mesquite or 12 & 30, moving for work (Dallas, Plano: rent, crime rates, homes)

[darkstormav]

i am moving there from out of state, for work. i will be bringing my wife and 3 small children. will be either based by mesquite or where 12 meets i30. could you tell me about the areas? what would a 3 bedroom home rent for? safety? appeal? school systems? ideally a single story 3 bedroom on a 1/2 acre lot or slightly smaller lot would be perfect. what would that run nearby? i wouldnt want to live more than 20mins from these areas if possible. thank you

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by darkstormav

i am moving there from out of state, for work. i will be bringing my wife and 3 small children. will be either based by mesquite or where 12 meets i30. could you tell me about the areas? what would a 3 bedroom home rent for? safety? appeal? school systems? ideally a single story 3 bedroom on a 1/2 acre lot or slightly smaller lot would be perfect. what would that run nearby? i wouldnt want to live more than 20mins from these areas if possible. thank you

I would say it depends on your budget.

Also, the surrounding areas nearest to your work location don't have particularly good schools and tend to have higher than average crime rates. So if these factors are deal breakers, being 20 minutes or less away from your job is probably going to be difficult (especially given that Dallas has pretty bad traffic).

That said, within relatively reasonable commuting distance, your options would either be Richardson (specifically parts of the city west of Highway 75) or Rockwall. According to Zillow, the current median list price for homes in Richardson is $360K, while the median list price for homes in Rockwall is $390K.

[darkstormav]

Originally Posted by citidata18

I would say it depends on your budget.

Also, the surrounding areas nearest to your work location don't have particularly good schools and tend to have higher than average crime rates. So if these factors are deal breakers, being 20 minutes or less away from your job is probably going to be difficult (especially given that Dallas has pretty bad traffic).

That said, within relatively reasonable commuting distance, your options would either be Richardson (specifically parts of the city west of Highway 75) or Rockwall. According to Zillow, the current median list price for homes in Richardson is $360K, while the median list price for homes in Rockwall is $390K.

thank you
i get it.
so which are the nicer school systems in and around dallas? i would like for my kids to avoid bullying as much as possible and to be as well adjusted as possible. i would like to avoid drug areas and a generally self destructive population segment

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by darkstormav

thank you
i get it.
so which are the nicer school systems in and around dallas? i would like for my kids to avoid bullying as much as possible and to be as well adjusted as possible. i would like to avoid drug areas and a generally self destructive population segment

As far as the top tier school districts in/around Dallas, that would be:

*Highland Park ISD
*Allen ISD
*The western clusture of Plano ISD
*Frisco ISD

However, a commute from west Plano/Frisco/Allen to Mesquite would be exhausting, and Highland Park is quite expensive.

A tier below that (districts, while not excellent, that are still very good/competitive), I would say the following:

*Rockwall ISD
*The central/eastern cluster of Plano ISD
*Carrollton/Farmers Branch Consolidated ISD
*Prosper ISD
*Allen ISD
*McKinney ISD
*Coppell ISD
*Richardson ISD

^^^Rockwall, Grapevine, Prosper, Coppell and Allen are all upper middle class communities, so the issues you mention wouldn't be prevalent.

Again though, I would still stress equal importance to commuting distance. Most of these places, aside from Richardson and Rockwall, are pretty far from the work location in Mesquite.

[darkstormav]

thank you so much

[Tslmdlx]

Originally Posted by citidata18

As far as the top tier school districts in/around Dallas, that would be:

*Highland Park ISD
*Allen ISD
*The western clusture of Plano ISD
*Frisco ISD

However, a commute from west Plano/Frisco/Allen to Mesquite would be exhausting, and Highland Park is quite expensive.

A tier below that (districts, while not excellent, that are still very good/competitive), I would say the following:

*Rockwall ISD
*The central/eastern cluster of Plano ISD
*Carrollton/Farmers Branch Consolidated ISD
*Prosper ISD
*Allen ISD
*McKinney ISD
*Coppell ISD
*Richardson ISD

^^^Rockwall, Grapevine, Prosper, Coppell and Allen are all upper middle class communities, so the issues you mention wouldn't be prevalent.

Again though, I would still stress equal importance to commuting distance. Most of these places, aside from Richardson and Rockwall, are pretty far from the work location in Mesquite.

what about rowlett?

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Tslmdlx

what about rowlett?

Yeah I would also suggest Rowlett, North Garland, Sachse, maybe Heath but it's super expensive. Wylie would be pushing it on the commute but it's doable. Possibly Forney, Fate and Royse City as well if Mesquite is the job location. Sunnyvale is probably the best location but it's easily the most expensive of the lot.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Tslmdlx

what about rowlett?

Schools seem to be a high priority for the OP. While the schools in Rowlett aren't awful, they aren't great either.

[ChristieP]

OP, what’s your budget? If you can do $500k, Sunnyvale would be a great option and you may be able to get the larger lot. If you want to live closer to your work, you could look at private schools; there are several good. Catholic schools nearby.

If your budget isn’t that high, definitely look at Rockwall and Forney. Both are safe, very family-oriented with good schools, and a reasonable commute.

Richardson would not be an easy commute due to the 635 construction, or having to drive the whole way on surface streets.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

OP, what’s your budget? If you can do $500k, Sunnyvale would be a great option and you may be able to get the larger lot. If you want to live closer to your work, you could look at private schools; there are several good. Catholic schools nearby.

If your budget isn’t that high, definitely look at Rockwall and Forney. Both are safe, very family-oriented with good schools, and a reasonable commute.

Richardson would not be an easy commute due to the 635 construction, or having to drive the whole way on surface streets.

I would second this advice. Pending budget you could look at Sunnyvale or Rockwall. OP could also look at Lake Highlands or the Woodrow Wilson HS zone in East Dallas but lots will be small.