Moving to Farmers Branch (Dallas, Carrollton: 2015, credit, custom home)

[mqmercado]

I am looking at Farmers Branch to purchase a home. What are peoples impression of Farmers Branch? It seems to be an older middle class community. Is there potential for revitalization in the city? Is it a good city to raise a family?

[stephwin]

I have friends that live there. They have a young baby and recently they have started talking about moving when it comes time for the baby to start kindergarten. The husband bought the house when he was single so he never gave the schools much thought. He bought it because it was very convenient to his job. They live right around Valley View/Marsh. Their house is older but it was well maintained and they've done quite a few upgrades, like completely gutting the kitchen and opening it up to the living room. A few of the older houses in the area are being torn down and bigger homes are being constructed. Most of their neighbors are older but there has been some turnover the last two years or so with younger families moving in.

[ChristieP]

The "meh" DISD/CFBISD schools are a turn-off for many families. The location is excellent, so (like in the case above) many people buy there to have the good location and reasonably affordable home prices.

[mqmercado]

Thank you. That has been my understanding that the location of the city in DFW is fantastic, but the schools are sub par. I noticed in the specific neighborhood I am looking at that there have been a lot of home being flipped and sold.

[NTXNative]

I grew up in Farmers Branch and now live in Carrollton. The poster before me is a good example of the main thing that the school district does poorly and that is marketing. His friend wants to move his family when their child starts kindergarten. Clearly, they have not been paying attention.

CFBISD offers a TON of amazing educational opportunities and has won awards for their efforts. In the last few years, elementary schools like Janie Stark have been flooded with new families wanting their kindergarteners to be enrolled in the dual language immersion program. This year, the district assigned some of the elementary schools to specific academy studies to allow families to choose their school according to the unique offerings of that specific school. This mirrors what the district has been doing in the high schools for years.

There is a TON I can say about CFBISD, so feel free to contact me to discuss it. The reason they get a bad rep is because they don't do as well in rankings and ratings that are found on websites and in publications. This is mostly due to the diverse demographics, language barriers, limited financial resources of the students. But the district is recognized for serving this population well. They are recognized for their Early College Academy, STEM or METSA Academy, BIo-Med Academy, IB Academy, and LAW Academy. Students graduate with real life certifications from their academie as well as college credits. Take a look at the videos posted on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cfbisd/

Farmers Branch is an older city right smack dab in the middle of everything that is DFW. It is rapidly revitalizing as young families are recognizing the educational opportunities and the small town community feel so close to the big city. There are new, large homes being built right beside older, small homes. Many of the larger, older homes are being remodeled and people are really wanting to get into this community. Prices have been steadily increasing:

Primary Year Sale Price, Average
2013 $125,332
2014 $151,799
2015 $162,826
2016 $188,481
2017 $212,282
2018 $232,086

While that may be in line with the rest of the metroplex, it is huge for the older homes that command these prices. With so many people moving to DFW, this city is the most centrally located for all things DFW. Sooo, now is a great time to get your foot in the door.

And, there has been a huge push for more family oriented, community events in the last few years. An ever growing Farmers Market, multiple free events/concerts/festivals at the Farmers Branch Historical Park, Brookhaven Country Club, newly renovated Recreation Center with water park and skateboard park, local theater, walking trails and parks and even a professional ice skating rink.

Bottom line, I have seen the influx of people wanting to get into Farmers Branch. And I know the secrets of the amazing school district. And although there are many parts of the city that look run down, things are really starting to change. I hope this helps!

[mqmercado]

Thank you! Yes, this helps. It's always scary to move into a community ahead of where it can go. However, I do see the potential Farmers Branch has in becoming a desirable place to live.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by mqmercado

Thank you! Yes, this helps. It's always scary to move into a community ahead of where it can go. However, I do see the potential Farmers Branch has in becoming a desirable place to live.

yeah a buddy of mine who is looking to buy told me he looked very hard at Farmer's Branch. I still had the old impression of the town as a run down older spot with poor schools, I had no idea about all the new subdivisions being built out there. I'm still now positive that the schools are top notch, at least I haven't heard that from anyone I know but you definitely should do your homework on it.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by mqmercado

I am looking at Farmers Branch to purchase a home. What are peoples impression of Farmers Branch? It seems to be an older middle class community. Is there potential for revitalization in the city? Is it a good city to raise a family?

Revitalization is already underway. The last time I cut across by the Brookhaven Country Club, I noticed several tear downs being rebuilt as custom homes. I would try to focus on the parts closer to the tollroad vs being closer to 35 as it will always be considered a nicer location and more ripe for appreciation being so close to Addison and the Galleria corridor.

I don’t know much about CFBISD but I have heard there are some campuses in the district that are absolute gems.

[turf3]

I am no expert but I get the impression that if you can do without "OOOH NEW SHINY HGTV GRANITE BEADBOARD OPEN PLAN" everything you can probably buy a reasonably nice house built in the 1960s or 70s for reasonable money. But hurry, before the whole place gets McMansionized.

Also, in a context where people actually ask about commuting from Frisco to "Uptown", Farmers Branch is actually less than a half tank of gas from other places in the area.

If I had a job in that general northwestern quadrant of the Dallas area, I would at least consider Farmers Branch and Carrollton.

[stephwin]

I should've clarified in my post that my friend actually lives within a small portion of FB that is zoned to DISD. I don't know if he would consider moving if he was actually in CFBISD.