Suburbs for UTSW Commute (Dallas, Plano: school districts, gated, cabinets)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by TeamLynn

When you say diverse, what does that mean to you? Everyone has a different definition.
#1 I would probably look at Coppell, not sure what you didn't like about it?
#2 Grapevine-Colleyville.
#3 Euless....when you say diverse, ISD says something like 80 different languages spoken at home from the kids in high school, so that is diverse to me, but you may have a different opinion.
#4 If you don't mind stressful traffic....and tolls...southern Frisco and near toll road.

OMG, no!!! These are horrible suggestions for a resident or anyone wanting a simple, low stress commute.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...9_M82374-47176

Old house with very dated exterior. Small kitchen. Tiny closets and dated bathrooms. 200 square feet less than she was wanting. No amount of fresh paint and new cabinets can change those things.

Compare with what $550k can buy in Grapevine:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M84505-07910

Euless is actually a great idea. Since it is right on 183 and 360, that will cut the commute time a good bit. Either GCISD or HEBISD schools. HEBISD is very diverse, and has one of the few Asian/Pacific islander communities in DFW.

[Barefoot Daisy]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

What about Tarrant County? You could easily get from Grapevine to UTSW in that commute time, and that’s right in your price range for houses. GCISD schools are much better than CFBISD.

I drive through Grapevine on my way to Preston Center, so I would be on most of the commune from Grapevine to UTSW ... 114 from Grapevine to Spur 348 to NW HWY — if I were going to UTSW, I'd keep going on 114 or hop off on Harry Hines, so there are two choices if traffic gets tough.

It's not too bad ... 114 in the morning (I hop on from 26 anywhere from 6:30 to 6:45) is crowded, but always moving, and I use audio books to pass the time. .. (my commute is longer, but that's another story: let's just say 183 and I don't jibe )

[EDS_]

IMO this thread is a bust until the OP is a little more forthcoming about what the relationship with UTSW will be.

If the OP is a nurse, UTSW attending MD, therapist, accountant, HR type and some others s/he may have a more or less fixed schedule........maybe Grapevine etc. would work.


If the OP is clinical psychology Ph.D student, MD student, PA student, MD resident, MD fellow, other MS/Ph.D candidate, academic MD/Ph.D (some), or a doc. with UTSW + Parkland + VA duty some of the above recommendations are tantamount to slow suicide attempts.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Old house with very dated exterior. Small kitchen. Tiny closets and dated bathrooms. 200 square feet less than she was wanting. No amount of fresh paint and new cabinets can change those things.

Compare with what $550k can buy in Grapevine:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M84505-07910

Euless is actually a great idea. Since it is right on 183 and 360, that will cut the commute time a good bit. Either GCISD or HEBISD schools. HEBISD is very diverse, and has one of the few Asian/Pacific islander communities in DFW.

1. She said she likes older homes.
2. Exteriors can be updated.
3. Shaving 40 minutes per day off the commute vs Grapevine and points further out equals around 160 hours of time back each year. Many busy families would happily swap 200sf for 160 more hours with their families, especially when you’re getting a bigger lot & pool with it.

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Old house with very dated exterior. Small kitchen. Tiny closets and dated bathrooms. 200 square feet less than she was wanting. No amount of fresh paint and new cabinets can change those things.

Compare with what $550k can buy in Grapevine:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M84505-07910

Euless is actually a great idea. Since it is right on 183 and 360, that will cut the commute time a good bit. Either GCISD or HEBISD schools. HEBISD is very diverse, and has one of the few Asian/Pacific islander communities in DFW.

You mean they haven't painted the outside black and white yet? Hey, they already tore out walls and made the whole inside grey, isn't that good enough.

Seriously, everyone KNOWS prices are going to be higher in North Dallas inside LBJ than out in Grapevine. OP ought to consider the alternatives, though.

[rabbit33]

Anyway, no matter what you do, you're still stuck with this:

"The problem is that UTSW is just west of the heart of a city of 1.5 million in a metro of 7 million, with the only near-commute possibilities being skanky areas with bad schools, or the Park Cities - one of the priciest sets of neighborhoods on the face of the earth. You've got some options, few of them great:

1) Find the last rental in HP/UP and live 5 people in three rooms.
2) Commute from EBE, losing hours of your life every week in order to have good public schools
3) Pay for private school
4) Be an urban pioneer, one of those who commits to revitalizing their local lousy public schools and sketchy central city neighborhood."

You have an array of choices each of which has some positives and significant negatives. You want to work at one of the premier medical centers in the universe, these things are what you deal with.

[mom2dr]

Wow! What a lively discussion to come back to. Thank you for all the advice, everyone! We have a ton to think about. I’ll be in the MD program at UTSW - so, some VA duty. Not sure how this is broken up. I do know several current students commute from Allen, Ft Worth, and Richardson but they’re M1s/M2s, so I can’t ask them about their experience in M3/4 commuting in. Anyways, this is why I didn’t think it was unreasonable to consider further areas. I do understand sometimes the commute will be awful - but I do really care about keeping my kids QOL approximately the same. And, no matter where we live, they’ll see me more in a week than they did in the 9 months that my hubs deployed. So that’s a plus of coming from an army family I suppose - we “embrace the suck”, so to speak.

Some questions:

I have been looking and have found some houses that fit the bill at way under budget in Irving, but I haven’t seen it mentioned here, I am assuming because it’s less than stellar in terms of safety. How bad is it really? If we did the private school/UTSW magnet option, would this be viable?

Any comments on the commute in from Euless?

[TurtleCreek80]

I’m sure there are a small handful of in elementary schools but across the board, Irving ISD is one of the weakest districts academically. So that’s why it gets skipped over in a family relo thread. Also, you would need to verify if the UTSW magnet accepts out of district transfers. I don’t know what the current DISD position on out of district is right now.

Being a private school family ourselves, people do commute from all over *BUT* the center of your kids’ lives and your social lives (at least through elementary) will be very close to wherever school is. All the birthday parties, sports leagues, etc tend to be within a pretty close radius of the school campus. Some weeks we are near or at school all 7 days because of sports, bdays & play dates. It’s more than a 5 day a week drive.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by mom2dr

Any comments on the commute in from Euless?

It's going to be 8-10 minutes less than Grapevine since it is south of DFW Airport, so around 20 minutes to UTSW. Euless is a nice suburb. I have good friends that have lived there 20+ years and they really love it. The part south of 183 is less desirable as far as home values and schools go; the part north of Mid Cities Blvd has GCISD schools.

Since proximity to parks is a big factor for you, note that every neighborhood in Grapevine has a park within walking distance! There is also Lake Grapevine, which has several beautiful parks along the shoreline, too. https://gograpevine.com/explore/

Originally Posted by mom2dr

I have been looking and have found some houses that fit the bill at way under budget in Irving, but I haven’t seen it mentioned here, I am assuming because it’s less than stellar in terms of safety. How bad is it really? If we did the private school/UTSW magnet option, would this be viable?

The north part of Irving, AKA Las Colinas, is much nicer than the south part as far as safety and home values go. Yes, Irving ISD schools are weaker than many area districts.