Relo from Farmington Hills Michigan to Dallas (Plano, Richardson: houses, neighborhood)

[Kenshomi]

Trying to decide if the move to Dallas is worth it for my family. I would be working on Akard St.
First I hate winter here always have, but the summers and smallmouth fishing can't be beat! However, my company is consolidating more and more to HQ, and i dont ike thr prospect of looking for a job here in a year or two. My wife and I are in our mid 40s and have two girls 12 & 7. High quality schools and activities for them are my top priorities. A town that is a ' community' would be nice. I'd like to keep my commute under 45 mins, and a house 300-400k.

Do I need a pool or are neighborhood swim clubs all over?
What is up with no basements, I guess a three car garage is a must?

[TidyAtac]

I lived in Novi and Royal Oak area of MI for many years and moved to Dallas 2 years ago and may move to OC now.

Dallas way better than MI. There's no state taxes, and it doesn't get nearly as cold as MI. Traffic isn't that bad in Dallas in comparison to other major cities.

For 300 to 400K, that should get a pretty nice house in Dallas. It's super hot in Dallas during the summer. Not sure about the schools but Dallas is a family orientated city.

[Willsson]

Not sure about the housing for your needs but sounds like north wise 'burbs. There'll be other recommendations later from other posters. Traffic during rush hour can be heavy on the highways near downtown. There is the metro rail which has stops three streets over from Akard HQ offices. You should be able to find a suitable fishing hole somewhere not to far from town.

Basements... no need for them, just don't do them. And I don't think contractors can use dynamite within city limits.

Go for the adventure

[ChristieP]

If you will work on Akard downtown, then you can take the DART rail for commuting which will be a significant savings on paying for parking downtown. Look in the northern areas close to rail stations.

[TurtleCreek80]

There are MANY areas of Dallas/close in suburbs that can meet your needs. Don't immediately be sucked into this forum's consensus that northern Collin Co burbs are your ONLY choice.

I'd look into Rockwall and Sunnyvale (both 20-30 min east of Downtown & on the scenic Lake Ray Hubard), Coppell (about 30 min NW of downtown), Richardson (look in Richardson HS and JJ Pearce HS zones, it's an inner ring suburb due north of downtown about 20-25 min), and possibly Plano ISD if you can live no further north than the Park exit (about 30-40 min depending if you're on the Tollroad or 75 side of town. Also that is about as far north as DART rail goes on the 75 side if you want to use that as an option).

Within Dallas school, check the Woodrow Wilson attendance zone in East Dallas (about 10-15 min drive to Downtown). Very good public schools and a wonderful community feeling even though it's in the city. Bigger lot sizes and more mature trees than many suburbs. Zips are 75214, 75223, and 75206, just be sure to check the home is zoned to Woodrow as some fringe sides of those zips are not. For your younger child, make sure that the home is zoned to either Lakewood or Stonewall Jackson elementary. They are the premier ones in this area.

Try not to be sucked into how big/new a home you can buy here for $400k vs MI. Yes, you probably can get a 5000SF, 4 car home here.....but you'll have to pay $1 k/mo for A/C from May-October and it will push you further out than the 30-40 min commute you want. Don't be fooled by "it's only 10 more minutes each way". A 60 minute drive to Dowtown from Flower Mound, Frisco, Prosper, McKinney, Allen, etc TOTALLY SUCKS.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

There are MANY areas of Dallas/close in suburbs that can meet your needs. Don't immediately be sucked into this forum's consensus that northern Collin Co burbs are your ONLY choice.

I'd look into Rockwall and Sunnyvale (both 20-30 min east of Downtown & on the scenic Lake Ray Hubard), Coppell (about 30 min NW of downtown), Richardson (look in Richardson HS and JJ Pearce HS zones, it's an inner ring suburb due north of downtown about 20-25 min), and possibly Plano ISD if you can live no further north than the Park exit (about 30-40 min depending if you're on the Tollroad or 75 side of town. Also that is about as far north as DART rail goes on the 75 side if you want to use that as an option).

Within Dallas school, check the Woodrow Wilson attendance zone in East Dallas (about 10-15 min drive to Downtown). Very good public schools and a wonderful community feeling even though it's in the city. Bigger lot sizes and more mature trees than many suburbs. Zips are 75214, 75223, and 75206, just be sure to check the home is zoned to Woodrow as some fringe sides of those zips are not. For your younger child, make sure that the home is zoned to either Lakewood or Stonewall Jackson elementary. They are the premier ones in this area.

Try not to be sucked into how big/new a home you can buy here for $400k vs MI. Yes, you probably can get a 5000SF, 4 car home here.....but you'll have to pay $1 k/mo for A/C from May-October and it will push you further out than the 30-40 min commute you want. Don't be fooled by "it's only 10 more minutes each way". A 60 minute drive to Dowtown from Flower Mound, Frisco, Prosper, McKinney, Allen, etc TOTALLY SUCKS.

I agree with the thrust of your post but......I've lived in a couple 4.5/5KSF homes since 1999. I've never seen an electric bill north of $600 except a run of a couple of months after which we found our larger unit was venting an 8 inch line worth of AC into the attic at all times.

Our current one story ranch - now ~4,800SF - was built in 1966/67 and both AC units are several years old (12 SEER I think). Our worst electric bill this summer was $457 and that was in August. Our last several bills - May $185, June $234, July $398, August $457, September $309, October $201. FWIIS we keep it like an ice box as I work from quite a lot and we wash/dry mountains of clothes etc. That said we do have a lot of insulation in that attic.

All I am claiming is that a $1,000 bill on a 5KSF home indicates issues or an ancient AC system(s).

May-Oct @ $1,000 = $7K
May-Oct @ my house = $1,784

[Kenshomi]

I don't need or want a house larger then 3k feet. So that is good! Like I said in my post the community and the schools are my #1 priority. That being said, I'd rather go with a smaller house and larger yard, or pool and 3 car garage.

What is the commute like from Plano?

[Considering Coming Back]

Originally Posted by Kenshomi

That being said, I'd rather go with a smaller house and larger yard, or pool and 3 car garage.

FYI, Lot sizes in DFW are MUCH smaller than they are in Oakland County (at your price point). Also, the trees aren't the right height if you catch my drift.

[carroll4628]

If possible you should make contact with a few of your "potential" co-workers on Akard St. Hubby's office mates at AT&T that moved within the last 2 years selected Flower Mound (high school kids into Lacrossse) and Heath (oddly enough 2 co-workers both from northern CA). We couldn't understand living further out in Heath (adds 15 min to the commute) and so Hubby drives from Sunnyvale to Akard in 25-30 min (from dropping off the kiddo's at school at 7:45am). Co-worker in Flower Mound is about 50-60min (but is always on the phone so it doesn't bother him if he's in traffic for over an hour). School size may be a consideration for you (compare Plano to Flower Mound for example), so you'll want to look into that and what you (and your children) are comfortable with.

Rockwall would be a tough commute if you have 8-5 working hours, but it is a great community. Everything you need is on that side of the lake (unless you need more than typical suburbia). If I get on I-30 (and I635) at 4:45p, I can get to 205 (Rockwall Sports Expo) in 10/15 min, if I get on at 5:15p it takes me 20/25 minutes, so from downtown I've got to think it's going to be closer to 45 minutes.

The housing is rather inexpensive in Dallas and I'd seriously consider including a house-rental budget of 4-6 weeks in Traverse City (or the UP) during July/August.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Kenshomi

I don't need or want a house larger then 3k feet. So that is good! Like I said in my post the community and the schools are my #1 priority. That being said, I'd rather go with a smaller house and larger yard, or pool and 3 car garage.

What is the commute like from Plano?

Not as good as the commute from Richardson. You might like Canyon Creek; it's a great family-oriented neighborhood, lots of the houses have pools, pretty much all of them have at least a 2-car garage, and most are on quarter to third acre plots. The schools are excellent; Canyon Creek straddles the Dallas/Collin County line, so it is zoned to two different school districts. In Dallas County you are zoned to the Richardson ISD; in Collin County you are zoned to the Plano ISD. I've heard great things about both school feeder patterns. The zip code is 75080.