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Old 02-24-2012, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Southlake. Don't judge me.
2,885 posts, read 4,622,527 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neko44 View Post
Great to hear from other Chicagoans on here, there really seems to be a lot on these boards. I appreciate all the info, it really gives us something to think about. Its good to have comparison that I am used to.

A couple things that are diehearting are no basements and tiny lots..why is that?
No basements - the ground here is different than in Chicago (shifts a lot), so they can't really build basements. Houses are built either on a slab or pier & beam.

Small lots - the trend (even in Chicago) has been larger house size for a given lot size. Since so much construction here is newer, you see even more of that. In addition, as Johnhw2 as stated, there's the hot summers meaning less demand from people for larger lots. So, you see developers building as much house as possible on as small a lot as possible, and people are willing to buy those houses.
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:25 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,104,411 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NOEL123 View Post
anyone can help me with
How old are the property down in Richardson, Plano area? If we are interested in older house instead of new?
Look in Richardson itself, for heaven's sake!! JJ Pearce High School ranks between Plano West & Senior and Plano East (all 4 are in the metro's top 10 high schools....out of 150), and ahead of Allen HS and all of Frisco ISD (waaaaay ahead of some of the Frisco HS's). Richardson HS is good, too- white students are in the top 15 SAT scores in th metroplex, but a larger economically disadvantaged population brings overall scores down to the Frisco school level. If you are ok with Frisco's schools, definitely check out Richardson HS, too. But Pearce is THE high school in RISD that is the place to be. All of its feeder schools are excellent (elementary & middle schools).

The homes zoned to Pearce and Richardson HS's are going to be mostly 1950-1960's ranch style 1-stories. Well built, many have been renovated, mature trees & greenery. Diverse area- neighborhood will include "original owners" who are now elderly all the way down to young single professionals and young families with kids. Many different races & religions call Richardson home. There's a Chinatown on Belt Line east of 75, a large Orthodox Jewish population on thr Richardson/Plano border, a large Greek Orthodox church (home to Dallas' annual Greek festival each fall), etc.

It's definitely the opposite of Plano/ Frisco / Allen's "stepford" vibe, but a wonderful place to call home! And great city services (libraries, parks, etc) to boot.
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:36 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,104,411 times
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http://tbec.org/docs/honorroll2011/2...llByRegion.pdf

Another plug for JJ Pearce. It was ONE of only TWO area 4-year high schools on the state's honor roll, recognizing schools that have demonstrated THREE years of consistent, high performance in all subjects compared to other schools serving similar student populations. TBEC Honor Roll schools have the highest percentage of students performing at the state’s most rigorous standard -commended- in every subject.

No Frisco high schools on the list.
Allen HS not on the list.
Plano had 3 high schools serving grades 9-10 on the list (Clark, Jasper, & Vines) but their 11-12 senior highs did not make it.
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:41 PM
 
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Since there are no basements, are attics used for available storage or do most use storage units?
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:48 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,504,574 times
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attics can be used for storage --size/space depends on the design/age of the house--
older homes/flatter roofs= less storage room
remember they are prey to the high/cold temps from not being insulated like a basement would be
the temps in attic of a house that has avg level of insulation can be over 120 degrees in summer--
heck in a hot summer probably higher than that--so there are some things that can't be stored there w/o damage--and you can have problems with bugs or other pests--
but you run similar risks with storage rental units that aren't in climate controlled bldgs....
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:57 PM
 
Location: Southlake. Don't judge me.
2,885 posts, read 4,622,527 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80 View Post
a large Greek Orthodox church (home to Dallas' annual Greek festival each fall)
Oh yeah, one other difference between Dallas and Chicago, which likely is not very important to you but worth noting - in the entire DFW area, there are THREE Greek Orthodox chuches - the one TC noted, one in Euless, and one in Fort Worth.

re: schools, TX rates schools "Exemplary/Recognized/Acceptable/Unacceptable, but FWIW I've found the numeric values from either here or Greatschools.org of more use. THBS as TC80 just pointed out, with many schools you also have to take into account the demographics.
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Old 02-24-2012, 09:44 PM
 
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I truly do appreciate everyone's help on this matter.

There is no way this would be possible if we don't sell our current house that either nets us 20% for the next one, or at least gets us in a very comfortable place to save the rest. With my area in Plainfield, I am not certain that is going to be realistic.....
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Old 02-25-2012, 12:12 AM
 
Location: North Texas
24,561 posts, read 40,090,027 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neko44 View Post

A couple things that are diehearting are no basements and tiny lots..why is that?
We don't have basements here for two reasons: geology, and cost. If you go for a custom build, you CAN have a basement...but it'll cost you.

Tiny lots in the northern suburbs (like Allen, McKinney, Frisco, etc.) are the norm because builders make more money if they squeeze 100 houses onto tiny lots rather than 70 on larger ones. Not all lots are tiny. Mine is what I would call pretty standard, though in Preston Hollow you see third and half acre plots, and even larger. But those are very expensive. You can also have large lots in some northern suburbs but again those can be costly. I think Murphy has rules about lot sizes, i.e. they have to be a half acre or larger. I could be wrong though; I've never been to Murphy. I'm sure someone here will correct me if I'm wrong!
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Old 02-25-2012, 03:25 AM
 
43 posts, read 141,516 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek View Post
I've never been to Murphy. I'm sure someone here will correct me if I'm wrong!
Murphy has a quarter acre minimum lot size. I would suggest that you consider Murphy too. Almost half of Murphy feeds to Plano schools. Check out the 75094 area.

Murphy has newer houses, with most of them built after 2000. There are 9 houses that meet your criteria listed. There will be much more listings in late March/April.

Murphy is right next to Richardson. If your job is in East Richardson, Murphy is the place to be.
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Old 02-25-2012, 03:41 PM
 
17 posts, read 20,799 times
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Is Murphy close to shopping or restaurants, or is it a community that you have to drive to other towns for these things? What about rowlett or Richardson?
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