Moving to Texas - Commute help! (Plano, Richardson: apartment, rent, new home)

[Love82]

A little background: My fiance and I will be moving to Texas at the beginning of the year. He'll be working at UTSW and I'm a little concerned about where to live the more I read about these nightmarish commutes! I, luckily, have family in both the Plano and Frisco areas, so ideally I would love to move to Frisco or The Colony. However, these commute times.... I'm not stuck on any particular area (yet!). I do want to make it easier on him. He won't be commuting at your normal "rush hour" times (ie most days he'll have to be there at 5am, driving home WELL after 5PM). I would just hate for him to work an 18+ hour day and then have a long drive coming home with tons of traffic. He would be comfortable with about a 45 min drive. We will be looking to build and we are fortunate to have a pretty good budget to work with (Roughly $800k at most). I will more than likely be working in Frisco, but nothing is set in stone in that regard.

So my question is this: Where the heck do we even begin to look to build!? We are both in our very early 30's and plan on having children in the next 3-5 years - so schools are important. The home we build will be a home we plan to be in for a very long time, if not forever. I'm not looking for perfection, the trendiest, or the most foo-foo area to live in. Just something well rounded that will be a doable commute, good schools, and in a good neighborhood/area to grow in over the years.

Any ideas or input will be MUCH appreciated!

[robmab]

If he's not commuting during rush hour, the times won't be nearly as awful. You could probably swing West Plano, Frisco or Lewisville and keep his commute to 45 minutes, as long as he's not commuting between 7-9am or 4-6pm. Try to find something that would allow him to take the Tollway to President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) to I-35 down to UTSW. Avoid any commute that involves 635/LBJ at any time of the day.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Love82

A little background: My fiance and I will be moving to Texas at the beginning of the year. He'll be working at UTSW and I'm a little concerned about where to live the more I read about these nightmarish commutes! I, luckily, have family in both the Plano and Frisco areas, so ideally I would love to move to Frisco or The Colony. However, these commute times.... I'm not stuck on any particular area (yet!). I do want to make it easier on him. He won't be commuting at your normal "rush hour" times (ie most days he'll have to be there at 5am, driving home WELL after 5PM). I would just hate for him to work an 18+ hour day and then have a long drive coming home with tons of traffic. He would be comfortable with about a 45 min drive. We will be looking to build and we are fortunate to have a pretty good budget to work with (Roughly $800k at most). I will more than likely be working in Frisco, but nothing is set in stone in that regard.

So my question is this: Where the heck do we even begin to look to build!? We are both in our very early 30's and plan on having children in the next 3-5 years - so schools are important. The home we build will be a home we plan to be in for a very long time, if not forever. I'm not looking for perfection, the trendiest, or the most foo-foo area to live in. Just something well rounded that will be a doable commute, good schools, and in a good neighborhood/area to grow in over the years.

Any ideas or input will be MUCH appreciated!

With a budget of $800k you should look into the Park Cities, and try not to work in Frisco.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

But she wants to build a home. That budget won't cut it in the Park Cities.

[MckinneyOwnr]

I would say West Plano, somewhere close by the DNT. That commute will be about 30 min outside of rush hour, while also getting the benefits of the Plano school district, which is much better than Frisco or The Colony's schools. Your commute if you end up working in Frisco will be easy.

You'll appreciate living in Plano in the future when you have kids too. Having family close in Plano and Frisco that can help with a baby is extremely convenient. The Park Cities is too far for convenience sake. You'll also be able to afford much more house in Plano than you will in PC.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

But she wants to build a home. That budget won't cut it in the Park Cities.

She thinks she wants to build, but she doesn't know the lay of the land here or the market. She might change her mind.

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

I would say West Plano, somewhere close by the DNT. That commute will be about 30 min outside of rush hour, while also getting the benefits of the Plano school district, which is much better than Frisco or The Colony's schools. Your commute if you end up working in Frisco will be easy.

You'll appreciate living in Plano in the future when you have kids too. Having family close in Plano and Frisco that can help with a baby is extremely convenient. The Park Cities is too far for convenience sake. You'll also be able to afford much more house in Plano than you will in PC.

Depends. And HP's schools are in another league entirely. Personally I wouldn't sell my kids' educations short just for the "convenience" of being 10 miles closer to family members. That's just me though.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Depends. And HP's schools are in another league entirely. Personally I wouldn't sell my kids' educations short just for the "convenience" of being 10 miles closer to family members. That's just me though.

Really?

You think living in Plano and having kids attend PISD vs HP is "selling their educations short?"

[DitsyD]

The commute before 5am won't be much of a problem, but if "WELL after 5PM" translates into anything be 7pm, then he would probably have a problem.

I would suggest renting an apartment or house for 6 months or so somewhere between UTSW and your family in Frisco/Plano. That would give you time to check out the commutes and the neighborhoods and figure out what neighborhoods would work for you.

There are LOTS of threads about the school districts in the area. Search and read them if schools for your one-day children are important.

You might decide to buy an existing house in Highland Park/University Park for the schools or if building a new home is your priority, then decide if Frisco might work. West Plano has limited new construction but great schools. Richardson has limited new construction on the west side, but good schools and shorter commute.

Good Luck!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

Really?

You think living in Plano and having kids attend PISD vs HP is "selling their educations short?"

Yup.

Not by much.

However I think it would be foolish to try to argue that PISD > HPISD.

[Love82]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

The commute before 5am won't be much of a problem, but if "WELL after 5PM" translates into anything be 7pm, then he would probably have a problem.

I would suggest renting an apartment or house for 6 months or so somewhere between UTSW and your family in Frisco/Plano. That would give you time to check out the commutes and the neighborhoods and figure out what neighborhoods would work for you.

There are LOTS of threads about the school districts in the area. Search and read them if schools for your one-day children are important.

You might decide to buy an existing house in Highland Park/University Park for the schools or if building a new home is your priority, then decide if Frisco might work. West Plano has limited new construction but great schools. Richardson has limited new construction on the west side, but good schools and shorter commute.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your response! Most days will be after 7:00. So I think he'll be in the clear.

I think we will definitely rent around UTSW while we build. I was just hoping to get the process rolling before we moved to Texas (at least purchasing a lot and a choosing builder). Perhaps it will be better to explore the areas a bit while living there versus deciding in a few weekend trips to the area that we have planned before the "big move."

We're not opposed to an existing home, but since we plan on staying awhile, there are certain amenities we'd like to add. Hence the new home construction. Forgive me, is Highland Park a neighborhood or city? I've heard drugs are a bit of a problem in Plano schools? Hopefully that's just bad info?

You've been most helpful, thanks again!