Carrollton or Coppell? Offer accepted on Carrollton! (Dallas, Frisco: rent, houses)

[Stkcpa]

Hey everyone,

My wife and I moved to the area about a year ago and have been renting in Las Colinas. We have been looking to buy in either Coppell or Carrollton. Our budget is around 300k, looking for a sfh with a fenced in yard for two dogs and we have our first child on the way. We saw several houses, mostly 3 bed homes in both locations , and a 4 bed in Carrollton. We put in an offer on the 4 bed and got accepted! I should be ecstatic because we got an offer accepted on our first bid under budget, having more space at the price of the 3beds in Coppell we looked at. And I was beginning to mentally prepare myself for bidding wars and losing homes because we are looking in a super competitive price point. But I’ve been agonizing over weather to go through with it since we also like Coppell, and if turning down this one guaranteed us a place in coppell, I’d seriously consider doing so. Coppell reminds a lot of the town we moved from and we would seem to be near plenty of restaurants and stuff to do. The school system would be a plus as well. But that of course means our budget allows for a 3 bed max. The space in the Carrollton place would be great for guest space, and that “room to grow” if we have more kids.

We are in option and inspection is today. The home is near Mary Heads Carter park, nearest large intersection is Keller springs and Kelly Blvd. I haven’t noticed a whole lot of posts about Carrollton in general and I wonder if anyone knows this area of Carrollton at all? The schools in this area are Country place/Polk/Smith (CFBISD).

My wife works by Love Field and my office is near the north east side of DFW airport. Carrollton kinda of splits up our respective commutes, where Coppell will mean a longer commute for my wife but mine would be pretty easy.

It’s such a tough choice! What do you all think??

[mSooner]

How do you feel about moving again in 5 or so years for school or pursuing charter or private options? That's really what it comes down to--that is what the friends I have in that area do for their kids. Not that tons of families don't utilize those schools...but they really aren't great.

[ChristieP]

Same here. I have a couple of friends who live in that area, and they don’t use the CFBISD schools.
Yes, Coppell is more expensive and their property taxes are some of the highest in DFW. But the CISD schools are among the best. It’s a trade-off.

[Rakin]

Problem is $300k does not get you much in Coppell ISD and you'll be competing against multiple offers when you find that home. That price can be brutal in Coppell.

[UnfairPark]

Coppell is one of the best performing district in DFW, CFBISD doesn't belong in that tier. However, i can offer an anecdote about CFBISD, i know two families in that part, both value education and they are reasonably satisfied with their schools since kids got on gifted track. They did mention a hispanic majority. Coppell schools have an indian majority. If you are indian or hispanic , you may prefer one over other.

Imho at this point, its more important for you and your wife to have shortest possible commute from your baby. That's what he would need most, school is still 6 years away.

[Stkcpa]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Coppell is one of the best performing district in DFW, CFBISD doesn't belong in that tier. However, i can offer an anecdote about CFBISD, i know two families in that part, both value education and they are reasonably satisfied with their schools since kids got on gifted track. They did mention a hispanic majority. Coppell schools have an indian majority. If you are indian or hispanic , you may prefer one over other.

Imho at this point, its more important for you and your wife to have shortest possible commute from your baby. That's what he would need most, school is still 6 years away.

From what I can see doing google drive times based on our schedules, coppell is a little farther but roughly similar for my wife as opposed to Carrollton, both options range between 25-45mins. I imagine in general her commmte would be longer from Coppell. My commute is probably at least half an hour from Carrollton, but from Coppell would only be about 15 mins.

As far as the schools, I feel that we would be involved and it should do just fine. Our intention is not to send the child to private school. For demographics, I am white, and my wife is mixed with some Indian heritage, but for all intents and purposes we are basically a white couple. I can’t say we have any preference who they would go to school with, or have any particular desire to be in any specific ethnic community.

[UnfairPark]

In that case, you are good either way. After 6-8 years, you may change jobs, move state or upgrade home within DFW so just relax and pick what works best for your current needs. Enjoy parenthood!

[scottgekko]

We live in Carrollton near your area. We are zoned to Country Place Elementary which is a great school. We have a 2 year old so I'm not concerned about the schools until closer to middle school. So, as someone else mentioned for you - school is 6 years away so, yes important, but not yet...

One thing I can say is the location in Carrollton is hard to beat. You can take Marsh all the way down to Love Field and avoid all highway traffic. Also, traffic to DFW west of 35E is a breeze in the morning.
Carrollton is more centrally located. You can hit N Dallas tollway to Dallas or up to Frisco for tons of dining. Also, downtown Carrollton is actually a really cool area with good restaurants, festivals, concerts, etc....I wouldn't want to live farther our in Coppell.

[Waterdragon8212]

FWIW, we have a few friends who live in CFBISD and they have said that in-district transfers (even when not for a specific magnet program) are typically well accommodated. The district itself is a mixed bag, but it sounds like you have the option to attend their best schools despite your attendance zone as long as there is room (all of our friends' children have been granted transfers, some for specialized programs and some because they wanted a better rated school.)

[Stkcpa]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

We ultimately decided to switch our focus to coppell and Valley Ranch for our location preferences. We have a couple of options in each. The valley ranch house is zoned to CFB Landry elementary/bush middle/ranch view high. What concerns me is that Landry has a very low rating 2/10 per great schools.org. Currently there are no homes available in valley ranch zoned to coppell unless they are much more expensive. Our other option(s) are in coppell proper. Obviously much higher rated schools. We are at a bit of an impasse due to the schools. Wife has no regard to it since she herself did go to a "lower rated" district and thinks our yet to be born kid will do fine. I agree to a point, but if we can afford to get into coppell now or soon, rather than buy in valley ranch then later decided we don't want those schools, I feel why not? Even it 6 years away before schools matter, we won't be in a position of having to move or considering private schools, who knows what the market will be like then.

Our other option is if we want the house life, rent a house then buy once my current job gets into my full performance salary, a jump of close to 24k in about 1.5 year, while we risk appreciation and higher interest rates, I think that also expands our financial muscle quite a bit and we can be more aggressive in the case of bidding wars. The pickings in coppell are slim as we stand now.

Aside from the replies above, I haven't seen much about the CFB schools. Maybe the in district transfers mentioned above could aliviate my concerns.

Any more input from you guys?