Moving to Dallas area, North or West (Houston, Plano: for sale, houses)

[mrsmom1]

Hi!
Our family is moving to TX in early '09. Hubby will work from home and do a bit of travel all over TX, so commute is not really an issue. His parents live in Midlothian. We'd like to be 30-60 min from them (not too close, lol! but not too far! ).

We told our realtor we want around 1 acre, some hills (they don't have to be big, just not completely flat), a fair number of trees, 3,800 s.f. or more, at least 4 bd, plus office, $500 to $850 K.

We have 2 kids. One is a competitive gymnast, (Middle School age) so we have to find her a good gym, but I am researching that on my gym forums. Yes, I now Nastia's gym is in Plano/Frisco, we are not considering that area, there are many other equally excellent gyms in the area where we are looking! Just mentioned it in case any parent has personal experience w/ gyms there, I'd love to hear it! The other kid is in 10th grade. AP student, w/ art/computer graphics aspirations for college. Public or Private school advice for her?

Our realtor told us not to bother w/ Frisco/Plano, as it is more 'big city' and the houses there have less land & it is more flat there. So I've never even seen it. He drove us thru many N Dallas areas. I loved Flower Mound, did not see Grapevine. Hubby likes the prices/amount of land he is seeing on the internet in Keller, but we did not drive thru there. We are kind of focusing on Flower Mound +/- 10 or 15 miles in all directions. Don't want to go any more West than Keller or get into the busy Dallas metro area. We like a small town 'feel' but don't want to be too 'out in the sticks'. Within 15-20 minutes drive to some decent shopping (Grapevine Mills Mall, or the like), and some decent dining options.

About us: We lived in Northern CA/East Bay area for 20+ years, just relocated to South Florida 8 months ago, & now are relocating again, hopefully for good.

Any help would be so greatly appreciated!

[momof2dfw]

Can't help you on the gyms but there are several good ones around. Cheer Athletics is REALLY BIG! Know several that go there and all have had good things to say about it. It is where one of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Choreographers own daughter goes. Which reminds me........ I'm supposed to enroll my own kids. Cheer Athletics is in Garland right off of Hwy 78. With that being said........ to be close to CA and get what your looking for I'd recommend Parker and Lucas. In your price range I do know of some houses for sale (I've looked at most of them personally for our own needs) that would fit. Most are on 1-2 acres and run around $600K-800K. The area is close to everything but still feels like being in the country w/ great views, rolling hills, lots of trees, etc.

To even get to the inlaws you could bypass most of the North Dallas and inner Dallas traffic by circling around 6-35 to I-20 towards Ft Worth. It would be about a 60 minute drive in no traffic. Far enough away to keep them from just popping in w/o calling first but close enough to go see for the day.

As for the schools in that area. Lucas has their own school district, Lovejoy. The high school is pretty much all AP classes. Several friends live in that area and all have had good things to say about the schools. Parker is in the Plano ISD. Plano East Sr High has the IB program IF your kids are interested in that. My middle schooler has a lot of friends that attend Murphy Middle School which is the PISD school that kids in Parker & Murphy attend. Then we have friends that live in that area that send their kids to private school. Most attend Canyon Creek Christian in Richardson. They have actually said their commute to school is 5 minutes SHORTER than when they lived "closer in".

As for the shopping and dining options. OMYGOSH! It has really grown in this direction. In Parker your about 5-10 minutes away in several directions to a lot of the newer shopping centers. Firewheel Town Center in Garland, Waters Crossing in Allen and a ton of other strip centers popping up in every direction. Allen Premium Outlet Mall is about 10-15 minutes away as well. There is a new Lowe's and Sprouts in Murphy about 2-5 minutes away from Parker. SuperTarget, SuperWalmart and Sam's Club in Garland on N. Garland Ave & 190 is about 10-15 minutes away. It really is a GREAT area that is not tied up in a ton of congestion that feels like your "in the country" but so close to every convienence you'd ever need.

[5stones]

also Keller, Southlake, Westlake, Colleyville, Grapevine areas. several good gyms are in the area, schools are excellent, ALL offer full AP programs etc...

In your price range finding a 1 acre in westlake would be tough but it's got everything you need plus westlake Academy for IB programs. I beleive they are now up to thier sophmore year group.
TONS of shopping Southlake town center very close and Grapevine mIlls is just down 114

Colleyville still feels like a small town in alot of ways. And there seem to be ALOT of homes going on the market there. not sure about the 1 acre in your range though.

ARGYLE would be one of my top places I'd look if I didn't have to worry about a commute and could spend over 500k.
A close competive gym might be hard to find though

as mom said Lucas and Murphy/Parker are very nice and has alot of land etc... and are close to the hubbub but still feel rural.

[MountainPharmD]

South....

[mrsmom1]

Thank you momof2 & 5stones! I will look into those areas. Appreciate the input!

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by mrsmom1

Thank you momof2 & 5stones! I will look into those areas. Appreciate the input!

I know of a GREAT house in Parker for sale that we looked at. Their listing contract expired and the seller has it FSBO now. It was the only one we seriously considered and loved. If you want the address and some info on it pm me and I'll give it to you. I also have the sellers email address since he sends us updates. LOVED the house, lot, view and all. Just decided to stay where we are. Oh, and check out this realtors website, Tom Grisak. I LOVE his site. He does a FANTASTIC job of really showing his properties online. I'm not related to the guy or anyone in his office. Wouldn't know them if I ran face to face to them in the street. I just like checking out his site since he does such a great job.

[mrsmom1]

For some reason our realtor does not think our criteria fits Parker/Plano/Frisco...so we never really focused over there. I think he said, it's not 'hilly' enough for us, more 'big city' than we like, and you get a bit less house & land for your money there than W/NW of Dallas. Do you agree w/ him? He did drive us around for two long days and we saw a lot of houses, so I felt like he got a good grasp of our needs. I'll probably want to stick closer to Grapevine/Flower Mound. Thanks for your generous offer, though!

[getmeoutofhere]

I think I mentioned in the other thread, Argyle, Bartonville...they are just over by Flower Mound, but bigger lots and a little more in the country.

Check out Saddlebrook Estates in Bartonville. They have an equestrian center, which may or may not be much of a draw, but beautiful houses and each lot is a minimum of an acre. Prices will range from $550K to $1.2m. Beautiful area and beautiful homes.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by mrsmom1

For some reason our realtor does not think our criteria fits Parker/Plano/Frisco...so we never really focused over there. I think he said, it's not 'hilly' enough for us, more 'big city' than we like, and you get a bit less house & land for your money there than W/NW of Dallas. Do you agree w/ him? He did drive us around for two long days and we saw a lot of houses, so I felt like he got a good grasp of our needs. I'll probably want to stick closer to Grapevine/Flower Mound. Thanks for your generous offer, though!

HUH!?!?!?! Has he not been there? Check it out on google streetview. Dublin is one streets that goes thru there with several that go off of it with lovely estates and all and has plenty of hills and trees and is NOT "big city". LOL! That is a good one I'd NEVER use the terms "big" nor "city" to describe that area at all. No, Frisco would not fit your criteria but Frisco and Parker are TOTALLY different in sooooo many ways.

[mrsmom1]

Ok thanks! Good to know! Hubby & I are realizing that there could be a potentially VERY broad area to cover, and we really want to narrow it down. He is going to go back to Dallas soon & is planning to drive all over the place. So I will have him drive thru Parker, also.

I think we favor the W. a bit, simply b/c it will be easier for him to get on 35E to go where he needs to (Houston area), on occasion, so I guess commute is somewhat of a consideration, after all. But he wants to see Plano, so he will check it out. He has seen Frisco and agrees that it is nice, but not within our criteria.

Thanks!