Is there a neiborhood in/near Richardson that is nearly as safe as Frisco? (Dallas: 2009, rental)

[wheregirl]

Hello,

From the safety-statistics I would like to live in an area as safe as Frisco but in or near Richardson, do you know whether any such area exists and where (down to the blocks of street)?

Thanks.

[MurphyPl1]

The entire city of Murphy which is just to the east of Richardson.

[FarNorthDallas]

Canyon Creek, Prairie Creek, The Reservation - all neighborhoods in Richardson.

[sita.thiruvadi]

I agree to the previous poster. The area to the east of 75 is really getting better than west plano area (thats what my friends from west plano say). The zip codes 75094/75082 has regions of Murphy/Richardson/Plano and is a safe and beautiful neighbourhood. Just visit these areas and see for yourself if you like it.

If you want to live in Richardson, I would recommend 75082 (near Breckenridge park).

[BigDGeek]

I will throw my neighborhood of Heights Park in too. It is an older, mature, established neighborhood with an excellent elementary school in it.

The other areas mentioned are also excellent neighborhoods. All of them are in 75080.

[FarNorthDallas]

You might also look on the other side of Coit in the city of Dallas - Highlands North, Holiday Park, Estates West, Prestonwood East, Prestonwood Meadows, Prestonwood and several others. It's the JJ Pearce High school attendance zone. (Prairie Creek, Canyon Creek and The Reservation also feed into JJ Pearce High School.)

[MSPMom]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

You might also look on the other side of Coit in the city of Dallas - Highlands North, Holiday Park, Estates West, Prestonwood East, Prestonwood Meadows, Prestonwood and several others. It's the JJ Pearce High school attendance zone. (Prairie Creek, Canyon Creek and The Reservation also feed into JJ Pearce High School.)

Hey FarNorthDallas,
While renting in Uptown we're still actively looking at potential neighborhoods to buy a home. Since we want our next move to be fairly permanent, we're taking our time. It looks like Brentfield and Bowie are some of the best public elementaries in your area so we're strongly considering that district and other parts of Richardson that feed into Pearce. I'm just wondering if all of these school are still highly regarded and if parents see them as strong alternatives to private school. We like the idea of pursuing private school while living in a district where it also makes sense to choose public. I appreciate your thoughts.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by MSPMom

Hey FarNorthDallas,
While renting in Uptown we're still actively looking at potential neighborhoods to buy a home. Since we want our next move to be fairly permanent, we're taking our time. It looks like Brentfield and Bowie are some of the best public elementaries in your area so we're strongly considering that district and other parts of Richardson that feed into Pearce. I'm just wondering if all of these school are still highly regarded and if parents see them as strong alternatives to private school. We like the idea of pursuing private school while living in a district where it also makes sense to choose public. I appreciate your thoughts.

Pearce is easily the best high school in the RISD but Richardson High School on Belt Line Road is making great strides. I think both are better than Lake Highlands HS and Berkner HS (rounding out the 4 RISD high schools).

Any elementary school that feeds into Pearce is a great bet. FND is right that some neighborhoods on the Dallas side (mainly 75248, I think) feed into the RISD and ultimately into J.J. Pearce. With those homes you have the huge electrical wires along Meandering Way and both Dallas city and Richardson school taxes to contend with. But those are very nice neighborhoods and you will find a lot of Orthodox Jewish families in that area, especially around the Hillcrest and Campbell intersection. (Parts of the J.J. Pearce Dallas neighborhoods are in the Far North Dallas eruv.)

The Reservation neighborhood and Canyon Creek both ultimately attend J.J. Pearce. Heights Park and Richardson Heights ultimately attend Richardson High School. In this neighborhood Pearce has a good reputation but people here are also very supportive of RHS, which had some troubles with student performance. RHS is a more diverse student body, both ethnically and socio-economically, than Pearce. I think the true measure of a school's ability to educate students is measured by how well they do with economically disadvantaged students, who are the most likely to drop out or not perform to their abilities. Richardson High School does extremely well with this group. About 1/5th of Pearce's student body is economically disadvantaged. At RHS it is about 2/5ths. I think both high schools are excellent and if I had children I would not hesitate to send them to either school.

Obviously I do not have kids and I did not go to RISD schools myself so all I can tell you is what other people tell me or what I read on the internet. The people I have spoken to in this neighborhood are highly supportive of Richardson Heights Elementary, which has an exemplary rating from the T.E.A. This neighborhood has few high school-aged kids because of its demographics. Many of the residents here are original owners and are elderly, so as they pass on or move to smaller homes young families are taking their places. I feel as the years go by you will see the same improvements at RHS that we have seen here at the elementary school level.

Most elementary schools in Richardson have an exemplary rating. A handful are recognized. Of the four high schools, Pearce is exemplary, Richardson and Berkner are recognized, and Lake Highlands is academically acceptable. I think almost anywhere in the RISD would offer an outstanding public education.

If you want to look up a particular school's rating and see it broken down, you can search for the RISD using this page:

2009 Accountability: List by District

[MSPMom]

Thanks so much BigD. Through my research it looks like RISD is very very strong overall. I'm not quite sure why I overlooked it until now. We've always liked the relaxed vibe of Richardson but for some reason we thought the schools were only so-so. Obviously the district has a lot to offer and I like the diversity I see. I never realized how much children can dictate just about every choice we make in life!

Our favorite areas in DFW are Lakewood, Bluffview/Devonshire, Kessler Park and Far North Dallas. I think I need to explore some parts of Richardson as well, like Canyon Creek, the Reservation and Richardson Heights.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by MSPMom

Thanks so much BigD. Through my research it looks like RISD is very very strong overall. I'm not quite sure why I overlooked it until now. We've always liked the relaxed vibe of Richardson but for some reason we thought the schools were only so-so. Obviously the district has a lot to offer and I like the diversity I see. I never realized how much children can dictate just about every choice we make in life!

Our favorite areas in DFW are Lakewood, Bluffview/Devonshire, Kessler Park and Far North Dallas. I think I need to explore some parts of Richardson as well, like Canyon Creek, the Reservation and Richardson Heights.

Those are very diverse areas. Be careful in the DISD. Elementary schools in Lakewood have excellent reputations, the junior high and high school less so. Sunset High School (Kessler Park is zoned to it) has a higher T.E.A. rating than Woodrow Wilson High School does. I am sure Lakewooder will have comments about that!

Richardson Heights is technically the neighborhood north of Spring Valley and south of Belt Line west of 75. My neighborhood, Heights Park, is listed as "Richardson Heights" on the tax rolls but we have a different neighborhood association. We are in the same zip code. The boundaries are Belt Line/West Shore/Arapaho/Custer. The neighborhood directly to the east of Heights Park (the park, not the neighborhood) is called "Parkview Estates" on the tax rolls but falls into the boundaries of the Heights Park Neighborhood Association.

Heights Park Neighborhood Association

The neighborhood association is voluntary by the way! I think maybe 50% of homeowners here are involved with it. I went to the meeting they had last week and it was nice meeting the neighbors. We had several members of the city council there giving presentations and answering questions and they were very friendly and courteous.

Overall I have been impressed with Richardson's management so far. Whenever I have had to talk to the city to set up utilities or ask questions about code violations (my own), they have been very pleasant, accomodating, and professional. It seems that in the past the city slid somewhat after the boom times of the 50s and 60s, and the present city council is being very proactive in making Richardson a desirable place to live. Houses in this neighborhood sell fast if they are a good size for a family; some of the smaller cottage-style homes do struggle due to their size, but they do sell. It is harder to find the right buyer for those as most people moving here seem to be young families who want room to grow. Houses literally fly off the market in the Reservation and Canyon Creek neighborhoods; those neighborhoods are a bit newer and the houses are larger on average.

If you go looking in Richardson there are usually open houses here on the weekends and our neighborhood association president is herself a realtor so I am sure she would be happy to answer any questions about the neighborhood. Her contact info can be found on the link I posted to our neighborhood association; I don't want to violate her privacy by posting her name/e-mail here.

I only moved in in late July but so far I love the neighborhood. It is very quiet and almost everyone keeps their yards and homes looking fantastic. There are very few rental houses here that I am aware of; I have seen only one go up for lease in my time here. Some people complain about the lack of shopping and restaurants here. It is true that the nearest Super Target is a couple of miles away and I have no idea where the nearest Super Wal-Mart is. There are no Best Buys or Bed Bath & Beyonds anywhere near here. There are also not many fast food options in the immediate area. However I consider all of those things to be pluses. Who wants to live down the street from 5 fast food dumps in the same shopping center as a Wal-Mart and a Best Buy? The light pollution alone... Not to mention the extra crime those stores bring. I am content to get in my car and drive to Plano to shop at Best Buy!