Might be relocating from Katy, Husband would work in Denton...any suggestions? (Dallas: high income)

[mistyb]

We live in a large masterplanned community (Cinco Ranch) with excellent schools in our neighborhood. We would be looking for the same up there. Best schools is the metro area is top priority. I am a teacher and will eventually want to work in the district we live in. We want to buy a house that is less than 5-7 years old. Access to shopping and restaurants. Greenspace and trees. I would love for my husband to have less than a 20-30 minute commute one way as he is now in the 45-90 minute range depending on where he is driving and time he leaves.

Ideas?

[loves2read]

the best schools in the Metroplex and a 20 min commute to Denton don't line up

southlake Carroll ISD is probably top rated whether or not people would want to live there depends on many factors

there are other local districts that have quality schools--north part of Lewisville ISD or Frisco are probably closer to the 20-25 min commute--just depends...
Bartonville and Argyle have more rural, larger lot/home situations could be in Denton ISD or their own

you don't mention price which is a factor in your options

if you want a master planned community, you might try Vista Ranch out Haslet way
in Northwest ISD
Heritage in Keller ISD

teaching jobs in quality districts are difficult to get

[mistyb]

Thanks for the info! I have never been to the DFW area and have no idea about the geographic layout and distances between various points. Which other school districts are accepted as being the best? Which should be avoided at all costs? I plan to start researching at greatschools today and want to look for a map that shows districts in the whole metro area.

In terms of cost I was thinking $250-300 for a (new to 5 year old) 4 bedroom 2 bath ranch. If he had to commute longer to put us in a better district, we would happily do so. Education is the number 1 priority.

[hypocore]

Your area of choice is actually quite huge. You could consider any number of districts within Denton county, Tarrant county and Collin county, perhaps even Dallas county. Within all those different districts there are great schools, though I personally don't think any one district is perfect all the way through.

I think you might need to define your idea of a perfect school before making a decision on where you want to go. Are you looking at top rankings from testing scores? Athletic programs? Fine arts programs? Diversity? Family/community support? Academic choices? IB program?
Also, are you considering just elementary schools for now or secondary schools as well?

My idea of a good school does not come from just looking at test scores as those at the top tend to be high income areas with virtually no diversity and I place a higher value on family/community support and having great diversity than I do on test scores.

So if you know which types of schools you are looking for you can get a better idea of where to look. Just understand that you will probably be sacrificing one or more of your other preferences...especially your husband's commute.