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Old 11-16-2010, 07:18 AM
 
12 posts, read 31,206 times
Reputation: 16

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Hi board members!

Just have a few questions about Little Forest Hills.

We found a few small homes in our price range. Is this area a good investment?

Is Little Forest Hills safe? The nearby areas past Casa Linda seemed a little seedy?

How is White Rock Elementary as far as ratings?

Anything to do in Little Forest Hills? Restaurants, coffee shops, etc. or was Casa Linda shopping center the "closest" place to go?

We have two small kids. Seems like it "could" be a quaint place to raise them?

Thoughts?

Husband would work downtown most likely. Is the winding lake commute long/any traffic?

TIA!
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Old 11-16-2010, 07:53 AM
 
2,973 posts, read 9,483,372 times
Reputation: 1551
I'm not sure if you've had a chance to visit, but there is no winding lake commute into downtown from Little Forest Hills - it's straight down Garland Rd which merges into Gaston and you take Gaston into downtown. It's an easy drive w/o needing to get on the highway.

Little Forest Hills is safe. I live in the area right behind (on the other side of the tracks). You will often see people out walking. There is Casa Linda Park. The neighborhood was featured in a documentary called Subdivided.

The elem school is Sanger; not White Rock Elem (which is in another school district). Sanger is a good school, but I believe it has a mandatory dual language program which works great for some and not so great for others. I have friends who speak both English and Spanish at home; their kids attend Sanger and do very well.

Casa Linda is the nearest shopping area, and frankly, there is not much there. I find myself going to Lakewood (just a few miles away) to grocery shop at Whole Foods and go out to eat.
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Old 11-16-2010, 12:33 PM
 
16,087 posts, read 41,166,264 times
Reputation: 6376
If you could get into the schools which feed into Woodrow you would be better off (I might be a little biased!) See: http://www.dallasisd.org/demo/schoolinfo/highzones2010/Wilson2010.pdf (broken link) elementary schools are in red.

In fact there is an open house for 5th graders and their parents tonight:

J.L. Long Middle School, 6116 Reiger Avenue , Cafeteria
7:00 p.m., November 16, 2010


Contact
maxcy@swbell.net

You would probably meet a lot of parents there. The Woodrow open house is on Tuesday, November 30th at 7 pm. Also tonight if you shop at T-Hee in the Lakewood Shopping Center a percentage goes to Stonewall Jackson Elementary - so there's another chance to meet parents.
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Old 11-16-2010, 03:04 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,302,971 times
Reputation: 13142
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
We found a few small homes in our price range. Is this area a good investment?
I think it's a safe area to invest. Property values are not going to skyrocket, but they're not going down either. Little Forrest Hills is known for being a very community-oriented neighborhood. Neighbors are fiercely protecting their charming little neighborhood from tear-downs (which plagued neighboring Forrest Hills to the southwest) with the mantra, Keep LFH Funky. Many working artists have homes & studios in the neighborhood and are able to live there due to the relatively low home costs.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
Is Little Forest Hills safe? The nearby areas past Casa Linda seemed a little seedy?
It is safe, but I wouldn't go wondering around past the neighborhood at night. The area you mentioned past Casa Linda- across Buckner (northeast of Peavy where the train tracks cross) can be a little seedy.
But LFH, the White Rock lake area, and Forrest Hills are all beautiful timeless neighborhoods.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
How is White Rock Elementary as far as ratings?
White Rock Elementary is in Richardson ISD (north of the lake) and is not zoned for LFH. Sanger Elementary serves LFH. It is "recognized", the 2nd best rating. 72% Hispanic, 15% AA, 12% White. 50% of students are "Limited english proficient". 86% qualify for Free Lunch due to their family income levels. The 3-year trends for TAKS scores and attendance are downtrending, not a good sign!
http://www.dallasisd.org/scorecards/pdfcards/206E_SANGER.pdf (broken link)

Hexter Elementary School serves the areas to the northwest of LFH. It is rated Exemplary (the highest rating)....It is 42% white, 30% Hispanic, 27% AA. Only 14% Limited English & 58% Free Lunch eligible.
Here is their scorecard:
http://www.dallasisd.org/scorecards/pdfcards/153E_HEXTER.pdf (broken link)

Lakewood Elementary & Stonewall Jackson Elemtary schools are the best in the area, because they feed into Woodrow Wilson HS, which is FAR better than Bryan Adams, which Hexter & Sanger feed into.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
Anything to do in Little Forest Hills? Restaurants, coffee shops, etc. or was Casa Linda shopping center the "closest" place to go?
Casa Linda is the closest shopping center.
There are also some great family restaurants like Barbec's on Garland near the lake. Lakewood Village is not too far away - a 5 minute drive and ofers lots of shopping & dining options. Deep Ellum is 5-10 minutes away for restaurants & live music, NorthPark Mall is about 10-12 minutes away for serious shopping.

As far as stuff "to do", the Dallas Arboretum is on Garland near LFH. And White Rock Lake offers year round fun and exercise!

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
We have two small kids. Seems like it "could" be a quaint place to raise them?
LFH is definitely a great neighborhood. People watch out for each other and it's got real character due to the number of working artists and musicians in the neighborhood.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cmlcmom View Post
Husband would work downtown most likely. Is the winding lake commute long/any traffic?
It's not a "winding lake" commute- straight shot down Garland, right on Gaston, Gaston into downtown. Pretty easy. No real traffic "back ups" at all.
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Old 11-16-2010, 03:24 PM
 
16,087 posts, read 41,166,264 times
Reputation: 6376
Hexter, Lakewood and Stonewall are also Blue Ribbon Schools - it is somewhat easy to transfer in DISD so you don't have to necessarily live in a certain district. For instance many of the high schools are being 'redesigned' to offer specialty tracks and you can transfer in for those. At Woodrow we are implementing four college preparatory academies (starting with this this year's freshman class):

-- Math, Science, Technology and Engineering (STEM)
-- Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship
-- Performing Arts
-- International Baccalaureate*

* one of four Texas candidate high schools for the full diploma programme (24 hours college credit). IBO final site visit was this month and all went well - final approval should be announced in the spring. WW is also getting a $14 million, 40,000 square foot addition for state-of-the-art science labs and new peforming arts facilities (including a black box theater). That should be completed in the next two years and is from the DISD's $1.4 billion bond program of 2008.

DISD has designated the Woodrow cluster to be the IB cluster so after Woodrow's expected certification, the middle school and some of the elementaries are expected to formally apply for IB MYP and IB PYP in April. Some have already sent letters of interest.

When that is all approved those schools will accept qualifed transfers. Lakewood Elementary is rather full so it would be better to live in its district - last I heard there has been an annual 200-300 person waiting list for any transfers in from outside the attendance zone.
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Old 11-16-2010, 06:16 PM
 
Location: Little Forest Hills
1 posts, read 3,734 times
Reputation: 20
I have lived in Little Forest Hills for 26 years. I have the best neighbors I have ever had anywhere I've lived. Little Forest Hills is like a small East Texas town inhabited by an eclectic blend of artists, yuppies, musicians, blue and white collar workers, people on welfare, quirky people, excentric people, & all of their pets. You will find it very easy to make friends here. I love the people, the trees, the funky unique homes, & we also have a very active and caring neighborhood association. People get out and walk and interact with each other. It is a great place to live.
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Old 11-27-2010, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Dallas
124 posts, read 174,696 times
Reputation: 122
Michael Schmitt: I loved your post. I live in a neighborhood where they look out for each other by selection, its not a crime watch more of a watch because several houses have been broken into and a couple of weeks ago a juvenile raped. So, no crime is being reported, only watching by several residents of others new to the neighborhood who they don't like. Cars are occasionally stolen and stripped or broken into. Everything is whispered or called over the phone lines. I really think there are illegals next door because of the rotation of some of the people. Drugs. I have never seen such a total disregard of other people. These people do not want the police riding up and down the blocks. Life sucks on this street.
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Old 04-18-2012, 09:11 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,933 times
Reputation: 10
I'm new to Texas and am trying to get 'educated' on the Dallas neighborhoods. These posts are quite old at this point -- has anything improved in the past 2-3 years? What are the best/safest areas closer to Downtown Dallas (with the exception of Highland Park/University Park which is out of my reach) that a familiy with 2 small chilren could move to? Any feedback and info will be greatly appreciated. thank you!
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