Frisco or beyond (Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington: home, layoffs, school districts)

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

I can see why someone would legitimately compare and pick Little Elm over West Plano or the Park Cities: waterfront/waterview property.

That's why White Rock area is so popular, and White Rock Lake (comparatively speaking to awesome lakes) is a sorry lake overall, but great when considering proximity to downtown Dallas.

They never mentioned waterview property. And, I can't think of a lake in Celina. Which one there?

[Sushi cake]

Here you go ... family of five, 2 middle school children, moving from NJ, jobs in Dallas DT & Carrollton, budget 400k-700K (less is more), basic needs are 3 bed 3.5 bath witha study/guest & a kitchen/living area, wants include a pool and some curb appeal, open to new/older/historic homes. Relocation agent suggested that Park Cities are at the max end of the budget but Frisco is the most desired place at the moment. While browsing Frisco listings,some Little Elm and Celina listings came up, hence my original post. If resale and schools are good everywhere then why not drive extra to save a 200k?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Sushi cake

Here you go ... family of five, 2 middle school children, moving from NJ, jobs in Dallas DT & Carrollton, budget 400k-700K (less is more), basic needs are 3 bed 3.5 bath witha study/guest & a kitchen/living area, wants include a pool and some curb appeal, open to new/older/historic homes. Relocation agent suggested that Park Cities are at the max end of the budget but Frisco is the most desired place at the moment. While browsing Frisco listings,some Little Elm and Celina listings came up, hence my original post. If resale and schools are good everywhere then why not drive extra to save a 200k?

But resale and schools aren't good everywhere. The schools in Frisco / Little Elm/ Celina are NOWHERE near the caliber of HPISD or Plano ISD. Nowhere. Resale in those areas won't be a sure bet for another 20+ years with all the new construction being built. Everyone else has your mindset- "why not go another X minutes out for new"....hence resale SUCKS except for in some completely built out subdivisions. Which in that case you're getting "newer" but not brand new.

Your budget is not a fit for HPISD unless you're open to condos. Sorry.

West Plano / Plano Senior (central Plano) or Coppell would give you the best schools at your price point. If you want to go further out for newness, at least consider Flower Mound over Frisco / Celina/ Little Elm becaus the schools are SO, SO much better.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by Sushi cake

Here you go ... family of five, 2 middle school children, moving from NJ, jobs in Dallas DT & Carrollton, budget 400k-700K (less is more), basic needs are 3 bed 3.5 bath witha study/guest & a kitchen/living area, wants include a pool and some curb appeal, open to new/older/historic homes. Relocation agent suggested that Park Cities are at the max end of the budget but Frisco is the most desired place at the moment. While browsing Frisco listings,some Little Elm and Celina listings came up, hence my original post. If resale and schools are good everywhere then why not drive extra to save a 200k?

With that budget why not look at Coppell? Honestly, I know you're from an northeast but you needn't set yourself up for a long commute in DFW if you dont' have to. Unlike the northeast, where you typically have to make a choice between a dumpy fixer upper house which has a desirable commute area, or a normal house with a crappy commute, in DFW you can have both, commute/nice house.

Best advice you have been given in this thread is you will be competing with new construction in those suburbs, like frisco etc. While the house is bigger, cheaper, resale is weaker overall. Economics already has this figured out, if you can spend $500k or more you need not look much further north of say Plano (longitudanally speaking) if you ask me.

I am also questioning some of your realtors advice as well. Maybe be open minded about realtors too.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by Sushi cake

Here you go ... family of five, 2 middle school children, moving from NJ, jobs in Dallas DT & Carrollton, budget 400k-700K (less is more), basic needs are 3 bed 3.5 bath witha study/guest & a kitchen/living area, wants include a pool and some curb appeal, open to new/older/historic homes. Relocation agent suggested that Park Cities are at the max end of the budget but Frisco is the most desired place at the moment. While browsing Frisco listings,some Little Elm and Celina listings came up, hence my original post. If resale and schools are good everywhere then why not drive extra to save a 200k?

Resale is not the same.

Schools are SO NOT the same. Search for schools on this forum. Unless your student gets in one of the Dallas ISD magnet schools, Highland Park and Plano West are your next best schools. Schools for Celina and Little Elm are not Tier One contenders around here.

You are aware that the DFW area is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined aren't you? Traffic is horrendous. Your "drive extra" means a LOT LESS time spent with your family.

[Rakin]

Look at the new Red Hawk Subdivision By Terry Holmes in Coppell. That would be at the high end of your price range but get you a new home with great schools.

I'd bet your RE agent suggested Frisco because you probably want a newer home.

[Sushi cake]

My agent mentioned Frisco because it has exemplary high schools and we can get discount and upgrades on a new subdivision where he sold numerous properties. As I said earlier, we are open to new, older even historic homes as long as high schools and resale are excellent.

I'll check listings in Plano and Coppell, if schools and resale are good AND we can be closer to our jobs then its a no brainer. I don't care about age of the house as long as its well kept and updated. We hope to move back east once children are college bound as we have better oppurtunities there for higher education.

[Considering Coming Back]

Originally Posted by Sushi cake

My agent mentioned Frisco because it has exemplary high schools and we can get discount and upgrades on a new subdivision where he sold numerous properties. As I said earlier, we are open to new, older even historic homes as long as high schools and resale are excellent.

I'll check listings in Plano and Coppell, if schools and resale are good AND we can be closer to our jobs then its a no brainer. I don't care about age of the house as long as its well kept and updated. We hope to move back east once children are college bound as we have better oppurtunities there for higher education.

So you want to move back in, like, six years? Those Frisco subdivisions won't even be built out yet.

(Also, are you moving into the dorm room with them? Your last sentence makes little sense.)

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by Sushi cake

My agent mentioned Frisco because it has exemplary high schools and we can get discount and upgrades on a new subdivision where he sold numerous properties. As I said earlier, we are open to new, older even historic homes as long as high schools and resale are excellent.

I'll check listings in Plano and Coppell, if schools and resale are good AND we can be closer to our jobs then its a no brainer. I don't care about age of the house as long as its well kept and updated. We hope to move back east once children are college bound as we have better oppurtunities there for higher education.

With all due respect to Frisco ISD, the school comparison is a no-brainer. Plano and Coppell schools are CONSIDERABLY better than Frisco on almost any metric you choose, in fact they're among the top performers in the Metroplex after uber-expensive Highland Park. Frisco schools are good, Plano and Coppell are great.

I can't link directly to it because it's usually on various realtor websites, but there's a pdf that lists average SAT and ACT scores by ISD. Use google to find yourself a copy and note the numbers for Plano and Coppell compared to Frisco. Also note that, just like any other metro area, housing is cheaper as you go farther out (all other items being equal), but you're effectively paying for that with increased commuting costs and time. This is even more true commuting from the north into downtown as the main route is the Dallas North TOLLway.

Seriously, if you've got a 400-700K budget and have commutes to downtown and Carrollton, take a long hard look at Coppell. If you only need a 3BR/3.5BA or thereabouts and aren't concerned about small lot size (and heck, Frisco lots in general tend to be smaller than Coppell I believe), then you should be able to find something very nice in Coppell. You'd be right next door to Carrollton and much closer to downtown Dallas with zero toll charges. As for schools, I listed Frisco ISD high school's average SATs on another thread. Taking a look at 2011-12 numbers shows a slight improvement from 2010-11, with Frisco high schools having SAT (reading and math combined) averages between 1037 and 1085. However, Coppell HS has an average of 1146. Plano ISD numbers are similar (actually a little bit higher) than Coppell.

You can look up some data on schools here: 2011-12 Campus AEIS Report

[Walter Benjamin]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

You are aware that the DFW area is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined aren't you?

Originally Posted by ChristieP

DFW is HUGE. it's bigger than several of the New England states combined!

OT but since this is frequently asserted I think it should be discussed. I argue that the technical definition of the metropolitan statistical area is misleading because it includes many rural counties, whereas common usage normally refers to just the closer-in, more populated counties.

According to Wikipedia the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes 12 counties, among them Delta, Wise, Johnson, Hunt... but the vast majority of people, jobs (and discussion on city-data) refers only to a few more central counties among these: Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, Denton. Therefore I think that what most people mean when they say "the metroplex" is not bigger than any NE state but Rhode Island.


Area in Square Miles (Rounded)

Dallas Co. 900
Rhode Island 1200
Dallas Co. + Tarrant Co. 1800
Dallas + Tarrant + Collin + Denton 3600
Connecticut 5500
Aroostook County, Maine (largest county east of the Mississippi) 6800
Dallas + Tarrant + Collin + Denton + Rockwall + Kaufman + Hunt + Delta + Ellis + Johnson + Parker + Wise (official MSA definition of the metroplex) 9300
Massachusetts: 10500