MCkinney or Allen? (Dallas, Plano, Richardson: crime, houses, established neighborhood)

[cmlcmom]

Relocating to the Dallas area. My husband will be working in Allen. We have two small children- (elementary age) and are looking for a nice area with lots to do, perhaps walking distance to things- whole foods, coffee, a grocery store. etc.

Looking to spend between $160,000-$170,000 on a home and like tree lined areas with charm. (historic homes are good, but after driving through McKinney the downtown seemed hit or miss.) Any areas with character that would be an easy commute to Allen?

Specific streets and neighborhoods helpful.

TIA!

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by cmlcmom

Relocating to the Dallas area. My husband will be working in Allen. We have two small children- (elementary age) and are looking for a nice area with lots to do, perhaps walking distance to things- whole foods, coffee, a grocery store. etc.

Looking to spend between $160,000-$170,000 on a home and like tree lined areas with charm. (historic homes are good, but after driving through McKinney the downtown seemed hit or miss.) Any areas with character that would be an easy commute to Allen?

Specific streets and neighborhoods helpful.

TIA!

I would look by Celebration park, Auburn Springs(east allen). Its was built in the mid 2000's with an awesome park that backs up to them. You should be able to find a small pre existing home in that price range.

REMEMBER, this is TX. If you buy to old of an home, just like i did(mine was built in 93) your electric will be thru the roof in the summer. Mine is 600-800 a month.

I live in Mckinney. We are selling ours now. The drive is very far if you are going in to Dallas, but it is a beautiful area.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by cmlcmom

Relocating to the Dallas area. My husband will be working in Allen. We have two small children- (elementary age) and are looking for a nice area with lots to do, perhaps walking distance to things- whole foods, coffee, a grocery store. etc.

Looking to spend between $160,000-$170,000 on a home and like tree lined areas with charm. (historic homes are good, but after driving through McKinney the downtown seemed hit or miss.) Any areas with character that would be an easy commute to Allen?

Specific streets and neighborhoods helpful.

TIA!

On that budget...nope.

You should be able to find something nice in McKinney for that, but it won't be in an area with any distinct charm or within walking distance to health food stores.

[CTR36]

Have you tried searching on realtordotcom?
Search zip codes 75070 and 75071.
There are plenty of homes in that price range in McKinney (where I live) but not in the Historic District.
Pick out a few you like and send me a link via private message and I'll tell you my opinion of that neighborhood. I've lived here for 12 years.

[mikestrong]

FYI. Stay west of 75 in Mckinney. You don't want to be east of it. Schools are worse on that side. Crime is higher. Etc.

[momof2dfw]

If you want the larger lots, mature trees and more creeks, established neighborhood, etc then you might come down a bit south and check out the Canyon Creek area of Richardson. It's VERY convienent to 75 and would have the charm you might be looking for. Lots of young families in that area and great schools. There are some stores close enough to walk to depending on where in the neighborhood you are located. You are not going to be getting the really nice houses with all the updates on the huge lots in that neighborhood in your price range but you can always move up. I know a lot of families in there and most have moved within the neighborhood when they were wanting to move up.

[TurtleCreek80]

Bring your walking shoes! The closest Whole Foods to Allen is 11 miles away in West Plano (Park & Preston) and ~15 miles to McKinney. There are going to be few if any neighborhoods in Allen or McKinney where you're walking distance (a mile or so) to any retail just because of the way sub-divs are laid out in relation to main/major roads.

If by "historic", you mean something built in the 1910-1950's, McKinney has a large historic district east of 75. I know some of the homes are well beyond your price range, but not sure about all of them. Also not sure about the school quality on the east side of 75.

As for schools, Allen's are better than McKinney's, but the trade-off is that there is only 1 Allen HS and they have no plans to build another. It is a mega-school with over 1,000 kid's per grade. McKinney busses their school population around to even out the demographics...not sure your thoughts on that.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Bring your walking shoes! The closest Whole Foods to Allen is 11 miles away in West Plano (Park & Preston) and ~15 miles to McKinney. There are going to be few if any neighborhoods in Allen or McKinney where you're walking distance (a mile or so) to any retail just because of the way sub-divs are laid out in relation to main/major roads.

If by "historic", you mean something built in the 1910-1950's, McKinney has a large historic district east of 75. I know some of the homes are well beyond your price range, but not sure about all of them. Also not sure about the school quality on the east side of 75.

As for schools, Allen's are better than McKinney's, but the trade-off is that there is only 1 Allen HS and they have no plans to build another. It is a mega-school with over 1,000 kid's per grade. McKinney busses their school population around to even out the demographics...not sure your thoughts on that.

They just opened a Whole Foods in Fairview at 75 and Stacy Road.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

They just opened a Whole Foods in Fairview at 75 and Stacy Road.

And with the traffic nightmare in that area one can walk from McKinney and be there quicker than they can by car.

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

They just opened a Whole Foods in Fairview at 75 and Stacy Road.

Yep. That newly developed area is just plain awesome.