Looking to move to north Dallas suburb (Plano, Allen: leasing, condo) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

joedekock · 10-08-2007, 02:23 PM

Hello all,

I am looking to move to a suburb north of Dallas. Plano, or Allen seem to be to our liking.

What we are looking for is a safe community to raise children. Texas is overall appealing because of low taxes and we believe we found a good area as well in a north Dallas suburb for this. Our property taxes on a 3 bed 2 bath 2000 sq. ft. home with under a .25 acre, in Michigan is $2300. Let me know if I am off on thinking Texas will be lower in taxes.

Also, are jobs plentiful for Teachers. My wife is a certified teacher here in Michigan, but has had no luck landing a job for three years of trying now. They simply are very scarce in our poor economy, and with more people leaving Michigan than coming in, the future does not look good for her.

I am a Network Engineer. I have no idea where to start looking for a job, but my wife wants to work really bad, as teaching is her sincere calling, so we are willing to relocate if we can both work.

We are Christians that attend the Assemblies of God church, so we understand that this is the "Bible Belt" of Texas as far as a pentecostal lifestyle goes. This is not a huge factor in our move, but let me know if I am off on that thinking as well.

Thanks for the help!

nativeDallasite · 10-08-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joedekock

Hello all,

I am looking to move to a suburb north of Dallas. Plano, or Allen seem to be to our liking.

What we are looking for is a safe community to raise children. Texas is overall appealing because of low taxes and we believe we found a good area as well in a north Dallas suburb for this. Our property taxes on a 3 bed 2 bath 2000 sq. ft. home with under a .25 acre, in Michigan is $2300. Let me know if I am off on thinking Texas will be lower in taxes.

Also, are jobs plentiful for Teachers. My wife is a certified teacher here in Michigan, but has had no luck landing a job for three years of trying now. They simply are very scarce in our poor economy, and with more people leaving Michigan than coming in, the future does not look good for her.

I am a Network Engineer. I have no idea where to start looking for a job, but my wife wants to work really bad, as teaching is her sincere calling, so we are willing to relocate if we can both work.

We are Christians that attend the Assemblies of God church, so we understand that this is the "Bible Belt" of Texas as far as a pentecostal lifestyle goes. This is not a huge factor in our move, but let me know if I am off on that thinking as well.

Thanks for the help!

Your property taxes will almost certainly be more here, but there is no state income tax.

There are lots of Assembly of God churches around here; I see them all the time but since I'm not religious I couldn't tell you anything more about that.

I don't think your wife will have much if any trouble landing a job as a teacher in Texas, though she needs to do her homework about certification requirements.

Good luck!

Lakewooder · 10-08-2007, 03:19 PM

Yes and it might help if she learns Spanish.

unexpected · 10-08-2007, 03:33 PM

honestly, if your choices are between plano and allen, just pick based on the home you guys want to get. The two towns are very alike and are so close together that it doesn't really matter.

As for your job hunt, you've come to the right place. D/FW has a huge telecom corridor. Companies off the top of my head: Nortel, Alcatel, TI, EDS, and Ericson. There's a ton of telecom companies, those are just the big ones.

FarNorthDallas · 10-08-2007, 07:05 PM

Actually, I think it's pretty tough to get a teaching gig here from out of state. The teaching shortages are for bi-lingual and secondary science and math. You'll have no trouble if you can read and speak Spanish.

Info on how to become a Texas teacher:
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scyogi · 10-08-2007, 07:34 PM

Hello J-Two things...
Michigan taxes and TX are really different. Since we pay no state income tax we pay high property tax. It is something you must consider when you are purchasing your home. It can add several hundred dollars to your house pymt. if you escrow them in. Taxes equal about 2.4% (lowest) to about 2.8% on around 90% of your home value. (If I am wrong here--someone can help me out.)
ON teaching........my daughters teacher just moved here over the summer (july) and is already teaching (obviously, right) in a elementary school. She siad it was pretty easy to acquire a job. I am not sure about having to know Spanish. I can certainly see where it helps but it does not appear to be a make or break situation here in Mckinney.
Good luck with the search.

joedekock · 10-09-2007, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Yes and it might help if she learns Spanish.

That's no problem for her. She has been working as an English as a Second Language Aid for the last three years. Her job is to help Spanish speaking children who struggle with English.

Thanks!

joedekock · 10-09-2007, 08:53 AM

Can anyone provide a good site for Condo or home leasing or rentals in these area's?

GayleTX · 10-10-2007, 08:28 AM

Teacher Job Network Home

This is the website for the local education service center's page of current job openings.

Not a lot of job openings right now but there will be at mid-term (January).

Please know that not all districts pay the same.....Texas has a base pay salary schedule (not much $$) then the wealthier districts supplement that salary based on the district's wealth. Hard-to-find teachers often get a bonus above that local pay scale.

kaykay · 10-10-2007, 08:39 AM

Sounds like you would be happy in Plano or Allen!

Plano and Allen have lots of good churches and amenities. Plano is an older, larger suburb than Allen, but they do have many similarities. They are both very safe communities. My husband and I have lived in Plano for about 12-13 years and we really like it here. But as someone else said, sounds like your property taxes would be a little higher here.