Where to Live?????? Safe Community?

T.,

I grew up in Irving and completly understand where you are coming from. My husband worked in Garland so we decided to move East of Dallas as well. We moved to Royse City 6 years ago and LOVE IT! The schools are great and the community is fun. It is a real country area.

HI T.- We moved to NW Richardson(on the west side of 75 off of Arapaho/Campbell area about 7 years ago for the schools...Canyon Creek/Praire Creek neighborhoods to be exact! It is a wonderful mix of original owners & new families with kids.

http://www.savannahdfw.com/gallery.html , http://www.providence-tx.com/index2.html, Paloma Creek, Celina...
Lots of communities 380North that are convenient to Tollway, but have that small town community feel.

I have lived in Mesquite since I was about 8 years old. I am now 43 and have a 5 year old. I don't why you think Mesquite is going downhill. Our city is not on the bus line and we have kept the alcohol sales out of Mesquite and I don't know alot of places that can say that. Our crime rate is also very low. Sorry I can't help you with your question but I just had to defend Mesquite!

Far north Carrollton/southern The Colony area! We live here and it is only about 20 minues from where your DH works. I love this area! We are right between I35 and the Tollway so it is only 10 minutes to either, about 25 minutes from the airport, 20 minutes from 4 different malls. There is also a huge variety of neighborhoods within different price ranges. We are in LISD & Denton County so taxes are pretty low and the schools around here are awesome. We also have an amazing moms group here for kids exactly the ages of yours. If you have any specific questions feel free to message me. We also just moved (from just across the street because we didn't want to leave the area) and have an awsome realtor for this area if you are interested.

T., A little about me, I am a mother of three (2 boys age 12 & 8) and a little girl (age 5)and we live in Lake Highlands. We absolutely love it because of the sense of community there is here. Yes, Lake Highlands is really just a part of Dallas but everyone says it feels like a little town inside of a big city. And you can't beat the location, it is so convenient to everything. I don't know what size or amount of house you can afford but there are different price points in LH. Just so you know I am a realtor with Keller Williams (just went back to work after 8 yrs. of being SAHM)and would love the opportunity to help you and your family look into LH or any other area that you could call home. You can either call me at ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com. Thanks and good luck. R.

we live in forney in the travis ranch community. We absolutely love it here. We bought our very first house last year and have had no problems. The school is actually in the neighborhood so depending on where you live you would be less than a mile from the school. The school is. . There is an awesome community pool, skating rink, and multiple play grounds.

the homes are brand new and are selling for less than we paid just last year b/c of the market. Also - we are right next to lake ray hubbard so we are hoping that the community will eventually expand down to the lake (the road is partically completed) which would up our property value.

They have built multiple elementaries to be able to keep up with the expanding population. The town is definelty growing but you get the nice small town feeling still. My favorite part is that I'm far enough from the big city yet close enough to mesquite and other areas for extra shopping and socializing.

hope this helps

Hi T.! We just moved to Rockwall and LOVE it! We were over here every Thursday anyway because of all the fun happenings at the Harbor. We also used to work out at the 24 Hour in Mesquite, and I understand what you mean by going downhill! The gym here is so nice and there are many other gyms to choose from, not to mention the shopping is great and there are plenty of good restaurants to choose from. My daughter is in 6th grade and has mentioned how much better behaved the children are and how much fun she is having in school here compared to her other school. There are so many people moving here, but it still has that small town feel and everyone seems really friendly. Good luck wherever you end up!

Waterview in Rowlett...parks, ponds, waterpark, housing for several income levels - 2400 sq ft to 4500 sq ft

We moved here two years ago from East Texas (Tyler area) and now live in Richardson in the Dartmouth/Yale/Big Springs schools area and LOVE it. We feel very safe and the Richardson schools are wonderful...all three of the elementaries I mentioned are exemplary. There are lots of fun family activities in the community and this area is full of young families. We attend a church nearby that we love as well. You can contact me if you want more info about it!

Forney/ Heartland. Up and coming we love it. They are building a new school here. I lived in Dallas for a whie and thought I would not like the so called country living but we love it there is always something to do with the kids and the people are so nice I could not image this type of living. The house market here is very affordably, you get more for your money about a community with about 10,000 still growing. Heartland TX.

Ditto for Murphy! We LOVE it! Just make sure you look in the WISD neighborhoods of Murphy so you don't get lost in the huge PISD. Murphy is land locked so it will never get big but it's so close to everything you need. No apartments allowed and awesome neighborhoods!

I am in Murphy (East of Plano, North of Richardson, South of Allen, West of Sachse/Wylie) and we love it here. Small town feel, great neighbors, and they do a lot of family friendly things both in the town and in our neighborhood.

We moved here from Northeast Richardson (Renner/Northstar Road) and we loved it there as well, we just couldn't afford that area as easily as we could the house we found in Murphy.

The people here seem to have a pretty good relationship with the police department and the neighbors watch out for each other which helps with crime. That's a huge reason we will be living here for a long time to come.

You asked how to check for good places and one idea comes to mind which is what I used to narrow down where I wanted to live:

On Century21's website, they had a tool on there that allows you to check crime statistics for a prospective neighborhood. That is usually based off of the police activity reports logged in the area.

Good luck!

With what you said you are looking for,I agree with the Rockwall and Wylie suggestions. :-)

I was living in East Dallas with my 2 girls and needed a better school district for my special needs daughter so I did a lot of research. I was working in Mesquite but could not find a neighborhood I really liked...likewise with Garland. I loved the big trees in older areas of Garland but heard a lot of comments from some of the mamasource moms that some of those areas were going downhill as well. Even the Lake Highlands area I grew up in is not the same. I'm a single mom so I wanted a place where I felt safe.

We ended up moving to Rockwall. We love it hear, the crime rate is much lower and my kids are so happy in their school. I also know a lot of people here work in Plano. I've also heard some great things about Heath, Royse City, Rowlett and Forney.

Rockwall. I have lived all over the DFW area including Rockwall when I was in college. My husband & I made it a goal to get back to Rockwall after we had children. Great schools, plenty of retail to choose from and good people. It's not as small town as it used to be but it still small enough. There is a lot of money out here but we're not in that category. If you look hard enough and take your time you can find a good place to live. Good Luck!

We moved to Forney from Dallas (75 & Forest Lane) & we love it back in 2006. The city just keeps growing & growing. We live in The Villages of Fox Hollow at 548 & 80. It's a really nice, safe & friendly community. It would be quite a drive to work for your hubby from out here though.

Hi T.. I live in Fate (just east of Rockwall). It is between Rockwall and Royse City. I LOVE the area!! My family and I have been living in Fate for the past four years. It is far enough away from the city, but not too far. It feels like we live in the country. I feel very safe in our community. Most of Fate is in Rockwall schools. One of the reasons we moved there is because of the great schools. My husband works in Richardson (he was working in Irving up until a month ago). Good luck!
K.

My husband also works off of the Tollway and Legacy. He has a 25-30 minutes commute from our house. We live in N. Garland in the Firewheel area. It is a very nice and relatively new area with a gorgeous new regional mall and lots of shopping. The schools in our area are excellent and it has a wonderful community feel. Access is easy with Highway 190 close by. It'd be a quick and easy commute for your husband -- I can't imagine him wanting to spend more time than that driving to/from work. Come visit us!

J. :)

Wylie is nice with good school system - Lavon is really small but has a new development with a park for residence of the subdivision. Be sure to check out tax rates for your cities to make sure you can afford the same size house - and how much more it will cost in gas.

I have ived in Carrollton since 2002 and I LOVE it. It is a hop skip and a jump to Plano, Lewisville, The Colony...airport ect...the neighborhood is great..NOTHING ever happens here, the people are great, and there are good schools, and you have everything at your fingertips...I feel the area and neighborhodd I live in is pretty safe, as we have had no incidents or problems since we bought our house. Good luck to you!

We are in Heath (Rockwall County) and LOVE it! Just google city of Heath and check it out! Our schools are fantastic (my son is at Amy-Parks Heath Elem.)! We have the new Harbor area (in Rockwall) which is great - summer time concerts are a great way to spend time with the community! Let me know if you have any questions!
Good Luck,
K.
P/S I just read your responses and Marika M. is my neighbor! We get everyone together on our street and just love it!

CAn your husband get a job in Sulphur Springs or Tyler? If you think he can get a job in Tyler... there's a number of places near Tyler to reside. Sulpher Springs would be a nice place. Mt. Vernon too small and nothing is there. You would have to drive to Mt. Pleasant/Sulpher Springs/Longview/Tyler for various things.

Good luck.

I live in Sachse, and feel really safe. However, before I moved I checked out the registered sex offenders in the area https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/Portal/index.aspx. It just gave me peace of mind. In addition, if you are not familiar with homeowners associations, and you find a house in a neighborhood that has one, please make sure you get a copy of their rules BEFORE you sign, and check with the neighbors to see how strict the homeowners association is. Some of the homeowners associations are extremely strict. Some require house decorations for Christmas (sometimes themed), some require you to get approval before you plant ANYTHING in your front yard, ... and the list goes on! Take your time finding something you like. Best of Luck to you!

I too grew up in Mesquite and now live in Murphy. It is 5 miles from Plano and we love it!!

My husband and baby just moved to Sachse. Its really quite and still close to everything b/c of the tollway. It seems very safe. We take walks every night and we haven't seen any crimes. Hope this helps!

Hi T.,

I'm a local real-estate agent in the Wylie/Sachse area and would love to help you find a new safe place to live.

If you would like to send me a list of cities you are interested in I will email you the crime stats.

Another Mom mentioned Sachse. Right off the bat this sounds like a great place for you. Close to Mesquite if you have friends and family that way, and also close to your husbands office.

Best of Luck!

C. Roeschen
The Trinity Group
Keller Williams
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.TheTrinityGroup.org