Relocating from Detroit area to Dallas, TX...help! (Arlington, Plano: low crime, school district)

[b4tunate]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

From a former Michigander, here's my comments:

Texas has no state income taxes.

Property taxes are roughly 2.25% of your home sale price. Property value for tax basis can increase by up to 10% per year - Michigan's property tax limitation was much better. Moral of the story... buy a little less than you can afford, just to be safe. Moving into an apartment is smart - learn the areas, as you'll find out there are many, many different areas here. It's HUGE!

Even a "bad" road here would be considered "new" in Michigan. Seriously. I-94 is used by trucking companies to test packaging materials. 'Nuff said.

Weather is obviously hotter. This is something to keep in mind with vehicles - cars without A/C here just don't exist. Also, your cooling bills in the summer will obviously be higher than in Michigan. Electricity here does cost more - it's about 12 cents per KwH. Peak summer bills can range from $200-500 - all depends on the age of your AC unit, the size of your house, if someone is home all day, windows, etc. Apartment bills tend to be on the higher end, since they usually have crappy AC units. If you're on the top floor - definitely expect a shocking bill in June/Jul/August.

The lakes here are, well, small. I wouldn't want to live on a lake here and have jetskis and boats zipping by my back yard. Michigan has rivers wider than most any lake in TX.

Michigan is a very vehicle-centric state, so that isn't a change here. Drivers here are crazy, too.

Sweet tea. Learn what it is. It's AWESOME. You'll also notice that service in restaurants is amazing. A buddy of mine visited a while back and said he TRIED to finish his soda (not pop - I finally gave into the "soda" thing)... without success. He still talks about that!

Dr. Pepper - I still think it's gross... but it's everywhere here.

A&W - there's one or two around the metro area if you look hard enough.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other Michigan based questions. FYI: My parents moved form Michigan about 8 months ago - they moved to Grapevine. My niece was just too cute - the lure of Grandparenting was just too strong.

Brian

Thank you for the information everyone! You have no idea how helpful it has been. however, no one seemed to mention how diverse of an area Carollton is. In looking at the numbers it appears that there is only 5% Black population in that city (according to their city website). Are there other areas in between there that would provide a better mix of cultures or are the numbers (%) worse then that I envision them to be? Let me know more thoughts. Thanks again.

[b4tunate]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

I learned to love Dr Pepper in college. I found mixing it with Capt. Morgan's Spiced Rum created a pleasant mixed drink....

I actually love Dr. Pepper, so no arguments from me on that end!

[b4tunate]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

I apparently did type wider. I certainly meant bigger. On that point, I stand corrected.

Unless you have 25+ years of living in Michigan I am unaware of and actually have a point of reference that the original poster asked for, then I stand by my statements.

This p#$$ing match isn't getting anyone anywhere (but it is proving that Aceplace and I are both very strong-willed individuals... hehe). Discussion over.

Brian

Both of you were very helpful, I definitely didn't mean to be the cause of a heated debate about lakes, but I do appreciate the information as well. You both taught me a lot about the lakes in both areas and I've been in Michigan for 29 years! Thanks again.

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

Originally Posted by b4tunate

Thank you for the information everyone! You have no idea how helpful it has been. however, no one seemed to mention how diverse of an area Carollton is. In looking at the numbers it appears that there is only 5% Black population in that city (according to their city website). Are there other areas in between there that would provide a better mix of cultures or are the numbers (%) worse then that I envision them to be? Let me know more thoughts. Thanks again.

For the northern suburbs, that looks to be pretty typical - Carrollton may even be on the higher end. In general, the further south you go in Dallas, the higher the percentage skews toward Black. However, Carrollton has a good mix of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indian cultures - you can check the city percentages for all the cities here: https://www.city-data.com/city/Texas.html.

I would agree with the area that sonshinelife listed - you would have good access to Plano (by either 190 or surface roads), and Irving (also via 190 or I-35). There are some nice apartment complexes in the area around 121/Hebron Road near I-35 that would work pretty well for both of you (sorry, I don't know the names - maybe sonshine knows). Both Carrollton and Lewisville have excellent schools.

[dallas76]

The african american population in Dallas is too spread out across the region to pin point a particular area. There are pockets all over, but your best racial mix of people will be your far south Dallas suburbs and Arlington. If you go north, Plano, Carrollton, Lewisville, parts of Irving (not Hwy-183 mostly Hispanic), and Richardson will be your best bet. The further north of Dallas you go the whiter it gets, but that is true in most major cities even the "black mecca" Atlanta. As an african american I understand what you want in your community, but Dallas is more self segregated. People just like to live in area where they are comfortable, have cultural similarities with there neighbors and good quality of living.
Frisco, Allen, Grapevine Coppell and Mckinney are all majority white, but I know alot of African Americans that live in these cities and love it. Low crime, good quality of life, and good schools.
Cedar Hill, Desoto, South Arlington, South Grand Prairie and Mansfield (far south suburbs) have a significant african american population. I know caucasian americans who live in these cities and love it. Low crime, good quality of life, BUT some of your school district are very questionable. But as you know with minorities you will have some low income and educated pockets. That sound terrible, but it is the truth.
I hope this help with your search. Don't limit your decision based on where your work. Your commute is important, but don't trade good community for a short cummute. Also check out some areas of Dallas proper.

[lh_newbie]

I believe you can look up racial diversity on a school-by-school basis. I thought I saw somewhere that Lake Highlands High School was roughly 1/3 white, 1/3 hispanic and 1/3 african american... but this is just from my (very poor) memory.

Brian

[FarNorthDallas]

Lake Highlands High School is:

43.6 Caucasian
38.0 African American
15.1 Hispanic

It's in northeast Dallas, the neighborhood is called Lake Highlands.

[sonshinelife]

FYI and nothing more

43.6 is probably a mixture of white and Asian. These two sub pops are generally placed together when providing information to the state for schools.

However you can break it down even further for precise #. Again, I'm just throwing another twist into the scenario.

[FarNorthDallas]

The Asian population at Lake Highlands is 2.7 percent. I didn't put it because they were talking about the breakdown of Caucasian, AA and Hispanic.

[sonshinelife]

thanks for the clarification... I guess I'm a little surprised that the Asian pop is only 2.7% in that area.

LOL I guess if I had added your #'s up I would of seen this. Sorry it has been a long day.