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Old 05-30-2014, 10:51 AM
 
2 posts, read 15,562 times
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Hello All,

I'm currently scratching the surface at the idea of moving from LA to McKinney. We (Wife, Kids, & I) currently live in the San Fernando Valley (about 40 min from LA). We also have 2.5 year old twins (boy and a girl) . My mother in law also lives with us and she is considering the idea of moving to Texas if we ended up moving (she takes care of our babies). We are both in our mid 30's we are very family oriented. Unfortunately we do not have any family in Texas. My main reason for looking into this move is for a better enviroment for our children (better schools, lifestyle, etc), plus the lower cost of living sounds appealing as well.

My wife can more than likely obtain a xfer to Dallas or even Houston. For myself I would probably need to search for a new job (banking industry). We currently own a home in CA. Financially speaking it sounds as if it would be a great move (with the equity on our home we could almmost pay off a home in Mckinney). Also, no income tax which means a 9.5% pay increase right away. I understand that property taxes are about double what they are in CA but then again homes are half the price and double the size which means I would end up paying about the same in property taxes as in CA.

I would like to hear any feedback, advice, or any of you that can share your experience about making a move to McKinney or even about life in Mckinney. One of my concerns is the weather....I know it can be hot and perhaps even humid. How does it compare? I also hear utilities (electricity) can be quite expensive (due to having the AC on all the time). I understant that you can shop around for an electric company as oppose to how it is in CA. How is the commute from Mckinney to Dallas? Anyone who can share their experience or how they feel McKinney is we would appreciate it!

Thank You!!!
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Old 05-30-2014, 11:23 AM
 
Location: WA
5,291 posts, read 7,585,880 times
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The whole suburban area north of Dallas is littered with new upscale suburban areas. McKinney is just one of many options that are all going to be basically the same for you (same builders, identical looking subdivisions, same restaurants, identical looking schools, same shopping, etc.). You will get more advice in the Dallas subforum. But frankly, McKinney is pretty far on the outer edge of the DFW area. My advice is to locate your employment first and then look for convenient neighborhoods. McKinney, Allen, Frisco, Rockwall, Southlake, Coppell, are all going to be pretty similar in terms of lifestyle, schools, etc. Well, Southlake will be the priciest. But the commutes will be drastically different depending on where the employment is. But the north side of Dallas is just littered with banks and financial firms. And yes, life will be a LOT LOT cheaper than CA no matter where you go on TX.

As for Houston. It is even more spread out than Dallas. The areas of Houston that will be similar to McKinney would be Katy on the far western edge of Houston and perhaps the Woodlands and Conroe area to the north of Houston. Maybe Sugar Land to the southwest. But the cross town commutes will be insane if you live in one edge of Houston and have to commute to the other. So again, find your employment and then look for housing. In both Dallas and Houston there are plenty of good housing and neighborhood options near all the major employment centers. Don't move out farther than you have to to get the lifestyle you want or the commuting and traffic will drive you insane.
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Old 05-30-2014, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,397,211 times
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If you work in the Legacy area of Dallas, McKinney is a good area. Recommend Stonebridge Ranch area, schools feed into Boyd HS, most desired schools in McKinney. Alternately, Frisco has good schools and housing with significant new construction.
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Old 05-30-2014, 04:20 PM
 
3,028 posts, read 5,040,758 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texasdiver View Post
The whole suburban area north of Dallas is littered with new upscale suburban areas. McKinney is just one of many options that are all going to be basically the same for you (same builders, identical looking subdivisions, same restaurants, identical looking schools, same shopping, etc.). You will get more advice in the Dallas subforum. But frankly, McKinney is pretty far on the outer edge of the DFW area. My advice is to locate your employment first and then look for convenient neighborhoods. McKinney, Allen, Frisco, Rockwall, Southlake, Coppell, are all going to be pretty similar in terms of lifestyle, schools, etc. Well, Southlake will be the priciest. But the commutes will be drastically different depending on where the employment is. But the north side of Dallas is just littered with banks and financial firms. And yes, life will be a LOT LOT cheaper than CA no matter where you go on TX.

As for Houston. It is even more spread out than Dallas. The areas of Houston that will be similar to McKinney would be Katy on the far western edge of Houston and perhaps the Woodlands and Conroe area to the north of Houston. Maybe Sugar Land to the southwest. But the cross town commutes will be insane if you live in one edge of Houston and have to commute to the other. So again, find your employment and then look for housing. In both Dallas and Houston there are plenty of good housing and neighborhood options near all the major employment centers. Don't move out farther than you have to to get the lifestyle you want or the commuting and traffic will drive you insane.


McKinney is just one of many options that are all going to be basically the same for you (same builders, identical looking subdivisions, same restaurants, identical looking schools, same shopping, etc.). You will get more advice in the Dallas subforum


As stated above McKinney is just one of the many options in the area, many booming towns, just get that best job first, you shouldn't have any trouble. The heat could be a real "blast" to you like a furnace. good luck.
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Old 05-30-2014, 04:35 PM
 
3,491 posts, read 6,931,257 times
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Like others have said,just get your employment situation figured out and best of luck to yall.
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Old 05-30-2014, 06:27 PM
 
Location: North Texas
24,561 posts, read 40,086,670 times
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Do you have your hearts set on McKinney? If so, why?
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Old 05-30-2014, 07:31 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,101,157 times
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Echoing what the others have said. Unless your wife's transfer would take her to an office in the McKinney area, no need to get so fixated on one suburb. As long as you have around a $300k budget, you can find literally hundreds of neighborhoods in the DFW area with great schools and housing.
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Old 05-30-2014, 07:34 PM
 
2 posts, read 15,562 times
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We are definitely not set on McKinney it is just the city we've heard good things about (Publicity 2nd best city to live on etc). Being from CA we are concern about the weather (heat snow and tornadoes). We've never been to Texas aside from a flight layover and of course we will first take a few trips to see what it is like to see if we continue exploring the idea.
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Old 05-30-2014, 08:49 PM
 
1,282 posts, read 3,541,000 times
Reputation: 1064
We love love love Mckinney, but to reiterate what everyone else has said...get jobs first, then figure out where to live. If you have to come prior to getting jobs, I'd recommend living more central until you know where you will end up.
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Old 05-30-2014, 08:59 PM
 
1,940 posts, read 3,537,646 times
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Coming from the SFV, you will love McKinney, a quick drive into North Dallas will have everything you love about living in LA including restaurants, culture, people, and shopping. North Dallas is like if LA got its act together and cleaned things up and redid everything more than 30 years old. You'll hate the heat though, but you can afford to run the AC at max through the summer and still get off cheaper than your DWP bill.
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