Looking for a small town feel community with excellent schools in the N. Dallas area

[rosscountry]

Originally Posted by mrs90

First, I must say this website is fabulous! I have learned so much already. It is wonderful that so many people are willing to take the time to share information.

Now, what I am looking for is this:

My husband is possibly being relocated with his company to a section of North Dallas, zip code 75254.

Our family would be very interested in finding a community with excellent public schools, a good small town feel (we dream about strolling a main street) and a pretty easy commute to the previously mentioned zip. The Dallas area looks huge on the map!

We are coming from the New York area, so the real estate prices will seem very reasonable to us, I suspect. To recap, our wish list for the ideal community would be great schools, family-oriented, small town feel, friendly transplant-types like ourselves.

Thanks very much for any feedback!

highland park!

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I guess I never considered that area "Far North Dallas". If he is working right around Spring Valley & Coit it would be a REAL easy commute from the Lake Highlands area or "North" Dallas. Depending on which area in both zones it could be an easy 15 minute drive. It could easily take an hour to get to Frisco. I don't even want to think about commuting to Prosper (guess I like "short drives"). While it is technically "North of LBJ" it is not by much, a block or two really.

I have many friends that live in Lake Highlands and they all say it does feel "small town". Some have done teardowns in order to stay. Although, I think any area can feel "small town" depending on the individual and how involved they get in the area.

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

The OP wants excellent schools, small town-ish, in an area with other transplants. I could not recommend Lake Highlands based on those desires. The transplants are in Frisco. I can see it taking an hour to drive Frisco to downtown Dallas, but not to Spring Valley. (Actually, I would be surprised if the job is at Spring Valley and Coit since that's mostly Hispanic retail. My guess it's the Galleria or maybe along Preston somewhere, like State Farm.)

I agree with FarNorthDallas, there is no way it could take an hour to get from Frisco to the get to the area around the Galleria in the zipcode 75254. It would take around 25 minutes....maybe a little more if the weather is bad or there is a really bad wreck. IMO, a 25 minute commute is not bad at all compared to what some people have. If the OP is wanting an area w/ good schools and that is very family-oriented, then Frisco is definitely an option(a very good option in my opinion). Plus if you're in Frisco, then all the houses will be new along w/ pretty much everything else(houses,buildings,etc.). The OP was also wanting an area w/ alot of transplants, and Frisco is definitely a place to find them.

[dentonjohn]

If you're looking in the $700k range you should be looking at the Southake area. Great schools with a faux townsquare www.southlaketownsquare.com

You're near a lake(Grapevine), decent restaurants, and great access to the metroplex as well as DFW airport. Nice terrain, fairly heavily wooded, as opposed to the relatively featureless Frisco.

Access to LBJ Freeway is easy by way of Hwy 114 to 635. The commute may be even faster by way of the George Bush Turnpike.

It's about the closest thing to a real downtown in suburbia and the town is quite close knit.

I'd also look at Grapevine and Colleyville. Grapevine has a real life downtown but rather touristy and Colleyville is trying to deveolpe a faux downtown of it's own.

I live in Denton so I have no axe to grind. I did however move to the area about nine years ago. If I had the means for a house in the half million dollar range or greater and I had kids in school, Southlake would be my only choice.

[Lakewooder]

Be careful however of getting stuck on the other side of DFW airport. I don't know how LBJ is coming from that area at that time - not sure if it is worth it for the faux stuff.

[ROLROC]

Originally Posted by dentonjohn

If you're looking in the $700k range you should be looking at the Southake area. Great schools with a faux townsquare www.southlaketownsquare.com

You're near a lake(Grapevine), decent restaurants, and great access to the metroplex as well as DFW airport. Nice terrain, fairly heavily wooded, as opposed to the relatively featureless Frisco.

Access to LBJ Freeway is easy by way of Hwy 114 to 635. The commute may be even faster by way of the George Bush Turnpike.

It's about the closest thing to a real downtown in suburbia and the town is quite close knit.

I'd also look at Grapevine and Colleyville. Grapevine has a real life downtown but rather touristy and Colleyville is trying to deveolpe a faux downtown of it's own.

I live in Denton so I have no axe to grind. I did however move to the area about nine years ago. If I had the means for a house in the half million dollar range or greater and I had kids in school, Southlake would be my only choice.

southlake, while a great area, would be quite a commute. i would recommend coppell for a genuine small-town feel with excellent schools. OP's budget will offer enough choices. although like a prior poster stated, keep in mind of higher property taxes.

[backtotx]

Husband works in Addison off Beltline and Preston. We moved out to Wylie a couple of weeks ago and it takes him about 45 mins to get to work when the traffic is bad. There are many options for him to use to get home and he is only on I-75 for a couple of miles or not at all if he takes a detour when the traffic is at a standstill. We are actually on the border of Wylie and Lucas and our kids are zoned for Lovejoy schools which are great. Also whilst there is new construction going on in Wylie there is also a lovely historic downtown. We had a lovely breakfast there on Sunday at Ballards Cafe and Grill. And it just feels nice out here, it is much more open and quiet. I can get to Firewheel Mall very easily (it is a great outdoor mall by the way) and I can get to Murphy easily also. Heck if I wanted to I could even shop in Plano

In theory when you look at it he may travel more miles than some of the other areas mentioned but as it is a more rural area the traffic is lighter and it is less stressful driving in the area.