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Thank you in advance for your help My husband and I are very excited to move to Dallas. We currently live in CA and have been wanting to move for a couple of years now. His company has an office in Richardson and we just got the go-ahead for the transfer. That being said, we are hoping to get some guidance on where we should buy a home. We have a small child that is not in school yet, but the school districts are our #1 priority followed by my husband's commute time. We would like to buy and live in that house for a long time...maybe until the kids are out of school.
Just from doing online research, we have heard about Plano, Coppell, McKinney, Las Colinas, Richardson, Frisco as areas to look at.
We would like top-notch schools, less than a 30 minute commute to Richardson, and a nice house under $300k (hopefully closer to $250K).
Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated and/or if you have any comments about the above listed towns.
Thank you in advance for your help My husband and I are very excited to move to Dallas. We currently live in CA and have been wanting to move for a couple of years now. His company has an office in Richardson and we just got the go-ahead for the transfer. That being said, we are hoping to get some guidance on where we should buy a home. We have a small child that is not in school yet, but the school districts are our #1 priority followed by my husband's commute time. We would like to buy and live in that house for a long time...maybe until the kids are out of school.
Just from doing online research, we have heard about Plano, Coppell, McKinney, Las Colinas, Richardson, Frisco as areas to look at.
We would like top-notch schools, less than a 30 minute commute to Richardson, and a nice house under $300k (hopefully closer to $250K).
Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated and/or if you have any comments about the above listed towns.
Thanks again!
Coppell is the one of the top school districts in the area, and has the added benefit of all elementary & middle schools feeding into one high school. There is a definite Coppell comraderie that comes from all knowing you're going into the same hs vs competing hs's in same district. Lots of high achieving students, affordable homes, great sports programs in 4A (large but not huge schools). Housing stock meets your criteria & commute would be 30 minutes or so to Richardson.
Richardson would be my #2 pick. Much bigger school district, but very well run, and every single Elememtary school carries the state's "Exemplary" rating. Pros of Richardson are closer to city of Dallas & the entertainment (kids & adults) options the city has- museums, parks, lakes, libraries, etc. More diversity (economic & racial) in Richardson than Coppell. Housing stock in your price range is likely to be a 1950s-1960's ranch (1 story) home. If newer homes (post 1980) are important to you, then Coppell is a better buy because new homes in Richardosn will be out of your price range.
Plano also has a good school district but it is HUGE population-wise and feeds into 3 senior highs (grades 11 & 12 only). Each high school's graduating class is 1,000-1,200 students. This is good for some kids, but others really get lost in the crowd. Only those who are super talented play on sports teams & other competitive extracurriculars. There are simply too many kids for everyone to do what they're interested in. Also, I hate the idea of kids changing schools every 2 years once they hit 6th grade. It's too much moving around- middle school, junior high, senior high. Harder to make lifelong friendships with all that movement! Housing is generally more expensive in Plano than Richardson or Coppell, especially in areas zoned to the desirable schools.
McKinney & Frisco schools are inferior to Coppell & Richardson. If schools are really #1, you should scratch this from your list. Ditto Las Colinas- homes zoned to some neighboring districts (like Coppell) are ok, but homes zoned to Irving ISD should be avoided.
Pay close attention to the schools homes are zoned for- ISD boundaries do not follow city/town boundaries (ie, can live in city of Dallas, but go to Dallas ISD, Plano ISD, or Richardson ISD schools depending on the address).
Thank you in advance for your help My husband and I are very excited to move to Dallas. We currently live in CA and have been wanting to move for a couple of years now. His company has an office in Richardson and we just got the go-ahead for the transfer. That being said, we are hoping to get some guidance on where we should buy a home. We have a small child that is not in school yet, but the school districts are our #1 priority followed by my husband's commute time. We would like to buy and live in that house for a long time...maybe until the kids are out of school.
Just from doing online research, we have heard about Plano, Coppell, McKinney, Las Colinas, Richardson, Frisco as areas to look at.
We would like top-notch schools, less than a 30 minute commute to Richardson, and a nice house under $300k (hopefully closer to $250K).
Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated and/or if you have any comments about the above listed towns.
Thanks again!
I just moved from CA (Bay Area) to DFW area in November and Wylie is where it's at, I believe it strongly fits your needs. Good schools, less than 30 minute commute to Richardson (Exact time depends on where preciely the job, but from my house I can be in Richardson city limits in less than 10 minutes), and plenty of nice homes under $300k (tons of them under $250k). The home we bought in Nov 09 was $210k for 6 bedrooms/3.5 baths, 3700 sq. ft, built in 2005. If you don't even want that big you can safely get a new/newer home with what you want for under $200k. My wife and I love the newer huge dirt cheap house and it's nice to have good schools here for when/if we have kids.
I love Coppell but if I were you I'd stay on the east side. You may like the Canyon Creek area in Richardson or even the Firewheel area in Garland, or Wylie or Murphy (Garland school dist). Plano is another fine option. You can use the TAKS results to look up the schools that service homes you find and like. Here is their website.
Hello Dallas, i am currently living in Chicago...my plan is to relocate to Dallas in the fall....i lived in Atlanta for four yrs and was not able to get a good job...I have a nine yr old who loves to go to the parks,site seeing and a dip in the pool...my background is Insurance and Data Entry...i love the South....pls i need help and advice reg local jobs in Dallas also a good school district for my daughter with low crime rate...seeking to rent...$600.00 tops...
Coppell is the one of the top school districts in the area, and has the added benefit of all elementary & middle schools feeding into one high school. There is a definite Coppell comraderie that comes from all knowing you're going into the same hs vs competing hs's in same district. Lots of high achieving students, affordable homes, great sports programs in 4A (large but not huge schools). Housing stock meets your criteria & commute would be 30 minutes or so to Richardson.
Richardson would be my #2 pick. Much bigger school district, but very well run, and every single Elememtary school carries the state's "Exemplary" rating. Pros of Richardson are closer to city of Dallas & the entertainment (kids & adults) options the city has- museums, parks, lakes, libraries, etc. More diversity (economic & racial) in Richardson than Coppell. Housing stock in your price range is likely to be a 1950s-1960's ranch (1 story) home. If newer homes (post 1980) are important to you, then Coppell is a better buy because new homes in Richardosn will be out of your price range.
Plano also has a good school district but it is HUGE population-wise and feeds into 3 senior highs (grades 11 & 12 only). Each high school's graduating class is 1,000-1,200 students. This is good for some kids, but others really get lost in the crowd. Only those who are super talented play on sports teams & other competitive extracurriculars. There are simply too many kids for everyone to do what they're interested in. Also, I hate the idea of kids changing schools every 2 years once they hit 6th grade. It's too much moving around- middle school, junior high, senior high. Harder to make lifelong friendships with all that movement! Housing is generally more expensive in Plano than Richardson or Coppell, especially in areas zoned to the desirable schools.
McKinney & Frisco schools are inferior to Coppell & Richardson. If schools are really #1, you should scratch this from your list. Ditto Las Colinas- homes zoned to some neighboring districts (like Coppell) are ok, but homes zoned to Irving ISD should be avoided.
Pay close attention to the schools homes are zoned for- ISD boundaries do not follow city/town boundaries (ie, can live in city of Dallas, but go to Dallas ISD, Plano ISD, or Richardson ISD schools depending on the address).
I would agree with you 100%. Certainly Coppell would be at the top of my list, but make sure what you buy is really in the Coppell school district..
With school district being priority #1, you'd look at Highland Park ISD which would give still give your hubby a less than 30 minute reverse commute (And get your kid into the #71 ranked HS in the nation according to US News, Highland Park High). If you can afford it, and want the best (public) schools, get into the colored areas on this map:
http://www.hpisd.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=JiphFbBA%2bIo%3d&tabid=5 7 (broken link)
But then that brings up your other requirement (or is a requirement?), that you have a nice house at $300k or lower (more like $250k as you say). That's not doable for living in Highland Park ISD (might be possible with a condo though) so really you need to find a combo of good school district and home in your price range (and the commute factor). I think Wylie provides a great combo in that regard.
For reference, here are 2009 school year results for the above districts mentioned to OP:
SAT AVERAGE SCORE (993 is TX state average, #47 in the entire US)-->
1. Plano 1143 (#2 in all of DFW, behind Highland Park's 1174).
2. Coppell 1135 SAT (#3 in all of DFW)
3. Frisco 1060
4. Richardson 1056
5. McKinney 1051
6. Wylie 993 (#35 of 50 DFW districts. Just listed this to prove that Wylie schools should NOT even be on your radar....do not be seduced by cheap new houses!!)
2009 District Ratings based on TAKS (state standardized test) performance. Highest rating is Exemplary, then Recognized, then Acceptable.
Exemplary: None. There are no Exemplary districts that meet your budget & commute criteria, however there are schools within certain districts that are exemplary (COPPELL: All Elementaries except Wilson, All Middle Schools except Coppell East. RICHARDSON: 31 of 35 Elementary Schools, all 3 Magnet High Schools. PLANO: 29 of 41 Elementary Schools, 1 Middle School, 1 Junior High. MCKINNEY: 12 of 18 Elementary Schools. FRISCO: All Elementary Schools, plus Centennial High School. WYLIE: All Elementary Schools, plus Wylie East HS).
Recognized: Coppell, Richardson, Frisco, Wylie (up from Acceptable in 2008)
Acceptable: Plano, McKinney
Unacceptable: No districts on your list, but several schools in above districts ARE unacceptable and should be avoided (McKinney ISD- McKinney High School, Plano ISD- Armstrong Middle School)
For reference, here are 2009 school year results for the above districts mentioned to OP:
SAT AVERAGE SCORE (993 is TX state average, #47 in the entire US)-->
1. Plano 1143 (#2 in all of DFW, behind Highland Park's 1174).
2. Coppell 1135 SAT (#3 in all of DFW)
3. Frisco 1060
4. Richardson 1056
5. McKinney 1051
6. Wylie 993
Where are these numbers coming from? Average SAT scores for all Texas college-bound seniors in 2009 was in the high 1400's (on the current 2400 scale).
No need to let non-college kids skew the score down, unless of course, your averages are based on the old scoring system (the old not used anymore 1600 scale) which isn't used anymore.
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My husband and I are very excited to move to Dallas. We currently live in CA and have been wanting to move for a couple of years now. His company has an office in Richardson and we just got the go-ahead for the transfer. That being said, we are hoping to get some guidance on where we should buy a home. We have a small child that is not in school yet, but the school districts are our #1 priority followed by my husband's commute time. We would like to buy and live in that house for a long time...maybe until the kids are out of school. 
