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Hello! My family & I are considering moving to the Plano, TX area. We currently live in northern, VA and believe Plano may offer everything we need without having to drive to far to get it! Cost of living in VA is also a reason we have considered the move, but not the main reason. We are looking for neighborhoods with a large population of kids so our kids will have friends in the neighborhood. We have 1 in elementary & 2 in middle school. We really like the west Plano area & are looking to spend between 500,000-650,0000 on a home. Schools are very important to us since we have great schools here in VA. We would really like to live in an area where our kids actually go to school with some kids they play sports with....they spend so much time doing their activities that it is hard when none of their friends go to the same schools because of the distance(in crazy traffic!) we need to go to get quality programs. I know there is no "perfect" place but we really love the Dallas area & feel it might offer our family everything we need a bit closer which would definitely make our lives a little less chaotic & give our kids the opportunity to attend school with friends they bond with during their activities. Any input on schools, neighborhoods, the area in general would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Plano is definately going to feel like NoVA (I have relatives with kids in Leesburg and in Mantua). You'll have plenty of the "usual" kids activities close at hand.
For your middle-school kids, they have sports in Middle School so they'll likely be playing football, basketball, etc with their classmates. Call or send an email to the middle schools you're considering to see what sports they have and what grades they start at. Your ES child will probably encounter the same problem as is NoVA - the sporting 'associations' often do a "blind draw" where your child's name is drawn to be placed on a team - some organizations are better at placing kids with 'friends' or they try to have a 'regional team' - i.e., 3-4 elementary schools form 1 team. (I'm only familar with the east side of Dallas - Garland, Mesquite, Rockwall, Heath, Forney in this regard. Neither of my kids play on teams with any of their classmates - but truth be told, not many of their classmates are playing on ANY teams.) If you're looking for "quality" as in travel/highly competative outside school there are plenty of those in Plano (and surrounding areas).
The only caution I would put out for Plano (yes, in this regard I'm a "hater") is the large high school size (class size is set by the state/district). But, if you're serious about education, I'm sure you've done your research as there are several threads about this topic on CD. In NoVA, my nieces and nephews high school's are 1400 and 2400 students (for 9-12). So, just giving you a heads up and letting you know that not every district has schools this large and you can find a good 3000-4000 student HS.
Search the threads about Plano schools, outstanding public schools with great diversity. An upside of the huge class sizes was cited in a thread by a plano student. He pointed out that as a "nerd" he found a group of nerds he had a lot in common with and hung out with so despite its size he was happy to find friends with shared values. Also he felt he wasnt singled out for attention as a result of so many in the classes like him.
So two sides to the large size class as in most things....
I live in West Plano and have for 2 years and am a happy resident....its safe, diverse and everything I want to do or need is convenient to me...including the first Trader Joe's in Dallas.
You will feel right at home in Plano. With your budget you will be able to find a nice house in the west part of Plano, I would also look at the north part of it . Zip codes are 75093, 75024 and 75025. The two main sports association in the area are PSA ( multiple sports) and PYSA ( soccer is huge here for both boy and girl) .Both will always try to put children if possible from the same school together . Our children were always with friends in every sport they have participate in so far.
I live in Plano now and spent considerable time in Fairfax Va for work so can compare the areas from a limited perspective. While DFW are is Hot, summers in NVA are no picnic either but slightly worse in DFW. Winters in DFW are milder than NVA, we might get snow or ice but do not get N'orEasterns which can dump a ton of snow on NVA. Been snowed in twice in NVA while visiting due to 20 in plus snowfalls.
Both Plano and NVa are similar with a lot of dining options as well as a wide variety of professionals with good jobs. People are friendly at both places with a slight edge to DFW on that front.
I believe you will like W. Plano at least the same if not more than NVA after some time here. Again welcome to TX! I consider any move to Tx a promotion... by the way I lived in N NJ and Houston.
Lived in NOVA before moving here... Plano would be a great fit, it is very much like Fairfax. If you are in Fairfax County schools now you will find that Plano schools will be a good fit. NOVA schools are bit more rigourous and testing rates are higher etc... but Plano is a good fit. As another poster stated, the sheer size of the schools is overwhelming! (we were in loudoun county)
I believe Plano HS are split, that means that 9&10 are on one campus 11&12 are on another. (That really confussed us when look at the population size of the schools)
If you want a 1 HS town and traditional HS (9-12) Look at Coppell. It is smaller than Plano and doesnt have all the amenties (shopping, resturants etc...) But schools are great there as well. Lot sizes are smaller etc... but it gives you another option.
One thing to consider when looking at home prices here...(awesome compared to NOVA) is don't buy at your maxium price, the RE taxes here are pretty high (aprox 3%) and our insurance rates are high (both car and House) most houses have home security systems as well. Higher HOA fees here too we found. Yes, there is no state income tax, but with RE taxes etc... its a wash.
The summers are brutal...sorry NOVA has the humidity yes and it can get bad for a week or so then it cools, etc... but here once it gets hot, it stays hot and not much rain!
The winters aren't bad, last year we didn't even really have a winter!! But it will get cold and ice storms are worse than 20" of snow!! Teh houses are built for winter temps, pipes in outside walls with no insulation etc...So, when looking at houses make sure that you do not have exposed bathroom opr kitchen pipes on the NORTH side! We only have 2 pipes on outside walls one on east wall, and one on west wall, they have never frozen. Our neighbors have pipes on north wall and they froze up 2 winters ago when we had temps below 20 for over a week. What a mess!!
Cheer/Hockey Mom, I don't mean to take over your thread, but I thought I could get insight from yourself and some of these posters, since many seem to have lived in both places my family is considering. (My husband is lobbying strongly for the Plano area.)
One of the things that attracts me to NoVA is the scenery, which I think is gorgeous. I lived in the Dallas area for a few months and I really liked all it had to offer. Coming from some very scenic states, I thought that was the one thing Texas lacked - great scenery. However, it makes up for that by having great amenities. Maybe I didn't see enough. Are there nice places to hike in Plano (or outskirts?)
Also, regarding your kids: you mentioned an issue I have with my kids - and that is they go to a school that is not around the corner from us and a lot of their extracurriculars are all over the map. They are busy, but they are scattered and I drive a lot. I dream of a situation where they'd be able to bike to their own practice and be on a team with kids they know. I realize this may not exist outside of a quaint small town, but I thought some of the smaller town in VA may have this (Winchester, Lessburg, Purceville?) - not sure those are still considered NoVA.
I lived in Leesburg for 2 years a few years ago with kids feel free to PM me for direct questions.
Hiking? not much there are trails around but not like taking a day hike up in the Blue Ridge mts. (and no, you dont want to hike during the summer here...fall is the best time!!)
One thing to consider when looking at home prices here...(awesome compared to NOVA) is don't buy at your maxium price...
The summers are brutal...sorry NOVA has the humidity yes and it can get bad for a week or so then it cools, etc... but here once it gets hot, it stays hot and not much rain!
I second the "Don't buy at your maxium price" - Save some $$$ and rent a row house in DC (or a cabin in WV) for a few weeks/months in the summer.
Lived in NOVA before moving here... Plano would be a great fit, it is very much like Fairfax. If you are in Fairfax County schools now you will find that Plano schools will be a good fit. NOVA schools are bit more rigourous and testing rates are higher etc... but Plano is a good fit. As another poster stated, the sheer size of the schools is overwhelming! (we were in loudoun county)
I believe Plano HS are split, that means that 9&10 are on one campus 11&12 are on another. (That really confussed us when look at the population size of the schools)
If you want a 1 HS town and traditional HS (9-12) Look at Coppell. It is smaller than Plano and doesnt have all the amenties (shopping, resturants etc...) But schools are great there as well. Lot sizes are smaller etc... but it gives you another option.
One thing to consider when looking at home prices here...(awesome compared to NOVA) is don't buy at your maxium price, the RE taxes here are pretty high (aprox 3%) and our insurance rates are high (both car and House) most houses have home security systems as well. Higher HOA fees here too we found. Yes, there is no state income tax, but with RE taxes etc... its a wash.
The summers are brutal...sorry NOVA has the humidity yes and it can get bad for a week or so then it cools, etc... but here once it gets hot, it stays hot and not much rain!
The winters aren't bad, last year we didn't even really have a winter!! But it will get cold and ice storms are worse than 20" of snow!! Teh houses are built for winter temps, pipes in outside walls with no insulation etc...So, when looking at houses make sure that you do not have exposed bathroom opr kitchen pipes on the NORTH side! We only have 2 pipes on outside walls one on east wall, and one on west wall, they have never frozen. Our neighbors have pipes on north wall and they froze up 2 winters ago when we had temps below 20 for over a week. What a mess!!
Welcome!!
I know this is an old thread but I am also in the same situation as you were earlier. I am in two minds whether I should leave nova for Dallas. I have lived here for 5 years in leesburg. We liked it but the traffic and commute got to us when we had our son two years ago. We love what nova has to offer. At the time when we bought our house, the school district was not a priority. We only needed to make sure was the house fit our budget and was also close to a commuters park and ride lot so I could take the bus to downtown dc. Now when my son came we stated looking into ratings and all. Our neighborhood got assigned to a new school which catered to a lot of low income kids in the nearby neighborhoods. I have nothing against those kids but it just makes it diffult for the school rating to go up. At the moment it is at 4 be great schools but it is also brand new school. It opened up 2 years ago and they have not filled up its enrollment to the maximum.
I got a job offer from a good company in DFW and I work at home these days. I will eventually have to move to DFW. My husband will have to find a job there once we move. Right now he has been working for the federal government as a contractor and recently got his public trust clearance approved which is a olus for the dc area
What do you guys think? We are looking to buy a new house with a 600k budget. We really liked Southlake and Colleyville. If not a new house then something built in the last 5 years would work as well.
My concerns are :
If my husband will find a job there
If I will like the traffic from SL to Las Colinas
If I will find a decent house in my price range
If I will like the weather
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