Horse friendly towns E of Dallas (Greenville, Rockwall: real estate, high crime, houses)

[TXbound13]

We are a CA family of four moving to the Dallas area in a few months, and I have not been able to find a thread that addresses our specific needs. Where are the best communities for small farms? We plan to have a few meat livestock, dairy goats, and a couple of horses. My kids are 6 and 7 and we want to be in a farm-type community where streets are horse-friendly and neighbors won't be mortified when we process a few chickens for the freezer. I want my kids to grow up around other kids with outdoor lifestyles and more traditional values.

We want to stay East of Lake Ray Hubbard, up as far as Leonard, down as far as Heath, and no farther out than Tawakoni. Specific info about Caddo Mills, Quinlan, Terrell, and Greenville would be appreciated.

We are pretty familiar with real estate values and property available, but I need to know where all the animal people live and that is something I think only the locals can tell me. We are a christian family and we home school, but our kids are going to be doing 4H, Tball, etc. so we want to stay out of high crime areas and poor school districts. Safe, quiet family life is most important to us.

Also, there are lots of apparent "trails" visible behind and around properties. Is it safe to assume those would be available for horse riding? Are there dirt bikes that tear down those trails and make it unsafe for horses? Or are there no public horse trails through towns? Do drivers respect trail riders, or do they fly up from behind and honk like they do out here?

Any info is appreciated. We have been researching this area for over a year and the time is finally almost here when we can make our move. Thanks!

Kimberly

[GayleTX]

Will your children be going to public schools? If so, you need to research the school districts in that area before making a decision....many of them in that area are not where you'd want your children to go if you are also interested in academics and strong discipline programs.

2011 Accountability Rating System

I don't know anything about Heath....the others you named I do know about and I wouldn't send my child there. Trenton and Dodd City are very strong districts as is Farmersville, with very few social problems. They would meet your criteria regarding animals and rural life as well as having good academics.....most of the families there either have a farm background or, if they are 'city folk', they came there to try to have the lifestyle you mentioned.

One suggestion....when you pull up a school district's website, look at their FFA program or rodeo club - the larger the program the more likely you are to find the interests you mentioned and the less likely you are to find kids with 'other' interests' that you might not want your kids involved in.

Also, you might want to post this in the general Texas forum rather than the Dallas forum...Dallas people don't even know what's beyond Rockwall!

I'm impressed to see that you are doing your research....things are not always what they appear from the outside looking in. Best wishes to you.....

[TXbound13]

Dodd City is a bit too far North (my husband will be working in Wylie), but Trenton might be doable. Thanks for the tip on school rodeo / ffa.

Although we homeschool our kids, they will be friends with lots of kids who do go to school, so a good district is a plus.

This is exactly the kind of "insider" info we are looking for. Thank you.

[ChristieP]

It's good that you are checking in advance. The towns you mentioned are all known for having not good schools, and a couple of them (Terrell and Quinlan) are known for having BAD schools. Even though you will be homeschooling, you still won't want to live in an area with bad public schools because it will adversely affect your resale value, and the people who are willing to live in an area with bad schools generally aren't classy people. IMHO, Terrell and Quinlan are full of people fit that sort of description. Sure, there are some nice houses around, but there are also a lot of nasty ones, and a lot of trailers. My parents owned property in Hunt County between Terrell, Quinlan and Rockwall for 20 years, and those two towns only got worse, while Rockwall got better and better. Basically, if you stay north of 30, and just flat out avoid the Tawakoni area all together, you will be in a good area.

You don't mention your budget. Some of the areas you're looking at, such as Heath, can get pretty expensive. Farmersville and Leonard are definite possibilities. Be careful about some communities, such as Lovejoy, because they have some odd zoning requirements that make building livestock barns prohibitively expensive.

FFA and rodeo teams are good, and so is 4H. In fact, 4H might fit more of your requirements since it is more family-oriented and is not school-based like FFA is.

Good luck, and please private message me if you need more info!

[BoxCar Willie]

Horse friendly towns? This IS Texas. LOL Wylie is a very nice place more north is Lucas Parker or easterly is Nevada and other smaller towns.

[ggolf]

My brother in law has 2500 acres in Kaufman County. Raises cattle. Nice place about 1 hour from Dallas. Can't vouch for the schools however. But Kaufman County might be a good place.

[TX75007]

Caddo Mills or Farmersville would be your best bet.

Most of the soil is clay so its not so good on horse shoes.

You will want 10 acres. And will want to be on the water line.

Look for an established place on a hilltop. Anything else and you will be living in a sea of mud.

Not sure you will be able to find something within your budget.

A modest home on an acre or two in wylie is doable on your budget, though.

[ETex2]

Kaufman County is southeast, and Wylie is northeast. That would be a LONG drive. I'd look up farther to the northeast. There are lots of nice areas where people can own livestock, but I'd look in the rural areas around Lucas, Farmersville, Blue Ridge, Trenton, etc.. Find a good realtor familiar with the areas and you should find something pretty quick.

[LQQKOUT]

What about Royce City or Fate?

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by LQQKOUT

What about Royce City or Fate?

Those are nice places, but the OP's $170k budget will just buy a house there, and they are wanting land for animals.