moving to north Dallas - need lots of advice (Plano: rent, house)

[Daisy8]

Hi...
My family is moving to the north Dallas area. I chose this general area based on schools, but I want to start looking at more specific areas and need lots of advice. Here is the pertinent information:

My husband is a pilot and will be working out of Love Field. Because of this, he will not be going to work every weekday during typical rush hour times. He will commute in to Love probably 2 times a week.

Our price range is around $250,000.

We have 2 children. One typical elementary age boy, and one younger child who will be attending public school for preschool. He is on the autism spectrum, but moderate to high functioning. We do like smaller neighborhood schools, but that seems par for the course in Dallas. (One of the main reasons we are moving there!)

We like neighborhoods and areas with lots of kids / families / family activities. We would also like to live near a church that has activities / programs for special needs kids.

The autism aspect is top priority for us, but not at the risk of sacrificing our other child's education.

Please offer any advice, not matter how insignificant it seems.

Oh...no, we can't rent first. I wish that were an option, but it is not.

Thanks!

[lvoutloud]

The area around Love Field isn't that great...unless you can afford to live in Highland Park or University Park, but it doesn't sound like that is a possibility in your stated budget. The area around White Rock Lake is nice - older homes, lots of families. I know there are some private schools in the area, but am unsure of the quality of public around there. To get really good public schools, you will need to look in the Suburbs. The Tollway provides easy access to Love Field. We live in Plano, where the schools are highly regarded, and it takes us about 20 minutes to get to Love Field. So, as long as you find a place with easy access to the Tollway - Plano, Frisco, etc...you would be fine. Plano and Frisco are loaded with families and loaded with lots of schools (private and public). There are a couple of really large churches in the area. Prestonwood Baptist (which has it's own school), and Chuck Swindoll's church "Stonebriar Community Church" are two really popular ones. I hope this helps some. Good luck

[turnbun]

Look in the area of north Dallas that feeds into Brentfield Elementary or Bowie Elementary in Richardson ISD. They are great schools, and the neighborhoods are just what you are looking for. If you are set on North Dallas, make sure you are in either Plano or Richardson ISD, not Dallas ISD.
If you want to be a little bit closer to Love Field, check out Lake Highlands. It is in Richardson ISD. The schools I would recommend you look at in Lake Highlands are Moss Haven Elementary, Merriman Park Elementary, and White Rock Elementary.
Good luck!

[FarNorthDallas]

And also look at the areas that feed into Mohawk, Canyon Creek and Prairie Creek elemetary schools. Like Bowie and Brentfield mentioned above, all are exemplary schools and they all feed into JJ Pearce High in the Richardson school district.

[RonRut]

Rockwall or Heath has a lot to offer. Very nice small town, great schools, great churches, good shopping, restaurants, activities, and near Lake Ray Hubbard. It would be a 45 - 60 min drive in traffic to Lovefield. Check out the Rockwall ISD and Lakepointe Church. Best wishes.

[cvill]

Originally Posted by turnbun

If you want to be a little bit closer to Love Field, check out Lake Highlands. It is in Richardson ISD. The schools I would recommend you look at in Lake Highlands are Moss Haven Elementary, Merriman Park Elementary, and White Rock Elementary.
Good luck!

This is a wonderful area. I would also recommend it highly. Great neighborhood associations. And a great early childhood PTA. (LHECPTA).

Good luck!

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by Daisy8

Hi...
My family is moving to the north Dallas area. I chose this general area based on schools, but I want to start looking at more specific areas and need lots of advice. Here is the pertinent information:

My husband is a pilot and will be working out of Love Field. Because of this, he will not be going to work every weekday during typical rush hour times. He will commute in to Love probably 2 times a week.

Our price range is around $250,000.

We have 2 children. One typical elementary age boy, and one younger child who will be attending public school for preschool. He is on the autism spectrum, but moderate to high functioning. We do like smaller neighborhood schools, but that seems par for the course in Dallas. (One of the main reasons we are moving there!)

We like neighborhoods and areas with lots of kids / families / family activities. We would also like to live near a church that has activities / programs for special needs kids.

The autism aspect is top priority for us, but not at the risk of sacrificing our other child's education.

Please offer any advice, not matter how insignificant it seems.

Oh...no, we can't rent first. I wish that were an option, but it is not.

Thanks!

I think Frisco would be a perfect match for your family! The schools here are VERY good and they are building many new schools to keep the enrollment from getting too high at each school. Because of this, Frisco High Schools are 4A.

Frisco is very family-oriented! There is kids the age of your kids everywhere! In our neighborhood, there is a ton of kids and they all play together. For 250K, you can get a really nice house in a wonderful neighborhood for that price.

The commute to Love Field would be very easy, and even easier because your husband will be going in during non-rush hour and only about 2 times a week. It will take about 25-30 minutes to get to Love Field. We actually have 2 pilots just on our street, one for American and one for Southwest.

[Grainraiser]

Since your husband does not have to deal with rush hour and will only have to commute 2 days a week our options are really open. You could just about move anywhere around Dallas and be comfortable. In your case I think you need to be little more specific on what type of neighborhood you want. Do you want new nice and shiney surburb or would you prefer a older a neighborhood with with character and mature trees. You could find either of these in the northern burbs. You just need to choose between a older inner ring surburb or something newer and further out. Both would offer plenty of young families and good schools. I am partial to the Canyon Creek area of Richardson but there are many other nice places.

[Huat]

Originally Posted by turnbun

The schools I would recommend you look at in Lake Highlands are Moss Haven Elementary, Merriman Park Elementary, and White Rock Elementary.

I would highly recommend this area too.

[murphyag]

Plano ISD was one of the first in the state to have a good autism program. They know what they are doing unlike many districts in the area. Also, the school district as a whole is very good. So, both kids will do great.