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Old 04-01-2008, 10:16 AM
 
105 posts, read 337,495 times
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Hi, all. I posted a couple of years back about suburbs. We never moved but are thinking about it again. I haven't been to TX in about 10 years, but I was born and raised in central TX. I know it's changed a bunch in a decade, so I need some guidance from people who live there and have knowledge of the area now. Here's some criteria:

spend less than $500k
need 5 bedrooms and over 3000 s.f.
good schools in terms of high SATs, high number of grads, low dropout
not a lot of apartments flooding the town
some diversity, but not completely multi-culti
close to good and some high end shopping and restaurants (chains are fine)
good walking city
well-manicured and clean
population under 40,000, preferably but not necessary
family oriented since I have 4 kids under the age of 10
friendly people, but not overly in-your-face

What suburbs seem to fit this bill? Commute isn't an issue at this point, so any area around the DFW area is fine.

TIA!!!!
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Old 04-01-2008, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Lake Highlands (Dallas)
2,394 posts, read 8,571,292 times
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Suburb =! good walking cities
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Old 04-01-2008, 10:54 AM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,713,073 times
Reputation: 5787
spend less than $500k - Any suburb can be done for this. Do you want an area that has a LOT of homes in this price range or only in a few areas?

need 5 bedrooms and over 3000 s.f. - No problem there either. Pick any suburb and you should be able to find such.

good schools in terms of high SATs, high number of grads, low dropout - Hmm, don't go by TAKS scores as that can be misleading. Still most school districts except for REALLY CRUDDY ones should fit the bill.

not a lot of apartments flooding the town- Okay, Rockwall would be an option. VERY few apartments and they are VERY HARD to get into if your wanting one.

some diversity, but not completely multi-culti- This is going to be the toughy as Dallas is getting REALLY diverse just about all the way around.

close to good and some high end shopping and restaurants (chains are fine)- The Park Cities? But good luck getting a 3000 sq ft 5 bedroom home there for less than $500K. Ain't gonna happen in the U P.

good walking city- "walking" but a suburb? Would driving to an outdoor shopping/entertainment area that is nice and walkable count? That is about all your going to find in the burbs.

well-manicured and clean- Most fall under this one.

population under 40,000, preferably but not necessary- Not gonna find a burb in the Metroplex w/ a population UNDER 40K. Especially one that is "walkable" and with higher end shopping available.

family oriented since I have 4 kids under the age of 10- Most suburbs around here are family oriented and have a lot for the kids and families.

friendly people, but not overly in-your-face- Don't do Frisco, Allen, Plano or McKinney if you don't want this. I'd also not do the Park Cities if your not into this crowd.


After reading all of your "wants" for the right suburb for your family in the Dallas Metroplex the only one that I can even recommend would be Rockwall. Won't be able to "walk" to another area burb or Dallas but it does have some neat shopping/entertainment areas that are great for walking. Most of it is new and they have attracted some higher end establishments but not the snotty type ones. SUPER family friendly even for people w/ kids not even in high school yet or grown they still go to Friday Night football games. Population will be close though I'm betting as it is growing. Right on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. One area The Harbor is on the shores of the lake w/ a movie theater, restaurants and shops along w/ slips for people on the lake to stop and get out. They do movie night in the park during the summer along w/ concerts all free. They have a free "water park" (more splash park) for those w/ small kids at Harry Myers Park. Should be able to find a house in the price range your looking for that size. Oh, check out the RISE (Rockwall Indoor Sports Expo) for all kinds of indoor sports for the kids and even adult league teams.

The other burbs are going to be MUCH larger in population.
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Old 04-01-2008, 11:59 AM
 
110 posts, read 378,253 times
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Momof2dfw, why are Rockwall apts hard to get into?
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Old 04-01-2008, 12:00 PM
 
105 posts, read 337,495 times
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Cool! By "walking," I just meant a place with a lot of walking trails and sidewalks so it's easy to go for long walks w/o having to walk in the street much. Or something that has a nice downtown with a pond and open areas and such.

Nothing under a pop of 40000??!!! C'mon. There's gotta be a couple of those around.

I'm interested in finding out about the schools, especially, since we're coming from MA with really great schools. Even some of our average schools are better than some of the best schools there. At least according to SAT scores and such.

My ex lives in Rowlett. Rockwall might be too close for comfort, but I'll look in to it.
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Old 04-01-2008, 12:27 PM
 
105 posts, read 337,495 times
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Oh, and I like higher end shopping. Love Target, hate Wal-Mart.
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Old 04-01-2008, 01:06 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,713,073 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NEmommy View Post
Momof2dfw, why are Rockwall apts hard to get into?
Because they don't have many of them at all. There are only a VERY FEW! Even one family I knew that was going to be "between homes" for a period could not find an apartment in all of Rockwall as there are only a handful of them and people don't tend to "move around" in this side of the world of Dallas. When it comes to "residential" in Rockwall most of it is single family homes.
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Old 04-01-2008, 01:17 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,713,073 times
Reputation: 5787
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissMee View Post
Cool! By "walking," I just meant a place with a lot of walking trails and sidewalks so it's easy to go for long walks w/o having to walk in the street much. Or something that has a nice downtown with a pond and open areas and such.

Nothing under a pop of 40000??!!! C'mon. There's gotta be a couple of those around.

I'm interested in finding out about the schools, especially, since we're coming from MA with really great schools. Even some of our average schools are better than some of the best schools there. At least according to SAT scores and such.

My ex lives in Rowlett. Rockwall might be too close for comfort, but I'll look in to it.
Okay, for the walking part your talking about you can find that no problem. MANY parks around w/ walking/bike trails. The closest one by me which is literally a stones throw is Breckinridge Park in Richardson.

For a suburb in the Dallas Metroplex, no you will NOT find a suburb here w/ a population under 40K. This is the 4th LARGEST Metropolitan area in the United States. Take a look at this link as it gives the areas w/ a population breakdown (Cities w/ over 100K, Cities w/ 10K-100K, and those under 10K). The ones in the 10K-100K bracket are closer to the 100K mark than they are to the 10K mark much less 40K. Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then you see that group of areas w/ less than 10K? I would not consider those if your requirements are what you have listed.

Sorry, but if your looking to move to the Dallas Metroplex your not going to find a city that is a suburb of Dallas that has a population UNDER 40K. Throw in the good shopping, great walking trails and parks, good schools......... forget it. The population of Rockwall in 2000 was a little over 17K and for 2007 was a hair over 30K and GROWING! Frisco, that far out there suburb to the north that was once a small sleepy little farm town is now OVER 100K.

Depending on where you live in Rockwall your not THAT convienent to Rowlett. Of course depending on where in Rowlett your ex is he is not going to want to transverse thru his own towns nightmare of street repairs and projects to come to Rockwall.
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Old 04-01-2008, 01:55 PM
 
Location: ITP
2,138 posts, read 6,301,275 times
Reputation: 1391
I know I don't live in Dallas, but I visit this board frequently as I may be relocating to Dallas in the future. But in my experience with Dallas, wouldn't Grapevine fit the OP's requests? I heard it has a nice little walkable downtown area with nice restaurants, etc. It's also smaller than other Dallas suburbs.
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Old 04-01-2008, 02:00 PM
 
625 posts, read 1,949,319 times
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Minus the population thing, Plano is your best bet.
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