Please help a young, progressive, AA family from Chicago pick a neighborhood (Dallas: real estate, to rent)

[LStrom]

After MONTHS on this site I thought that I pretty much knew where we would look to move if we were blessed to get out of Chicago and move to Dallas. I had decided on either Plano or Frisco, but now I am not so sure. There are so many areas that could be a fit for my family, that my head is spinning trying to figure it all out especially since I have only visited Dallas once.
In a nutshell, I am a married(husband 31) 26 y/o AA woman with 3 daughters ages 2,3, & 10. My husband is an IT Project Manager at a non-profit here, and I am a stay at home mother and graduate Psychology student. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago and my husband was born and raised in a small town in Iowa (he is bi-racial)
In general we would like:
Diversity (AA’s do not need to be the majority)
GREAT Schools (our oldest daughter is in the 5th grade)
Low Crime
Community features such as pools and parks
Friendly, down to earth people
The area does not need to be a sterile boring suburb full of minivans and Labrador retrievers. For those of you from Chicago, we are looking for a neighborhood that is more like Hyde Park than LaGrange (although Hyde Park does have high crime, but I’m thinking more about the people and the ambiance of the area). For those of you not from Chicago, we just want to live in an area that is safe for our children but has personality. We are a young family, and would love to live a community with lots of young families (progressive types) that we could socialize with who are involved in the community. We would not like to be in an area that is too conservative or full of people who take themselves too seriously. I understand that there is no perfect place, but we would like to live in a place that is at least close to what we would consider to be ideal
Any ideas? Keep in mind that we plan to rent(preferably a house)at least the first year that we move.

[FarNorthDallas]

Lakewood.

[Grainraiser]

Do you have a budget in mind and do you have any idea what part of town hubby will be working in. Both are important factors for giving good advice.

[catluvr]

A few friends of mine are AA and live in Waxahachie (sp?). They love it. Kids love the school and I looked it up on Schooldigger.com and found it to be a very good ISD. The suburb is a bit south and seems to be growing in popularity.

I am unfamiliar with much about it, except both families love it there. I have no idea what their political leaning. It's very family oriented.

BTW---My one friend is from Chicago originally and is a veteran.

[LStrom]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Do you have a budget in mind and do you have any idea what part of town hubby will be working in. Both are important factors for giving good advice.

We would like to pay 1500.00 per month or less for a 3 bedroom home. My husband hasn't gotten a job there YET, but is there now for a few interviews, so I'm not sure about where he will be working. He has looked at jobs in Plano and Irving so far, so he will potentially be working in one of those areas.

[jeffari-al-texani]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Do you have a budget in mind and do you have any idea what part of town hubby will be working in. Both are important factors for giving good advice.

I would like to second what my esteemed colleague Grainraiser has already stated. Once you give us this information, we can do much more to give you some good advice!

Welcome to the area.

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by LStrom

After MONTHS on this site I thought that I pretty much knew where we would look to move if we were blessed to get out of Chicago and move to Dallas. I had decided on either Plano or Frisco, but now I am not so sure. There are so many areas that could be a fit for my family, that my head is spinning trying to figure it all out especially since I have only visited Dallas once.
In a nutshell, I am a married(husband 31) 26 y/o AA woman with 3 daughters ages 2,3, & 10. My husband is an IT Project Manager at a non-profit here, and I am a stay at home mother and graduate Psychology student. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago and my husband was born and raised in a small town in Iowa (he is bi-racial)
In general we would like:
Diversity (AA’s do not need to be the majority)
GREAT Schools (our oldest daughter is in the 5th grade)
Low Crime
Community features such as pools and parks
Friendly, down to earth people
The area does not need to be a sterile boring suburb full of minivans and Labrador retrievers. For those of you from Chicago, we are looking for a neighborhood that is more like Hyde Park than LaGrange (although Hyde Park does have high crime, but I’m thinking more about the people and the ambiance of the area). For those of you not from Chicago, we just want to live in an area that is safe for our children but has personality. We are a young family, and would love to live a community with lots of young families (progressive types) that we could socialize with who are involved in the community. We would not like to be in an area that is too conservative or full of people who take themselves too seriously. I understand that there is no perfect place, but we would like to live in a place that is at least close to what we would consider to be ideal
Any ideas? Keep in mind that we plan to rent(preferably a house)at least the first year that we move.

Plano is one of the reddest of red places in THE red state. It's not very diverse. Frisco's not much different. Here's your numbers.

//www.city-data.com/city/Plano-Texas.html

Here's the numbers for Frisco:
//www.city-data.com/city/Frisco-Texas.html

I haven't been here long enough to comment on the "friendliness" here. I can certainly say things are better as far as customer service goes. I think since real estate is dirt cheap here and retail wages are lower stores can afford to stock and staff stores better. Mostly what I have found north of Dallas is countless retails with such a low ratio of customers that the high school kids staffing them are bored to tears and are thus chomping at the bit to find something to do. In fact it's mildly annoying how you get swarmed with customer service as soon as you step in the door, but it is a relief from the people stuffed like sardines in the big city markets of the north. We've met a few folks here and there out in the neighborhood, but essentially I find it no much different than Boston except that the population density is SO much lower and all the associated pluses and minuses factor in.

Pools and parks are weak in DFW. Well parks are weak actually. Most of what I've seen are treeless scorched earth. I LOVED my parks in Boston, and there is NOTHING in north Dallas or Collin county even remotely like that. The Dallas Arboretum is great (but pricey!), but that is not necessarily in a good school district. Pools are plentiful though, they are are in rec centers, health clubs, and probably what is your best bet, planned communities. Check out apts.com for those ideas.

Dallas actually has some highly rated schools. And some of the north Dallas neighborhoods are part of the Richardson School district and diversity is favorable. Richardson schools are also highly rated. Schools are determined by neighborhood and there are some testing in schools. Some of the native Dallasites can probably tell you which zip codes border Richardson, then you can see one of those schools/neighborhoods fit your bill. Dallas is a blue city BTW.

Another good possibility is Garland. More diverse, good(ish) schools, and I hear they actually have a nice park there (with trees!).

One other thing about Dallas I think you'll be happy to know is that it's not as provincial as people might think. Just like BOS or CHI, half the people I meet here are from somewhere else too, so you won't feel like a complete alien. The native accent here is a little different than the native accent in BOS or CHI (yes, you DO have an accent there!), but otherwise, it's all the same.

And you WILL breathe a sigh of relief when you start driving here.

Hope this helps.

[pepper131]

Junius Heights would be a good fit. It has a good mix. The elem school is good - Lipscomb, but will be adding 5th grade next year I believe. 6th (-8th) grade would be at Long.

Parks close by:
Munger Park
Tietze Park
Lindsley Park

Junius Heights Home Tour Information (http://www.juniusheights.org/home_tour/ - broken link)

The neighborhood is progressive.

[LStrom]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. So far people have recommended Lakewood,Waxahachie, Garland & Richardson(?)(Thanx Bostonian, your post really helped me), and Junius Heights. Any other suggestions? Any one feel that one of the above areas would not be a good fit? Keep in mind that good schools are VERY important.

[LStrom]

Originally Posted by pepper131

Junius Heights would be a good fit. It has a good mix. The elem school is good - Lipscomb, but will be adding 5th grade next year I believe. 6th (-8th) grade would be at Long.

Parks close by:
Munger Park
Tietze Park
Lindsley Park

Junius Heights Home Tour Information (http://www.juniusheights.org/home_tour/ - broken link)

The neighborhood is progressive.

I looked at a few homes on craigslist and the area looks great! So far I think that this area will be the place. Thanks!