Where to live w/ good schools and easy commute to Downtown Dallas (Plano: houses)

[kristinichka]

My husband is contemplating taking a job in Dallas (near St Paul DART station) and we are planning a trip to the area soon and would like to know what areas we should be looking in to find:

A reasonable commute into downtown Dallas (preferably under 30 minutes)
An area with great schools
A safe and family friendly area

If we move out there, our house budget would be under $500k and we'd like something over 3000 sq ft. What areas would you suggest?

[ChristieP]

If he's going to be near the St. Paul Station, he should take the DART rail. Parking in the central business district is EXPENSIVE, as in $7-10 daily! A train ticket is $2 daily and there's no hassle with traffic, etc. Look north along 75 for places in Richardson and Plano. Both of these cities have large houses and have train stations with park-and-ride lots.

[kristinichka]

Thanks for the suggestions! Is it really only $2 a day for DART? That's cheap! How long does it take from Richardson or Plano to get to downtown on DART? Also, how crowded are the trains during rush hour? Is it possible to work on the trains? I appreciate your help! We should be headed to the area in November.

[FarNorthDallas]

An all day pass on DART is $4.00 now. The Red Line going to Richardson and Plano is very crowded during typical rush hour times.

[HappyinDallas]

Not as convenient, but West Plano is probably the nicest, safest area you could pick and it's close to the tollway. Far north Dallas would be another choice, as would Richardson, (the areas closest to 190 & 75), though Richardson is older than Plano. I think the following link will be a helpful resource for you as far as telling the average home price and safety of different areas of Dallas, Plano and Richardson. Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[kristinichka]

Thanks for your responses. How is the commute from Murphy? Is there a DART station out that far? I really like the homes/yards that I've seen there, but don't know if the commute would be doable or not.

[TurtleCreek80]

If you want suburbs, I'd look east towards Rockwall. Great sense of community, great schools, and lake living. Google D Magazine to read recent article plugging Rockwall- very positive! The commute in from northern suburbs is a beating and I have heard the trains are good, but really crowded. I reverse commute from Uptown to Plano so every day I see thousands of cars stuck in wreck back-ups or just crawling along at <20mph for long stretches of the drive into town. And on Friday afternoon, forget driving from downtown to Plano/ McKinney etc in under and hour.

Coppell may be another great option for you- it is northwest of Dallas. Great small district (only 1 high school) and close-knit family community. You could have your pick of homes at the $500k price point.

If you want in-town living, I recommend Lake Highlands (in Dallas, but Richardson schools) or Lakewood (with the home you are looking for, some of the relatively new construction between Skillman and Abrams may fit the bill). The older homes at 3,000sf are going to be out of reach price-wise. These are both very community-oriented neighborhoods with great public schools in safe parts of Dallas. Very common to see the neighborhood kids out riding bikes or playing ball at the local park or building Christmas tree forts after Christmas. Both also offer very close proximity to downtown (<20 min drive) & no need to get on the highway.

[kristinichka]

Thanks for all the suggestions TurtleCreek. We'll have some good places to check out when we come to town next month. We really aren't sure if we'll like in-town or far out suburb living better. We've visited Dallas several times but have never been to the area looking around like "future residents". The people we know that live out there are in Plano, Frisco, and Rockwall and all love their communities.

So, I'm wondering how big the normal lots are in the closer in areas? Is it easy to get 1/4 acre in Lake Highlands or Lakewood?

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts!

[Lakewooder]

Lakewood has all sorts of lot sizes, from 50 X150 to estates of several acres. Nearly every street is different and on some blocks the lots are different.

Lakewood sounds like the place for you and is only 10 minutes to downtown (or less). However, you may not be able to get 3,000 square feet for that price.

Two sites where you can 'explore' Lakewood: http://lakewood-dallas.blackwhiteread.com/ and advocatemag.com