Relocation Advice - ATL to Dallas (Grand Prairie, Greenville: apartment complexes, rentals, credit)

[VirtualM]

I'm another one of 'those' people who is moving to Dallas and needs some advice. I actually grew up in Grand Prairie, so I'm familiar with that area, but have no desire to live on that side of town. We are relocating as my husband accepted a new job and will be working in Deep Ellum. I work from home, but I have applied to a PhD program at UTD in the fall (acceptance is still pending, so that's not a HUGE factor, but it could potentially factor into our decisions.) We have two kids, the oldest is currently in kindergarten and the younger is two. We also currently live in the 'inner city' of Atlanta, so I'm not scared of a little bit of seediness, but we also want to move into a place that's a bit safer for our kids and with decent schools; I had to get on the board of a charter school here in order to get my kid into a decent school and I'd like to not have to go that route again!
I'm looking at Lakewood, but I'm afraid it might be out of our 'liberal arts' price range. I'm interested in knowing more about the areas around Lakewood Heights - prices for rentals (preferably a small 2-3 bedroom house as we have two dogs and active kids), schools to look at, commute times to downtown, etc. I'm also up for suggestions on other neighborhoods that would fulfill our needs.

Thanks in advance!

[Macbeth2003]

Have a look at Junius Heights. We are over by lakewood, a few minutes from Downtown, beautiful neighborhood picked by This Old House magazine as the bets historic neighborhood for families in the US. Definitely within the liberal arts budget, as that describes most people Iknow in the neighborhood. Good schools. Lipscomb Elementary for K through 5 (Pre-k if you qualify by income, or can luck into one of the highly sought after open slots you have to pay for) which is a wonderful neighborhood school with a catchment area that only pulls from a few blocks in each direction. Everyone knows everyone and parents and kids hang out on the playground after school. Middle School, and High school are Long and Woodrow with their Pre IB and IB programs.
Close to the arts district, many theatres, fair park, deep ellum, and beautiful White Rock Lake.

Now the two things to know about the area that can make it not for everyone are that the homes, while beautiful craftsman homes, are older, circa 1920's houses. Most of us here find that a plus, but it isn't for everyone. The age of the houses also mean they are smaller more 1500 to 2000 square feet. Again those of us that live here see that as a plus, not a minus but it isn't for everyone. On the other hand we do have larger back yard, than many neighborhoods.

Check us out, sounds like we might be a good fit for you.

[VirtualM]

Thanks for the quick reply! We actually currently live in a historic home, around 100 years old, and we LOVE old houses. I was concerned that we'd have to live in a brick suburban ranch, so this is actually very welcome news! I will definitely look into the area.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

What about Lake Highlands? Its cheaper than Lakewood but you get most of the same benefits that come with being in the city.

[VirtualM]

Whoops...when typing the original post, I actually meant Lake Highlands, not Lakewood Heights. What elementary schools there would be the ones to consider? I don't mind having to put some 'work' in at the school - aka it doesn't have to be the #1 school in the city, as I tend to adopt projects in parts of town that need a little work - but I definitely want to go into a decent place where my son will get a good education and a place with a group of involved parents.

[Lakewooder]

LH is going to be the brick suburban ranch - most likely.

Most of Lakewood Heights is in Robert E. Lee Elementary, which has been ranked exemplary but will be undergoing some changes as nearby Bonham was closed and will be merged with Lee. There is talk that the outstanding principal from Bonham will take over the leadership of the school, which IMO will put Lee at a higher level. Lakewood Heights has a mixture of older homes with newer "McMansions" taking over as the area got caught by surprise in the teardown fever and did not have time to institute a conservation/historict district or other zoning restrictions.

I live in Junius Heights and am a big fan of Lipscomb (and of course Long Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High - alumnus and volunteer). Others to consider are Stonewall Jackson (75206) in the M-Street/Lower Greenville area and Lakewood Elementary (75214). Lakewood has the largest pre-school PTA in the city and possibly the most active in the state. See Home your child does not have to be living in the Lakewood attendance zone to join. There are also Facebook pages for each of these elementaries if you want to get an idea of what goes on.

Long offers IB MYP curriculum (candidate school) and Woodrow offers full IB Diploma Programme and 22 AP/8 dual credit classes. About Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation was formed in part to extend International Baccalaureate through the feeder schools and Lipscomb or Lee will possibly apply for IB PYP soon.

The best way to describe our area is like a small town in the big city. We have all types of housing and people - from very rich to very poor. There is a high level of duty and loyalty to the public schools. Many wealthy people who could well afford private schools instead send their kids to public and think it's important that their children become friends with everyone.

Lake Highlands is more like middle to upper middle class with a lot of poor people in large apartment complexes. There is a great loyalty among the middle class to the their schools but there have been some large demographic changes which have created some uncertainty as many of the area residents moved there originally in the first wave of 'white flight'.

Also see http://www.advocatemag.com/index2.html they have Lakewood and Lake Highlands editions and blogs.

[thumpcbd]

I am from ATL too and moved to Dallas about 8 years ago. The areas you mentioned, Lake Highlands, where I currently live, and Lakewood / Junius Heights are all excellent choices. In fact, we are looking to move from LH to JH! Both areas remind me of intown ATL, however, LW and JHs are a bit more similar. If you are traveling to UTD, then LHs is probably a better overall choice for you, but you need to expore and see what looks right.

There are some sketchy school in LHs compared to the rest of the area, so make sure you investigate them and don't just assume that all the feeder schools to LHHS are "safe".

HTH.

[texasamy]

I live in Junius Heights and love this neighborhood! My children attend Lipscomb and we are very happy to be part of the Lispcomb community.

[R1070]

Old east Dallas reminds me of Atlanta.

[texasamy]

...and I believe I met you during the tornado lockdown Hope you found a place that's a good fit!