Worth moving to Plano/Frisco Texas for kids' education and lower COL? (Dallas: leasing, how much)

[johngolf]

When one mentions COL they often focus on housing cost especially getting more house for less money especially if coming from the greater Boston area.

One then has to start to compare other COL living items especially real estate/property taxes.

Once past home purchase and real estate taxes you might be surprised that most everything else cost about the same. A new car, 6 pack of beer, loaf of bread, printer ink, etc.

Many in MA rant and rave about good their schools are with no experience having had children in school in different states. Overall MA schools are good but plenty of other states are good also.

That said if my choices are Plano or Boston, Plano wins.

[stan4]

Agreed.

I'd pick Plano, too.
Oh, wait. I did.

[AlterEgo42]

What about extended family? Is that an important aspect of your life? Are they closer to TX?

[jiping]

Originally Posted by dcb175

This is really interesting to me. I know nothing about Braintree schools (lived / grew up in Metro West area), but we did live in Dallas for 10 years and Plano schools are considered excellent. The SAT scores line up with what I would have expected, the NY Times analysis not as much (wonder why the divergent results?)

Students in New England states get regional boost while students in the south are discriminated against. At least that's true for Ivy admissions.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by jiping

Students in New England states get regional boost while students in the south are discriminated against. At least that's true for Ivy admissions.

^This. Asian, middle class, suburban white Texans are not looked favorably at Ivies because of biases and also because they worry about them not enrolling due to high cost or distance from home and lowering colleges yield rates. These families aren’t eligible for much financial aid and Ivies doesn’t have merit scholarships, which makes them unaffordable. Under represented minorities, economically disadvantaged and athletes receive more Ivy acceptances and financial aid.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by priyama

Hello everyone. We currently live in Braintree and my husband has an option to relocate to Plano, Texas for a job. We have two kids, one in 4th grade and one in 8th grade. They are doing well both socially and academically in schools here. But we have heard that both Plano and Frisco, where we would purchase a house if decide to make the move, have very good secondary education systems and COL there is much lower.
My questions are:
1. Other than the housing cost, is COL really much lower in Plano/Frisco than in Braintree?
2. Are schools in Plano/Frisco better than the schools in Braintree?
Hope those familiar with both areas can share your opinions to help us to decide if we should uproot the kids and make the move or not. Thanks!

--Priya

How does your 8th grader feel about moving, starting over, leaving friends behind?

We made the move at the same time and even though our son was on board with the move, moving to a new school with 3000 new kids hasn't been easy for him. I thought maybe it was just my kid since he is more of an introvert, but I have since talked with many other moms whose kids have moved here and started at various high school and all said the same thing--it has been very challenging for their child to feel accepted and welcomed. It takes a minimum of two years to adjust.

There is much discussion on these threads about how great DFW high schools are, but not much conversation about how despite the massive influx of newcomers, high schools here are very closed societies.

Just something to think about.

[stan4]

I moved to Plano ISD to start 9th grade and I found the large class size made it easier to find a niche or several groups of friends based on interest and class level.

Sports friends, club friends, and honors/AP class friends.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

How does your 8th grader feel about moving, starting over, leaving friends behind?

We made the move at the same time and even though our son was on board with the move, moving to a new school with 3000 new kids hasn't been easy for him. I thought maybe it was just my kid since he is more of an introvert, but I have since talked with many other moms whose kids have moved here and started at various high school and all said the same thing--it has been very challenging for their child to feel accepted and welcomed. It takes a minimum of two years to adjust.

There is much discussion on these threads about how great DFW high schools are, but not much conversation about how despite the massive influx of newcomers, high schools here are very closed societies.

Just something to think about.

Enrolling into bigger schools is usually easier for newcomers for finding more people, groups, courses, clubs, activities, sports teams and more. Encourage your kid to join few clubs, it may feel intimidating at first but in a couple of weeks he’ll feel like he found his tribe. Drama, choir, newspaper type creative kids are some of the friendliest creatures at every school.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Enrolling into bigger schools is usually easier for newcomers for finding more people, groups, courses, clubs, activities, sports teams and more. Encourage your kid to join few clubs, it may feel intimidating at first but in a couple of weeks he’ll feel like he found his tribe. Drama, choir, newspaper type creative kids are some of the friendliest creatures at every school.

Yes, he has done all this. He just finished his second year.

Some kids thrive as individuals and not as part of a "group."

Some kids, like my son, were in the popular group and moving away from that is not easy.

My son is making his way, but for many kids it is not as simple as you suggest.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

Yes, he has done all this. He just finished his second year.

Some kids thrive as individuals and not as part of a "group."

Some kids, like my son, were in the popular group and moving away from that is not easy.

My son is making his way, but for many kids it is not as simple as you suggest.

I hear you, things work differently for everyone. Teenage is never simple.