Moving from Long Island, NY to TX (Dallas, Plano: sales, homeowners insurance)

[AJRUV]

I've had enough of NY taxes and am looking for a better environment to raise my kids. I'm in a nice neighborhood with good schools, but even though we make a good income (at least in the rest of the country it's considered good) we are limited in our choices of houses, etc.

I'm looking for a house around 400k (give or take a few), GREAT schools (that is priority #1), a decent commute to Dallas (my husband is an engineer and would look for a job in Dallas) and a family friendly environment that will not put me into complete culture shock. I'm not looking for 'country living' but want a community that is kid friendly, SAFE, and fun. I also own a business that I would relocate, but I can do that anywhere.

I've been looking at Frisco and it seems to fit the bill, but I'm concerned that it will be a terrible commute into Dallas. Flower Mound seems nice too.. Allen and Plano were also on my radar. I'm going there in Feb to check it out, but would like to narrow it down and get feedback from 'natives', if possible.

Thank you so much in advance for your help...

[TurtleCreek80]

If you want true suburbs (keep in mind most of the actual city of Dallas looks suburban as far most single-family homes are on .2-.35 acre lots - it's not dense urban like Queens or Brooklyn), Plano and Coppell are the top 2 suggestions that come to mind.

Plano is due north of Downtown about 20 miles (~30-40 min rush hour commute with no bad wrecks...) If you live on the east side, hubby could easily commute downtown via DART light rail which runs parallel to US75. However, central and west Plano are regarded as the nicer parts.
Plano schools are top notch (easily top 3 public district in the DFW area, with Highland Park ISD and Coppell ISD)- regularly put up a lot of National Merit scholars, Top Tier college admits, and one of the top 3 SAT averages in DFW. Dowside to schools is that they are huge- graduating classes in each of the 3 high schools are 1200-1400ish students per school. Some kids will get lost in a school that big and that competive.

Coppell is about 20 miles northwest of Downtown...30ish minute commute. Wonderful smaller community with a 1 high school district- all elementary schools feed into 1-2 middle schools which feed into Coppell HS. This is great for forming life-long friendships! Second-highest SAT in DFW; impressive list of college admits. Graduating class in the 650-700 student range.

I have now mentioned Highland Park ISD twice, so I will explain- it's in the most expensive part of Dallas (think Greenwich, CT or Scarsdale) - "starter" cottages around $700k...family homes closer to $1M & up. It is the best district in DFW and one of the top high schools in the nation. Highest SAT, good % Nationa Merit and Top Tier acceptances, winning-est high school for sports in the area...relatively small classes (400ish)...great all round high school about 5 miles north of downtown.

[hamiltonpl]

Why are you only looking in Collin County? Check out East Dallas, which has very good houses for around $400k, mature trees, close to downtown, family friendly, very stable house prices, unique shops and restaurants and good schools.

M-Streets (75206 zip code) and Lakewood (75214) are good starts. Frisco would be a hellish commute to Dallas -- Flower Mound is even worse.

[TurtleCreek80]

Ps- beware property taxes in TX....about 2-2.3% of homes appraised value. A $400k home carries about $7-10k in annual property taxes. Home insurance is also expensive here.

Just do the math (no state income tax vs property taxes) to make sure it's signifcantly better here financially.

State sales tax is also relatively high at 8.25%.

[1928]

Who told you to look out in Frisco? I think you would be shocked all right. There is no culture. E. Dallas specifically Lakewood is a good suggestion.

[Squirl]

You would like Coppell, and you may also like Richardson. Flower Mound would be very hard as far as commute and I think Frisco is also a tough commute.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Just remember that TX has Independent School Districts that do not always match the city or county boundaries. You could be actually in one city but another ISD. Your agent should help you sort these things out.

[AJRUV]

Thank you so much for this feedback. I have no reason for not looking at E. Dallas - it's all just so foreign to me. Great info on the commute, as that is one of my criteria. Right now my husband's commute into Manhattan is about 1.5 hours door to door (and it sucks!). From what you said, TurtleCreek, Coppell sounds perfect, it sounds just like where I am now. Highland Park is out of my price range, for sure. As far as property taxes, I pay almost 10k on a 60 x 100 lot with a small cape right now... so, a $400k home in TX is like a 2.5 million dollar home in Long Island and the 10k in taxes on a comparable house here would be $35k, in taxes. So, in short, I'm OK with 10k in taxes on the homes that I've seen online!!

So, if I were to consider Plano and Coppell, here are some questions that I have (about TX in general too):

1. What are the approximate utility costs over there - I'm curious to know what it costs to run the a/c all year long.

2. Are there any costs that I might not think of coming from NY. I know that there is no state income tax, are there other costs that offset that?

3. How much farther is the commute to Dallas from West Plano than E. Plano?

4. How much approximately is homeowners insurance in both towns like Coppell or Plano?

5. In your opinion, what do you think the best location would be for a call center - we generally hire people ages 20 to mid 30's, internet savvy, great at multi tasking, type over 65 wpm, friendly, has common sense in the work place, professional sounding. I saw some office space in Dallas online and it's Gorgeous and about 1/3 of what I'm paying now.

6. Are there any things that I might take for granted that would be difficult to come by over there - T1 lines (phone services), high speed internet, etc.

7. What is the price of gas over there?

8. Are there any crazy bug situations that I should know about?

9. Are the summers unbearable, where the kids wouldn't even want to play outside?

10. What do kids do in the summer? Is there summer camp? Is it generally outside, or are they considerate of the heat and keep them sheltered from it?

11. When does the school year start and end?

12. What about tornadoes and other crazy weather - are these areas prone to them?

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your help! I am working with a realtor, but getting this type of advice from you guys is Priceless!

[loves2read]

my first comment would be to say that if your husband does not want a long commute then he really needs to find a job first--
same with setting up a call center and driving to it
I know that is harsh but the DFW area--even Dallas/Collin counties--covers lot of ground and taking a job in Irving and living in east Dallas or Plano would not be a great commute

Texas has one of the highest ratings for home insurance--meaning we pay more for similar priced home and same level of coverage than almost any other state--partly that is due to fact that we can get freakishly destructive weather
and we also have high rates for auto insurance
both partly due to the fact that we have a state insurance board and a legislature that care more about big business than fairness to homeowners...

you don't run your AC all year long--but summers can be extremely hot--it can be 80 in November at times and we have run our AC at Thanksgiving (my husband hates to just open the windows)
kids still have sports activities--Little League, soccer in summer--they swim-- but kids are increasingly playing inside at computers or watching tvs--not just a phenomena here in TX

there are summer camps--YMCA and other organizations sponsors some, churches have camps--many people do activities like Museum school in FTW or classes at the Community colleges in the area
some people send their kids to camps in Hill Country or out of state


school year for public school usually starts in August--second week I think
but different districts use different calendars for holidays/vacation times so the ending date can vary depending on district--usually end of May before June

if you are starting a business here you will have state license fees and taxes, workers' comp fees
I don't know how those are calculated but I know the state has raised the fees significantly in some areas in past couple of year

our state budget is going to be horrible for next two years because there is short fall--
supposedly the legislature is buckling down and no new taxes--but "fees" might be another semantical area it would explore...

there is no "crazy bug" situation--there are bugs that might be found in and out of the home...
fire ants being the worst in the yard probably and brown recluse spiders being the most dangerous in the home--both can be treated by exterminators
and I know there are bugs that are found in the NE as well--especially the new growth in bedbugs which we have not really had here
mosquitos show up in warmer months--they are very difficult to treat/prevent because they have a wide area--and if YOU deal with causitive issues on your lot, other people might not--so people use yard foggers and personal sprays when outside where mosquitos are likely to be


regarding location for a call center--
having access to public transportation in area is probably important
there is probably large base to draw employees from here--there are already call centers around
Verizon and ATT have different territories in DFW area--can't serve same towns I believe--
so if you have preference than you should check that out

[AJRUV]

Thank you for the information. I could be wrong, but coming from Nassau County in NY I feel like even what you feel is very HIGH priced stuff, is probably what I already pay or less than what I pay now. My homeowners insurance for a small cape is over $1000 and FEMA just mandated us for flood insurance, which is another $1500 a month, so about $2500 for homeowners insurance. Is it more than that in TX? I think I will call an insurance agent to get an idea of costs... I have to think that most things are less expensive than NY, though.

Does anyone know the ethnic / religious composition of Coppell - is it all Christian? Is there a Jewish community there at all?