..

[floragirl]

Hello! My son and I are moving to the North Dallas area over the summer - most likely the Lewisville/Arglye area and I'm having a very hard time figuring out schools and neighborhoods from 1200 miles away. Does anyone have information on affordable rentals (or where to look for them) in the area? Everything I'm finding seems to be very expensive. I'd also love advice on the schools in the area - my son will be in second grade and the schools I like best seem to be unattainable because of the rental situation. I'll be going to grad school in Denton, so am restricted to these areas. I'm rather picky about schools, as I'd like to be able to walk my son in to his classroom every day, have lunch with him, etc. - and so far the elementary school in Argyle is the only one who will allow this. I'm not used to living in the suburbs, I've lived in huge cities and small towns, but never the suburbs ... so I'm also looking for an area with charm and a strong supportive 'community' feeling. Any advice? Or am I asking for the moon? Or just looking in the wrong places? Help, mamas, please!

[floragirl]

..

[Night_Nurse]

Denton will have a more crunchy and eclectic feel and some of the areas around downtown and around the two universities are walkable. Lewisville and Argyle are not. There's not much in the way of public transportation (although just this week they've opened up a train line from Denton to Dallas).

Housing prices are in a very wide range in Denton & Lewisville. You'll have million dollar homes all the way to low-rent apartments ($500 - $700 a month, I think, in the university area). Argyle tends to have very high housing costs with some very low income housing on the west side of Hwy 377, across the RR tracks. There's not much in between in housing in Argyle.  Schools in Denton County (this includes Argyle & Lewisville) are mostly very good. You should be able to pull up a "report card" on each school on the district's website. Schools rated "exemplary" and "recognized" are academically good or higher than average.

I currently work in a school and my kids have attended both private/Montossori schools and public schools. I think due to safety reasons you would be hard pressed to find one where you could "just walk in" to the classroom. All schools I know of want any adult to "check in" at the front office. This is to help reduce the likelyhood a non-custodial parent or child predator won't get in and harm or steal a child. I think this is why they tend to discourage parents walking kids to the classroom but it can be done. But I've also never known of a school in the area that wouldn't allow parents to come eat lunch, even daily, or volunteer in the classroom, etc. My school doesn't allow visitors on TAKS testing days or during a lockdown drill but welcomes them at any other time. Private schools tend to be more flexible with their rules.

Given the situation, you may want to obtain a rental home or duplex in Denton, maybe in an older neighborhood, where you can get a 6 month lease (some will do shorter leases for college students). The older neighborhoods tend to be a bit more walkable to elementary schools. You may also want to check with someone in your Univ. student housing department to see if they can offer advice. Good luck!