I have a Job Opportunity in Lancaster, TX ...Where can an affluent Black family live? (Dallas: crime, house)

[GreyDay]

Anywhere an affluent family can live.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by kuntz

Driving for an hour or longer is definitely not something I would like to continue doing. In the meantime, I am mostly concerned about my children’s education ( they are 2 and 5), and the neighborhoods I will be living in. I heard anywhere in South Dallas areas are to be avoided because of crime rates. What do you think?

I think "anywhere" in South Dallas is painting with way too broad of a brush. There are certainly areas of South Dallas to be avoided (same with the north side). But you'll know those areas when you see them!

Living in Richardson would mean you'd have to travel through the rush hour traffic of the people commuting to downtown... and then drive 20 miles after that! It sounds horrible and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Cedar Hill and DeSoto are supposed to be solid communities on the South Side of Dallas. Don't dismiss them because of their southern geography. But the Southwest side of Dallas County is better than the Southeast side. Lancaster is the dividing city between the two halves.

[Sabsyop]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I would be coming over to visit the area myself in the next few days before my final move.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

For work in Lancaster, how about South Grand Prarie/Arlington or Cedar Hill? Cedar Hill is easily the prettiest area of DFW and the commute to Lancaster would be easy.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by kuntz

I'm an African-American professional in my late 30s’ with an excellent job opportunity in Lancaster, TX. My family and I are looking for a beautiful, safe and diverse community with excellent schools. Every website, blog and discussion forum I've read has described Richardson, TX as "the perfect place to live." Is this true for ALL RACES? Are there any black people in Richardson? How are the top public schools in the area? Are there black stay-at-home mothers in the Richardson area? Are there diverse activities for children under the age of 5?

Our budget is no more than $350,000 for a home. We prefer 4+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms home with at least 2500 sq ft.

Please feel free to suggest other areas outside of Richardson, TX and not too far from Lancaster, TX. I look forward to reading your open and honest thoughts!

You can live anywhere that's in your budget.

I live in Richardson, love it, and would welcome you as a neighbor. However, your commute to Lancaster would SUCK. I recommend checking out Cedar Hill.

[ggolf]

Originally Posted by kuntz

Driving for an hour or longer is definitely not something I would like to continue doing. In the meantime, I am mostly concerned about my children’s education ( they are 2 and 5), and the neighborhoods I will be living in. I heard anywhere in South Dallas areas are to be avoided because of crime rates. What do you think?

There are pockets of bad crime just about anywhere. Dallasnews.com is the site for the Dallas Morning News. They just had an article about the really bad areas for major crimes. You should be able to access it online.

I don't think DeSoto nor Cedar Hill are all too bad, but yes, they have crime there, occasionally bad stuff. Heck I lived in Allen, one of the safest suburbs, and one morning we had the ATF and FBI raid the home across the street for having a Mexican drug house there. We knew the renters were reclusive, but geez. Ya never know.

BTW, interesting moniker you have, kuntz.

[HOAPRESIDENT]

Originally Posted by GreyDay

Anywhere an affluent family can live.

Yeah, I hope his use of the verb "can" was intended very liberally. An affluent black family can live anywhere any affluent family can live. But he may be surprised that $350k for a home is not considered affluent in DFW. Richardson has plenty of minority families. But its a non-starter as far commute times go.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by kuntz

Driving for an hour or longer is definitely not something I would like to continue doing. In the meantime, I am mostly concerned about my children’s education ( they are 2 and 5), and the neighborhoods I will be living in. I heard anywhere in South Dallas areas are to be avoided because of crime rates. What do you think?

Some of the terms used to describe the southern part of Dallas County tend to be broad and fail to note the stark differences between areas. For instance, "South Dallas" is a neighborhood located immediately south/southeast of downtown Dallas. It is one of the poorest, most neglected areas in the city of Dallas. The "Southern Sector" includes areas within the city of Dallas that are located south of the Trinity River. This area is quite large and as such, has a wide variety of neighborhoods that range from the increasingly popular and gentrifying areas of North Oak Cliff, to the working class neighborhoods in Redbird and southwest Dallas, to the lower income areas near I-45. The "southern suburbs" include incorporated communities located south of Dallas proper. The four largest southern suburbs – Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster, share a border with the city of Dallas. These cities have experienced significant growth in recent years and there are nice, safe neighborhoods in all of them. Demographically, the area has a large population of middle-class African-Americans. I lived in DeSoto for sixteen years and Lancaster for the last five without any crime issues. While no place is crime free, I don't consider any of the southern suburbs unsafe or dangerous.

Thanks for providing the ages of your children. With that information, I can be a little more specific about Cedar Hill and DeSoto. Cedar Hill has six elementary schools - two (Bray and Highlands) received the state's highest accountability rating of "Exemplary," three (High Pointe, Waterford Oaks, and Lakeridge) received the second highest rating of "Recognized." The remaining campus was rated "Academically Acceptable," and no school received the lowest "Academically Unacceptable" rating. In fact, no school in any of the southern suburbs is currently rated "Academically Unacceptable." DeSoto has seven elementary schools - one (Cockrell Hill) is "Exemplary" and the other six are "Recognized." Lancaster has six "Recognized" elementary schools and one (Belt Line) rated "Academically Acceptable." I have enjoyed living in Lancaster, but we lack a siginifcant selection of homes in your desired price range, which is why I didn't recommend it to you.

If you have any other questions about the area, just let me know and I will be glad to help.

[RockyJoe817]

I second the Cedar Hill or DeSoto. Cedar Hill is close to the major travel roads, Joe Pool Lake,
Shopping Centers. DeSoto is just down the road with similar amenities. Both are within a 20 minute
drive to Lancaster.

[btheferrett]

Richardson is about 20% black by statistical info. From personal info I can tell you that my kids are mixed and most of their friends are also-- be it black/white, black/hispanic, black/ middle eastern, etc. I am only including the black/ ? mixes since that is what you asked sepcifically. That said, I don't know where they get statistics. I tell my kids to mark the black box and the white box and if anyone says anything about it, give that teacher MY phone number. There are just as many who would list both parents as AA, and a few more whose parents are African. Lots here from Nigeria, Somalia, Ghana, especially near Richland College.
However-
Richardson to Lancaster could be a horrible drive for you. Could possibly be up to 1.5 hours each way on a bad day. De Soto can be affluent in some areas, but you would be hard pressed to find a percentage of "races other than black" over 20%. My (all black- whatever that means) step son goes to De Soto HS and says "it is way to ghetto for him". Cedar Hill is the same as far as affluent areas that are way more than half black. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, ya know? Is it essential to you that your children be around all races? It is for me, so I live in Richardson.....but I also WORK in Richardson.
Almost all communities in the general DFW Metroplex will be multi-racial until you get really far out from the city center, like an hour away. That is, except for Highland Park. Probably not very many black people there, as it is mostly old money and well....think "Bush family" and SMU. That should answer the rest.