Move to Dallas from Northeast (Arlington, Lewisville: homes, employment, neighborhoods)

[Scott T]

I am expecting an employment offer in the next week or so which will involve a move to the Dallas area. I have two school aged children. (grade school)
My office will be in Duncanville but other associates in the office choose to live Northwest in Flower Mound, Coppel, Lewisville, etc. How brutal is the commute from the Flower Mound area to Duncanville and is this area that much nicer than the Red Oak - Waxahachie area?

I am more concerned about the quality of life, schools and commute than I am about the cost of housing - I am moving from Boston and anywhere (other than DC or LA) is cheaper than here.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[stargazer]

Hi there,
I use to live in Duncanville from 99 to the end of 2002 and prior to that Cedar Hill from 93 to 99. We moved though due to my husband getting a job in Orlando. We loved our little neighborhood we were in and were sad to move. We have just recently moved back to the DFW area and are living north. When we were looking at homes we did look at Flower Mound. Flower Mound is a great area but I will tell you that it is very far and you will have to cross the metroplex in order to get to Duncanville. I remember when we had gotten through looking at homes for the day, we went back to my inlaws, ( in Duncanville) and it took 50 minutes to get back. It is a good distance. I would tell you to look south first before making a decision to have to drive so far. I think it is important to not be spending so much time on the road, from experience we wish that our commutes weren't so bad.

When we lived in Duncanville, we put our daughter in private school. There could be people here who love Duncanville schools or others in that area but everyone I have ever known ( regardless of race, religion or creed) have had issues with the schools. Duncanville Schools tend to be stricter with wearing uniforms and behavior. 2 good private schools in that area are Caunterbury which has a very nice campus over in De Soto and Ovilla Christian Academy over in Ovilla. Usually if you chose to live on that part of town, the prices of homes will be less expensive and usually with the prices being less on the home, you can afford to put your child in private school. This is how it was for us and it worked well.

If you consider looking in the southwest area, here are some areas to ponder.

Desoto has some charming neighborhoods over off of Pleasant Run. One neighborhood I loved was Windermere, the area surrounding the country club is very nice over in De Soto.

Cedar Hill has Lake Ridge and many of the neighborhoods around the Lake are fabulous such as Juniper Ridge. There also is some exclusive neighborhood behind a gate over near Juniper, the name escapes me.

Midlothian is a very nice town despite it's reputation of having smoke stacks. There are some really pretty homes that way and the public schools are very good. I would consider moving to that area if I worked in Duncanville. Jmpersonally.

Ovilla is also a prime place to live. It is country living but has great access to city conviences. The schools are good their too, some kids go to Red Oak some to Midlothian

Red Oak, close to Waxahatchie. I know of 1 person that went there and they said it was fine and liked it. Red Oak does have some beautiful homes too around there.

I would steer clear of living in Duncanville though. After we moved, when we went back to visit and found that the city itself was starting to downward spiral. The local MJDesigns had crashed and burned along with a few more business. That area over in that strip seemed to be the heart and soul of Duncanville.

I would strongly suggest living in the south west area since you would be working that way. We loved the people over that way and you can have a great quality of life if you choose properly. Like all areas, there are good and bad parts and that area is no different. I have many good memories too, we were able to afford a great lifestyle and live within our means there.
Truly check into that area before trying to cross Arlington every day...

If you want to discuss anything with me, you are more than welcome to pm me.
Good luck to you!