Long-time reader, first-time poster.

My family is likely moving up to Tyler later this year and I would greatly appreciate any insight into specific neighborhoods, schools, Boy Scout troops/packs, sports leagues (tennis, basketball, and swim), etc.

We would like to be "in-town," as we are coming from a major metro area and the idea of living within just a few miles from work in the downtown area is very appealing. Any good realtors here?

I know the Tyler schools are considered sub-par, but we are willing to give them a chance (two elementary kids and one almost middle schooler). Woods and Caldwell both look promising, as does Moore MS.

Are the inner loop neighborhoods family friendly? Safe (ignoring minor petty crimes that happen anywhere)? Do you see kids out playing and riding bikes? What about the Azalea District - families or mostly retirees? Are there specific blocks of streets to look at?

Thank you so much!

Too many questions to answer in a post. Send me a PM and I'll fill you in. Lived in Tyler for 14 years. Our kids went to Woods and Moore. Oldest is starting at Lee this year.

The azalea district isn't bad and there are quite a few families that live in that area, though my friends all have their kids in private school or Caldwell in that area. I know a lot of good people with kids there that are hosting neighborhood get togethers.

The Andy woods area behind Green Acres is hit or miss. Some good streets, some slum creep. Not a bad neighborhood but not all great. Andy woods is fine.. Just outside the loop is rice and it's not bad either with some good neighborhoods off old Jacksonville. Still only 12 minutes to work downtown if you hit lights and traffic at 8am.

Near downtown, Caldwell and Woods are by far your best bets. Caldwell is run by a good Ag, and he's doing some great things there. He's really trying to make it a fine arts magnet school. A lot of changes are in the works for Caldwell over the next few years.

My kids go to Woods, so I'm pretty biased there. We really like the principal, and we have had great teachers so far. As far as neighborhoods go, the Green Acres neighborhood around Woods can be spotty. We live in the Woodbine, Birdwell, Dinah triangle and really like it. The Fry/Shepherd area streets are nice. Pinedale area is nice. A block north of Woods is good (Bain, and a few other streets). There are some pockets of not so great houses though.

For middle school, you are looking at Moore (a magnet school) or Hubbard. I believe you have to test to get into Moore (they may have changed). My kids aren't there yet, but we have lots of friends at both of them, and they love them.

As far as realtors go, we really like Brad Newberry. He's a really nice guy, and he supports a big family, so you know he works hard.

I don't know much about the area boy scouts, so I'm no help there.

I'm sure I missed some other questions, so feel free to ask.

Tall Timbers Estates in Gresham - kids could go to Jack, Three Lakes, and the new Lee.

Town is moving out that way and it is just right outside the new loop. Easy to get to Old Jacksonville and Broadway where everything is.

Edit: Gresham is just right outside city limits right now and has Tyler addresses.

Thank you all so much! We are coming to Tyler on Friday and will check out the areas mentioned.

gtgaston - thank you for your offer to help. I don't have the paid membership needed to PM, but if you have anything else to add, I would love to hear it!

Another good neighborhood that is more in town is the one just NW of the Rice Road and Old Bullard road intersection. Timberwilde Dr, Barclay Dr, etc.

Very centrally located and some nice houses in a safe small neighborhood.

Agreed. Timberwilde is a great neighborhood, and is zoned to Rice which is a good school. They have a nice neighborhood pool.

Neighborhoods:
I agree with what others have posted. We're inside the loop across from Gorman HS and lots of walkers, kids, etc). Additional neighborhoods to consider are Hollytree (Jack/Three Lakes/Lee) and the Woods (Chapel Hill ISD but many go to Grace private school).

Schools:
Best elementary schools are Jack, Woods, Rice.
Best MS are Moore, Three Lakes, Hubbard. Moore is math/science magnet that you have to test to get accepted unless you are already zoned there (but those neighborhoods zoned for Moore aren't as nice as others mentioned).

Sports:
Hollytree is where most of the tennis players congregate, but Jake over at Tyler Tennis & Swim is a very good coach.
Our kids didn't play basketball much so I'm not sure where is best. Green Acres Baptist Church runs some sports leagues similar to Upward. Our kids enjoyed playing flag football and soccer in their leagues.

Welcome to Tyler - I think you'll really enjoy it here!

You might also consider foxcroft and the other neighborhoods behind Best Buy. They're pretty good as well and again have good community.

I bet we live within two blocks of each other. I can hear the Gorman band practicing in the mornings while I'm standing in my driveway.

I don't have any info on the areas you are interested in but can recommend Brad Newberry. He is a fantastic agent.

I am a Realtor here in Tyler, 30 years in schools both public and private-- can tell you a few things. SIL, an Ag is Mortgage Loan Lender. My number is 903-705-8499

Thanks again! We will definitely check out all of these areas!

Late here but its all covered pretty well.
+1 for being inside the loop near Woods ES
+1 for Brad Newberry

As a reminder, the TISD transfer policy allows you to pretty much pick the school you'd like to attend, provided there is available space. Moore MST and Caldwell are magnets so if you are not in the attendance zone there is an application process. Woods ES seems to the place to be right now.

Feel free to email me at username @ gmail if you want to meet any principals, visit any campuses, or talk about school specifics.

Since you have younger kids, look for your schools first and then decide on the neighborhood. You can live in areas of Tyler and be in Whitehouse ISD, which has a very good public ISD.

Shamless plug. My parents are trying to sell their house on Bunker Dr. in the Oak Hurst subdivision. It is out 69 south of town, but not really that far. big house on the golf course.

I live i the azalea district and there's a few houses for sale on my street (chilton). Love the area and love being close to downtown for the coffee shops and breweries.

I lived in Dallas My entire life.

I moved to Tyler nearly 8 years ago...

Don't focus your search on being in-town in my opinion. The Azalea area has its pluses, but it's not like living in a metro area that you can simply walk to cool restaurants/clubs/bars...tyler isn't that way. I also think you'll find fewer young families.

We absolutely LOVE it here. With kids, I'm not sure there is a better place to move to. I hope you'll enjoy it as well.

We live south of town (not as far out as Oak Hurst mentioned above) and we love it. My commute into town is about 8 minutes. For us city folk that's amazing. For most of Tyler, that's far...

We live in a neighborhood called Baker Plantation just off of 69 (the main throughfair) and the outer loop (49). Gated with lots of great families with kids. And a strange amount of good Aggie families!

Another poster here lives in the next neighborhood south and I'm sure he'd confirm that he loves this area too.

This area feeds into the Whitehouse school district that I think you'll find has superior ratings across the board. (I don't want to get into a pissing match here, my kids go to a private school-no dog in that hunt).

Many people are looking for a tyler address and Whitehouse schools. Which is how our best friends/next door neighbors found this area. They are from Houston, and wanted Tyler address with Whitehouse schools.

Brad Newberry is a good dude, he sold our best friends their house. Brads neighborhood is great too. It's more in town.

Honestly, I think you'll love it here. We certainly have. I don't know where you are moving from, but one weird thing is the amount of T-shirt Aggies here in East Texas. It's great.

Let us know when you get here we can certainly help you get acclimated.

I don't want to derail the thread, but where is a good place to buy an Investment

property such as a house or Duplex in Tyler?

Thoughts on your trip last Friday?

My first guess (based on friends being in the duplex rental real estate business) would be in the 5th street & Donnybrook area. You'd get older homes for a better price to appeal to TJC, UT Tyler, and the hospital employee crowd.

OP here. I wanted to report back on our trip.

The town was smaller than I thought and really easy to get around. I was expecting a smaller town, but was surprised to find everything we would need - shopping, activities, even interesting free events at UT Tyler and the junior college.

We had the idea that we would pick up our carefully planned-out life here in City A and just move it to City B (Tyler). That isn't going to be the case, and this trip made it clear we just need to adjust some of those expectations.

As for the neighborhoods - the advice here was spot-on. The area around Woods looks promising - if you get the right street and neighbors. The Azalea district wasn't quite what we were expecting (M-Streets, Tarrytown, the Heights - if you know those areas in the big Texas cities), but that might be a possibility for when the kids leave the house.

We drove around Hollytree West too. This is very similar to the neighborhood we are coming from and while it is nice and lovely, it feels like the affluent bubble we are in and would like to leave behind. We might end up there, who knows.

The favorite area was around Timberwilde. It seems a nice in-between the Woods Elementary and Hollytree areas. My kids got a kick out of the swimming pool ("that's it? it is so small!") - see the above reference to the bubble they are used to.

Thanks again and I'll keep you all updated as our search progresses.

Timberwilde is a great neighborhood. Stuff usually goes under contract quickly but everyone knows each other there because it's fairly small. Should you choose that option, Newberry represents a lot of the sellers and knows what's going on the market.

Glad you liked timberwilde, did you get a chance to check out Tall Timbers? Very similar feel but further out. Nice homes but not in the bubble you are referring to.

Newberry lives in Timberwilde, so he clearly knows it well.

My kids love that pool. They are there as I type this. Tons of kids at that pool during the summer.

Josepi said:

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Newberry lives in Timberwilde, so he clearly knows it well.

My kids love that pool. They are there as I type this. Tons of kids at that pool during the summer.

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We have friends in the neighborhood and visit frequently. I'll start looking for Aggie rings.

Just moved to Tyler last month. Already love it.

Welcome Brock.

We too love it. Being from the DFW area, I wouldn't move back if I could avoid it.

Any update on what y'all decided?

We are waiting for the go from the employer, but it is looking more like early 2018. Ideally we would get the kids in school for the new term, but they will adjust regardless.

The question we are asking now is if it makes sense to rent a house first. We have another trip planned for late fall to actually visit the schools, so hopefully that will lead to more clarity.

AsburyAg said:

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Rent the first year. Figure out the "patterns" you follow and live around. Get to know the area. Then buy.

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This. We did that in 2010 when we moved out here and it was the best decision we could have made. We ended up buying in a much different area than we originally would have if we'd of bought right when we moved out due to school/church/office location.

Thanks again. We really appreciate all the help!