Is something wrong with DeSoto? (Dallas, Plano: 2013, apartment, renting)

[Squirl]

If you have the school and commute bases covered and are most focused on life today vs. selling your home in the future, then DeSoto is a great solution. Many people are frequently relocated and/or work in the corridors best served by the north side of the metromess; many need to travel for work enough that being in a good traffic pattern to the airport is also a factor.

I used to work with the CFO of a Dallas based Fortune manufacturing company. He lived in DeSoto, kids went to a private school in Duncanville.

[aggie972]

How can you compare hiring a Ph.D. candidate to tutor your kids to them going to a good school? School helps them develop socially as well as academically, and it helps to be surrounded by other motivated kids from successful families.

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by aggie972

How can you compare hiring a Ph.D. candidate to tutor your kids to them going to a good school? School helps them develop socially as well as academically, and it helps to be surrounded by other motivated kids from successful families.

DeSoto, Cedar Hill and other cities in that area are middle class communities with plenty of motivated and successful families.

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by naterator

The school argument has always been baffling to me. I could hire Ph.D. candidates to privately tutor my children in the subjects of math, science, music, and humanities - and not even come close to the price differential for a place in the southern 'burbs versus the equivalent property 20 miles north.

Demographics? Everyone has their own priorities, but it seems like a heck of a lot of money to spend so that all of your neighbors look like you do.

I guess I just can't fathom why a $400k home south of I-20 would be a $1.4M home near the airport.

Most working parents don't have the time or energy to hire private tutors for their kids. Moreover, most kids don't have that kind of time or energy. When my three kids get home from school, they generally have activities (lacrosse, swimming, etc.). They finish around 6:00-7:00. Then it is homework time. When exactly are we going to have a tutor show up to teach my kids math because the math program at school stinks? Moreover, if the school stinks, did my kids just waste 7 hours of their day?

[Acntx]

I would point out that the OP did say he planned to home school. Second, as someone who actually attended the local public schools and have family members attending them, the assumption that there aren't any highly motivated students with involved parents is false. A highly motivated student has a variety of programs and course offerings to choose from. DeSoto, like every other district that is "written off" on City-Data, has produced graduates that have gone on to be successful and productive members of society. I know it may be difficult for some to believe, but it happens year after year.

As I stated earlier, DeSoto is a decent middle-class community with neighborhoods that meet the OP's stated criteria.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

DeSoto, Cedar Hill and other cities in that area are middle class communities with plenty of motivated and successful families.

Exactly.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by HockDad

Most working parents don't have the time or energy to hire private tutors for their kids. Moreover, most kids don't have that kind of time or energy. When my three kids get home from school, they generally have activities (lacrosse, swimming, etc.). They finish around 6:00-7:00. Then it is homework time. When exactly are we going to have a tutor show up to teach my kids math because the math program at school stinks? Moreover, if the school stinks, did my kids just waste 7 hours of their day?

Not to pile on the OP too much and being a little silly:
A. Broadly speaking, the doctoral candidates in Dallas are nearly all on the north side - tutors aren't paid enough to drive from around SMU/UNT/UTD etc. to Desoto
B. And I can only imagine the math doc. candidate showing up with a notebook stuffed with Feynman Diagrams, the latest in combinatoric theory and Boolean Algebra just in time to help jr. reduce a fraction.

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by Acntx

I would point out that the OP did say he planned to home school. Second, as someone who actually attended the local public schools and have family members attending them, the assumption that there aren't any highly motivated students with involved parents is false. A highly motivated student has a variety of programs and course offerings to choose from. DeSoto, like every other district that is "written off" on City-Data, has produced graduates that have gone on to be successful and productive members of society. I know it may be difficult for some to believe, but it happens year after year.

As I stated earlier, DeSoto is a decent middle-class community with neighborhoods that meet the OP's stated criteria.

That's fine and dandy, and I don't think anyone is arguing the point that DeSoto is not a decent community. The OP just compared a house in DeSoto to one "near the airport" and wondered why someone would pay that.

[ShellNic]

Well we know that HockDad sends his girls to Hockaday...yes? Maybe he's a bit skewed?

Also, the snobbery about doctoral candidates is kinda "wow"...really, a lot of snobbery I've been reading.

It sounds like some of these posters have only "heard" something and "assumed" they know what's what, while the people actually growing up there and living there have given good feedback.

Something I really despise about North Dallas and it's ilk is the entitlement and stuffiness...have hated it since I was in high school in the 80's. I went to JJ Pearce with a friend once (just for a day with her) and I felt SO OUT OF PLACE. My parents were well off but I went to a much less pretentious school with no where near the competition and cutthroat atmosphere. I don't think it's gotten any better in those terms even if they're ranked pretty high.

I've driven through Desoto and just know I like the rolling hills...it's mesmerizing.

[naterator]

Haha, I don't feel "piled on". I was only stating that I *could* pay for private tutors to come in. Not that I would - my wife is a brilliant instructor.

My only point was that hiring private tutors for a decade wouldn't even come close to justifying the difference in house prices that you see in the northern sector versus the southern.

But half a million dollars or more for a teardown, then putting a million-dollar home on top can't be explained just in terms of schools, or proximity to "high-end shopping".

Or perhaps I've lost touch.

And yes...that "out of place" feeling in North Dallas definitely resonates with us. We do pretty well for ourselves, but I can't help but feel like everyone is staring when we go to Uptown, Northpark, or even the times we went with the in-laws to HPUMC.