Job in Richardson- Best places to live for schools, etc. (Dallas: credit, house)

[brentwoodgirl]

My husband is interviewing for jobs, and one of the jobs is in Richardson.
I have 3 children, 6th grade, 5th grade, and preschool. We currently live in a nice suburb in Nashville and absolutely love it here. But my husband is a specialized engineer and there is a lot more opportunity for him in DFW.

Things we would like:
*Great schools
*4 bd/3 ba house with pool or community pool
* Yard of at least .25, preferably more like .5 acre
*Under $550K
*30 minute commute or less to Richardson

We would also love an area with great parks, community concerts, etc.

My sister's family lives in Keller, so if possible, I would love to live on that side of Richardson, but great schools and good commute (30 min or less) are most important.

One thing I'm nervous about there are how big the schools are. My kids are currently zoned for a high school that has about 400 per grade. It looks like the high schools in Plano are massive, and that makes me a little nervous.

I would love any input that will help us as we make this decision. Thanks!

[BigDGeek]

There are some properties in Canyon Creek that might suit your needs, and the schools (at least on the RISD side, I don't know about the PISD side) are terrific. Canyon Creek is in the 75080 zip code.

Aside from that you might consider parts of FND..others here are much more knowledgeable about Far North Dallas than I am, though you probably want to avoid being zoned to Dallas ISD schools.

[TheOverdog]

My sister's family lives in Keller, so if possible, I would love to live on that side of Richardson, but great schools and good commute (30 min or less) are most important.

Keller is a suburb of Ft Worth, which is pretty far away from Richardson, a suburb of Dallas. Live in Richardson itself. It has a yearly Wildflower Festival (music, food, flowers) and a 5k fun run on Glenville Ave what seems like every other weekend. For $550k, you should be able to find a home on a half acre. That's a large budget for the DFW area.

[Falafelosophy]

If you want to spend 500k then stay in 75082 zip code of Ricardson. It has more inventory in your price range, Plano East schools , Breckenridge Park & just a better vibe. If you prefer a bit upscale area and Plano west schools then 75093 zip code is great and just a short drive.

[Big G]

I'm with others on here - you're best off just buying right IN Richardson, in either Plano ISD or Richardson ISD.

You can search on here for previous discussions about the pros/cons of Plano ISD's extremely large graduating class sizes. (One important thing to understand is that those sizes are only for 11th and 12th grades - the freshmen and sophomores have their own schools with class sizes around 600 or so.)

If you're looking for the more traditional 4-year school of reasonable size, Richardson ISD is the way to go.

[Macbeth2003]

Don't consider proximity to Keller. Just don't. You will be working in Richardson 5 days a week. Maybe visiting family in Keller 2-4 times a month. You cannot be near both, so the choice is obvious. Richardson itself, Or the area of Dallas with Richardson school would meet your needs very well.

[MurphyPl1]

East Richardson definitely. Or Murphy - they will have the little bit larger lots than many of the other suburbs. Both are PISD schools.

[PISDstudent]

Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl

One thing I'm nervous about there are how big the schools are. My kids are currently zoned for a high school that has about 400 per grade. It looks like the high schools in Plano are massive, and that makes me a little nervous.

I would love any input that will help us as we make this decision. Thanks!

What exactly do you want in a school? Great schools often mean different things to different people, hence a lot of the debates on this site.

Do you want a very competitive district with many students going on to Ivy-league colleges? Plano ISD is probably best for you.

Do you want a district that is still strong but smaller schools and less competition? You would probably be better in Richardson ISD.

A few other notes:
JJ Pearce is considered the "best" RISD school; I think it feeds from the Northwestern part of Richardson (I'm not sure though).

Plano East offers IB, and some people really try to use this sell a school. Quite honestly, it really isn't much different from AP, in fact, some AP/IB courses are taught as the same class, and AP is more widely accepted for college credit. Of course, I'm a bit biased since I'm in AP

Plano ISD has larger schools, but this allows them to have to offer more classes, more clubs, and a "pre-college" experience of sorts. Imagine going from a class size of 400 to UT, with 38,000 undergrads. On the other hand, your class size in Plano will give you a taste of what's to come.

Here are some helpful links:
School Districts by SAT Score: Average SAT scores by school district

Schools by National merit semifinalists over the last few years:National Merit Semi-Finalists: 2008-2012 Cumulative Totals - plus 2013 NMSFs

[carroll4628]

Yes I'm hijacking..Guess no one from Plano goes to Harvey Mudd. I'd be too much of a culture shock.

[carroll4628]

Back on topic. Since you have a 5th and 6th grader, you already know if they are in the GT programs at their current schools - top 1-3%. IF SO, then you should be looking at a high school with lots of NMSF to challenge them (Plano would fit the bill since there are 40+ of them each year). IF NOT, but they are still good solid students, and based on your concern, I would find a smaller respectable school where they won't feel lost. Also, it depends greatly on their personalities. Do they make friends easily, are socialable, love and seek attention, won't let a teacher forget them?

Finally, your kids are old enough that they might have some of their own insight. When your 6th grader moved from elementary school to middle school and there were more students, how did they feel about the transition?