Where to live? Richardson or University Park? (Dallas, Plano: fit in, home)

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by CMC_TX

Your original post stated you currently live in Allen. I don't know many people living in Allen making 700K/year unless you live in Wimberley Place or maybe Lucas / Fairview. Seems odd to be considering Richardson versus Park Cities, as they are totally different from not only each other, but also from Allen. Just my 2 cents.

I doubt if you fully read the OP's post. Plus you need to get out more. Lots of people that can buy lots more house/car/boat don't. For several varied reasons. A zip code doesn't always indicate one's spending power.
You must not know many people period.

[Dallas520]

We've always lived below our means. When we bought in Allen several years ago you could get a really nice house for under 450k. That's what we happened to do. Now that the commute down 75 has worsened, and we've added children to our family, it no longer makes sense for us to stay in Allen when we can afford to live closer to work.

Richardson (Canyon Creek/Brentfield area) and UP are two very different choices--but the areas we are looking at do have the same appeal to us. Safe, good schools, short commute to 75/635. That's why we are looking at those two areas even though they are different from one another. I plan on touring University Park Elementary and Canyon Creek Elementary in the next couple of weeks. Right now we are leaning towards University Park, but we want to be sure we are making the right decision before we make a move.

[cordata]

If your income is at all sustainable you ought to at least tour private schools.

[yrs2009]

Canyon Creek is great, HP/UP is wonderful. I think the fact you are considering someplace else and not going HP/UP head first means you probably would enjoy CC more. Honestly, if the BS (search of status thru zip code) factor is not important to you, then go with what is more reasonable. With what you save paying for a more expensive house, you can pay the college tuition for your kids, and do all the great trips you want. .

Also the market is due for a correction, and I think the market in zip codes like HP/UP will be hit harder. Just my opnion.

[hbdwihdh378y9]

Originally Posted by yrs2009

Canyon Creek is great, HP/UP is wonderful. I think the fact you are considering someplace else and not going HP/UP head first means you probably would enjoy CC more.

Definitely. And if you chose to live in Allen when you could afford not to, then the Park Cities probably won't be the right fit.

[jgn2013]

UP vs. Richardson is like trying to decide between a Bentley and a fully loaded mid-range Lexus. Both are nice rides to get you from point A to B, but they're quite different. Go with Richardson/Plano, get a nice house and save the money.

[Shysister]

I agree. The difference in schools isn't worth the extra money and higher debt. If you're really concerned about schools, go the private route. Otherwise both schools are public and really won't make much of a difference overall. It's just not smart to take on more debt than necessary as you never know what could end up happening in the future especially given you have 3 kids.

My fiancé and I decided not to buy a zip code but to get a nice house in a good area and call it a day. When kids come we will send them to private school and if we need more space, we'll build and add on to our house instead of moving given that we bought the house outright and there's nothing like having no debt. If this was California then I would give the green light to buy for the zip code but not in Dallas.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Shysister

I agree. The difference in schools isn't worth the extra money and higher debt. If you're really concerned about schools, go the private route. Otherwise both schools are public and really won't make much of a difference overall. It's just not smart to take on more debt than necessary as you never know what could end up happening in the future especially given you have 3 kids.

My fiancé and I decided not to buy a zip code but to get a nice house in a good area and call it a day. When kids come we will send them to private school and if we need more space, we'll build and add on to our house instead of moving given that we bought the house outright and there's nothing like having no debt. If this was California then I would give the green light to buy for the zip code but not in Dallas.

So what happens if one of your kiddos does not get into a private?

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by EDS_

So what happens if one of your kiddos does not get into a private?

It is not hard to get your kid into a private school in Dallas if you can afford it and your kid is reasonably smart. The very top 2-3 are hard but the amount of concern people have over this in Dallas is completely overblown.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by Shysister

I agree. The difference in schools isn't worth the extra money and higher debt. If you're really concerned about schools, go the private route. Otherwise both schools are public and really won't make much of a difference overall. It's just not smart to take on more debt than necessary as you never know what could end up happening in the future especially given you have 3 kids.

My fiancé and I decided not to buy a zip code but to get a nice house in a good area and call it a day. When kids come we will send them to private school and if we need more space, we'll build and add on to our house instead of moving given that we bought the house outright and there's nothing like having no debt. If this was California then I would give the green light to buy for the zip code but not in Dallas.

OP shouldn't listen to advice like this in either direction. If you like UP, you can afford it. Live there. If you don't, then live somewhere else if you like it better. Your kids will have great educational opportunities in Richardson as well. Only you know what you want. You aren't stretching to live in UP to keep up with the Joneses so don't let people make you think that you are. The fact that you're even asking about Richardson vs UP tells me that you're pretty self assured in your decision making. Trust your instincts on this one.