Can someone describe the differences between various north Dallas suburbs? (Plano: crime, new house)

[RoamingTX]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I don't agree with that at all. The Colony, Plano and Trophy Club for some are very different.

Meh. They’re really not all that different on a meaningful level.

[turf3]

It's like the difference between Wonder Bread and Rainbo.

[Bp25]

DFW is more of a commercial center in the middle of southern US with good airlines connectivity and does not have coastline and mountains. That makes the whole flat arid place pretty generic. The variation between suburbs are due to proximity to employment centers and good schools. Of course people with money designated some areas as upscale and built their expensive homes there, which in turn made schools better and increased their property values even more. So from that point of view, economic segregation is the only real difference between suburbs.

[mSooner]

The difference is mainly going to be in home size/price, schools, amenities available, and income level--those will all be correlated.

I'd pick based on your job location.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by Bp25

DFW is more of a commercial center in the middle of southern US with good airlines connectivity and does not have coastline and mountains. That makes the whole flat arid place pretty generic. The variation between suburbs are due to proximity to employment centers and good schools. Of course people with money designated some areas as upscale and built their expensive homes there, which in turn made schools better and increased their property values even more. So from that point of view, economic segregation is the only real difference between suburbs.

Good points.

Many of the "hot" burbs right now were little more than farmland when I was born (1986). Transplants come to DFW and want the American Dream. This includes: a decent sized lot, medium to large houses with backyard/pool, good schools, far enough out to be quiet but able to access big city amenities with a short drive etc.

As a little kid, I vaguely remember Plano as being dang near country-ish. Now it's evolved to the point where Plano alone won't do for many newcomers. It's West Plano or bust. Every hot 'burb will have their day and then fade just a bit as people move further and further north.

If we could ever increase corporate relo's and improve perception of the southern 'burbs, I feel like it would relieve a lot of the pressure. Most transplants don't even consider a southern burb which just puts added pressure on northern DFW...to the point where the southern half of Oklahoma will be considered DFW at some point.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

Meh. They’re really not all that different on a meaningful level.

Absurd oversimplifications like that don't help people who've never been around here.

For example Plano is about 20 times larger in population than Trophy Club. Plano is an internationally recognized business hub none of the other are. Plano has great public schools some of the other towns have good school but but Plano is the clear winner in this regard. Plano has a newly anointed Level 1 Trauma Center....none of the other places do and Plano has three other legitimate hospitals. None of the others are close to that.

Grapevine has a great lake and a really cool downtown unlike any of the others.

I could go on for a while.

Claiming these places are not meaningfully different is lazy and bogus.

[RoamingTX]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Absurd oversimplifications like that don't help people who've never been around here.

For example Plano is about 20 times larger in population than Trophy Club. Plano is an internationally recognized business hub none of the other are. Plano has great public schools some of the other towns have good school but but Plano is the clear winner in this regard. Plano has a newly anointed Level 1 Trauma Center....none of the other places do and Plano has three other legitimate hospitals. None of the others are close to that.

Grapevine has a great lake and a really cool downtown unlike any of the others.

I could go on for a while.

Claiming these places are not meaningfully different is lazy and bogus.

No. It’s not.

You’ll have the same access to medical facilities, they don’t reject you based on a zip code.

The delta in the schools is a red herring at best.

Business hubs abound.

“Downtown” business districts are all over.

I could go on...

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

No. It’s not.

You’ll have the same access to medical facilities, they don’t reject you based on a zip code.

The delta in the schools is a red herring at best.

Business hubs abound.

“Downtown” business districts are all over.

I could go on...

Proximity to great medical facilities - read ERs in particular - is valuable.

The delta in schools is only a red herring if you don't have kids or don't care much about education. The average SAT score at Plano West was over 1700 last year - The Colony 1522 - Lewisville High 1422 - Northwest 1513 - Byron Nelson 1524 - Grapevine 1622. I'm not claiming average SATs are everything but they do reflect cadre quality very well.

Business hubs like West Plano absolutely do not abound.

Not sure what your "downtown" business districts comment is about.

[HP48G]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I don't agree with that at all. The Colony, Plano and Trophy Club for some are very different.

The price points are different. but is living in the Colony like living in a war zone? no. Is living in Trophy Club a ticket to happiness? no. In the end all these generic places provide a safe comfortable lifestyle with proximity to amenities, health care, airports, shopping, highways etc for their residents regardless of price point and budget.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Absurd oversimplifications like that don't help people who've never been around here.

For example Plano is about 20 times larger in population than Trophy Club. Plano is an internationally recognized business hub none of the other are. Plano has great public schools some of the other towns have good school but but Plano is the clear winner in this regard. Plano has a newly anointed Level 1 Trauma Center....none of the other places do and Plano has three other legitimate hospitals. None of the others are close to that.

Grapevine has a great lake and a really cool downtown unlike any of the others.

I could go on for a while.

Claiming these places are not meaningfully different is lazy and bogus.

While I don't want to live in Plano, it is interesting how it is an Edge City. Too much business is done there for it to fit the traditional bedroom suburban stereotype, but at the same time, it is incredibly auto centric and sorry, for the most part, pretty boring.

The thing about the Northern suburbs for the most part is that individual subdivisions matter more than the city itself, the only reason you know you crossed borders is the sign that says "Welcome to XYZ"

To further complicate this, school districts don't follow city borders, so basicly you have lots of arbitrary borders for different things.