Can we make Dallas (suburbs) our new home? (Houston, Plano: rentals, townhouses)

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by iamanewuser

Have heard good things about Plano and Frisco areas. It appears that the schools are assigned based on the zip codes and not necessarily city boundaries so what are the zip codes in Dallas Suburbs with the best school ratings? Will be renting in the beginning so not looking to buy a house at first.

Have been looking online on the school ratings and which areas would give us all 9 or 10 ratings for Primary, Middle and High schools. It looks like Southlake has one of the best schools.

I would appreciate your help in narrowing down the most desirable zip codes in terms of school ratings in Plano, Frisco and closeby suburbs. Thank you for your feedback!

Schools are not assigned by zip code either. Each independent district boundaries were decided before today's city limits and especially before zip codes. You need to look at the districts' boundaries (can usually be found on the district website or by putting in a specific address on that site) or by looking at a properties taxing authorities. Each district then decides its school boundaries based on numbers of students and other factors.

The school ratings only tell part of the story. You really need to decide what works best for YOUR student and then try to arrow it down. Best schools are NOT one size fits all. Plano schools often have a lower rating because the sites are lumping three schools into one. Plano has three senior high schools (11th & 12th grades). Each senior high is fed by two high schools (9th & 10th grades). The sites will combine all three schools enrollment to decide the size of the school, when in reality, the senior highs aren't that big. Also, Plano has economic diversity as well as ethnic diversity; a number of students are economically disadvantaged as well as a number of English is a second language students.

The overall income for districts like Southlake and Highland Park is high. Would your family and student be comfortable in that demographic?

And yes, the North Dallas area itself is huge, so finding a community close to work may be a priority for your family. Will sports, other extracurriculars, or after school tutoring play a part in after school activities? If so, closer may be better.

We don't know your family or your priorities, so it is really hard for us to tell you where to live. There are so many variables. I wish you well.

[iamanewuser]

I hear you. Doing bunch of things in parallel hence looks like I'm all over the place. Trying to narrow down location first and then job within a decent commute of that. It's possible that I may find an IT job first and wife may still be in the TX medical licensing queue.

Schools are top priority and rest is negotiable. It could be simply natural nervousness but I'm finding it's not as simple to find a zip code where elementary, middle and high schools are all top rated..or maybe zillow app is not doing a good job of filtering by school ratings.

Originally Posted by mSooner

Again, I'd totally focus on getting the job first. You'll want to be within a decent commute--you can find excellent schools within a decent commute of any part of Dallas, but if one of you lands a job in Ft. Worth and you live in Frisco, you're gonna hate life. (And consider if there will be call requirements--does your spouse have to be within 30 minutes of the job?)

[iamanewuser]

Thank you for your reply! Yes, it's feeling daunting for sure. May as well stick around in NY (only kidding!).

I'm doing my best to sift through the options but any feedback from people in the know about the area help us understand the landscape better. Getting used to the names and places and what each one entails is part of the learning process.

We would like to know what're the ranges of incomes to live in Southlake and Highland park..I guess one could simply get a sense from the rents in the area too.

About our family, have kids going to elementary, middle and preK. If we move into an area, wouldn't want to change schools hence trying to do as much homework in advance as possible.

I know in NY some school districts allow parents to chose schools if they are willing to provide transportation (school pick up and drop offs), anything like that in TX?

Catch-22, trying to narrow down the location first and find jobs around that area. The idea is we should be able to find something for IT and medical related jobs in Plano, Frisco and all the other names that keep coming up here. Is that reasonable to assume?

Originally Posted by DitsyD

Schools are not assigned by zip code either. Each independent district boundaries were decided before today's city limits and especially before zip codes. You need to look at the districts' boundaries (can usually be found on the district website or by putting in a specific address on that site) or by looking at a properties taxing authorities. Each district then decides its school boundaries based on numbers of students and other factors.

The school ratings only tell part of the story. You really need to decide what works best for YOUR student and then try to arrow it down. Best schools are NOT one size fits all. Plano schools often have a lower rating because the sites are lumping three schools into one. Plano has three senior high schools (11th & 12th grades). Each senior high is fed by two high schools (9th & 10th grades). The sites will combine all three schools enrollment to decide the size of the school, when in reality, the senior highs aren't that big. Also, Plano has economic diversity as well as ethnic diversity; a number of students are economically disadvantaged as well as a number of English is a second language students.

The overall income for districts like Southlake and Highland Park is high. Would your family and student be comfortable in that demographic?

And yes, the North Dallas area itself is huge, so finding a community close to work may be a priority for your family. Will sports, other extracurriculars, or after school tutoring play a part in after school activities? If so, closer may be better.

We don't know your family or your priorities, so it is really hard for us to tell you where to live. There are so many variables. I wish you well.

[Peter5457]

Why would you want to come to Plano/Frisco when you'll be able to pick up nice bargains in NY later this year probably. Mr. Tariff pres and china gonna duke it out and give u great deals soon.

Or, go to CT, they got bargains already. And great place to raise a family and you can take the train to NY. They got safe trains there so you can get some work done. And you'll get even better bargains soon. You gotta go look where everyone is trying to sell and leave.

[iamanewuser]

I'm not even a real NY'er..moved to NY for short term job/training and never thought of settling down here. I think I get your humor :-) Not sure if there're really bargains to be had in this part of the country.

Originally Posted by Peter5457

Why would you want to come to Plano/Frisco when you'll be able to pick up nice bargains in NY later this year probably. Mr. Tariff pres and china gonna duke it out and give u great deals soon.

Or, go to CT, they got bargains already. And great place to raise a family and you can take the train to NY. They got safe trains there so you can get some work done. And you'll get even better bargains soon. You gotta go look where everyone is trying to sell and leave.

[bensmith12]

Hi,
Plano and Houston are the best cities for schools and also for IT jobs.
Thanks.

[WorldKlas]

Sending you a DM

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by iamanewuser

We would like to know what're the ranges of incomes to live in Southlake and Highland park..I guess one could simply get a sense from the rents in the area too.

I know in NY some school districts allow parents to chose schools if they are willing to provide transportation (school pick up and drop offs), anything like that in TX?

Catch-22, trying to narrow down the location first and find jobs around that area. The idea is we should be able to find something for IT and medical related jobs in Plano, Frisco and all the other names that keep coming up here. Is that reasonable to assume?

1. I'd guess $250k+? Highland Park will be higher than Southlake. Of course there are cheaper options in both school districts, but most people probably don't want to be the "poorest" in the district.

2. Not with most public schools. Some ISDs will allow you to apply to a different school within the same ISD if it is not at capacity, but it really varies and you have to apply yearly.

3. I really think an area like central Plano or Richardson would be a good option, especially for an IT job. That will put you in close proximity to plenty of potential employers. Can you not stay in a hotel or extended stay place for a few weeks while you get your job situation figured out?

[WorldKlas]

We used to be able to get better information on school performance from the State ratings website before they changed they rating system. Still, there's some info, especially if you want to look at old ratings, on the website. https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/account/

West Plano, Richardson feeding into Pearce HS, Coppell, Grapevine Colleyville, Highland Park are all high performing districts and not in the nosebleed Northern burbs. In the Far, far Northern burbs are Lovejoy, Frisco and Allen schools that have good reputations.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Peter5457

Why would you want to come to Plano/Frisco when you'll be able to pick up nice bargains in NY later this year probably. Mr. Tariff pres and china gonna duke it out and give u great deals soon.

Or, go to CT, they got bargains already. And great place to raise a family and you can take the train to NY. They got safe trains there so you can get some work done. And you'll get even better bargains soon. You gotta go look where everyone is trying to sell and leave.

1). It's tough to find a worse tax situation for decent earners than living in Connecticut and working in NYC.

2). From Greenwich even to East Harlem is about an hour, Midtown about an hour and fifteen mins. when things go well.

3). Connecticut is very close to financial implosion - IMO you don't want to be a higher earning working family when the tax man gets desperate.

4). It's very likely all in (pay vs. taxes vs. COL vs. malpractice insurance) that the doctor side of the equation will be hugely better off in TX. Depending on a number of factors like specialty which I missed if the OP mentioned it nominal pay in this part of the country is higher than the North East.

https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2...view-6009667#9