Moving to Dallas to NJ (Fort Worth, Arlington: for sale, real estate, to rent)

[snehtp]

Folks,

We are planning to move from NJ to Dallas in the month of July. I have seen many threads in the forum, However some of the information seems to be quite dated. We do not have any friends or families in this area so looking for some honest advise. We need help on following topics:

1. School District - We are looking to base our selves in one of the four locations. (Coppeel, Flower Mound, Plano & Frisco). I am keen for sending my Kids Only in Public School. Which will be most preferred Location from School perspective?

2. Recreational activity - Which of these areas have better recreational activities like parks, libraries, Activity classes for Kids etcs. (We have two Kids. Both boys , Age - 8 & 3)

3. House Prices - Which area will be affordable from buying a house. (Our budget is between 300k - 350k)

4. Population Mix - Which ares have better & more diversified Population Mix

5. Safety - Which ares will have the lowest Crime rates

6. Medical facilities - The medical facilities are quite standard across US. Any of the area above have better Medical facilities

Any other differentiating points

I will really appreciate feedback on these topics. We are planning for a Scouting trio in month of May. Would like to have these data points for comparison perspective.

Look forward for active discussion on this topic.

[BayTexan]

It would help if you specified where you and your significant other would be working - that needs to determine where you can live (if you want to keep your commute manageable).

Originally Posted by snehtp

Folks,

We are planning to move from NJ to Dallas in the month of July. I have seen many threads in the forum, However some of the information seems to be quite dated. We do not have any friends or families in this area so looking for some honest advise. We need help on following topics:

1. School District - We are looking to base our selves in one of the four locations. (Coppeel, Flower Mound, Plano & Frisco). I am keen for sending my Kids Only in Public School. Which will be most preferred Location from School perspective?

2. Recreational activity - Which of these areas have better recreational activities like parks, libraries, Activity classes for Kids etcs. (We have two Kids. Both boys , Age - 8 & 3)

3. House Prices - Which area will be affordable from buying a house. (Our budget is between 300k - 350k)

4. Population Mix - Which ares have better & more diversified Population Mix

5. Safety - Which ares will have the lowest Crime rates

6. Medical facilities - The medical facilities are quite standard across US. Any of the area above have better Medical facilities

Any other differentiating points

I will really appreciate feedback on these topics. We are planning for a Scouting trio in month of May. Would like to have these data points for comparison perspective.

Look forward for active discussion on this topic.

[Waterdragon8212]

Originally Posted by snehtp

Folks,

We are planning to move from NJ to Dallas in the month of July. I have seen many threads in the forum, However some of the information seems to be quite dated. We do not have any friends or families in this area so looking for some honest advise. We need help on following topics:

1. School District - We are looking to base our selves in one of the four locations. (Coppeel, Flower Mound, Plano & Frisco). I am keen for sending my Kids Only in Public School. Which will be most preferred Location from School perspective?

2. Recreational activity - Which of these areas have better recreational activities like parks, libraries, Activity classes for Kids etcs. (We have two Kids. Both boys , Age - 8 & 3)

3. House Prices - Which area will be affordable from buying a house. (Our budget is between 300k - 350k)

4. Population Mix - Which ares have better & more diversified Population Mix

5. Safety - Which ares will have the lowest Crime rates

6. Medical facilities - The medical facilities are quite standard across US. Any of the area above have better Medical facilities

Any other differentiating points

I will really appreciate feedback on these topics. We are planning for a Scouting trio in month of May. Would like to have these data points for comparison perspective.

Look forward for active discussion on this topic.

Synthesizing all of your points of interest into consideration, it seems like central Plano may be your best bet. All 4 areas have good schools, lower crime (comparatively to other suburbs and Dallas proper), and good parks and recreation systems. Plano is arguably the most diverse and has the most established medical facilities, though you will find good medical care and diversity in all 4 if you settle in the right area. Your budget is going to be the tough point. You can still find a home in central or east Plano for $300-$350, but they will sell QUICKLY and you will likely have to settle for a home that needs updating and/or less square footage. There are a few places in Frisco that you could still get in for that budget, but Flower Mound and Coppell are going to be a stretch. Good luck and welcome to Dallas!

[Waterdragon8212]

Update:

Just a quick MLS search in your budget removing empty lots/townhomes/condos nets:

Coppell: 14 homes - most in the "hot home" category
FM: 20 homes - most in the "hot home" category
Plano: 90 homes
Frisco: 102 homes - but a large chunk of them are in Little Elm ISD and that's a completely different animal

[TurtleCreek80]

All four suburbs are highly sought after because they are safe, family friendly, great public schools, diverse, etc.

I'd point you towards Plano first for two reasons on your list:
1. Larger inventory of homes in your price point
2. Specialty hospitals such as Plano Children's and the outstanding cardiac hospital at Baylor Plano. Though if your family is generally healthy, no reason to NEED to live near either.

HOWEVER, if you land a job in downtown Fort Worth, there is NO way Plano makes the most sense. It's ok to take a scouting trip, but if you have a job where you'll be going to an office, do not fall in love with any suburb or neighborhood until you know where you'll be working. No need to spend 2-3 hours a day sitting in traffic and/or $10/day in tolls.

[WorldKlas]

Depending on where your job is, add Grapevine/Colleyville ISD and Richardson ISD (Independent School District) to your list. In addition, the Hebron High School attendance zone is a great pick for location and schools. You may find we refer to specific high school attendance zones when a total school district might not be a top rated district but a specific high school and its "feeder" middle schools and elementary schools are all high performing. This is common in several school districts, so pay attention to "attendance zones." (Another great example of this is the high performing Martin HS attendance zone in SW Arlington.)

There are a few local real estate websites that allow advanced searches of homes for sale by specific schools. And of course a real estate agent can do this kind of search.

But your best choice will be determined by your commute. Our traffic is almost unbearable these days and getting more difficult all the time. So work commute, budget and schools must be combined in the mix for determining where to live.

Here in the DFW metro area, school attendance zones don't always follow town names. Example, parts of North Irving are served by Coppell school district ("ISD").

[babs7907]

Just as a FYI - schools in North Texas start on average 2nd week in August, which means, you're going to have to not only chose the city you want to live in but have your kids enrolled in that respective ISD.

I think your scouting trip in May might be a little too late, especially with the hot housing market here at the moment, you might be fighting it out with lot's of other families moving into this area at the same time.

[snehtp]

Originally Posted by BayTexan

It would help if you specified where you and your significant other would be working - that needs to determine where you can live (if you want to keep your commute manageable).

Thank you for the response. My wife is homemaker & my office will be in Westlake area.

[snehtp]

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

Synthesizing all of your points of interest into consideration, it seems like central Plano may be your best bet. All 4 areas have good schools, lower crime (comparatively to other suburbs and Dallas proper), and good parks and recreation systems. Plano is arguably the most diverse and has the most established medical facilities, though you will find good medical care and diversity in all 4 if you settle in the right area. Your budget is going to be the tough point. You can still find a home in central or east Plano for $300-$350, but they will sell QUICKLY and you will likely have to settle for a home that needs updating and/or less square footage. There are a few places in Frisco that you could still get in for that budget, but Flower Mound and Coppell are going to be a stretch. Good luck and welcome to Dallas!

Appreciate you response. As of now we are looking to rent for a year & then buy a property.

[ChristieP]

Take any city in Collin County off your list because that would be a horrible commute to Westlake.

Start looking in Tarrant County, such as Colleyville, Grapevine and Trophy Club.
Ramp up your search in Flower Mound.