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My husband just got a new job and may be transferred to Dallas. We are from the East Coast originally, but have lived in SF Bay Area (Marin) for almost ten years. We have two young kids - 5 and 3. We have never been to Dallas, but are open to finding a new place to live with a warmer climate and cheaper housing prices. Where we live it is so outrageously expensive to buy a house - a small tear down is 800K+.
Our priorities: great schools (K-12), family friendly, and affordability (would like a house for no more than 400K). (Also, it would be great to find some older houses that have some charm - not cookie cutter, etc.)
We would like to live in a nice town, that has a great sense of community with lots of family activities, parks, etc., but definitely don't want to live in a rural area.
Also, commuting is not that big of an issue. I don't think we want to live too far from the city, but as it is now, my husband's commute is 45min to an hour one way.
I've seen a bunch of posts on this site asking similar questions, but nothing that's recent.
Also, my husband is traveling to Dallas in a couple weeks for business so he'll have time to check out some areas.
We'll need to know his job location before making a good recommendation- just the zip code is fine!
I can tell you straight up you may not find what you're looking for here. The $400k homes with great public schools tend to be in the suburbs, which makes them newer construction (less than 20 years old) and "cookie cutter". Also, they're going to be 40-75 minute drive into downtown with possible $6-8/day tolls and no public transit options depending on the exact location.
The charming older homes with good schools that are close to downtown cost $$$. The best schools are in the Highland Park ISD, which is comprised of the towns of Highland Park & University Park, and is located just a few miles (7-10 minutes) north of downtown. Homes start around $800k here, with the average price just under $1M right now.
There are some other neighborhoods within 10-15 minutes to downtown that have excellent public elementary schools (Lakewood & M Streets neighborhoods in East Dallas & Preston Hollow neighborhood in north Dallas), BUT opinions are mixed regarding middle & high schools so you'll want to do your own research. Some people go private for middle school and then back to the neighborhood public for 9th grade.
A happier medium may be the inner-ring suburb of Richardson. It is about 20-25 minutes north of downtown, is diverse, and has excellent public schools. Focus on areas feeding into Pearce and Richardson HS's, not Berkner HS. Homes are mostly 1950-1960's ranches, many on big lots (1/3-1/2 acre) with mature trees. Richardson has great public parks a d other city services. It's a good mix of original owners who are elderly, families with kids of all ages, and young professional singles & couples.
All of these areas have been discussed a zillion times on the forum, so do some searches and see what sounds interesting to your family.
Lakewood or M Streets would be a good location for you. Charming homes and many family activities, especially in Lakewood. Don't worry about the middle and high school. They are marvelous. Some people have an issue with the fact that they have a large number of poor and minority children attending along with the substantial numbers of elite and affluent students in IB and AP (not all of whom are white or affluent). If you are from San Francisco I think you can probably see through that.
I second Richardson...look in the Canyon Creek neighborhood (zip code 75080). That zip code encompasses a large area of western Richardson so keep an eye on the subdivision or do a map-based search. CC is roughly bounded by Campbell, Renner, Custer, and Floyd.
Lakewood or M Streets would be a good location for you. Charming homes and many family activities, especially in Lakewood. Don't worry about the middle and high school. They are marvelous. Some people have an issue with the fact that they have a large number of poor and minority children attending along with the substantial numbers of elite and affluent students in IB and AP (not all of whom are white or affluent). If you are from San Francisco I think you can probably see through that.
Hi ANLR, I know you are new to the forum so you don't know I have a personal history of supporting DISD as much as I can around here.
That said, can you get a good education at Woodrow HS (the Lakewood / M Streets neighborhood high school, for OP to follow disussion)? Yes, absolutely. But let's paint it for what it is- an urban high school with a VERY mixed record of success. The fact that Woodrow got the IB program is great and will hopefully raise the school up further, but we're a few years away from seeing the results there.
Let's compare to some of the other high schools I mentioned earlier in this thread:
SAT scores (one of two best indicators of college success):
Woodrow- 984 (math + verbal), ranks 68th among public high schools in DFW area
Richardson HS- 1051, #28 score in DFW area
Richardson Pearce HS- 1132, #6 score in DFW area
Highland Park HS- 1203, #1 score in DFW area
AP Exams (the other best indicator of collegiate success since the classes are college-level):
Woodrow- 36% of students take at least 1 AP, 30% pass (ranks 64th in DFW area)
Richardson HS-43% of students take at least 1 AP, 58% pass (ranks 41st in DFW area)
Richardson Pearce- 50% of students take at least 1 AP, 68% pass (ranks 16th in DFW)
Highland Park- 85% of students take at least 1 AP exam (ranks #1 in DFW by far), 60% of students pass (ranks 25th, however most of the top ranking
schools have only 20-50% of students taking AP vs nearly the entire school at HP)
National Merit Semifinalists, 2011:
Highland Park - 11, 3% of senior class (ranks 3rd in DFW as a % to class)
Richardson Pearce - 3, .5% of senior class
Richardson HS- 0
Woodrow- 1, .3% of senior class
% of students considered "at-risk" (This is the percent of students considered to be "at risk" of dropping out of school in 2009 as determined by the Texas Education Agency. This includes students who have been held back a grade, failed in two or more core subjects, have limited English skills, previously dropped out, are homeless or live in foster care.)
Highland Park - 8%, lowest public school % in DFW
JJ Pearce - 27%
Richardson- 42%
Woodrow - 68%
As far as demographics,
Highland Park- 94% white, 0% economically disadvantaged, 0% limited English proficient
Richardson HS- 36% white/ 35% Hispanic/ 20% Black/ 8% Asian,
39% economically disadvantaged, 9% Limited English proficient
Woodrow is doing a good job with a challenging student population (high poverty, high rate of drop out @ 20-25%, high amount of "at risk" population). The school has a ton of community support. These are all good things and I'm certainly not knocking them!
But one cannot fairly call a school with a SAT score in the bottom 1/3 of the DFW area "marvelous." One cannot call a school where only 1/3 of the students are taking AP exams and only 30% of that 1/3 (that would be less than 10% of total school) are passing them "marvelous." You just can't.
Richardson HS has a comparable, but more diverse (more blacks than Woodrow has, but 65% non-white overall) student body and outscores Woodrow on AP and SAT and has 20% fewer "at risk" students despite a comparable % of economically disadvantaged students. Woodrow is on a good path, but has work to do still before it can be the "crown jewel" DISD neighborhood high school.
OP, this blog is fabulous & reports on every kind of Dallas-area school statistic you could think to ask:
Dallas-area-schools.blogspot.com
Thank you for the responses so far! I should mention that finding 'charming' is not a requirement, just would be nice, but definitely not a deciding factor. First and foremost would be the school system and a family friendly neighborhood/town.
I have heard a lot about: Southlake, Grapevine, Coppell, Colleyville and Plano. I'd love some more thoughts on these towns.
Thank you for the responses so far! I should mention that finding 'charming' is not a requirement, just would be nice, but definitely not a deciding factor. First and foremost would be the school system and a family friendly neighborhood/town.
I have heard a lot about: Southlake, Grapevine, Coppell, Colleyville and Plano. I'd love some more thoughts on these towns.
You can search any of those suburbs to death on this forum, but here's the general rundown:
Southlake- Very wealthy surburb about 40-45 minutes northwest of Dallas. Very good public schools- smaller school district (all kids feed into one high school). Probably the least diverse of the suburbs you mentioned. Nice little town center with shops, restaurants, movie theatre, park space, etc. Not much "nightlife" though - you'd be driving to Dallas or Fort Worth if you wanted to have choices for adult beverage consumption Median home price a hair over $500k so might be out of your price range. Most homes built in last 20 years. Bigger lot sizes is a big "pro" to the area in my book. Difficult commute into Dallas as 114 is always jammed up.
Grapevine- Middle class suburb on the northwest side of DFW airport. Not an easy commute to downtown AT ALL due to DFW connector project that is in year 1 or 2 of a 5 year project. Schools are ok. Better schools on your list. Cute historic downtown and low taxes. Median home price around $225k so you'd be shopping the top end of the market.
Coppell- Wonderful schools. Another small district like Southlake Carroll where everyone feeds into 1 high school. More diverse, lots of Asians & Indians. Probably a 30-40 minute commute to downtown Dallas. Good proximity to DFW airport. Median home price around $300k - strong market there since it's nearly 100% built out. No new construction to compete with. Most homes built 1980-1990s. Only drawback is not a lot of entertainment options as far as restaurants, nighlife, etc.
Colleyville- My favorite suburb on your list. Huge lots in many of the neighborhoods. Good schools- same district as Grapevine but Colleyville Heritage is a very good high school. Feels a little more "rural" to me - it's definitely not close to Dallas and would be an easier commute into Fort WOrth than to downtown Dallas. Probably an hour or more as it's west of Fort Worth. Median home price around $400k.
Plano- Easiest commute into Dallas of that bunch, around 30-40 minutes depending on where exactly in Plano you're ocming from and if it's on the tollroad (west) or 75 (east) side. Median home price $225k range, but swings wildly from one side to the other. Median home price in West Plano is going to be closer to $400-500k, whereas in East Plano (east of 75), you could find a home for $150k. Very diverse suburb. HUUUUGE school system- 3 mega senior high schools (grades 11 & 12 only) with 1100-1500 students in each grade at each school. Some kids get lost, some kids thrive. You know your own kids. Cranks out more National Merit semifinalists than any other district in DFW- about 2-3% of seniors are awarded. Homes built 1970s through new construction. Nearly all built out, some building still going on in far north Plano/ Frisco border. It's the least "isolated" of the suburbs you've mentioned. Lots of restaurants- from family owned Italian, Chinese, Indian, & Mediterranean joints in central/east Plano to all the chains you can think of in west Plano. Some nightlife in downtown Plano (east side) and Shops @ Legacy (north/northwest side). For non-rush hour drives, it's about 20 minutes into Dallas for fabulous shopping at NorthPark Mall or Highland Park Village, pro sports or concerts @ American Airlines Arena, a trip to the Dallas Arboretum or our many museums & cultural events, etc.
Thanks again, TurtleCreek80! We just found out that we could be based out of Fort Worth. Any opinions on that area? Differences between the two? I'll take a look on the forum to see what I can find...
Thanks again, TurtleCreek80! We just found out that we could be based out of Fort Worth. Any opinions on that area? Differences between the two? I'll take a look on the forum to see what I can find...
Well, if you're really interested in Colleyville, Grapevine, or Southlake, they are all in Tarrant County (same as FW) and will be an easier commute to FW than to Dallas.
Fort Worth is more laid back and retains more of the "Texas-y" culture and reputation- the Stockyards are there, as well as Billy Bob's, whereas Dallas is the "glitzier" city to the east. But there's more to Fort Worth than BBQ and Cowboys- the arts district is fabulous. The Kimbell Museum is world-class and is routinely on the same exhbition circuit as the big shows that hit the Met, the High Museum, etc. Several other smaller museums and a growing art gallery community add to the cultural attractions. The Bass Performance Hall is gorgeous and gets most of the same musicals and peformances that hit Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center. The zoo, botanical garden, & Japanese tea gardens are all lovely, too! Good restaurants in the arts district (So7) and Sundance Square, as well as around the Texas Christian University area.
Tanglewood is a city neighborhood near TCU that has wonderful public schools - Tanglewood Elementary and Paschal HS are fabulous. Cute 1920-1940's homes in a family-centered neighborhood.
Or you could look at the Tarrant County suburbs you've already mentioned.
City of Richardson is fantastic. Schools are great here. My understanding (and after comparing a year in Beaverton OR schools) is that schools in RISD and other Dallas suburbs are quite a bit stricter and have a more difficult curriculum than others in the US. I think Cali schools may be very far behind from what other moms have told me.
Several posters touted Canyon Creek/Prairie Creek as their choice for RISD. I am in East Richardson (the other side), because I look for certain things in neighnorhoods I choose. What I like about East is that I find it more culturally diverse. Richardson in general is very diverse anyway, but in East, even moreso. The pie graph is divided almost equally among races, and I would assume, would look similar in other aspects of culture as well. Canyon Creek/Prairie Creek is certainly more affluent than the East side, which I also did not want to raise my kids among, in fear that it would breed too much love for material possessions (and captalism as a whole, but that's a different story/post).
Richardson is a close in suburb, so within 20 minutes of downtown if there is no traffic. However, coming form the east coast and San Fran, you are likely to feel that everything is far away, by comparison. The Metroplex is very spread out, and very big.
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Median home price a hair over $500k so might be out of your price range. Most homes built in last 20 years. Bigger lot sizes is a big "pro" to the area in my book. Difficult commute into Dallas as 114 is always jammed up. 
