Relocating in a month! (Plano, Garland: appointed, relocation company, houses)

[heather3600]

Hello all! We are a family of four, one child in kindergarten and the other in 2nd grade. My husband just accepted a job located in Garland. We are coming from San Diego (originally from Maryland).

We have lived in the MD-DC-VA area, where hubby and I grew up, then we left for the Bay Area of California with a job transfer, then ended up on the island of Oahu for 2 years with another job transfer, and then finally desperate to come back to the mainland, husband found a job in San Diego in 2006. We have not owned a home since we sold ours in MD in 2001. We always moved to the wrong locations/timing for housing affordability. Really looking forward to buying again and settling down for the long haul.

Sorry to all the Californian's that love their state, but I can happily say that we are leaving and not looking back. It has it's beauty, but the faults outweigh any positives. We are very excited to be moving into a state that is not handing out IOU's in lieu of tax refunds, (anyway, I will stop as I could go on and on about all the problems in CA).

So, in our research of schools and commutes we have narrowed it down to Allen, Rockwall, Murphy, possibly Frisco. We think Frisco may be too far north, not sure if back-roads could be utilized to cut out traffic on highways. We would like to find a 4 BR for 250K, we don't want to go higher than that if possible, keeping property taxes in mind. In checking out the listings available, it looks like we will find something that meets our needs in our price range. We'll be heading out in a week or so for a house-hunting trip, so we'll know more then.

Just wanted to thank you all for you valued information. I have done countless searches in this forum for neighborhoods, schools, shopping and everything else that has come up! Thank you and see you soon!

[ChristieP]

Where in Garland will your husband be working? The Firewheel area of North Garland is VERY nice and you could shorten his commute and still stay in your price range. Yes, Frisco is going to be too far away...

[Grainraiser]

I agree that north Garland (Firewheel area) should be on your list. If your going to have Allen on the list you may as well add Frisco. I would focus my search on North Garland and Rockwall.

[dweej]

I'll agree with the above two posters- try and decrease your commute a bit so you can enjoy more of what your new life offers. The Firewheel area of Garland will not only shorten his commute considerably, it'll also get you closer to "the city" in case you ever fancy going to downtown, entertaining out of town guests, etc. Frisco...whew, that is gonna be far.

[momof2dfw]

I agree. Stay in Garland and your husband will be close enough to come home for lunch or go have lunch at school with the kids. His commute will be a BREEZE. My sister lives in McKinney and teaches there, it ain't all that grand and just to get to Allen can take 20-30 minutes IN RUSH HOUR! No to the backroads as well. Not in those areas, yikes. The "backroads" in those areas are the main roads so it won't save any time at all.

The schools in Garland are just as good if not better than the other areas you mentioned. Don't be fooled by the TAKS ratings that are given out. Although the Garland ISD did get Recognized . Garland is a BIG CITY and most areas of it are older and not new and shiny like Allen and Frisco but that doesn't mean it is bad. I have kids in the GISD and LOVE IT!!! I would not put them anywhere else after hearing from those in the "newer" districts. We have magnet programs that can't be beat if your interested in those. The community is VERY involved. It is like living in a small town even though it is big. Everyone is very welcoming. I didn't grow up in Garland but to most that did they think I did. Just yesterday was the annual Garland Labor Day Parade. People show up 2 hours early to stake out a spot. Every high school in the district (7) participates as well as Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, pee-wee football teams, churches, organizations, businesses, etc. It is a LOT of fun and it doesn't matter where you sit the people around you will start to talk to you like they have known you forever. The football games are still attended by folks that don't have kids in the schools. It is a neat place to live and get involved.

There are houses in your price range in the Firewheel area. Drive thru and take a look and visit the schools. You won't be disappointed. Besides, we have a LOT more trees over on this side of town and open spaces and parks

[heather3600]

Thank you all for your input. I think we have definitely ruled out Allen and Frisco due to commutes. His job location will be off of S. Jupiter Rd, just north of the 635. I guess I was just under the impression that the Garland schools are not as good, I know you have your choice of schools. I would just be worried about not being able to get the kids into the school we want because of the year already in progress and then having to move them to another the next school year, but you are right, we will look into the area, I will not just blindly rule it out One area we thought would be a good alternative is Murphy. I really like that they have the larger lots there. Coming from a place where all you have to choose from are postage-sized lots and being right on top of your neighbors, seeing the homes in Murphy are very appealing. It also does not appear to be too far away from where he would be. From what I've read it looks like we would do better on the Plano ISD side of Murphy vs the Wylie ISD, but again that's just based on what I've read. We are hoping to get the ball rolling this week, the relocation company has been delayed in contacting us due to the long weekend (we are very, very lucky that his new company is covering our entire move). We plan to either be out there this Friday or next to start the hunt!

Thank you!

[momof2dfw]

Let me explain the "Choice of Schools" for the GISD. It is not just an "open" choice. Each school does have an attendance zone and any student living in that zone gets "first dibs" for that school. The "Choice of School" forms are due in January & February (they are now staggared for each level: elemm middle school & high school). The parents fill it out and turn it in and then they are all gone thru at one time. After all students living within that zone are placed in their "neighborhood school" IF they choose their "neighborhood" school as their first choice then those that live outside that zone that choose that school as their 1st choice will be placed there until there is no more room. My daughter actually attends a school that is closer (by 1/10 of a mile) than the one zoned for our neighborhood. We had no problem getting into it. There are several kids that attend our neighborhood school that don't live in the zone for it. If you pick a school that is not in your zone and you get into it the school district will not provide transportation. If you pick your neighborhood zoned school as your first choice and don't get in then the school district will have to provide transportation. There are some schools that even their "neighborhood" students live outside the 2 mile range or other circumstances prevail and the district provides transportation.

The whole "choice of school" thing is really pretty easy and simple. Unless your trying to get into a magnet you most likely should not have any problems getting into the neighborhood school. The only elementary school I know of right off hand anywhere near the Firewheel area that is full and no one outside the zone can get in is Cooper.

Don't let outside people that have not experienced the GISD turn you off from it. It really is a great school district. I've compared them and it is right up there with the best of them.

If you find a house and want to know about the neighborhood school for it don't hesitate to pm me and I'll give you the "inside scoop" on it that I know of.