2 blocks over or in another neighborhood in the same town and it can make all the difference in the world.

One block has kids playing "flashlight tag" friday nights after their sporting events while the adults sit in the driveway by the bonefire helping roast marshmellows and sipping a cold one. The next block over - nothing - no movie nights on the garage, no one at the bus stop to chat with - no one playing baseball/kickball in the street/cul de sac as soon as the kids pile off the bus on a warm day. A mile apart and a world of difference. You drive around looking for a trampoline or playset - some sign that there are kids in the neighborhood - but little do you know if they ever get used. It's all a flip of the coin, but once you've lived on a street with community, it's hell to go the other way.
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Old 03-13-2012, 07:56 AM
 
119 posts, read 350,817 times
Reputation: 237
Is "family friendly" what those KLTY radio billboards keep referring to? "Safe for the White Family" or whatever it is? I don't know. Looks a 'lil creepy.

Other than big-house-itis, I'm not sure what the appeal of Frisco is. It's like living on a moon base with a shopping mall attached. Too far away from airports, trains, art, culture, festivals, music, cuisine, etc, etc...
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Old 03-13-2012, 11:17 AM
 
16,087 posts, read 41,038,951 times
Reputation: 6374
Quote:
Originally Posted by DFWMike View Post
If I didn't have such an obsession with being very close to my work I would consider Lakewood. So I agree with the Lakewooders comment, I still persist that there is a school issue at the upper levels, but the neighborhood is one of the closer knit neighborhoods in the dfw area. I know everyone argues that DISD should be given a chance, but since the locals dont practice what they preach and send their kids to private school , that is a downside. However, seems like everyone knows each other when you go into the stores down there. Plus it's beautiful with great parks, great family run restaraunts.
If you will check city data or other figures you will see that the 60 to 70% of students in 75214 go to public school. That's based on the 2010 census and since the advent of IB in 2010-11 about 40% of those applying are returning from private schools - so it's probably higher now. 75214 also contains Dan D. Rodgers (Hillcrest High feeder) where the percentage of private schools students is probably higher. If you check 75205 Highland Park/UP, the percentage going to public school is about 75% and 75225 UP plus sections of PH, it's about 67%.

The enrollment at Woodrow has gone up by ~200 in the last two years, largely due to IB and redesign into four college prep academies. There are 150 plus applications outside J. L. Long for this fall's ninth grade Pre-IB class, so the trend is continuing.

Woodrow students took around 600 AP exams two years ago and last year it went up to 800. When the senior class is around 300, I would say that's pretty good. That's how we keep getting named one of the top American high schools (and above many suburban schools - all Frisco high schools for instance) by Jay Mathews of Newsweek and The Washington Post with his Challenge Index. As you know the index does not rank by passing scores and the more students who take the tests the less chance that the passing rate will be high - Woodrow's E&E is similar to Southlake Carroll's. Mr. Mathews claims that students who take the tests, regardless of the outcomes, are likely to do better in college than those who did not take AP or IB tests.

In addition to AP testing we will be doing IB tests starting next year.

The only thing that some people see as an issue is that there is a large low income minority prescence at the middle and high school. Actually it's about the state average. Places like HP, Frisco and Southlake are outliers and they are basing their 'issue' with that frame of reference. Despite that fact, 80 to 85% of the Lakewood Elementary students go on to Long. So they are still there taking Pre-AP and IB MYP classes while the the lower-income students tend to be in remedial situations or ESL situations. Woodrow picks up more students in ninth grade from private schools such as Zion and St. Thomas.

We see this as a great opportunity for both the upper and lower income students as they benefit and learn from knowing each other and forging friendships. This may not be readily apparent but the test of time shows it is relevant. Some people tend to think that the lower income remedial students are 'pulling down' the upper income advanced students. This is not the case (with a few exceptions of course) but yes it does pull down the school's TAKs ranking.

Last edited by Lakewooder; 03-13-2012 at 11:52 AM..
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Old 03-13-2012, 11:35 AM
 
2,348 posts, read 4,799,810 times
Reputation: 1601
Quote:
Originally Posted by carroll4628 View Post
You comments are exactly the way I felt living in Roswell/Apharetta, GA and the reason I couldn't move to Flower Mound/Frisco/Plano when we came here. It happens everywhere - see the book "next stop reloville". And the crazy part is that you can live 2 blocks over or in another neighborhood in the same town and it can make all the difference in the world.

One block has kids playing "flashlight tag" friday nights after their sporting events while the adults sit in the driveway by the bonefire helping roast marshmellows and sipping a cold one. The next block over - nothing - no movie nights on the garage, no one at the bus stop to chat with - no one playing baseball/kickball in the street/cul de sac as soon as the kids pile off the bus on a warm day. A mile apart and a world of difference. You drive around looking for a trampoline or playset - some sign that there are kids in the neighborhood - but little do you know if they ever get used. It's all a flip of the coin, but once you've lived on a street with community, it's hell to go the other way.
excellent points and a concern of mine since day 1 of considering a relo, Flower Mound in particular. Regarding your commentary about neighborhood dynamics, thats anywhere. I live in a great neighborhood where some parts of more active than others with kids/families. Luck of the draw anywhere you move really.

My brother lives in Southlake and has already had to say goodbye to a few friends who got relocated elsewhere. It's an odd culture, needless to say I will pick up this book.
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Old 03-13-2012, 01:06 PM
 
1,282 posts, read 3,544,750 times
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Originally Posted by nurse_101 View Post
but there does seem to be a bit of a difference btwn the personalities on the east and west side lol!
Of course, because the east side's closer to Mckinney
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Old 03-13-2012, 01:35 PM
 
1,282 posts, read 3,544,750 times
Reputation: 1064
Quote:
Originally Posted by carroll4628 View Post
...the crazy part is that you can live 2 blocks over or in another neighborhood in the same town and it can make all the difference in the world.

One block has kids playing "flashlight tag" friday nights after their sporting events while the adults sit in the driveway by the bonefire helping roast marshmellows and sipping a cold one. The next block over - nothing - no movie nights on the garage, no one at the bus stop to chat with - no one playing baseball/kickball in the street/cul de sac as soon as the kids pile off the bus on a warm day. A mile apart and a world of difference. You drive around looking for a trampoline or playset - some sign that there are kids in the neighborhood - but little do you know if they ever get used. It's all a flip of the coin, but once you've lived on a street with community, it's hell to go the other way.
This is an excellent point. I have lived in neighborhoods tooted to have a great community feel, and not really seen it...and have lived in what I thought would be neighborhoods with no community, and found out it to be simply fantastic. And in both cases, you could talk to someone else in the neighborhood a few streets away, and they would have a different opinion. It really can vary within a neighborhood, street by street, block by block.

That said, it's a cycle really. Some neighborhoods have a rep for being "neighborhoody", so people who move there tend to be people who seek out that characteristic, and their very addition to the area helps keep the community spirit going. Like attracts like. Lakewood is a great example of this. I think this continuation of community is easier to perpetuate in older neighborhoods that have a sense of history and tradition. On the flip side, in some neighborhoods, particularly newer ones where people have less ties to the area, a few key people can move out (those who always initiated gatherings, who were always outside chatting, etc) and things start to fall apart quickly...it doesn't take long before everyone is complaining that they don't know anybody anymore. The funny thing is that if no one steps up to become that new initiator, the loss of community just continues on a downward spiral. It's easy for this to happen in areas that are not "time-tested" (as a PP mentioned) and that have to have more transplants who aren't sure if they want to invest that much time in their new community. Doesn't mean you have to roll over and admit defeat. I guarantee that if YOU are disappointed in the lack of community in your neighborhood, there are MNAY neighbors who feel the same way...someone just needs to step up to the plate and do something about it. It does take a lot of legwork to get things going, but just like the example above, it can quickly become a cycle...but this time a positive one...attracting more and more community-minded individual to put down roots. ANyway, just something to think about wherever you end up
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Old 03-14-2012, 01:31 AM
 
Location: Plano, TX
995 posts, read 2,442,606 times
Reputation: 1115
Quote:
Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr View Post
I would say the biggest roadblock to being friends with neighbors is if you just have nothing in common, not the same age, you have kids and they do not, etc. So possibly any "unfriendly" vibe you may have gotten is simply because you are living in an area where you don't fit into the same demographic as the neighbors. Just a thought.
I'm younger than most of the adults around here, but I would suspect a high percentage of them are Asian, with Masters Degree(s), working in computer-related fields in jobs such as software development ... That being said some seem friendly, and others seem like them see me as the enemy that's a threat to their job / community / etc.; There are a noticeable number of people around me of different demographics, decades age difference, different racial / ethnic background, etc. that are in general friendlier than several of those who "on paper" are of similar "demographic".
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Old 03-14-2012, 09:11 PM
 
41 posts, read 107,212 times
Reputation: 38
So many of our friends move now to Frisco because of schools! And it's kind-of true, those people themselves have higher education, and they are attracted by Frisco schools. May be this is the reason for "family-friendly"?

As for us, we love it here in Richardson, it feels more simple than Plano or Frisco. I think that the houses are somewhat older and more rooted, may be. I myself am just a foreigner, the only reason I respond to this post is because I truly enjoy Texan people (those born here and those who just feel and behave Texan) all round us in our little neighbourhood. Sort of feels like home!
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Old 03-17-2012, 05:08 PM
 
13 posts, read 45,495 times
Reputation: 15
Hey nurse...
This is my biggest fear about moving to the DFW area. I feel your pain! I'm a Nola girl and the 'burbs scare me to death. I think these kind of Women, with no depth are dangerous to our society. I think we've settled on the Kessler park/ Stevens park area of Dallas. It's close to downtown and the arts district and some "grit" that I find healthy for my family to experience. And by grit, I mean not everything they will look at is a well manicured lawn. There is sooo much more to life....
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Old 03-17-2012, 06:02 PM
 
Location: California / Maryland / Cape May
1,548 posts, read 3,022,475 times
Reputation: 1242
Quote:
Originally Posted by PlanoGirl View Post
This is an excellent point. I have lived in neighborhoods tooted to have a great community feel, and not really seen it...and have lived in what I thought would be neighborhoods with no community, and found out it to be simply fantastic. And in both cases, you could talk to someone else in the neighborhood a few streets away, and they would have a different opinion. It really can vary within a neighborhood, street by street, block by block.

That said, it's a cycle really. Some neighborhoods have a rep for being "neighborhoody", so people who move there tend to be people who seek out that characteristic, and their very addition to the area helps keep the community spirit going. Like attracts like. Lakewood is a great example of this. I think this continuation of community is easier to perpetuate in older neighborhoods that have a sense of history and tradition. On the flip side, in some neighborhoods, particularly newer ones where people have less ties to the area, a few key people can move out (those who always initiated gatherings, who were always outside chatting, etc) and things start to fall apart quickly...it doesn't take long before everyone is complaining that they don't know anybody anymore. The funny thing is that if no one steps up to become that new initiator, the loss of community just continues on a downward spiral. It's easy for this to happen in areas that are not "time-tested" (as a PP mentioned) and that have to have more transplants who aren't sure if they want to invest that much time in their new community. Doesn't mean you have to roll over and admit defeat. I guarantee that if YOU are disappointed in the lack of community in your neighborhood, there are MNAY neighbors who feel the same way...someone just needs to step up to the plate and do something about it. It does take a lot of legwork to get things going, but just like the example above, it can quickly become a cycle...but this time a positive one...attracting more and more community-minded individual to put down roots. ANyway, just something to think about wherever you end up
I have lived in a lot of states, and even more cities within the same state, and, while some neighborhoods already have the ball rolling with the community feel, others don't. But no matter which scenario I'm living in, I always find myself wanting more, and just getting people together myself.

When I purchased my last home, instead of waiting for the neighbors to welcome me, we were still moving boxes into the home when I turned on the oven, began baking cookies, and later that evening, walked a plate of fresh, hot cookies to each of my immediate neighbors to introduce ourselves.

We got the neighbors together for outdoor lawn game nights in the summer, indoor game nights in the winter, etc. and, just before I moved, I was working on getting the home owners' association to allow us to use the cleared space that backed to the state park for a large annual or bi-annual neighborhood party. None of that happened before I got there (and that's just one neighborhood - I've done it in many others, too).

To echo PlanoGirl, sometimes you just need to be the one to get the ball rolling (and usually others will say that they always wanted that and are so glad you started the tradition )

But having neighbors that actually want that too, helps. If people don't want that where you are, it's time to move (at least, since I'm so much of a community person, it would be for me ).

Good luck!
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