Summary of city vs suburb pros and cons (Dallas, Plano: apartments, violent crime)

[Zhang Fei]

Could the people on this forum comment on the pluses and minues of living in Dallas vs its suburbs - taxes, schools, crime, etc? Am I wrong in supposing that it is possible to find starter homes in relatively safe areas in Dallas for more or less the same money as in Plano - say in the 100K+ range?

[RelocateUNDFW]

I would suggest to think about areas in the Richardson/Garland areas. Taxes vary all over, one part of a town may be high as others may be low. Both Richardson and Garland have areas that are right on the Dallas border and have safe areas with many homes in that price range. Richardson has an excellent school district as does parts of Garland. They are much closer to the Downtown Dallas area than Plano and would allow for a faster commute into and out of downtown without having to get on the major roadways. To find a home in downtown Dallas in that price range you will be looking more into the southern part, and that is where the crime is the highest in my opinion. Mom maybe can help you out with that. Depending on how much over the 100K range you can go, there are plenty in N. Dallas that are safe and relatively quiet areas but then again it would depend on your top price range.

[hotcity]

Zhang Fei, you're retiring, why would you care about the school system?

[Lizr]

No one says much about waxahachie and towns around that area? What about this area for retirement and even working class?

[Zhang Fei]

Originally Posted by hotcity

Zhang Fei, you're retiring, why would you care about the school system?

Because my kids will be attending school.

[momof2dfw]

Here is some info I gathered from a friend that lives in the Lake Highlands area for someone else. Both work in the downtown area and like being close. It really is a nice area if you want something more established w/in the Dallas area. There are many professionals that live in this area so it is not bad. Like any area though there are areas that are not as "hip" nearby.
This is just one idea.
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" live in Lake Highlands (Abrams/Royal area). We LOVE our neighborhood (otherwise we would not have torn down our house and rebuilt to get to stay). We go to public schools (Richardson ISD). The beauty of our area (other than the nice people and small town feel) is that we are in Dallas proper (close to downtown-15 minutes by highway and 20 minutes by backroad for days when the highway is backed up) yet Richardson ISD (much better than Dallas ISD).

Although all the Junior Highs and the High School are very good, since they have small children, they will want to shop elementary schools because some are much better than others. Merriman Park and Moss Haven are the best (always recognized on the TAKS test, lots of parent involvement, etc). Plus if you move into either school district, the principals have an agreement that you can choose which school you want. We made sure that we moved into one of those areas. The others are all good with the exception of Sky View. The Sky View neighborhood all goes to private school so the school is basically left with all the apartment kids. However, the houses that feed to Sky View are beautiful and cheaper. So that is definitely a choice if they are going to do private school. But I would recommend trying the public schools."

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Zhang Fei

Could the people on this forum comment on the pluses and minues of living in Dallas vs its suburbs - taxes, schools, crime, etc? Am I wrong in supposing that it is possible to find starter homes in relatively safe areas in Dallas for more or less the same money as in Plano - say in the 100K+ range?

In that price range I would be more tempted to stay in Dallas proper in one of the older more up and coming areas or find a smaller home in one of the better areas like Lake Highlands, Lakewood, M Streets, Oak Lawn, etc.

If you want to be closer to downtown Dallas and like the more established feel of the older neighborhoods, mix of houses (bungalows, tudors, etc) then this would be idea. If you have the willingness to you can probably find a place on a good lot, good basics but just needs lots of updating and work.

Going into Plano for $100k is not going to put you in near as nice of an area that you could find in the above mentioned parts of Dallas. I'd recommend finding a house in each area in Dallas, Plano, Richardson & Garland in your price range and go drive around the area. Check out the local schools (drive by when school is getting out and see if there are alot of buses or lots of parents picking up). Are their government assisted apartments surrounding the area? Watch for these kinds of things if you want to stay away from the higher crime areas and in better schools.

[GoPadge]

Originally Posted by Lizr

No one says much about waxahachie and towns around that area? What about this area for retirement and even working class?

Waxahachie is a nice medium sized town (pop 25,000). It has the basics, lumberyards, hardware, grocery stores, a thriving downtown. It also has an above average hospital, big box home improvement (Home Depot and Lowes), major chain department stores, (JC Penney, Belks and a Sears hardware) and a number of chain restaurants (Chili's, Applebee's, Johnny Carino's).

There are a number of "vintage"/historic/old homes in Waxahachie and for those who don't want to deal with the oddities of pre-building code homes, there are a number of new neighborhoods being built.

Now for the bad....

Waxahachie has it's share of crimes. Violent crimes in general are below national averages though rape is slightly above. For 2004 there were 1 murder (74% of nat. avg.), 8 rapes(102%), 16 robberies(48%), and 69 aggravated assaults(97%). Property crimes were a bigger issue. Again for 2004 there were 217 burglaries(122%), 792 thefts(137%), and 49 vehicle thefts(74%). As a comparison (per 100,000), Richardson had on average 2/5 fewer rapes, 1/2 fewer murders and aggravated assaults, 3/4 fewer thefts and 4/5 fewer burglaries. Richardson did have 2/5 more robberies and vehicle thefts.

(Statistics based on Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[Texan#1]

You get more home for your money the further away you go from Dallas. If a house is $200,000 in Frisco then it will probably be $275,000+ in Dallas proper (an example). Dallas can also have beautiful neighborhoods next to 'slums,' but the positive is that the homes are better in Dallas... well I like old bungalows, tudors, victorians, and it's hard to find them in the suburbs because everything there is new and looks the same unless you go custom. Violent crimes are very rare in the suburbs while petty crimes are sporadic throughout the region. Dallas has *some* good schools but most are bad, while all the suburbs have decent to really good schools. City services (trash pick up, emergency response, etc) are also better in the suburbs.

[Zhang Fei]

Originally Posted by Actor2008

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and are you a male? It doesn't make sense (unless special circumstances); you're retiring, but your kids are still in grade school?

What did you do for living?

Hotcity, I'm curious as to why you're such a snoop. Are you or your family members employees of China's Ministry of State Security (国家安全部) or some other Chinese secret police organization, that you feel entitled to personal details about the posters on this board?