The wife and I may be relocationg to the area and are looking anywhere between Wylie up over to Allen

Looking for around 3000-3500sf home. 1/4+ acre lot desired. Trying to keep it around $300,000ish. And in a nice smaller feel community if possible

Just from internet looking, there seems like more to chose from in Wylie and Murphy areas. We have a 4 and 2 year old so schools are really important and they seem a little lower rated than Allen schools.

Can someone tell me if that's true and why? I was also told Murphy is mostly Plano Isd and they are tailing off a bit downward especially in middle and high school. Is that true?

The Lucas/Parker areas look great, especially for a non big city guy like myself, but everything out there is way over my price range. Hmmm....could maybe get lucky somehow?

Allen looks to have the best rated schools, elementary thru high school. BUT....finding a home that's not 3 feet next to your neighbors house on both sides or that doesn't have shared ally driveways in the rear looks pretty hard. Not a lot of 1/4 acre plus lots in our pricerange and everything seems so squeezed together

Can anyone who lives in any of those areas chime in with info on isds? Which communities may be better than others ? Personal experience with making similar decision? Any coulda would shoulda moments on your choice where you live? Would you recommend or eliminate any of them and why

We live in a rural neighborhood where my .4 acre lot is one of the smaller ones with a 2900 sf home. Im grappling with the fact Ill be living in big city and am a bit nervous about it. Ill do what I have to do though and want the best for my kiddos.

Might consider Fairview -- just north of Allen (McKinney ISD), and has quite a few homes on .20-.25 acre lots.

There will be limited selection under $325-350K, but there are some out there. There was a recent sale of a 2984sf 4/3 on .23 acres that sold about a month ago for $307K.

I live in Murphy.

Murphy is about 1/2 Plano ISD and 1/2 Wylie ISD. It depends on which side of McMillan Creek you live on. East of the creek is WISD, and their elementary schools are rated exemplary.

But in Murphy it would be a little more difficult to find a house not right on top of your neighbor. They are building a lot of new houses and some are on 1/4 acre lots but they are big houses with very little yard.

Right down the road 2 miles from Murphy is Parker. Much smaller community and there are a lot of homes on 1-10 acres. They are mostly older homes from 70's & 80's but most appear to be well maintained. I'm a small town kinda guy myself; Murphy is too big for me at 17k people. I would rather live in Parker.

In Wylie/Parker/Murphy/Sachse/Fairview/Lucas/Allen, at least 3000 sq ft, priced up to a list price of $310k, on at least .25 acres, there are currently 21 active listings.

If you shoot me an email I'm happy to send the list to you.

Cody@MyRobinsonTeam.com
cell 972 365 0432



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This is my house.. It's located in the Woodbridge subdivision in Sachse, and looks to be almost exactly what you're looking for. We love the area and the neighborhood, but I work in downtown Fort Worth so the commute is killing me. Shoot me an email at texlawdawg at hotmail dot com if you want some more info.

Good luck!

By the way, our lot is 1/3 acre and has a huge backyard. We're in Wylie ISD and you're within an easy walk of Cox Elementary, which I believe is Exemplary.

Not flaming, but isnt Wylie high school one of the lowest academic rated schools in all of North TX (minus DISD of course).

Doubt the middle schools are much better.

Yes, you apparently are flaming. Wylie HS and Wylie East HS are both Recognized, which is exceptional for high schools. Check out the TEA ratings.

And the OP clearly stated that he has 2 & 4 year old kids. So the high schools really aren't that important right now. Who knows how Wylie HS or Allen HS will be rated by the time they are old enough to attend. The way people move around now a days he probably won't have to worry about it. Hell, those high schools might not even exist in 10-12 years.

My nephew goes to Cox, he loves it and teachers seem awesome. Woodbridge is a neat/fun neighborhood, if you golf there is a course in the neighborhood.

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I was also told Murphy is mostly Plano Isd and they are tailing off a bit downward especially in middle and high school. Is that true?

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Not in the least bit true and is most likely being perpetuated by the folks selling homes north of Plano.
- PISD had more national merit semi finalists last year than any other district in the state and more than all of its neighboring districts COMBINED.
- All three PISD senior high schools were named in the top 250 high schools in the country by Newsweek.
- PISD offers just about every AP class and exam offered. You can also take many dual credit courses via Collin College. Between AP and dual credit , the daughter of one of my friends graduated high school with almost 60 hours of college credit. They calculated this to be a savings of about $45k.
- PISD is partnering with Collin College to open a first of its kind Medical Sciences Academy next fall. Students will be able to take the program to prepare for medical programs at the next level or to earn certificates to use in the real world (e.g. lab techs, EMT, etc.).

To paraphrase Mark Twain: The reports of PISD's death have been greatly exaggerated.

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Not in the least bit true and is most likely being perpetuated by the folks selling homes north of Plano

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Their state testing has slipped slightly in recent years, so that may be where that comes from.

On a side note- I can of find it interesting that the 3 11-12th grade schools were all recognized, while 4 of the 5 9-10th grade were rated acceptable in 2011. (They don't hand out these ratings anymore)

Plano ISD has a lot going for it, and generally, I imagine a child is only limited by their own level of effort. There is some variance between elementary schools and junior highs- so do look at that.

I think all the districts up that way work with Collin Count y CC, and they offer fairly robust AP options. With kids of 2 and 4, that's perhaps not a huge issue right now as its really tough to know what the specific numbers will look like in 12+ years.

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- All three PISD senior high schools were named in the top 250 high schools in the country by Newsweek.

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Not to split hairs, but PESH was 394.

My bad on PESH. I pulled the 2012 numbers. Didn't realize Newsweek had published its 2013 numbers already.

Most North Texas districts offer dual credit courses. My point with the Collin College reference is that only one district has a specific program with Collin College like the Medical Sciences Academy. It should be a great opportunity for kids looking for a career skill but who may not want to go to a university, as well as those kids who want to go into specialized medical fields requiring advanced degrees.

Allen, Frisco, McKinney - all are great districts that have a lot to offer, and I'm not trying to denegrate them. My point was that Plano is still one of the premiere districts in the state and folks need to be wary of information they are getting from realtors/developers who are trying to sell new homes in specific areas.

[This message has been edited by AgLaw (edited 7/5/2013 5:19p).]

Murphy will top out around 20 to 22K in population. The smallest lot size is 9,000 sq ft. No apartments, garden homes, or zero lot line homes in the City. The current tax rate is .57 per 1,000 of valuation.

A majority of the City is PISD including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 9th and 10th grade high school. Also, a state of the art athletic stadium. Wylie ISD has one elementary schools in the Murphy city limits

PSA is expected to complete construction on PSA Murphy by November 2013. Additionally, a comprehensive park plan is nearing completion that will tie the hiking and biking trials in the Plano and Richardson system.

[This message has been edited by I Rule (edited 7/6/2013 3:29p).]

LawDawg, it was the test scores the Morning News published a year or so ago. I promise the high schools in Wylie were low.

Just stating what I read. Not going to spend time to find it. Really don't care either way.

Read as "I'm right and don't need to find support for what I am saying."

In their 2011 Accountability Report, Wylie ISD had 2 exemplary (Whitt Elementary and Tibbals Elementary), 15 recognized, and 1 unacceptable (Burnett Junior High).

The junior high got knocked by their science scores with a science overall acceptable rating, but African Americans and economically disadvantaged finished unacceptable. They had exemplary ratings in reading, writing, and social studies, and were recognized in math.

[This message has been edited by TXAggie2011 (edited 7/6/2013 2:30p).]

Tibbals Elementary is in Murphy

^
But it is in WISD

Clearly, as was posted right above my post...

Thanks to all chiming in. Keep it coming as this is all very informative and interesting.

We've lived in Murphy since 2004. Back then, our house was one of the first ones built in our subdivision. Its not like we didn't know the area would get built-up, but it did seem to happen faster than I expected. I don't like the fact that we're now right between two Super Wal-Marts (the one in Murphy, and the other in Lucas) which are only a few miles apart. I'm dreading the traffic when the Murphy one opens. If I had to do it over again, I'd look in the Fairview area.

Wal-Mart and PSA Murphy should make traffic interesting. Combine that with a major road project on North Murphy Road, it will get worse before it gets better.

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Might consider Fairview -- just north of Allen (McKinney ISD),

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FYI; the majority of Fairview is in the Lovejoy ISD and it's among the most coveted ISD's in TX. Also, parts of Allen & Lucas are in the Lovejoy ISD, as well...

Agreed 92. In north Texas its Highland Park, Lovejoy, Southlake, and then everybody else.

Speaking of Wal-Mart's we don't need, I hear they are going to build a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at/near McCreary & McMillan. We definitely don't need that.

I would caution anyone from using the TEA rankings exclusively. Their metrics are flawed. Basically, it tells you if every racial category scores average on a standardized test. If there is no racial diversity then that is more easily obtained. If you have very small pockets of racial groups, then one group scoring low can mess everything up. I might have this wrong, but someone close to this explained it to me that way. It doesn't say the school has good electives. Or good teachers. Or a good gifted and talented program. Or a good dyslexia program. All it says is that they do a good job of getting everyone to at least an acceptable level.

I am sure Allen is a great school. But keep in mind that Allen is following a very different model that most suburban schools. Like Southlake, Allen is creating a mega highshool concept. It is double the size of a normal 5A (and growing). That means that everything is ultra competitive. In some ways it will give you a better experience. In some ways it will give you a lesser experience.

The chance of being valedictorian or HS QB or starting point guard or student council president or anything else there's only one of is:

1/1350 at Allen
1/700 at average 5A school
1/450 at average 4A school
1/200 at average 3A school

Just a consideration.

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Agreed 92. In north Texas its Highland Park, Lovejoy, Southlake, and then everybody else.

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Bodog, I am not sure what this means. Care to explain?

FS Guide - McCreary and Betsy Walmart is in Wylie...Murphy had no say in that one

Yeah, I just don't see any logic in putting one there. The Wylie Supercenter is 2 miles away. The brand new Murphy Supercenter is 2 miles a way. The brand Lucas Supercenter is 4 miles away. Seems like the area is saturated with Wal-Marts.

This one will be right on the outside of my neighborhood. Close enough to walk to. I guess that's good & bad.

They're also building a Walmart Supercenter in Sachse at 78 & Woodbridge pkwy. Will be open early 2014.

Walmart has their business model.

If anyone wants any assistance with PISD school info or breaking down a campus AEIS report feel free to shot me a pm.

On side note I think it is important to consider all levels of public school when buying a home. Though you may be only interested in school level that meets your situation, potential buyers(if you need to sell) maybe interested in another.

PS, txlawdawg, has a wonderful home and lot.

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They're also building a Walmart Supercenter in Sachse at 78 & Woodbridge pkwy. Will be open early 2014.

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So glad I sold my house in the section of Woodbridge behind that site last year.

We've lived in Wylie for almost 10 years. Our oldest will start kinder this year. We have 3300 sq feet on a little more than a .25 acre lot. I think home prices around us are probably in the $260-$340k range. We built and are in a neighborhood but not right on top of our neighbors at all. We love our neighborhood and neighbors and have heard awesome things about our feeder elementary school. There are pros and cons to every suburb and every district. I mostly hear good things about Wylie schools. People love Lovejoy as another poster mentioned but I've heard good and not so good things about it. So it just depends on who you talk to, what your views on education are and how much you want to spend to live in a certain area.

Good luck in your search!