Possible Relo to Dallas, Great Schools in the Burbs for $600k??? Where to look??? (Plano: 2013, to rent)

[txgolfer130]

Originally Posted by Homer12

On Mapquest it is 28 miles?? I am not sure I fully understand what is meant by "Rough"

I am originally from Long Island, NY, have lived in CT, and now reside in MA. I can not imagine the traffic is close to Long Island and 28 miles there is actually a short commute. I can not remember having less than a 28 mile commute.

45 minute each way to me is absolutely fine, are you saying it will be longer than that?

From Prosper to 635/35E will be at least 35-45 min. in normal morning rush hour down the Tollway (Dallas North Tollway) with no accidents. Accident and forget about it.

My wife does the Mckinney to 635/75 route in the mornings and it takes her 45-55 min. on avg. depending on timing of morning rush hour and 50-55 min in the afternoon after 5:15pm. Your commute WILL be longer.

If you're okay w/ that, then Prosper is a great town.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by Homer12

On Mapquest it is 28 miles?? I am not sure I fully understand what is meant by "Rough"

I am originally from Long Island, NY, have lived in CT, and now reside in MA. I can not imagine the traffic is close to Long Island and 28 miles there is actually a short commute. I can not remember having less than a 28 mile commute.

45 minute each way to me is absolutely fine, are you saying it will be longer than that?

I've also lived in Long Island and MA. I would agree that a commute on the LIE to Manhattan makes most commutes in DFW look "short" and "easy" by comparison.

THBS, with 600K to spend and school quality of great importance, I don't see (with all due respect to Crew) the attraction of Prosper over, say, Double Oak or western Flower Mound. The Marcus and Flower Mound High Schools have better metrics than Prosper's (SAT's of 1121 and 1125 MAth and Reading combined for the former two, compared to 1078 with a lower participation rate for the latter, Prosper's ACT's are competitive at 24.3 compared to 24.1 and 24.4, but considerably lower participation rate). Also, Prosper's HS is a lot smaller, although it will likely grow over time. Don't know the age of your kids, if you have any yet, so don't know if you're more concerned about HS or elementary, but the takeaway is that the Flower Mound and Marcus High Schools and feeder's therein are generally better than Prosper, and it's a shorter commute to your workplace.

Last note - although the TRAFFIC in Boston (dunno where you're from in MA) and New York is worse than DFW, the DRIVERS in DFW are the worst I've encountered yet, and yes, I've driven from lower Manhattan to Long Island (Elmont) during rush hour (and from Logan up to Peabody as well).

[Homer12]

Originally Posted by texasmccurrys

The edge of the prairie sounds like exactly what he is looking for and that is Prosper/Celina. Yes, in the country, but huge lots, great schools, low crime and everything you need in 10 miles or less. Easy drive to Frisco and McKinney. Not to mention the "Bridges of Prosper" coming in a few years with one of the best shopping areas around, just look it up (Jerry Jones properties).

She is right, I spend $800-900 in tolls annually. However, I knew this upfront and Prosper is what I was looking for. I do like Grapevine, great shopping and tons of good restaurants.

Correct we are not City people, edge of the prairie sounds about right, with access to shopping with-in 10 minutes and Great Schools.

[sxrckr]

OP, have you visited Dallas yet? If not, you may want to first. Many of the things you didn't like on your Houston visit are common in Texas (and the sunbelt/south in general.)

[mikeh19468]

If I'm spending 600K on a home, it's going to be in more of a known quantity. Southlake really would be a good place to check out, as you can get a house on a 1/2 acre for that, and you get known very good schools, a central location (very important if you want to enjoy everything that the DFW area has to offer), and property values. It's not the tight suburbs that others are (like Frisco, which I live in), so you do have more of a wide open feel there, but it's not prairie land for miles around either, and it's definitely not downtown city people that live there either.

That being said, I'd think long and hard about accepting a longer commute, just because your used to it. Life is too short to be spending as much time in your car as we do. If you can cut 45 min a day off of your commute, why not. That adds up very quickly. Don't believe the mapquest times. The other posters were correct in saying that Dallas drivers are among the worst around. Accidents are all too common on the DNT. Thankfully I'm home office, but the last 4 times I've had to go into the city, there have been accidents on the southbound lanes. Plus, the more amount of time you spend on a heavily trafficked road like that (with plenty of distracted drivers trying to get into work), the more likely you are to get into a fender bender too.

Unless you need a couple of acres to raise horses and grow corn, I don't know that it's worth the hassle. Visit the area, stay in some hotels in different parts of town while looking around and getting a feel for the different parts of DFW, drive the morning and rush hour commutes you'd be looking at, before settling on a place to live (or just rent out here for a while as well)...

[skids929]

Look no further than Southlake and Colleyville..Both of those areas will come close to meeting your lot size requirement (cause just about nowhere else in DFW will), and schools are solid.

If it were me I choose Colleyville, a little less hustle bustle over that way. You might also consider Flower Mound (larger lots as well) and Highland Village. With that budget you will be just fine about anywhere in the suburbs.

[Homer12]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

OP, have you visited Dallas yet? If not, you may want to first. Many of the things you didn't like on your Houston visit are common in Texas (and the sunbelt/south in general.)

I have not, but I have heard Dallas is more like the Suburbs of Charlotte/Atlanta than Houston.

Unfortunately it does not look like I will be able to visit prior.

Thank you for your input, good to know.

[Homer12]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

OP, have you visited Dallas yet? If not, you may want to first. Many of the things you didn't like on your Houston visit are common in Texas (and the sunbelt/south in general.)

I am aware it is flat, I will look at the post comparing the 2 to get a better feel. Funny I just told this same guy no to Houston 4 months or so ago and now he reaches out asking if I would consider Dallas.

I do have a good friend that lived in both and he greatly preferred Dallas, he is from the North-East as well.

[carroll4628]

We looked in western Flower Mound. Great schools, great community parks/recreation, larger lots in the western part of FM. Reminds me of Milton/Roswell/Alpharetta (northern ATL burbs). Bit too far for our drive to work downtown. We have friends that moved to FM from Annapolis about a yr ago because they have a lacrosse club for their HS kids (kinda hard to find), and they could get about 1/2 acre in that price range. Lots of kiddo activities for your little ones. (Keep in mind the distance from the suburbs is indirectly proportionate to the amount of elementary/toddler actitives. If your family cares about gymnastics, swimming, parks/rec classes, etc.)

[Androidy]

Another factor that makes commute worse is our harsh summer weather. A 45 minute commute feels like 85 minutes from May-October.