Moving to Dallas from CT... (Houston, Plano: for sale, real estate, credit)

[ctyankee427]

I'm sure that everybody is tired of the Help, I'm moving to Dallas posts! and I want to apologize in advance for making the same plea, but since everybody has a unique situation....

We have two active boys 7 & 8 and currently live in Ct. I will be working in downtown Dallas (moody & mckinnon) and my wife stays at home. We want to spend $400-$500K for a house with a resonable commute (0-40 mins).

Our biggest priority is a top flight school district. While we will consider a private school, we would like one that sends a good percentage of kids to top flight colleges (ivy's, Stamford, etc).

From what I read in the posts, Highland Park seems to fit most of our criteria except that the thought of dropping $1.5 million for a house in Texas seems a bit ridiculous.

Now, we have lived in Texas before, in Houston, and really liked the Kingwood area. Great schools, reasonable commute, lots of trees and nice homes.

Thanks again for all of your help!

[ShellNic]

Moody & McKinnon, I believe, is right there in Uptown. You really have access to a lot of nice areas and I agree, dropping a WHOLE LOT of cash for Highland Park stings (even though it's very nice). Maybe look in University Park though...Inwood Rd., Lovers Lane, Park Lane...the area around North Park or even the M Streets (Mockingbird, McCommas, etc. on lower Greenville).

There are a lot of funky neighborhoods with loads of charm and access to many activities which fit your budget. I don't have first hand knowledge of the schools there, however, but I'm sure many folks will help you with that.

Good luck. Has the power come back on in CT? I hope your move goes well!

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ctyankee427

I'm sure that everybody is tired of the Help, I'm moving to Dallas posts! and I want to apologize in advance for making the same plea, but since everybody has a unique situation....

We have two active boys 7 & 8 and currently live in Ct. I will be working in downtown Dallas (moody & mckinnon) and my wife stays at home. We want to spend $400-$500K for a house with a resonable commute (0-40 mins).

Our biggest priority is a top flight school district. While we will consider a private school, we would like one that sends a good percentage of kids to top flight colleges (ivy's, Stamford, etc).

From what I read in the posts, Highland Park seems to fit most of our criteria except that the thought of dropping $1.5 million for a house in Texas seems a bit ridiculous.

Now, we have lived in Texas before, in Houston, and really liked the Kingwood area. Great schools, reasonable commute, lots of trees and nice homes.


Thanks again for all of your help!

Highland Park ISD is what you are looking for- I am a graduate. It isn't spending $1.5M for a "house in Texas"; it's buying in a community that is on all the same "most affluent towns" list as Greenwich,CT and Scarsdale,NY. It's worth every penny that Greenwich or the best of Westchester is. Small schools, incredibly smart & high performing students with involved parents, THE highest SAT average in North Texas, THE highest percent of students in AP classes (85%) with a very high pass rate. One of the top 2-3 schools for % of senior class being National Merit. If you can afford it (and you fan find a great home for $900-1.1M range, too), you should at least look into it. It looks and feels like the beautiful NY/CT suburbs (minus your large lots and lush foliage!)

The next best sschools would be Coppell (35-40 min NW, more of a bedroom community with not a lot of retail & entertainment, but great schools) and Plano (a northern suburb about 30-40 minute commute. Mostly newer construction from 1980's to 2010's. Very competiive schools but HUGE- graduating classes are 1100-1500 students in each of the 3 high schools!)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ShellNic

Moody & McKinnon, I believe, is right there in Uptown. You really have access to a lot of nice areas and I agree, dropping a WHOLE LOT of cash for Highland Park stings (even though it's very nice). Maybe look in University Park though...Inwood Rd., Lovers Lane, Park Lane...the area around North Park or even the M Streets (Mockingbird, McCommas, etc. on lower Greenville).

There are a lot of funky neighborhoods with loads of charm and access to many activities which fit your budget. I don't have first hand knowledge of the schools there, however, but I'm sure many folks will help you with that.

Good luck. Has the power come back on in CT? I hope your move goes well!

You named a lot of pretty neighborhoods (good luck on that $500k home on Park Lane or Inwood!!), but all except HP/UP (HPISD) will require private schools to find a critical mass of Ivy-bound/equivalent classmates. Private runs about $17 (Catholic) to high $20k's per year in Dallas....if one gets in.

[txgolfer130]

Highland Park is a great neighborhood. And not all the homes there are $1.5M, there are some deals to be found for sure. Now that said they will be smaller and not quite as grand as some of the other homes in the area, but they are also in the mid 5 to mid 800k range. They go fast, so you have to be ready to go w/ an offer, but they can be found. University Park, just a couple of blocks away will also provide some choices, all within the 15-20 min. drive range you need.

Here are some examples:

(12 minutes-actually in HP)
4140 Prescott Ave Dallas TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11623947 - Realtor.com®


(10 minutes)
7415 Kaywood Dr Dallas TX - New Home for Sale - MLS #11332946 - Realtor.com®

Obviously the further out from HP you go there are more deals, but even out to Preston Hollow your still well within your 40 min. range.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

You named a lot of pretty neighborhoods (good luck on that $500k home on Park Lane or Inwood!!), but all except HP/UP (HPISD) will require private schools to find a critical mass of Ivy-bound/equivalent classmates. Private runs about $17 (Catholic) to high $20k's per year in Dallas....if one gets in.

I think these prices are off...the Catholic schools below high school are more in the $5-10k range. And there are some very good non-Cathlic privates that are more in the $15-20k range.

That said, when you add that up for a couple of kiddos, you are paying what you would to live in HP. There are downsides to HP as well, though. It's extraordinarily insular, with all that entails.

[ShellNic]

To TurtleCreek80...well, you might be right about Park and Inwood. Perhaps I was wishful thinking for this newcomer! Or for me, one day?? I do think though if you research and keep your eye on the prize, you can find something that will suit your needs and your price range. Patience, I suppose, is key!

[CREW747]

We moved from Ct and had the exact scenario.We didn't have the $700,000 plus price range for hip and di not want a very small cottage style house.We chose Prosper.We did a new build and have been thrilled with the schools.Check out my previous posts on Prosper and look up the following subdivisions .You could build brand new or buy used.All start around $240,000...

- Willow Ridge
- Cedar ridge
-Lakes of La Cima
- Deer run
- Whitley Place
- Saddle creek
- Gentle creek ( golf community )
- Trails of Prosper
- Whispering Farms

[Lakewooder]

You should also check out W.T. White, Woodrow Wilson and Hillcrest High feeder patterns in Dallas. There are not large numbers going to Ivy schools but there are some. They have all been on the Washington Post and Newsweek lists for top high schools in the nation for AP/IB participation. You will be able to find something in your price range and all are closer to downtown.

The closest to downtown is Woodrow (about 10 minutes), so search on here for threads about it and Lakewood and M-Streets. I am an alumnus of Woodrow and frequently provide information about the school here on the City Data Forum.

Since your children are young you should seek out homes in the Stonewall Jackson and Lakewood Elementary zones. See 75206, 75214 and 75223 (Hollywood Heights). There is a bit of an east coast (relatively speaking) feel in these neighborhoods as there are large trees, White Rock Lake and abundance of character and historic homes (as well as many new ones). There's some old money and less ostentation and pretentiousness than some of the other areas around DFW. It's easy-going and there is much less social pressure. A big difference here is that in secondary schools the student population is very diverse and runs the gamut from very poor to very rich. A lot of people here feel that is a good experience for all to have.

Woodrow earned accreditation as an IB World School in March after a three-year process. It has also been redesigned into four college prep academies: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance (BEF); Performing Arts and International Baccalaureate. The school still offers 22 AP and 8 dual-credit classes. STEM and BEF are NAF academies and students in those may also qualify for the IBCC certificate by taking a partial IB load.

The middle school, J. L. Long, was certified as a candidate school for IB MYP in June. As such it is now offering the Middle Years Programme curriculum.

A foundation has been set up to foster IB and other programs in the Lakewood schools http://www.woodrowfoundation.org/ so that they are not dependent on public funding. A good example of fundraising for this is the 35th annual home tour next weekend: Lakewood Home Tour It raised $140,000 last year for Lakewood, Long and Woodrow and reflects the efforts of over 300 volunteers. There is an extensive network of accomplished alums and I daresay many of them are famous. We are the only public school to produce two Heisman trophy winners and we also have Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winners.

Also see: Woodrow Wilson High School and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow...(Dallas,_Texas)

I expect in a few years there will be quite a few more students going on to Ivies*. We had 120 in Freshman Pre-IB last year (now sophomores) and 160 this year in Freshmen Pre-IB. 40% are from private schools. The IB and other academies are being phased in over a four-year period and we are in the second year of implementation. The college-accepted rate for the senior class has improved from 64% to 88% and 90% in the last two years. A recent study by the Dallas Morning News showed Woodrow to be one of 20 North Texas high schools 'exceeding expectations' for college readiness: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/educa...ic-factors.ece

As your children are in elementary school, you have quite a bit of time before considering you secondary options and those should be steller given the current trajectory. We are definitely not HP and most consider that an attribute.

* IB Diploma earns 24 credit hours in Texas universities and at many around the world. This may vary - however students may also take AP tests and earn even more credit hours. Acceptance rates for IB Diploma grads are generally higher but not necessarily so at all Ivy-League schools. When I say I expect many more students to go to Ivies I am also speculating that since there will be more students on that level, it will follow. Some say that it's actually better for Ivy admissions to make application from a school such as Woodrow over some of the more popular alternatives.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by debtex

I think these prices are off...the Catholic schools below high school are more in the $5-10k range. And there are some very good non-Cathlic privates that are more in the $15-20k range.

I was quoting high school prices since you end up paying them eventually.