Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-27-2006, 03:33 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,861,660 times
Reputation: 5787

Advertisements

Another thing to consider is whether or not you want to live in a neighborhood w/ a mandatory HOA. In the last few years most area cities have made it mandatory that new developments have a mandatory HOA. Some have community clubhouses and/or swimming pools, jogging trails, etc. Some may only have a few "common areas" that amount to a patch of grass and a flower bed and the entrances. They must keep these areas up along w/ any wall that had to be constructed be it a living wall or a masonary wall. I know of one friend that moved into a neighborhood w/ an HOA that banned swingsets and forts (this was in Allen). They even has a list of restricted plants, trees, shrubs and flowers. A wee bit too much control for me.

If you do not want to be in a mandatory HOA then I would seek out older more established neighborhoods.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-27-2006, 08:20 PM
 
10 posts, read 39,325 times
Reputation: 14
wow, momof2dfw, this is so helpful to me...i'm also looking to move to the area. what about fairview, lucas, and allen? any info you have would be very helpful as i know very little about these.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-27-2006, 08:28 PM
 
10 posts, read 39,325 times
Reputation: 14
oops....i see that you already covered allen
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-27-2006, 08:49 PM
 
10 posts, read 39,325 times
Reputation: 14
btw, we are looking for a property with at least an acre of land, but not completely out in the boonies--i've seen some nice properties in prosper, lucas, allen, fairview, and mckinney, but don't know diddlysquat about the communities...hubby would be working in mckinney. also, honestly...how well received would my family be in these communities--i'm black, hubby's white + 4 kids? (sorry, but i can't shake the many images in my mind of a south that is very unfriendly to my people, but hopefully things have changed some).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-27-2006, 10:43 PM
 
Location: Adelaide South Australia
12 posts, read 84,619 times
Reputation: 11
momof2dfw
What a mine of information - i have copied all of this information to keep. It is really fantastic to have such an indepth insight into the suburbs in a particular area!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-27-2006, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Adelaide South Australia
12 posts, read 84,619 times
Reputation: 11
Crikey goleta

That sort of attitude is outrageous and we have the same problems here! Isn't it time that people got on the page and realised that 'race' is socially constructed? Anyway, these people that come up with social theories usually have their own barrow to push.

I think you're brave having 4 kids!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-28-2006, 12:25 PM
 
105 posts, read 338,400 times
Reputation: 23
Thanks for all the info, momof2! Very helpful indeed!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-28-2006, 01:28 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,861,660 times
Reputation: 5787
OOPS!!! Reread my posts. One correction for #30 Lewisville. It is located on I-35 NOT I-30. So sorry.


Goleta, I would suggest you stay on the northern side of town. Like I said, I am in Garland and you would fit right in. We have MANY good friends that are mixed couples w/ children. The only "problems" they have had are the boxes to check for the kids in school: "caucasion" or "African-American". One of my friends got really mad at the school and told them if she picks "white" she is denying their father and if she picks AA she is denying their mother. The lady at the school totally understood and was VERY sorry but they did not have any other "race" to check that would work. Maybe this has changed in the last year. ??? The other was their oldest when she started high school had a black girl that would stare at her all day in one class and finally asked her, "what are you?". One thing I found kind of funny a few years ago was a lady that was telling me she had not met any "black" women in Rowlett. I looked at her like she was crazy and told her she just needed to get out of the house more, lol, as I knew plenty. I always get a crack out of anyone that says something that they have never meet a person of a particular race in the Dallas area. If anyone tells you that they are hermits. The area I live in is a what I would call a "Leave It To Beaver" type of area that is on the upper ends of the spectrum w/ LOTS of stay at home moms that are involved w/ their kids and in the community & schools. At the school I see kids/parents/families of EVERY race, creed, religion.

My other child is in a magnet school, they are all located in the lower income neigbhorhoods of Garland and they are all mixed in together in classes. I LOVE IT!!! They are only "seperated" based on ability in each subject. It's like I say, if you expose the kid no matter the background or the home to the nourishment of education they wil grab it and go as far as they are allowed w/ it.

As for the areas you are looking at (Fairview, Lucas, Allen, Prosper, McKinney). I would stick w/ Fairview or Lucas personally. One of our neighbors said they find a nice place up in Fairview that was on acreage and really nice custom homes. Some of those areas are Plano or Lovejoy schools. If you are commuting to downtown Dallas it would be a LONG drive. You would be twisting on backroads or farm to market roads to get to the major highways and roads out.

If you want to check the housing market try the county tax offices website, since links are removed here it is, dallascad . org from here you can also link to other area counties. You used to could pull up pictures of each property but they took that off. For houses that are available try realtor . com and then you can go to the county tax website and see what the taxes are on it. This would also be a good base to start with when you find a property you are interested in. Do NOT pay well over what the county has it valued at. Typically the county will be 10% lower than the "real market value" (now that term is a joke, lol) so don't pay too much more or they will raise your property value the next year. The county tax site also tells the condition of the property and you can also check out the rest of the street to see if the one you are looking at is in line w/ the neighbors size and dollar wise.

I read on another thread that someone was complaining about the lack of "Southern Hospitality". During one of our neighborhood meetings we all said the same thing. Most of the people in our neighborhood moved here from another neighborhood either in Garland or close by. So they are still very close to their friends so they don't have that "need" to get out and try to make "new" friends. We have been in this neighborhood for 4 years now and since my youngest started the neighborhood school I have met TONS of neighbors and become friends w/ them. So my circle of friends has expanded. We also changed churches 2 years ago and meet alot more people that live close by.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-28-2006, 08:55 PM
 
10 posts, read 39,325 times
Reputation: 14
wow--once again, thank you, momof2dfw, for a very helpful response! we'll keep all your advice in mind during our search.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-28-2006, 09:05 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,861,660 times
Reputation: 5787
Goleta,
If you do make it here to this neck of the woods, let me know and I can introduce you to other families w/ kids that have parents that are not "matching" on the outside that way the kids might feel more comfortable. One of our friends has 3 kiddo's, one going off to college this year (there goes one of my BEST babysitters, ).

I hope you were able to get those websites, the moderator removes websites that are listed so I tried to disquise them.

Moderator cut: I can see that . You are not allowed to post such links.
Just in case, here they are:
links removed

Last edited by Yac; 06-29-2006 at 02:54 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top