Reasons NOT to move to McKinney-Calling all the usual suspects (Dallas: salary, quality of life)
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WOW! I just want to say Kudos! to all the previous posters. You guys have really impressed me with your candid, non-judgemental, and relevant input on this thread! If only every thread (and every poster) could be this helpful! Good job guys!
Now, as a fan of Mckinney (obviously, I live there! ), I just wanted to add a few comments on the above...
TC is very accurate on the build-out populations. Mckinney is the least built out of the four major CC suburbs. And yes, this could definitely lead to more issues with re-sale in the future...no doubt. But let me also give you a positive in this regard that I didn't expect when I moved here, but have since really learned to appreciate.
Given the amount of development yet to come, I, as an involved citizen, feel I have a lot of say in how that development proceeds, and thereby get to help shape the kind of city Mckinney will be in the future. Kind of a chance to take something good, and really make it great. For example, I have participated in 2 of the 3 scheduled citizen input meetings for the city's "Sustainability Plan", which include things like urban tree canopy, on-street bike lanes, development standards, alternate energy options, walkability, etc. These modern-day concerns can be worked into the design as the city continues to build, versus trying to retrofit a city that has already been developed. Of course, don't get me wrong, you can still be an active participant in your community no matter how built-out it is...it's just nice to be able to influence it from the "bones" on up.
And in regards to Allen...also a great city. Has some pros over Mckinney for sure (more built-out, closer in, more shopping, higher rated school district). My only concern for the OP is their budget. From what I gather the OP is looking for, they will have more trouble in Allen finding what they want in their price range, unless they are really lucky. But it is still worth checking out, particularly west of 75. We originally had our sites set on a few neighborhoods near Watters Creek, but the inventory was very low at that time, and we just couldn't find the right place. Would have been very happy to live there as well...though it doesn't quite have the charm that Mckinney has.
I guess what disappoints me about McKinney is that I dont think they've done everything they could do to improve the city. There are some things that the city can't change, like it's far flung location, build out, but the things that are within the city leaderships power to do, like have a top notch school district (as previously noted on this thread, they dont have a great ISD, it might be the worst one in CoCo).
Frisco is 69 square miles and is just over 50% built out. Current population is 102,000 and "build out" population is approx 350,000. There are currently 2413 people per square mile. Compare with mature suburbs like Plano @ 3820 people per square mile and Richardson at 3549 people per square mile, and you'll see Frisco has many years, probably 15-25 more before being fully developed. The EDC websites provide a lot of data on building permits being issued (residential and commercial), population trends and you can project for yourself how the cities are trending.
McKinney (unincorporated land + city limits) is just 26% built out. Current population 127,000. Build out population projected to be 387,000.
For Q1 2011, McKinney home sales,
-Sold units were -14% to LY (biggest drop in CoCo).
-Average price +5% (on the higher side for CoCo) @ $184k (compare with $205k for Plano/Allen, $235k Frisco, and $335k Fairview).
-Avg DOM was 96 (highest in CoCo).
-Median price/sf $85 (lowest in CoCo).
I would do everything you possibly can to end up in Allen vs McKinney. Shorter commute (barely) and tremendous potential with the Shops @ Fairview development at Stacy & 75.
Welp, let me be the first to bring emotion into this...I called the MEDC today to see if I could get some basic insight and guidance with their website and the gentlemen I spoke with (Jim Young (http://www.mckinneyedc.com/about_us/staff_bios.htm - broken link)) was extremely put off by my questions about economic development and master plan of the City..Basic questions. e.g "Do you breakout how built out the City is in terms of Commercial and Residential and what percentage built out are you". Questions of that nature. He basically hung up on me, after telling me Plano wasn't even close to being built-out. Maybe he wasn't the right person to ask, and/or he was too stupid to answer, or he noticed my Northeast accent and didn't want to help. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Regardless, still rude..
Lovely City Mckinney, very helpful welcoming folks that don't seem interested in having new people move there. Need I say more.
Just makes me value the information I get here even more, and quite honestly validates alot of it.
Should I chock this up to a "reason NOT to move to McKinney" or let it go?
@PlanoGirl-this might be the first time I have disagreed with any points you make. But based on my experience today, I would have to respectfully challenge your point above. Doesn't seem like they welcome questions, let alone ideas! ; )
BTW, thanks to everyone for the posts here, it's been extremely helpful in guiding my decisions on where to spend time when we visit next week.
Welp, let me be the first to bring emotion into this...I called the MEDC today to see if I could get some basic insight and guidance with their website and the gentlemen I spoke with (Jim Young (http://www.mckinneyedc.com/about_us/staff_bios.htm - broken link)) was extremely put off by my questions about economic development and master plan of the City..Basic questions. e.g "Do you breakout how built out the City is in terms of Commercial and Residential and what percentage built out are you". Questions of that nature. He basically hung up on me, after telling me Plano wasn't even close to being built-out. Maybe he wasn't the right person to ask, and/or he was too stupid to answer, or he noticed my Northeast accent and didn't want to help. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Regardless, still rude..
Lovely City Mckinney, very helpful welcoming folks that don't seem interested in having new people move there. Need I say more.
Just makes me value the information I get here even more, and quite honestly validates alot of it.
Should I chock this up to a "reason NOT to move to McKinney" or let it go?
@PlanoGirl-this might be the first time I have disagreed with any points you make. But based on my experience today, I would have to respectfully challenge your point above. Doesn't seem like they welcome questions, let alone ideas! ; )
BTW, thanks to everyone for the posts here, it's been extremely helpful in guiding my decisions on where to spend time when we visit next week.
Thanks again.
Sorry you had a bad experience You sound very angry. Unfortunately there are idiots everywhere, in every city. But don't let one person's rudeness affect where you choose to live. I don't know Jim Young, so I couldn't tell you if that is his normal demeanor or not. But I can tell you, from someone who has lived in both Plano and Mckinney, I GENERALLY have found the city employees/council/etc more welcoming and receptive in Mckinney. I think that goes back to it being a small-town in its own right before it was a suburb of Dallas...there's still a lot of long-timers here, and they have that typical Texas friendliness. Now, is there that occasional dick? Sure. If I were you, I would call back on another day and speak to him again, or ask if there is someone else better suited to answer your questions. Maybe he is not the appropriate person to ask the questions you were inquiring about. Doesn't justify his rudeness though !
Last edited by PlanoGirl; 05-05-2011 at 12:00 PM..
Reading the above makes me recall my experiences with the city of Richardson...so far they have been unfailingly polite and professional. I even attended a campaign event for one of our city councilmen whom I know from our neighborhood association meetings and I rubbed elbows with half the city council and the mayor pro-tem, who brought me a cold drink and insisted on opening it "for a lady."
Reading the above makes me recall my experiences with the city of Richardson...so far they have been unfailingly polite and professional. I even attended a campaign event for one of our city councilmen whom I know from our neighborhood association meetings and I rubbed elbows with half the city council and the mayor pro-tem, who brought me a cold drink and insisted on opening it "for a lady."
Big difference.
And ALL of MY experiences with Mckinney city employees and councilpersons have been wonderful as well. However, I can tell you of a horribly rude experience my parents (RICHARDSON residents) had dealing with both their district councilman and an assistant city manager.
My point? You can't make broad generalizations based on one isolated experience. (Though I fully expected it would happen on this board...No surprise there! )
And ALL of MY experiences with Mckinney city employees and councilpersons have been wonderful as well. However, I can tell you of a horribly rude experience my parents (RICHARDSON residents) had dealing with both their district councilman and an assistant city manager.
My point? You can't make broad generalizations based on one isolated experience. (Though I fully expected it would happen on this board...No surprise there! )
I agree with you here..No worries I am not mad at the City for it, this guy is just a, how do I say politely...DB!
Thanks PG I appreciate your help on this more than you know. I spoke with a woman (Karen) in the City Hall shortly after I spoke with Mr. Young AKA D.B., and she more than made up for his rudeness.
Trust me, I deal with rude people up here in MA all the time. I think it just feels different when it's a different region of the US because I am not from there. Same everywhere really, people are going to let you down on occasion. Sigh..
And ALL of MY experiences with Mckinney city employees and councilpersons have been wonderful as well. However, I can tell you of a horribly rude experience my parents (RICHARDSON residents) had dealing with both their district councilman and an assistant city manager.
My point? You can't make broad generalizations based on one isolated experience. (Though I fully expected it would happen on this board...No surprise there! )
A single experience for your parents vs 2 years of sterling service that I've experienced and that my neighbors gush about? Yup, you can't make broad generalizations.
Me, I have no opinion of McKinney's city management. I've never had to deal with them.
Reading the above makes me recall my experiences with the city of Richardson...so far they have been unfailingly polite and professional. I even attended a campaign event for one of our city councilmen whom I know from our neighborhood association meetings and I rubbed elbows with half the city council and the mayor pro-tem, who brought me a cold drink and insisted on opening it "for a lady."
Big difference.
And this helpful how?? Here's the deal, most city officials are lazy, dopey idiots with a Union mentality everywhere in the US-today is nothing more than proof of that fact. Typically they are only polite when they need something from you. I wouldn't revel in the fact you 'rubbed elbows' with Politicians. They could care less about you as a person or 'lady'. Don't kid yourself.
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), I just wanted to add a few comments on the above...
that don't seem interested in having new people move there. Need I say more.
You sound very angry. Unfortunately there are idiots everywhere, in every city. But don't let one person's rudeness affect where you choose to live. I don't know Jim Young, so I couldn't tell you if that is his normal demeanor or not. But I can tell you, from someone who has lived in both Plano and Mckinney, I GENERALLY have found the city employees/council/etc more welcoming and receptive in Mckinney. I think that goes back to it being a small-town in its own right before it was a suburb of Dallas...there's still a lot of long-timers here, and they have that typical Texas friendliness. Now, is there that occasional dick? Sure. If I were you, I would call back on another day and speak to him again, or ask if there is someone else better suited to answer your questions. Maybe he is not the appropriate person to ask the questions you were inquiring about. Doesn't justify his rudeness though ! 
