Help focus our move! (Dallas, Plano: cul-de-sac, low crime, homes)

[tisht]

We are coming out of Las Vegas and need some direction. Everything looks great on the internet but doesn't really answer the "hard" questions! We have an 11 yr old daughter who attended a Christian school until this year. We need to make sure we are in a great family environment, low crime, good schools, non-demonomination Christian churchs, etc. We would like a home that is on a larger lot up to 1/2 acre if possible. I should also mention that we don't have a lot of money to work with as we will be moving with no jobs, as finding them becomes difficult with no local address! We have friends and family in Dallas, Plano, Joshua, and College Station and are hoping to be close enough to visit but not be on their "doorstep" . Can anyone suggest great locations for me to start looking at?

[loves2read]

if you want a less-expensive home with larger lot you are going to need to look outside the metroplex

as a rule of thumb larger lots (.5 and up) go with more expensive homes
so the area around Joshua in the s of FTW, or other smaller towns around DFW or around college station
would be your best bet to start looking--
the other factors you are looking for are available INSIDE the metroplex--but normally not the larger lots/less expensive home

of course getting a job in a smaller town (depending on what you are looking for) is problematic as well
so you would have to give that up...

[tisht]

That's a good point. I'm not stuck on the lot size but we just don't want to be looking in someones window everytime we do the dishes! My husband runs a home theater company out here but because it is primarily word of mouth, it may take some time to build business. He will probably have to find work with someone else for the time being. If I went to a smaller lot size, maybe a corner or cul-de-sac, where would you suggest?