Relocating to the Dallas Area (Austin, Plano: sales, real estate, home owners insurance)

[delajode]

Due to recent economic conditions in the Central Ohio area (Columbus), my family and I may be moving to the area upon the acceptance of a new job offer. It appears that we would be moving to the area in the June timeframe. I have read and research the areas and hear that we should consider the northern suburbs. My wife is a school teacher and I would be working in downtown Dallas. We have elementary school age children and would prefer and family friendly area with shopping and family attractions nearby. Our first priority would be school systems, commute, and then price range in the low 200s. Can anyone give us suggestions?

[TKyle]

We are possibly doing the same thing. We lived in Austin for 6 years before moving out of state.

Plano, Richardson, Carollton and some of those areas were said to be pretty good. We have family in Allen and Plano and they have kids and seem to be liking it.

House prices are good for a 3-5 bed, 2+ bath and possible 2000+ sf. My sources are online real estate sites. The "gotcha" for Texas is the tax system, meaning a combination of sales and property tax. Property taxes, at least out of Austin, were VERY high. Not sure about Dallas area at this time.

My suggestion is to get a pike pass and take the Dallas Tollway in and out. Hwy 75 is nice but becomes a parking lot during rush hour (source: 3 years ago spent over an hour to go from south of downtown Dallas to Allen while towing a small u-haul trailer - our migration from what we consider home )

DART, the local public transportation entity, operates a light rail line and there is a east-west line that goes from Ft. Worth to Downtown Dallas. You could look in to moving out west and then commuting that way. It is a thought.

Take care,

[turnbun]

Some alternatives to the northern burbs:
If you want to avoid a congested commute, you may want to check out the "L Streets" area of Lake Highlands in Dallas city limits, but in Richardson ISD - a very good school district (both to attend and to work for).
Rockwall is a nice suburb which is to the east of Dallas and the traffic isn't quite as bad from downtown going east (rather than north).
Good luck!!

[FarNorthDallas]

You can get everything you want except a decent commute from the northern suburbs. If you are going to make that commute do it on the $$tollway$$ rather than Hwy 75, which is very congested.

Does your wife plan on teaching? What does she teach? We don't really have a teaching shortage here.

[delajode]

My wife is primarly a elementary teacher. She also has a Masters of Education in Reading for Grades 1-12.

[loves2read]

teaching jobs are going to be tight--think people will wait a year or so to retire--many people trying to come into education with alt cert degrees or after a hiatus at home with children...
you can check the region x web site
job fairs going on this month and april--but there is usually hiring that takes place right before school starts as well...
glut of teachers in K-5---they are looking for middle school science and math and secondary in those fields--special ed--and some ESL positions--reading does have some postings...
be prepared to commute
Plano has big system and so does McKinney
Frisco is growing and could be adding a new school
lots of districts have built schools recently because of population grown over past 5 yrs--but some of them are facing shrinking tax revenues--big problem if they have reached their tax cap

[txgolfer130]

We just moved to the area 7 months ago, from Austin, and even though your commute will be killer into dowtown Dallas, the Frisco/McKinney and somewhat Plano/Allen (less opportunity for your wife) area is going to be a great family friendly area. Your wife should have no problems whatsoever finding a job in the Frisco/McKinney area.

We are in McKinney and my wife works at 635 & 75, and it takes her 40-45 minutes door-to-desk, leaving at 8:05 am. When I have to go into the office, (downtown) I take the Tollway and usually leave around 6:30-6:45 am. It takes me 35-40 minutes from door-to-desk. Stopping and taking DART took 45-50 minutes, but in the afternoon's makes a much easier/less stressful way out.

[Dragonfly8]

Rockwall!! Great schools, shopping, fun things for the family with a small town atmosphere that is growing rapidly.
A lot of different price ranges on homes. Property taxes are high---but we are VERY pleased with the education our 6 children are receiving. Good luck!!

[Justsayin' it]

Congrats on the Move. You are going to love it here! I am a native Dallasite & simply love my city. Dallas has so much to offer and the economy is really stable in comparison to the rest of the country.

You will hear a lot about the areas of Plano, Wylie, McKinney, Frisco, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Corinth etc on this forum. The reason is because that is where most of the new building is located and you can get more bang for your buck. The trade off is a long communte & TRAFFIC. If you like sitting in traffic getting to those areas for 45min - 1.5 hrs each way during rush hour. On Fridays Rush hour starts around 3pm and ends after 7pm.

My husband & I moved back to Dallas from the Suburbs 4 years ago and you could not pay me to move back outside of the 635 loop. I work Downtown and am home in 15 min.

I would try Brookhaven Country Club area in Farmers Branch, 75234 zip. Also Meadow Park area of Dallas 75244 is one of the hottest real estate areas. You might also try Addison 75001 is nearby. Both Farmers Branch and Addison have the lowest property tax rates because both cities have wonderful business inferstructure to supplement the tax base. Both Addison & Farmers Branch are nearly inside the city limits.

Texas does not have income taxes but does have a higher sales tax and property tax as someone mentioned. Also Car and home owners insurance is higher here but the cost of living is marvelous in comparison to other parts of the county.

Good luck with your move. If you want to know anything else about my beloved city just ask.

[FarNorthDallas]

Most of Addison falls within the Dallas school district which you really want to research before committing to it.