Minnesota Family moving to Dallas area...Help! (Plano, Garland: transplants, lease)

[catluvr]

Check out Coppell. It is just north of the airport. There is a fireworks display July 3 and a parade and family things the 4th. You can easily find a great home here in Coppell ISD...one of the best ISD in TX.

Totally family oriented, no low income housing, yet most everything is liveable wage and affordable.

Please realize that when you state what you think you want to spend on a house, you may end up lowering that amount a bit. Many times people from other states do not realize how much property tax is and also how much electicity is down here (our utilities are I believe the highest in the nation...or so I heard on the radio the other day).

In Coppell, you will NOT have to pay for private school. It is very family oriented, a close knit community, very nice people, non-materialistic, most like the outdoors just like MN...we also have lots of trees. We are very close to Lake Lewisville and Lake Grapevine. Lots of shopping and good restaraunts nearby. We have a farmer's market, Sprouts, Market Street and everyone I know is very ecologically minded. They have a great water park/rec center that you can join for 500.00 a year which is really cheap compared the prices where you come from

Please check it out. Make sure you do a lot of research. I would visit Irving (North part) and Coppell for sure because they are reasonable commutes from Dallas. You could also jet across town and check out North Dallas, Garland and Richardson.

FYI: Garland, Richardson have the train (DART) you can maybe take to work. Carrollton will soon have one as well. Carrollton is a neighboring town about 6 minutes from Coppell. The DART will be about a 10 minute drive from the center of Coppell That will go right through Dallas.

[redman421]

"also how much electicity is down here (our utilities are I believe the highest in the nation...or so I heard on the radio the other day)."

PSEG in NJ charges 16 cents per KWh...ConEdison in NYcity and Westchester charges 23 cents per KWh...LIPA on Long Island charges 21 cents per KWh

[hstfan82]

I moved here from Minnesota last year so hopefully I can help you out. A heads up: I'm from Oklahoma so I can deal with the heat, but remember the really hot Minnesota summer days? That's the average here for about 3 months.

Here are some suburbs you probably won't like based on what you said:
Mesquite
Garland (With the exception of the far NE portion near the tollway)
Allen
Irving
Grand Prairie
Farmers Branch
Duncanville
Cedar Hill
Lancaster
Balch Springs

I think you would like Richardson. It is a lot like Bloomington in that is an older suburb, but is also family friendly. It is 20-30 min commute from Downtown, has the best parks of any of the suburbs, low crime rate, educated population, and politically moderate. In terms of the types of houses, there are really new houses on the far eastern side of the city limits, but that would make your commute longer. I would reccomend buying a home in the far western parts of Richardson. You can find large homes with beautiful lots that were built about 30-40 years ago. Just make sure the foundation is ok before purchasing. I'm a teacher and I can tell you Richardson ISD is well known for its high academic standards.

If you want a new house and a lake, you should also definitely check out Rowlett. I'm not a huge fan of Rowlett personally but if I had a family and I liked the lake a lot it would get serious consideration. Homes are similar, but cheaper, to homes found in the other northern suburbs like Plano. The schools are good, and it borders the backwaters of Lake Ray Hubbard, which is a pretty big lake.

I don't know your politics but Dallas metro gets really conservative beyond the first ring suburbs. Just keep that in mind if that's important to you.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

I meant more M-Streets than Lakewood, but I believe there are ranches in Lakewood that go for that price (probably closer to $325 to $200).

Tiny ones maybe. If he wanted to be in Lakewood I would say he would be at the top of his price range if he wanted something big enough for a family and move-in ready.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by hstfan82

I think you would like Richardson. It is a lot like Bloomington in that is an older suburb, but is also family friendly. It is 20-30 min commute from Downtown, has the best parks of any of the suburbs, low crime rate, educated population, and politically moderate. In terms of the types of houses, there are really new houses on the far eastern side of the city limits, but that would make your commute longer. I would reccomend buying a home in the far western parts of Richardson. You can find large homes with beautiful lots that were built about 30-40 years ago. Just make sure the foundation is ok before purchasing. I'm a teacher and I can tell you Richardson ISD is well known for its high academic standards.

I hear Canyon Creek is kind of notorious for its foundation problems...I certainly saw a lot of sloping/cracked slabs personally.

I am closing on a house in Richardson in 1 week, built in 1957, foundation in good shape (it's a pier and beam). It's close enough so that you almost do not feel like you are in the suburbs but it's still not Dallas. The DISD is a tough sell for buyers in my price range.

[minnesota charlie]

Thanks to all who provided some very valuable feedback. I/we have much research to do to best understand the area. We'll get a rental car with GPS and do our best to explore all of your recommended communities.

There sure are a lot of blogs out there---some lambasting Dallas and some very positive. I think it best for us to just explore it ourselves in a couple weeks.

I'm sure I'll be emailing to a few of you---really appreciate your guidance, guys. I am still feeling out the structure of my relocation...so in theory I could go higher on house price--but I want to be careful to get into a cool area (thanks again for the guidance).

final question: have you guys been hit by the housing downturn? are houses trading at 10-20% discounts? or maybe prices are stabilizing. also--what would you estimate my taxes would be on a $300k house?

thanks everybody--you guys are great!

[debtex]

Originally Posted by minnesota charlie

final question: have you guys been hit by the housing downturn? are houses trading at 10-20% discounts?

Not in the areas you've been recommended to look at. The exurbs have had some decrease, but not the city or the inner suburbs. Houses are sitting for longer on the market, but prices are holding pretty steady.

[needsomeinfo]

Originally Posted by minnesota charlie

final question: have you guys been hit by the housing downturn? are houses trading at 10-20% discounts? or maybe prices are stabilizing. also--what would you estimate my taxes would be on a $300k house?

thanks everybody--you guys are great!

I don't think you are going to find a 10-20% discount unless someone is desperate to sell.

taxes will run you 2.1%-2.5%, on average. you can look up taxes on a particular house by looking at the appraisal district website for the county the house is in. (for example, collincad.org)

you can also look here to learn more about tax rates in the area. it will link you to the county websites, where you can find rate info.
http://dallas.about.com/od/governmen...alDistrict.htm

[minnesota charlie]

what is exburb?

[Big G]

Exurb = way out suburb. For example, Farmington and Hudson, WI are exurbs of the Twin Cities.

I noticed you said you are looking for a "cool" place to live. Since "cool" is in the eye of the beholder, why don't you give some Minneapolis examples of what you would find "cool" up north, and I'll try to give you the DFW counterpart.