OK, sell me on your neighborhood

[OZMDD]

As some of you know, our house is on the market, and we are expecting a couple of offers in the morning, so its time to really consider the next house.

We are moving to be closer to work, with better schools and a property that is likely to appreciate in value over the next 20 years until my son is grown and we retire.

We have a couple of target areas, but I'd like to consider all feasible options, thus the post.

Westsiders - save your breath. I know its great out there, but we both work in downtown Dallas and that ain't changing anytime soon.

What we think we need:
1) 20 miles or less to downtown Dallas (<10 is preferred)
2) $250K is the target budget.
3) High performing public schools (K-12)in a district with solid financials. Magnet program is a bonus.
4) Age of construction is not a priority, but some degree of deed restrictions/HOA is desirable to avoid blight.
5) Tax/insurance costs. I'll raise my purchase budget if I can save here in the long run. Obviously, Dallas County means more expense here, so less to spend up front.
6)City services/community resources - library, town center, pool, shopping, transit options, greenspace - are meaningful to us, though not deal-breakers.
7) Freeway access - I can live with a little roadwork for a year or so if the project is wrapping up, but I don't want to spend the next 5-10 years fighting a High Five-type situation.

If you live in a great neighborhood/community/area and think it might be a good fit, please post something for me to check out. I'm not ruling out a longer commute or some other item on our list if the pros significantly outweigh the cons, but we have commuted 45-60+ min each way with my son for the last 2 years, and I'd really like to have that time at home instead of in the car, even if I can afford less house.

Thanks!

[sxk122]

Lake Highlands in general. Specifically the area bounded by Forest and walnut and 75 and Audelia. We are just north of Royal and a block west of Greenville and LOVE it. We are both close to work, and can get anywhere we want to easily. Our area is a bit less costly than your target, we picked up a short sale home for $120 last summer, but just on the other side of Greenville the size of homes (and the prices )increase, which might still be in budget for you. I haven't shopped them in the past year, but when we were researching this place there were a bunch in the $225 to $275 range. Our house is an updated 1950's home-- about 1300 sqf with a 480 sqf garage. We did a bit of cosmetic work to it, but nothing major. And there are trees..... lots of mature, giant trees which I love.

[sxk122]

I happened to be coating the garage floor the day google drove by, pardon the crap in the driveway and the miata in the street... But this picture shows one of the tings I love about our neighborhood, all the large mature trees.....

[jrj512]

Little Elm.

[VFR750]

^ I thought he wanted his commute time to go down....
You can find what you are looking for in Dallas County (except for the schools). I have lived in Dallas since 1975 (yes, I am old...) There are lots of nice neighborhoods however the schools might be an issue for you (although both my kids did just fine going through DISD, you just have to be involved with the schools IMO). My wife works for Southwest Airlines, we live just north of the airport, close to Forest Ln and Marsh Ln. The main area I would look in is bordered by Marsh to I75 and LBJ south to NW Hwy, what I would call old North Dallas. Like SXK122 said Lake Highlands is nice also.....good luck with your search and let us know where you end up.

[sube]

I would recommend our neighborhood in south east Frisco, walking distance to all years of school, good district (so I have been told). But your would HATE the commute. My commute only goes about 1/2 way to downtown (Addison) and it gets real old, real quick.

[POS Racing]

If you don't bury yourself in a mortgage a private school may be something you want to also consider.

Today public school teachers seem more interested in trips to Nationals and car setup than teaching the youth!

[slowchildmiata]

Today public school teachers seem more interested in trips to Nationals and car setup than teaching the youth!

I see what you did there.

[altiain]

Lol at POS’s comment.

I would recommend the Murphy/Sachse area, but your commute would be longer. Nice area, nice amenities, nowhere near as congested as Frisco (ugh), more home for your money, lots of parks and recreation areas, near major lakes, good freeway access with the PGBT, etc. Sachse is in Garland ISD and has an excellent magnet school program. Murphy is split between Plano and Wylie ISD, both of which are very highly regarded. We’re on the Plano ISD side of Murphy, but we’ve actually contemplated moving to Sachse so that Colin could be eligible for GISD magnet program, otherwise he’s probably going to private school.

One plus (to me, anyway) with Murphy – there is a city zoning law that prevents alleyways, so all homes have front/side entry garages and larger backyards. The only downside is that the property values have gone down a bit since black roadster moved in, but he’s a renter so he won’t be here forever.

There are a lot of nice, newer homes in Murphy/Sachse in the $200-250k range, although you can definitely spend more if you want. We bought in ’06 just slightly above your target, and our home has appreciated, even through the downturn. That said, I wish BR’s neighborhood had been more built out in ’06, because I would have preferred a single story ranch house with 2600-2800 SQFT and a 3-car garage than the 2-story, 3200 SQFT, 2-car garage house we have, but there weren’t many of those houses on the market when we were shopping six years ago and we didn’t have time to build.

[altiain]

One other comment I will make – even though I think Murphy/Sachse is a great place to live, commute distance played a huge factor in where we chose to live. Before we moved my daily commute was ~110 miles round trip (NRH to NE Garland), and it ate up 3 hours of every day. Now my commute is ~5 miles each way, backroads alongside a golf course, and takes 15 minutes on average. That extra 2.5 hours a day is priceless to me, and I will never voluntarily move somewhere that results in a long commute again.

[goofygrin]

I would recommend our neighborhood in south east Frisco, walking distance to all years of school, good district (so I have been told). But your would HATE the commute. My commute only goes about 1/2 way to downtown (Addison) and it gets real old, real quick.

We might be neighbors (I'm NW corner of Hillcrest and Lebanon).

My neighborhood is awesome for schools and convenience to stuff in the north part of Dallas, but I'd shoot myself if I had to drive downtown every day.

My wife has family that lives in the 75/Forest type area and it's nice (big trees, mature neighborhoods) but the schools are terrible and you'll be buying a private school education.

We were looking a couple years ago and decided to stay in our area since E will walk K-8 to great schools which is a big, big deal for me. Amy is a SAHM though.

[sube]

We might be neighbors (I'm NW corner of Hillcrest and Lebanon).

Real close; North of 121, between Custer and Independence. We have a real nice bonus of a nice creek with trails winding through the neighborhood. It is great to see a neighborhood where the kids get to go out exploring...

[CosmosMpower]

It is great to see a neighborhood where there are no kids whatsoever...

Fixed :)

[OZMDD]

Great stuff. thanks to all. I've been fortunate to have been to several of y'all's homes over the past couple years, but its better to hear your thoughts.

We are big on public school, so that's a priority. I'd also prefer to save the $12-15K/year for college instead of tuition. (we pay $1100/mo right now for daycare at a private school) Richardson ISD has some excellent schools in areas. Garland has the magnets too, and Plano ISD is excellent. I know I can keep him in Magnets in DISD (I teach in one), but that presumes that a) He will qualify for the programs, and b) the magnet program survives another 16 years.

Lake Highlands is our current target with the ideal location for our commute(and his daycare is near Walnut Hill @ Skillman), but its city of Dallas which presents some issues, and it has the highest taxes and insurance costs. We'd probably end up with a 1950-1960's home <1800 sf. Going farther out and getting a new/near new home is tempting, but the commute...

[BigDmiata]

Can't comment specifically on home ownership (I'm a renter for now) But, in the south part of garland near 30 and PGBT has some nicer homes, GISD magnet schools, 20 minute commute to downtown Dallas. I live in an older neighborhood (smaller home, smaller rent) but it suits me well, biggest drawback is I'm not conveniently located near a rail line.

[wrx74]

Next door to Jimmy!


...or KenO....

[OZMDD]

my price range won't get me within 2 miles of KenO. I think thats by design. :)

[EricJ]

Don't forget to check out Lewisiville ISD and even Coppell ISD. LISD was really close the Plano in the % of exemplary schools. Coppell has a special technology H.S.
LISD covers The Colony and parts of Carrollton that might meet your distance from downtown requirement.

[Titus]

You might check out Rowlett and Rockwall. IIRC, Rockwall ISD is good. Rowlett is part Rockwall ISD and part Garland ISD. 30 traffic is much lighter than 35/DNT/75, and you will not be paying all the tolls. You have the lake plus karting and a drag strip 10 minutes down the road. I literally JUST drove through Rockwall heading downtown and it took me 23 minutes fro. 205 & 30 to the sheraton on pearl. granted that was against traffic but I watched 30 east bound and it was flowing well the whole way. If you carpool there is even an HOV lane.

[OZMDD]

Got a full-price offer this afternoon, so it looks like I'll be checking out these neighborhoods asap.