Texas Peas--Need your Expert Advice! Moving to Plano area

I live in McKinney, which along with Allen, and Frisco all adjoin Plano to the north and east. Are you with the Toyota group?

All 4 have good school districts, but Plano and Allen have mega high schools while Frisco and McKinney are a bit smaller. Frisco is a booming area, opening up a new high school every 2-3 years. There is new housing construction in Allen, Frisco, and McKinney, all of which are an easy commute to the area where Toyota will be. Frisco and Allen have lots of shopping which is convenient to McKinney as well.

As far as when to come: September and October weather is usually pleasant, although September can be hot. January can be cold, but we have had some unseasonable spring-like weather in January also. March is my least favorite month - tends to be cold and windy, often rainy and still pretty dead.

I love living in McKinney. I am about a mile from the Rayburn tollway and work a part-time job in Plano. It takes me about 15 -20 minutes to get to work. We don't have the traffic congestion where I am, although Central Expy (Hwy 75) has been under construction for years and is a nightmare - I can easily avoid it. My neighborhood is a mix of 1 and 2 story houses - 3 - 5 bedroom on small lots. There is a green space that runs through it with 2 playgrounds. Neighborhood HOA is not terribly expensive and not heavy handed, operates 3 pools for the use of residents. And I love having sidewalks. Where I lived before the neighborhoods did not have them and I had to walk on uneven streets. I love walking in my neighborhood. I can highly recommend McKinney and - assuming you are with Toyota - the commute would be quite easy.


ETA  Western McKinney is in the Frisco school district and some parts right along the Rayburn are in Allen.  Of the two, my personal preference would be for the Frisco schools, but I don't have children in school so you might have different standards.  I substituted in Frisco when I first moved here and was impressed with what I saw.

We live in Frisco and love it. Any of the areas around here are good - Frisco, McKinney, Plano, etc. There are towns that have a smaller town feel also.

Houses move FAST here. So fast that many don't even hit the market. A good house will get dozens of full price offers in the first day. So prepare yourself on areas that you want to look because if you take the time to go home and research, the house will be gone.

Welcome on your soon to be arrival to Texas! I don't live in the areas you mentioned so not much help there but you find a good find. 

I think anytime is great to visit in the months you mentioned. In September we would likely still be on the warm side but it just depends. We have a pretty lame fall but for us it is welcomed because it is better than triple digits. 

I know on this side of town we have also seen homes going very quickly and rentals pretty much the same. So if you find something that works you might jump on it. 

I like Plano. My parents lived there for several years and we sometime hit that area and will go to Frisco and Plano to hit a few favorite stops. Plano is established and has a Whole Foods and Trader Joes!  

I know there are great parts of McKinney and Frisco I just don't know them as well. We love to go to the old downtown McKinney area and shop and stroll the stores. It is a slower pace and small town feel. The outlets at Allen are nearby and full of hustle and bustle. 

I live in Allen and grew up in Plano. BF, I had no idea Frisco was still growing that fast. Its been doing that for years!!

I agree that houses move fast here, at least lately. Most of Plano is really nice, but not a ton of new construction anymore.

As far as when to visit - September is still hot. October is usually not bad. Weird winter weather tends to happen in January or February.

 

I live in McKinney (Frisco school district) and I suspect I might live in the same master planned community as Grammyj64 based on her description but I can't remember if there are 2 pools or 3. One is a man-made beach club. Anyway, I know I live close to Grammyj64. LOL Side note, I don't have a cross wall, nor a dedazzled phone or flip flops.

BurningFeather is right................600 new teachers were hired this year for the Frisco School District. They had to move their new teacher breakfast to a special location to accommodate all of them. Frisco wants to keep the schools smaller rather than having the mega schools. This is the reason for all of the new schools that have been opening. But, you don't have kids in the schools so you don't really care about all of that. LOL However, you probably still want to live in a good school district because it is good for home values and resale.

McKinney is getting a Trader's Joe. I don't remember the time frame that it is going in but it will be at the corner of U.S.75 and ElDorado Pkwy. The spot is already leased. Lots of shopping in the Collin County area.

If you come in October, come see a Dallas Stars game!! Opening night is October 9th so if you come after that, check the schedule.

Are you part of the Toyota move? Do you know where in Plano your DH will be working? If he is part of the Toyota move, he will be in the area around the Dallas North Tollway and Headquarters.

What would you like to know? What are your interests that you might be looking for?

Bawahahaaaa!!!! Hobby lobby can help, they've got huge assortment.

eebud, I live in Mckinney ISD, but am only a block from the boundary.  My community is Eldorado Heights II.  Which one are you in? I am bounded by Lake Forest on the east, Ridge on the west, Eldorado on the North and McKinney Ranch on the south.

I had to laugh because I have lived in Texas for a long time now & I don't have anything bedazzled.....well except my merkins!!!!

delila

I lived in Stonebridge ranch (McKinney) before moving to East Texas. The thing about moving to the Plano/Allen/McKinney is traffic. The mistake a lot of people make is to visit on a weekend move out (to where the housing is much cheaper) and have no idea how bad the traffic can be (especially on 75, 121, Custer). So just be aware that area, in general is growing like mad and the traffic can be quite awful. When you visit you might consider the area around Firewheel, which is technically in Garland I believe, but maybe 5-8 minutes down George Bush toll road from Plano. The reason it is a good direction, is that traffic is generally worse in the other direction.

Generally, anywhere in the vicinity is a nice area in terms of housing and amenities!

I'm seeing a lunch or dinner meet-up for the north Texas peas.  I drive by that 7-11 every day, and have church members who live in that same neighborhood.  It's funny to think that we might have seen each other at Walmart or Kroger and not have know about our common pea-ness.

I agree about Allen for the same reason you do.  I think that HS is just too big, and now that they have had the problems with that mega $$ stadium, it makes me think their priorities are more about sports than academics.  I don't know that McKinney ISD will need to add another HS, since the outer fringes of the city are in other ISDs (for those non-Texas peas, we have Independent School Districts in Texas, which are virtually unrelated to city or county borders, so you can have an ISD that spans more than one city (Frisco ISD has schools in Plano, Frisco, and McKinney, eg).  Not that any of this is of interest to the OP, since she has already said they won't have kids in school.  I just find it weirdly interesting. 

121 is not too bad of a commute, although it can be congested during rush hour.  I would avoid having to commute on 75 or on the Dallas Tollway, as they become gridlocked on a daily basis.  The 121 Sam Rayburn Tollway passes very near the area where Toyota will be locating. Did the OP ever say they are with Toyota?  I think I assumed that but can't remember if she ever verified my assumption.

I live in Allen - in the neighborhood closest to the Allen outlets.  I pass by that 7-11 frequently!  We send our kids to private school in Plano and probably will do the same for high school.  Allen high school is too huge!  Though it has it's own tv studio, radio station, culinary arts dept, amazing music program, IB program, etc... so I think there is money spent on academics as well.  We pay over $16,000 a year in property taxes, so I hope so!!

i am up and down 75 all day long to Plano.  Traffic is bad now with the construction but I don't think it is any worse than other cities we have lived near - LA, New York, Milwaukee, etc.

My inlaws just built a house in McKinney and they love it!