dallas!!

[rockgirl]

Its been a while since I have updated here but need some info from the best sources I know.

we've matched for fellowship in Dallas!! I need any and all info you may have about the city, where to live, schools for the kids (preschool and 1st grade), helpful things about the city in general. we have a few contacts but feel like the more info I have thebetter we will be.

we have a whole year to plan which we need, to plan, pack and sell our currrent house, in the new england region. It's going to be quite the dramatic change for us! very excited!!

thanks for any advice!

[SoonerTexan]

Hi! I don't think you've been active since I joined, but vgirl, Thirteen, and I are all in the DFW area. And LadyMoreta soon too!

Sounds like we need to do an IMSN meetup!!

Is the fellowship at UTSW? What's your rental budget and your DH's tolerance for commute? Do you want an apartment or house?

[ladymoreta]

Woo hoo! I can't wait to meet you!

[rockgirl]

Hi! I don't think you've been active since I joined, but vgirl, Thirteen, and I are all in the DFW area. And LadyMoreta soon too!

Sounds like we need to do an IMSN meetup!!

Is the fellowship at UTSW? What's your rental budget and your DH's tolerance for commute? Do you want an apartment or house?

awesome!! yea I am on infrequently. after 3 kids in 4 years my surfing online just about dwindled to nonexistant. I have been on here since med school, 8+ years ago, sometimes active, other times asleep.

our prioroties are a good school district and safe neighborhood. Id say our budget should be less than $2,000, house or condo, hopfully 3 bedrooms. walking distance to playground or park if condo.

The vibe I am getting is that everything is very spread out, lots of traveling and it gets super duper hot in the summer. do public schools have preschool programs? we will have a first grader and 4 yr preschooler that preferably will be in same school. I think once we get an idea of schools (district vs private/parochial) we will be able to narrow down neighborhoods. If we go private school, more flexible in location, public school, obviously where the school lines are drawn will be our desired residence. where would you live if elementary school was #1 priority?

[SoonerTexan]

If we go private school, more flexible in location, public school, obviously where the school lines are drawn will be our desired residence. where would you live if elementary school was #1 priority?

Where we are moving...Coppell This is going to sound totally biased since we are planning on living there, but check out Coppell and Valley Ranch--zip codes 75019 and 75063. It's a really popular choice with med school and resident families. Coppell has awesome schools, but I don't think they have pre-school included. There are a few highly-regarded ones there, though:

http://www.fumccoppell.org/439812.ihtml

http://www.cremedelacreme.com/

You will be able to find a nice 3 bedroom home under $2k in both Coppell and Valley Ranch. Valley Ranch is technically Irving and has lots of apartments, but I include it because the half of it west of MacArthur Road is zoned to Coppell schools. The eastern half goes to Carrollton-Farmers Branch schools, which aren't the best at the middle school/high school level (though not awful), but the elementaries in that area are good.

It's about 20 min to UTSW from Coppell with no traffic and 30-40 with traffic. If he is going in at off times it will be really easy. Coppell is a really nice place to raise a family. They have loads of parks and it is full of families.

If you are a resident of Coppell, you can join this place for very little $$:

http://www.ci.coppell.tx.us/aquaticrec-center

And if you are in Valley Ranch, they have something similar:

http://www.ci.irving.tx.us/parks-and...tic-Center.asp

The other area I would look at is Lake Highlands/M Streets/Lakewood. This is closer to downtown Dallas, although the commute might not be much better than Coppell depending on where you live. These areas tend to be a little more pricey, but I still think they could fit your budget. You have to be really careful about elementary schools though, as it is DISD. There are a few really great ones (Lakewood Elementary, Stonewall Jackson Elementary) and some that are downright scary. I don't know anything about preschools in this area.

These are the other areas you might come across and why I wouldn't choose them:
--Highland Park/University Park--gorgeous but out of your budget
--Uptown--also cool, but not really child friendly and $$$$
--Carrollton/Farmers Branch--Okay, but not really the nicest, schools are meh, and you might as well be in Coppell
--Addison/Richardson--Some of the schools are okay, but the commute will probably be awful for your husband
--Plano/Allen/McKinney/Frisco--I love these areas, but unless your DH is a saint like vgirl's in regards to commute, they are probably too far.
--Irving--Okay north of 183, but the schools are meh. Some elementaries are okay, but you have to do your research. Stay away from Irving south of 183. It get's a little scary.
--Dallas--stay away from the area around the med school. Also, in general, stay north of I-30 in Dallas, unless you can find something in North Oak Cliff. It's also a trendy, expensive area with spotty schools, though.

Did I overwhelm you with enough info?

[rockgirl]

great!! keep it coming, i love the info. huge help. thank you

Does everyone commute into dallas unless you can afford the really pricey neighborhoods? we had someone suggest m streets but they sent kids to preschool at the ymca. no idea about public school. are dallas public schools generally scary and should we avoid them?

will definitely look into the coppell area. is proximity to airport a problem there?

commute/ fellowship will be baylor. not sure which facility, hospital or area its located. I should probably find out.

[v-girl]

Does everyone commute into dallas unless you can afford the really pricey neighborhoods? we had someone suggest m streets but they sent kids to preschool at the ymca. no idea about public school. are dallas public schools generally scary and should we avoid them?

commute/ fellowship will be baylor. not sure which facility, hospital or area its located. I should probably find out.

Yes, unless you want a tiny house or can afford to pay 3X as much for your house, you commute. I think there are one or two decent elem schools in Dallas. We looked at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Monica for elem and went with one in Richardson instead -- tuition was a steal just north of 635. We live in Allen and DH moonlights at Baylor. He often takes the DART train from Plano (10 min drive) and goes straight to the hospital -- he's able to read or work during his commute that way. He even takes the train to UTSW, but it requires a little more time. There are several other doctors he sees often heading in the same direction.

Allen has great schools, but we don't do public school (we homeschool, and did Catholic school before that). There are some Allen schools that have preschool, as well as some excellent church preschools. Creme de la Creme is fantastic, but will run as much if not more than your rent (I helped on the PR account when they opened). Allen has one of those too.

You can have your pick of nice houses around here with your budget.

[SoonerTexan]

Airports: Coppell and Grapevine are about as close as you are going to get to DFW. Love Field is near downtown

are dallas public schools generally scary and should we avoid them?

I think on the whole the Elementary schools tend to fare better. DISD does have some excellent magnet high schools. So in general, yeah, I'd avoid DISD unless you can pinpoint specific elementaries that are good, and there are some very good ones in the Lakewood/M-Streets area.

Hmmm...if you are going to Baylor the M-Streets are really really tempting! That would be a sweet commute for your husband...only about 10 minutes. Just stay north of Richmond and/or Belmont Street. You'd also be right next to a Trader Joes...

This is a pretty good example of what you would be able to get, but you have to jump on them quickly:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...rental=1&row=2

You'll find some stuff that is really cheap and bright and shiny and new right next to Baylor...don't do it. It's cheap for a reason. The area is sketchy. Maybe not so bad for a single person, but since you are a SAHM with kiddos...no freakin' way. In general East Dallas is a mixed bag of really nice and really crappy all mixed in together. You have to be really careful where you rent.

Coppell still wouldn't be bad to Baylor, but vgirl is right, you could look into Plano & Allen if your husband was willing to take the train. Just know commuting down 75 during rush hour would be absolute hell, but not bad if his hours vary. Then it wouldn't be too bad at all.

[rockgirl]

thanks for the info! sounds like we need to do either suburbs or have very specific streets/addresses to ensure the right elementary school. we have another entire year to figure everything out but i feel like time will fly. we are planning to head there in the fall at some point to look around and get a feel for the city. then again in the spring to sign a lease contract. M streets is in the middle of the two places DH will be, making commute for him cake.

really getting amped up about all the fun things to do around town.

in the university park area ok to look? or in a reasonable price range? from realtor.com looked like there were some reasonable rentals.

[SoonerTexan]

If you can swing University Park, by all means, go for it. HPISD is arguably one of the best school districts (if not the best) in Dallas. I just looked up the zip codes, though, (75225 and 75205) and nothing came up on Realtor.com. I suspect the rentals you found were in the area just to the north, which also is a nice area, but again, you're going to have to check on the schools and streets carefully. Some of those areas (especially as you head west from the park cities towards Love Field) are riches to rags almost immediately. Like...a block apart.

[GrayMatterWife]

Yes. Highland Park SD, if you can. There is a reason it is so good. It is in a separate municipality that Dallas--the city of Highland Park (even though it is completely encircled by the city of Dallas). Under the Swann case from a bajillion years ago, the federal government cannot compell interdistrict transferring (only intradistrict). So Highland Park SD has almost 100% affluent families (yes, there are a few exceptions, but not many). And it is something like 98% white and Asian. (I interviewed for a job there once, and they were bragging about how multi-cultural they were because they had an African appreciate week or something--and failed to see the irony). It is a fantastic system, but very hemogenous.

[SoonerTexan]

Honestly, it isn't the environment I would want to raise kids in for the reasons GMW listed, but a year certainly isn't going to do any damage to an elementary school age kid