Garland area good for families? (Rowlett, Rockwall: good schools, living in, price)

[macnietspingal]

A friend from my Kemp Mill, Maryland days eventually moved to near Ft. Myers Florida retirement community. She visited me for a week in Garland. All she could talk about was how the Cubans were changing everything in her life period. Couldn't even shop or walk the streets the way she wanted to. This was about 18 years ago. I had a friend at that time from Waco TX originally who was of Mexican culture. She confirmed that there was a difference between Mexicans and Cubans in her lifetime's experience. So I'm wondering about Anglos who have had the same experience I have had in their lifetimes. Texas is a place where the rubber hits the road when it comes to the Hispanic Culture. Austin tour and Visit to San Antonio sort of confirms all this. It even effected how the principal of the RISD school which was on my block and I could see from my front door and his plans for the future of his school's reputation. Sorry folks but this is real when I lived in Dallas County which includes Garland and Dallas City and all sides of North Central and Beltline Rd. between the years 1990-2005.

In addition, the Muslim Islamicists had headquarters near Richland Community College. This is absolutely factual because I've kept up with the indictments and the second VIP lived near Shiloh and Beltline in Dallas, Dallas, TX.

So I suggest all Floridians early understand this about the State of TX. The State is run by the Lt. Governor. You don't have a party on your Voters Registration Card. You don't have a state income tax. Your property tax and your ISD are important considerations. The sales tax is the way the State gets revenue. I remember when my Maryland daughter used to visit, she said Texas sure makes me pay for you doesn't it.

[jdallas]

>>>Biggest question? Which do you like better...Dallas area or Tampa? Would you come back? I made a move once before for a job and moved back in 18 months and am really trying to do all this research so that doesn't happen again. Thanks for everyones comment/suggestions.

Quite honestly, if Tampa had the white collar employment opportunities that DFW has, I would have stayed.
Apart from work, Tampa really offers significantly more in terms of family recreation/entertainment. The Trinity river in Dallas is no match for the Hillsborough river system. Busch Gardens and Disney are really hard to beat with the FL resident discounts and Dallas is very landlocked so beaches are not an option.
Dallas is hot in the Summer. I know, I know, so is Tampa but at least it cools down at night in Tampa. In Dallas, it’s not uncommon to still be in the triple digits at 11:00 at night.
There is a good arts district in downtown Dallas that has an edge over the waterfront one in Tampa. The facilities are really top notch and attract a good variety. With the recent opening of the Warren Park and the Perot museum, it has a lot to offer for weekend trips more so than downtown Tampa. The Dallas Aquarium is expensive for what it offers and as limited as Channelside has become in Tampa, it still offers more than the West End location of the Dallas Aquarium. There is also the Arboretum along White Rock Lake which has some nice offerings through summer concerts and traveling exhibitions that cater more to families. I have not been to the zoo here. It is on the South side of Dallas and always seems just beyond how far I want to drive. Fort Worth also has some good museum/arts facilities as well.
Though a good percentage of people in Dallas deride the lightrail transportation system, I find it refreshing coming from a place that offers virtually nothing in terms of public transportation.

[fistofsouth]

Here's the deal with Garland. If you are broke it isn't a bad place to live, if you are upper middle class it is also a good place to live, but if you are a regular middle class family the city and cops will predicate on you. Why? Because they know you are not broke and you will pay the fines, but you don't make enough cash to have a lawyer on retainer. I had over a dozen run-ins with cops and city officials and my wife had another half dozen issues. Funny because we've lived all over planet Earth and have never been victimized by authorities the way we were in Garland. We lie in Denton now and are much, much happier.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by fistofsouth

Here's the deal with Garland. If you are broke it isn't a bad place to live, if you are upper middle class it is also a good place to live, but if you are a regular middle class family the city and cops will predicate on you. Why? Because they know you are not broke and you will pay the fines, but you don't make enough cash to have a lawyer on retainer. I had over a dozen run-ins with cops and city officials and my wife had another half dozen issues. Funny because we've lived all over planet Earth and have never been victimized by authorities the way we were in Garland. We lie in Denton now and are much, much happier.

Sorry but have to disagree with this. My wife was born and raised in Garland. Her parents still live there till this day. I lived in Garland for 3 years, plus near by in Rowlett for another year. Never had any problems with the police, oh and did I mention we are both black? Not sure if you are just unlucky or got on someone's bad side over there, but I definitely had a very different experience.

To the OP, I have to laugh at all the remarks about Garland being "so-so" coming from folks in Richardson of all places. Ironically enough because I find that Richardson and Garland are very similar in a lot of ways. Primarily an older inner city suburb whose hey day was back in the 70s and maybe early 80s. Garland is now majority hispanic/black...dont know Richardson's stats but suspect that they are not too different either.

Garland's saving grace imo has been the development of the Firewheel section of the city. That area has nicer, newer upscale housing and of course it has the mall, which serves not just Garland but the surrounding cities of Sachse, Murphy, Rockwall, Rowlett and Wylie, so it should stay vibrant for quite a while barring anything crazy happening. Garland schools have traditionally gotten a bad rap, I suspect due to the high minority populations, yet after now moving to Wylie (after getting beaten over the head by my realtor who swore that Wylie ISD was better than Garland), I now know that this is more fluff than substance. Garland schools academically are better than most of the surrounding area imo, with the exception of Murphy due to Plano ISD being better.

Richardson's city services (especially parks) are better than Garland's, and Richardson is definitely more centrally located if you commute to Downtown or other parts of Dallas. But it's not as if Garland is way out in the sticks. From Garland I commuted to uptown Dallas for work and was able to get there in under 40 minutes, no highways/tollways. Overall Richardson is probably the better city, but I would take the Firewheel area of Garland over anywhere in Richardson.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Sorry but have to disagree with this. My wife was born and raised in Garland. Her parents still live there till this day. I lived in Garland for 3 years, plus near by in Rowlett for another year. Never had any problems with the police, oh and did I mention we are both black? Not sure if you are just unlucky or got on someone's bad side over there, but I definitely had a very different experience.

To the OP, I have to laugh at all the remarks about Garland being "so-so" coming from folks in Richardson of all places. Ironically enough because I find that Richardson and Garland are very similar in a lot of ways. Primarily an older inner city suburb whose hey day was back in the 70s and maybe early 80s. Garland is now majority hispanic/black...dont know Richardson's stats but suspect that they are not too different either.

I didn't say Richardson was the awesomest suburb ever. I stated that Garland is so-so, and I stand by that. Richardson is majority white, not that it matters.

Richardson, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garland's demographics are quite different:

Garland, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Overall Richardson is probably the better city, but I would take the Firewheel area of Garland over anywhere in Richardson.

Richardson has Garland beat in median income for both men and women, family median income, child and elder poverty rates, housing values, school quality, etc. I didn't look up crime stats. I think empirically Richardson is 'better', at least by those measures.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I didn't say Richardson was the awesomest suburb ever. I stated that Garland is so-so, and I stand by that. Richardson is majority white, not that it matters.

Richardson, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garland's demographics are quite different:

Garland, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Richardson has Garland beat in median income for both men and women, family median income, child and elder poverty rates, housing values, school quality, etc. I didn't look up crime stats. I think empirically Richardson is 'better', at least by those measures.

Well I stand corrected on the demographics section. That was me taking a guess. I drive by Richardson High School every day on my way to and from work, and just eyeballing the kids I see around the school, whites seem to be the minority by a big margin. Again, I'm not in the school and dont have the stats so I could be wrong.

I think we are in agreement on Richardson being better overall. The city has done a great job in re establishing itself after being overshadowed by the Frisco/Plano/McKinney mob for a long time. I still feel that the Firewheel section of Garland is probably better than most, if not all of Richardson. I'm feeling a bit of buyer's remorse at buying in Wylie. Wylie High School leaves me underwhelmed to say the least. Garland High School had the IB program, robotics, all types of clubs. Wylie doesnt. Yet the realtor we used was ready to hit me with a 2 by 4 if I even dared mention any house in the Garland ISD. Shame really. Garland schools could use some positive PR

[casimpso]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I didn't say Richardson was the awesomest suburb ever. I stated that Garland is so-so, and I stand by that. Richardson is majority white, not that it matters.

Richardson, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garland's demographics are quite different:

Garland, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Richardson has Garland beat in median income for both men and women, family median income, child and elder poverty rates, housing values, school quality, etc. I didn't look up crime stats. I think empirically Richardson is 'better', at least by those measures.

The racial makeup of the city [Garland] was 57.5% White, 14.5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 9.4% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 14.4% some other race, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.8% of the population.[14]

It's been decades since I took a math class, but I seem to recall that 57.5% constitutes a majority.

majority white, not that it matters.

Thanks for the clarification, and insight.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by casimpso

The racial makeup of the city [Garland] was 57.5% White, 14.5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 9.4% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 14.4% some other race, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.8% of the population.[14]

It's been decades since I took a math class, but I seem to recall that 57.5% constitutes a majority.

majority white, not that it matters.

Thanks for the clarification, and insight.

I wasn't aware of Richardson's white resident percentage until I looked it up to respond to that post. That should demonstrate how much I care about it.

Race is only one part of demographics, and I stand by my comment that Garland's demographics are quite different...because they are.

[TXRunner]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Rowlett as a family-friendly town close to Garland. Rowlett is a little more well-to-do in general. Low crime, good schools and borders with Garland. Granted that Rowlett schools are part of the Garland ISD system, the schools that are in Rowlett perform very well. It typically gets overlooked though because of the lack of commercial attractions and that most people would rather live in Rockwall for the same-priced house.

[NEMMTM]

When I did my 1st post, I was specifically asking about Garland. What about Murphy? How much time would it be to commute to the west side of Garland from Murphy? or into Dallas from Murphy? How about schools? I read somewhere the area is split...some kids go to Plano, some to Wylie schools.