Best Place to move

[Grainraiser]

You can forget Mesquite because you want find much over 200k. Replace it with Sunnyvale which will have many homes in your price range. They have great schools but beware it is a fairly small community which may or may not appeal to you.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by sumith007

Hi all,
We recently moved to dallas from NY....My wife is working in Downtown Methodist Hospital.We have a 18 months old baby too. Can some one suggest what is a best place to buy a house in terms of schooling & money.We r looking for a house btw 250-300 range. Thanx in advance.

Methodist Hospital is a bit past downtown. You will travel thru downtown to reach it. A good friend lives in Rowlett and works there as well. Another good friend also lives in Rowlett and travels close to Methodist to teach at the DISD TAG high school. Takes her about 30-40 minutes depending on traffic and she leaves around 7:30am ish.

[quote=sumith007;8990161how is the schools in garland,mesquite area?[/QUOTE]

I've been very happy with the schools in the Garland ISD. Like every other district out there including Plano, Frisco, McKinney, etc some individual schools are better than others. In the Garland ISD you have "open choice". The "choice of school" forms have already been turned in for the upcoming school year but do not worry about that. Once you find a house you like and make an offer take a copy of the contract to the Student Services building and fill out the "choice of school" form. If you can not get your first pick you CAN ask to be put on the waiting list. I do not know of one single person that did not get called to their first choice if they were on the waiting list. What happens is over the summer kids move and the parents do not call the schools to let them know their spot is open. You also have parents that every year will fill it out and turn it in but end up keeping their kids in private school so there will be spots available. The calls usually come on the first day of school once they get a good count of student enrollment. You do not have to pick your "neighborhood zoned" school either as your first, second or even third choice.

The Garland ISD also has an AWESOME magnet program.

Originally Posted by jpeagle21

I pretty-much agree with this. You could find houses for $250 in Mesquite and Garland (especially the nicer areas of Garland), but not many. The schools are adequate in both cities.

Actually, at this time there are 59 listings for homes in Garland in the $240K - $320K range. Always go a bit below and over your target as you never know what you may find . The schools are also more that adequate .

Originally Posted by sumith007

Thank u all 4 ur valuable comments...i think i will be start looking somewhere in garland,mesquite area.

If you find something in the Garland area and curious about the immediate area and the neighborhood schools feel free to pm me.

[jpeagle21]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Actually, at this time there are 59 listings for homes in Garland in the $240K - $320K range. Always go a bit below and over your target as you never know what you may find . The schools are also more that adequate .

And there are over 700 homes between $240 and $350 in Frisco. Close to 300 homes in Plano. 750 homes in Dallas. So yes, 59 homes in that price range is relatively few for a large city like Garland.

Also, I wouldn't describe the GISD as any more than adequate when compared to other districts. GISD had less than half (45%) of their schools rate either exemplary or recognized as compared to Richardson (81%), Plano (68%), and Frisco (81%).

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by jpeagle21

And there are over 700 homes between $240 and $350 in Frisco. Close to 300 homes in Plano. 750 homes in Dallas. So yes, 59 homes in that price range is relatively few for a large city like Garland.

Also, I wouldn't describe the GISD as any more than adequate when compared to other districts. GISD had less than half (45%) of their schools rate either exemplary or recognized as compared to Richardson (81%), Plano (68%), and Frisco (81%).

But the point is that the houses are there. No one is going to look at 300 houses on their own or even 59 on their own, so there is more than enough choice.

And for Garland the fact is that the schools are free choice, so ANYONE in the district can attend an exemplary school or recognized school, not just those that live in the right neighborhood. For example, in Plano, while all 3 of the senior high schools are Recognized, only one of the 5 junior highs is Recognized. Anyone in GISD can choose to attend Rowlett HS, which is Recognized for 9-12, so you can get a good education in GISD (if you base your opinion of a school solely on TEA ratings, which I don't).

[Texan#1]

Look at Coppell.... it's a very nice city and the schools are among the area's best.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by Texan#1

Look at Coppell.... it's a very nice city and the schools are among the area's best.

Coppell isn't particularly close to Oak Cliff, though.

[Texan#1]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

Coppell isn't particularly close to Oak Cliff, though.

The drive should take 20-30 min with no traffic... 40-50 min with traffic? He could also look into the part of Irving that has Coppell schools (a few minutes closer).

[jpeagle21]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

But the point is that the houses are there. No one is going to look at 300 houses on their own or even 59 on their own, so there is more than enough choice.

And for Garland the fact is that the schools are free choice, so ANYONE in the district can attend an exemplary school or recognized school, not just those that live in the right neighborhood. For example, in Plano, while all 3 of the senior high schools are Recognized, only one of the 5 junior highs is Recognized. Anyone in GISD can choose to attend Rowlett HS, which is Recognized for 9-12, so you can get a good education in GISD (if you base your opinion of a school solely on TEA ratings, which I don't).

No one said there weren't any homes in that price range in Garland.....I said there are few, which there are. And, TAKS scores are really the only thing you can look at from the outside to judge what is a "good" school, unless you are the kind of person who takes ethnicity or socioeconomic status of the students into account, which I don't. Also, ANYONE cannot attend the school of their choice in GISD. From what I understand, there is an application process. Some kids make it into the school of their choice, some don't.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by jpeagle21

And there are over 700 homes between $240 and $350 in Frisco. Close to 300 homes in Plano. 750 homes in Dallas. So yes, 59 homes in that price range is relatively few for a large city like Garland.

Also, I wouldn't describe the GISD as any more than adequate when compared to other districts. GISD had less than half (45%) of their schools rate either exemplary or recognized as compared to Richardson (81%), Plano (68%), and Frisco (81%).

Yes, Garland is a large city. The reason there are only 59 homes for sale in that price range is because it is not as transient as places like Frisco & Plano. People here stay put.

I don't base my opinion of the schools based on TAKS ratings. They can be way too skewed and cheating does go on in those districts

As the mother of children in the district I see firsthand the education they are getting. It IS well more than adequate. Just today at our middle school 8th grade awards over half of the student body received the Presidents Award, over 2/3 already have high school credits and they are only finishing the 8th grade. There are ample opportunities for those that wish to apply themselves in the district to achieve a great education.

Originally Posted by jpeagle21

No one said there weren't any homes in that price range in Garland.....I said there are few, which there are. And, TAKS scores are really the only thing you can look at from the outside to judge what is a "good" school, unless you are the kind of person who takes ethnicity or socioeconomic status of the students into account, which I don't. Also, ANYONE cannot attend the school of their choice in GISD. From what I understand, there is an application process. Some kids make it into the school of their choice, some don't.

If one is going to use TAKS scores to judge a school and district they need to learn to read between the lines. I personally do not count them worth the paper they are written on.

Um, yes, one CAN attend the school of their choice in the GISD. Yes, there is an "application process" and EVERY SINGLE student (rather their parent) has to turn in a choice of school form by the designated date with their top 3 choices. I do not know of a single soul that has not gotten their first choice. Even when they get their second and waitlisted for their first they get a call on the first day of school saying they can attend their first choice. It is not like a lottery like some school districts where parents have to camp out or whatever to ask to get into a "better school". I've been doing "choice of school" firsthand for over 9 years for my two kids. I know it inside and out and my youngest has a ton of kids in her school that do not live in the "zone" for our "neighborhood" school as it is their first choice every year.