Looking to relocate to Texas from NYC -- please help

[Ralyks]

If schools and family-friendly neighbourhoods are your toptwo priorities, I would look in Coppell and Flower Mound (which is part ofLewisville ISD), because both have great schools and are more affordable thanplaces like Southlake. Although Coppell ISD is more highly rated thanLewisville ISD, this is because Lewisville ISD is vast and diverse. The FlowerMound portion has schools that are just as highly ranked as Coppell, and youwill get more house for your $ in Flower Mound. However, your commute will be slightlylonger to Dallas, Irving, and many other work locales.

You can get a house in either Coppell or Flower Mound thatis zoned for an "exemplary" elementary school, an"exemplary" middle school, and an "exemplary" high school.Look at the specific schools for which the property is zoned, as quality variesfrom school to school. A house that costs $300K in Flower Mound will probablycost around $370k in Coppell, just to give you an idea of price differences.

$600K will get you an extremely nice house in either Coppell or Flower Mound, much bigger than it would get you in New York. Keep this in mind though - if you buy as much as you could afford in New York, this will put you in a different class in DFW, which may mean a different class culture than you or your kids are used to as well, and it could result in a "keeping up with the Joneses" issue. My advice - buy nicer than you had, but not sooooo much nicer that you find your kids expecting every new gadget and a Mercedes when they turn 16. Bank the difference instead. If you have $600K to spend, buy a $400K house and put the other $200K in your kids college fund. The house will still be way nicer than whatever you had in New York city for $600K.

[Mr. Chad]

Originally Posted by Ralyks

If schools and family-friendly neighbourhoods are your toptwo priorities, I would look in Coppell and Flower Mound (which is part ofLewisville ISD), because both have great schools and are more affordable thanplaces like Southlake. Although Coppell ISD is more highly rated thanLewisville ISD, this is because Lewisville ISD is vast and diverse. The FlowerMound portion has schools that are just as highly ranked as Coppell, and youwill get more house for your $ in Flower Mound. However, your commute will be slightlylonger to Dallas, Irving, and many other work locales.

You can get a house in either Coppell or Flower Mound thatis zoned for an "exemplary" elementary school, an"exemplary" middle school, and an "exemplary" high school.Look at the specific schools for which the property is zoned, as quality variesfrom school to school. A house that costs $300K in Flower Mound will probablycost around $370k in Coppell, just to give you an idea of price differences.

$600K will get you an extremely nice house in either Coppell or Flower Mound, much bigger than it would get you in New York. Keep this in mind though - if you buy as much as you could afford in New York, this will put you in a different class in DFW, which may mean a different class culture than you or your kids are used to as well, and it could result in a "keeping up with the Joneses" issue. My advice - buy nicer than you had, but not sooooo much nicer that you find your kids expecting every new gadget and a Mercedes when they turn 16. Bank the difference instead. If you have $600K to spend, buy a $400K house and put the other $200K in your kids college fund. The house will still be way nicer than whatever you had in New York city for $600K.

Good advice here!

[Alkonost]

Summers are hotter but not nearly as humid as NYC, so it's more bearable even though the summer season lasts longer in TX. I lived in NYC for decades and prefer the summer here in TX. NYC summer was an armpit.

[mSooner]

Thank you for that. Can anyone address the school districts in the DFW area?

I agree with others here...the DFW area is just too large to address as a whole without knowing where you will be commuting. As billboards around here like to say, DFW Airport alone is as large as Manhattan. Rest assured that you will be able to find a good place to live with great schools withing a decent commute of just about anywhere in DFW, but you really need to find what that place is first.