Flower Mound, Southlake, Sunnyvale? Help (Dallas, Plano: for sale, to rent, buying a house) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

thanna74 · 05-23-2018, 12:32 AM

Our family is moving to Dallas in July. My husband will be working downtown Dallas and of course, like a lot of these posts, we are looking for advice. We were out to visit the area 2 months ago, but focused mainly on Coppell, Southlake and Plano. I think we have ruled out Coppell and Plano. We still love Southlake, but are now interested in some other areas that seem like it may be a good fit, but didn't really look at when we were there. We have an 8 & 10 year old so schools are important. I know commuting to downtown isn't going to be great, but hoping for 45 min. or under. Any feedback on Flower Mound, Sunnyvale, Lake Highlands? We are planning to rent for a year and have seen houses in our price range in these areas, but now looking for feedback from people who know the area and/or schools.

Thanks!

ChristieP · 05-23-2018, 04:39 AM

If he's commuting to downtown, then you need to focus on Sunnyvale. That will be the least worst commute and still have very good public schools. He could also drive to the DART Rail station and take the train into downtown.

FloMo and Southlake would be horrible commutes to downtown. 114 eastbound in the AM and westbound in the PM is a parking lot, and there is no viable alternative.

Lake Highlands would be a very good option, but I'm not sure about the schools. I will let others comment...

jennifw · 05-23-2018, 06:42 AM

I agree with ChristieP - FloMo and Southlake would be undesirable for a downtown commute.

I would look at Lake Highlands as well as Sunnyvale. For LH, look for houses zoned to Merriman Park or White Rock Elementary. You didn't say your housing budget, but I am guess substantial if you are considering Southlake. In LH, you will find a lot of older homes on big lots with beautiful trees that have been gutted and remodeled. You will also find new builds peppered in the older neighborhoods. For a commute to downtown, there are a lot of options with most of the major streets laid out in a grid. If one is backed up, just go over to the next one.

Good luck and welcome to Texas!

kyam11 · 05-23-2018, 06:57 AM

As someone who lives in Southlake and loves it I see a few problems with your choices.

1). Southlake and Flower Mound give you a brutal commute.

2). I have no clue of your budget but if you can afford to live in Southlake I am going to guess your budget for buying a house is $800K+. If that is the case why would anyone buy a house in Lake Highlands with that type of income and budget (your income and budget give you choices). Owning the best house (or definitely one of the better) in a crappy city is not something I would spend my $800K+ on.

3). That leaves Sunnyvale to consider. If Sunnyvale fit my desire meaning I was OK with how small the specific town of Sunnyvale is then that is where I would choose. I would like being near the lake so that is a plus IMO. Even with Sunnyvale you are going to have to figure out how to make your commute work. As of 8AM it was 16 miles and 45 minutes to downtown.

Considering Lake Highlands would be akin (to me) to deciding whether to eat at a fine dining restaurant, a prime steakhouse, or Burger King. Certainly nothing wrong with Burger King if that is your only option, but definitely not my first choice if I have options.

stephwin · 05-23-2018, 07:58 AM

I also think Lake Highlands would be a great choice if you can afford it. The area is really pretty and a lot of the houses have been remodeled. You won't get a huge house like other areas (Southlake) but Richardson ISD is a good school district and it's a reasonable commute to downtown.

jennifw · 05-23-2018, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyam11

2). I have no clue of your budget but if you can afford to live in Southlake I am going to guess your budget for buying a house is $800K+. If that is the case why would anyone buy a house in Lake Highlands with that type of income and budget (your income and budget give you choices). Owning the best house (or definitely one of the better) in a crappy city is not something I would spend my $800K+ on.

Considering Lake Highlands would be akin (to me) to deciding whether to eat at a fine dining restaurant, a prime steakhouse, or Burger King. Certainly nothing wrong with Burger King if that is your only option, but definitely not my first choice if I have options.

Your post tells me that you have no clue about East Dallas/Lake Highlands. There are some smaller houses, but a lot of beautiful areas. The median price around the 3 elementary schools I mentioned is around $500k with several homes currently on the market for $1m+. Drive around over here sometime -- you might see that Southlake isn't the only beautiful place in the metroplex

eastdallasmom · 05-23-2018, 08:31 AM

Lake Highlands might be a good choice for you if you value living in a city and a more urban environment. We live nearby in the M Streets and, although we love our area, I would not put LH schools anywhere near the same category as Southlake schools. If what appealed to you about Southlake was the top notch schools and being in a more pristine/suburban environment, you may have the same view expressed by kyam11 above.

kyam11 · 05-23-2018, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennifw

Your post tells me that you have no clue about East Dallas/Lake Highlands. There are some smaller houses, but a lot of beautiful areas. The median price around the 3 elementary schools I mentioned is around $500k with several homes currently on the market for $1m+. Drive around over here sometime -- you might see that Southlake isn't the only beautiful place in the metroplex

I can only go by what I searched. I just searched homes for sale in Lake Highlands. 3 over 700K and none over $1M. Median income is $44K.

This is basically East of 75, North of Lovers Ln, South of 635, and West of Abrams. This is not according to me, but Zillow and Realtor.

I also see right below Rockwall Lake where there are some nice homes, but proximity to homes right below Ferguson would not appeal to me if I was spending $800K.

When I look at Sunnyvale I see more appealing neighborhoods.

There are literally thousands of homes and areas throughout the metroplex I find appealing. Lake Highlands according to Zillow isn't one of them.

TurtleCreek80 · 05-23-2018, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyam11

I can only go by what I searched. I just searched homes for sale in Lake Highlands. 3 over 700K and none over $1M. Median income is $44K.

This is basically East of 75, North of Lovers Ln, South of 635, and West of Abrams. This is not according to me, but Zillow and Realtor.

I also see right below Rockwall Lake where there are some nice homes, but proximity to homes right below Ferguson would not appeal to me if I was spending $800K.

When I look at Sunnyvale I see more appealing neighborhoods.

There are literally thousands of homes and areas throughout the metroplex I find appealing. Lake Highlands according to Zillow isn't one of them.

You don't even know where Lake Highlands is because it's considerably farther north of Lovers Lane and Abrams is the WESTERN border, not the EASTERN one. Just stop. Give your opinion about Southlake and move along....

147 homes currently for sale:
$1-3.5M 5 listings
$700-999k 11 listings
$475k Median price

TurtleCreek80 · 05-23-2018, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thanna74

Our family is moving to Dallas in July. My husband will be working downtown Dallas and of course, like a lot of these posts, we are looking for advice. We were out to visit the area 2 months ago, but focused mainly on Coppell, Southlake and Plano. I think we have ruled out Coppell and Plano. We still love Southlake, but are now interested in some other areas that seem like it may be a good fit, but didn't really look at when we were there. We have an 8 & 10 year old so schools are important. I know commuting to downtown isn't going to be great, but hoping for 45 min. or under. Any feedback on Flower Mound, Sunnyvale, Lake Highlands? We are planning to rent for a year and have seen houses in our price range in these areas, but now looking for feedback from people who know the area and/or schools.

Thanks!

OP, I think you need to figure out if you want to live in a suburb or the city. If suburbs and you need good schools, you've already ruled out 2 of the 3 that meet your desired commute times (Plano & Coppell). Richardson would be the third option.

If you truly do want to live in the city and your budget is big enough, you have quite a few options. Lake Highlands is one, but you could also look at Lakewood / the M Streets or even the Park Cities. What is your budget?