What is Sunnyvale, Texas like? (Dallas, Plano: home builders, high school, subdivisions)
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No one seems to be answering your question about Sunnyvale so I will give it a go. Although Sunnyvale is a older burb there is plenty of new housing in the area. The area is pretty affluent but is surrounded by more working class cities like Mesquite and Garland. The city is fairly small but they have built a new high school and middle school within the last 4 years. Both have fairly small student bodies because the city itself is pretty small. I believe the high school is 3A rated. Most of the homes are in the 250k-450k price range and they set on large lots. It is small close knit community and I don't think you will have a problem meeting people. What they do lack is a strong tax base because they have very few businesses in the city. I have noticed that they are building quite a few professional medical buildings and have recently completed a new hospital. There is no retail businesses in the city itself but the city of Mesquite and Garland are so close you want have a problem finding a place to shop. Think of Sunnyvale as a small upscale city surrounded by blue collar working burbs. I live in Mesquite and drive thru Sunnyvale everyday to get home. They have some truly great neighborhoods right along Highway 80. Until the mortgage crisis hit the city seemed to put alot effort into growing the city. They have a brand new City Hall that is pretty nice. You did not give your housing budget but I would certainly take a look at Sunnyvale. My guess is most people on this board know very little about the city. It's a well kept secret.
The only thing with Rockwall I'm concerned about is that I dont like the school clubs.. like I cant believe there is no debate team or clubs for people interested in International affairs and such. There's clubs like that at the school I'm in now.. and those are the ones Im interested in :/
Have you seen this: http://site.rockwallisd.com/RHS/School%20Documents/RHS_Organizations_06-07.pdf (broken link) ?
It shows there that Rockwall High School has Speech and Debate and a lot of other clubs that look interesting.
Anyways, is the high school good w/ volleyball? And are there any good volleyball clubs close to the town? my sister and i play it. are there good soccer clubs close to the town too? anything you know about that basically. like anyone who knows what the school year is like a the new high school please tell! im also worried at now new the school is.. do they have any clubs, any dances, any traditions? does the school have a pool, too? and is soccer played during the winter?
From what I have seen on campus and in the admin building, Sunnyvale ISD is drop dead serious about academics and preparing students for college / professional life. Bring your A-game.
Negative, Houston. Once you get past the cheap houses, the Republic of Texas has a way of nickel-diming you out of tons of money. Homeowners insurance is at least five to eight times what it costs in NJ. Auto insurance is a bit cheaper, but not so much that you're going to retire any earlier. Monthly run-rate on a house is a fortune, given that you'll have four to ten tons of A/C running all the time.
I came back to NJ after three years in Texas. It's a great place to live, but don't believe the hype that it's a fast path to retirement.
And to the OP, consider carefully the things you like about the northeast that you REALLY like. Some of them are nowhere to be found outside of that area. There are other things that you will find in Texas that you won't find in NJ that are great, but don't go looking for a decent bagel in the morning. You won't find it.
Well I found that my car insurance dropped about $65 per month when I moved to Texas from Florida.
Here is a cost of living website with charts and what not. Texas is the 4th lowest cost of living state in the country. New Jersey is 47th! Only places more expensive than NJ are Alaska, Hawaii, California, and DC. So maybe we should believe the hype.
I ditto alot of what Grainraiser shared. To me, Sunnyvale is a lot like a bit more affluent Mesquite. And actually, it's closer to Terrell than Rockwall. The only negative for me is it's inside Dallas County. I've worked with home builders in all of the cities and towns all over that area. Recently we did a home in Stone Canyon East. Here's a map: Map (http://www.sprop.com/map.htm - broken link)
Well I found that my car insurance dropped about $65 per month when I moved to Texas from Florida.
Here is a cost of living website with charts and what not. Texas is the 4th lowest cost of living state in the country. New Jersey is 47th! Only places more expensive than NJ are Alaska, Hawaii, California, and DC. So maybe we should believe the hype.
Thanks for pointing this out; to most it is obvious but I guess not to all. I find it hard to believe that someone is saying how much better and cheaper it is to live in NJ vs. Texas.
If finding a decent bagel is at the top of your list, you probably should choose NJ. But actually, I know of a great place for excellent bagels within a few minutes drive of Sunnyvale.
Thanks for the info on Rockwall! And can anyone tell me how different it will be to move from NJ to Dallas? for someone who's never moved there... also is volleyball & soccer big there? I've heard that but idk. I really don't care for football, baseball, golf, and softball.
Check out RISE (Rockwall Indoor Sports Expo). They have indoor baskeball, volleyball and soccer as well as batting cages and such. It is on Hwy 205 just outside of Rockwall on the way to Terrell. Volleyball and soccer ARE big here. Trust me. My daughters have played both. RISE is a nice facility adn they do indoor soccer during the winter months. Close by there is also GVA (Garland Volleyball Association) that is very big. My kids have particpated thru there as well. Select soccer or club soccer is also big here. Many of my daughters friends play club soccer after starting out in rec soccer. My kids just stayed w/ rec soccer as they wanted to do other things as well. The girls high school soccer teams in the area are also very good. You won't have a problem getting into either of those sports here.
If your dad's job is going to be in Terrell then look at Rockwall, Heath and McClendon-Chisholm. They are all part of the Rockwall ISD. If you are in Heath or McClendon-Chisholm you will attend Rockwall Heath HS. The Rockwall ISD has 2 high schools. Sure football is big but so are the other sports. We have many friends that live out there and they all love it. Most of them are into something thru school and there ARE clubs. There are of course the normal Latin Club, French Club, Debate Team, etc. Some of the area schools even have robotics teams. Lacrosse is another sport that is coming on strong in this area and there are teams in Rockwall. As well as ice hockey.
Thanks for pointing this out; to most it is obvious but I guess not to all. I find it hard to believe that someone is saying how much better and cheaper it is to live in NJ vs. Texas.
Careful, there. I never said it was cheaper to live in NJ. I'm just pointing out that it's not stratospherically cheaper to live in Texas. People who come in from other areas can easily be blindsided by the tack-on charges that come with living here. The run-rate on a house being the largest of them, which (and only speak here if you've lived elsewhere) easily dwarfs what it costs to run a house in a lot of other states. Insurance in Texas is a fortune. Utilities are a fortune. Water is a fortune. Mechanical systems in Texas homes get beat to **** a lot sooner than they should.
It's a context thing. It's not a TX v. NJ thing, but there are hidden costs to living in Texas that the magazines and realtors rarely talk about.
Careful, there. I never said it was cheaper to live in NJ. I'm just pointing out that it's not stratospherically cheaper to live in Texas. People who come in from other areas can easily be blindsided by the tack-on charges that come with living here. The run-rate on a house being the largest of them, which (and only speak here if you've lived elsewhere) easily dwarfs what it costs to run a house in a lot of other states. Insurance in Texas is a fortune. Utilities are a fortune. Water is a fortune. Mechanical systems in Texas homes get beat to **** a lot sooner than they should.
It's a context thing. It's not a TX v. NJ thing, but there are hidden costs to living in Texas that the magazines and realtors rarely talk about.
And the personal income tax is.....................
BTW, I don't believe the OP has much choice in the matter. She did mention it is where her fathers business is. She is just having to come along for the ride. I'm sure her parents have already figured everything else out and she is trying to figure out an area she would prefer based on her likes at this stage in her life which is being a typical high school student and teenager.
Negative, Houston. Once you get past the cheap houses, the Republic of Texas has a way of nickel-diming you out of tons of money. Homeowners insurance is at least five to eight times what it costs in NJ. Auto insurance is a bit cheaper, but not so much that you're going to retire any earlier. Monthly run-rate on a house is a fortune, given that you'll have four to ten tons of A/C running all the time.
You are WAY off base with the homeowner's insurance thing. Average insurance is about 50% higher in Texas than most northeastern states, but that is an easy pill to swallow when our house payments are less than half of ones in most other states for the same sized house. And our coal and fuel oil heaters aren't running for 8 months out of the year either!
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