Ready to Buy a House...Where? (Dallas, Plano: houses, established neighborhood, construction)

[thompssc]

Hi all,

Long-time lurker here but not quite a native DFW'er. Transplanted here for the first time in 2012 and have moved away and back multiple times due to work. I have lived here a grand total of 4(ish) years, but never more than 2 years at a time and almost all of it down south of 635. I work near 75/635, and now have confidence I'll be here long enough to make a house worthwhile. The problem is, there's a big difference between living somewhere 4 years consecutively and 4 years off-and-on. A lot of my time has honestly been either getting re-settled down in Dallas and into a new role, and then getting ready to transition out. So I know how to get around and generally where the different parts of Dallas are, but I'm not super familiar with the various pockets within each 'burb, which school districts are any good, where new development is happening, etc. Our priorities with a house are:

1. Commute: I work at 75/635 and she works in Allen right off 75. We would want each of us to have a max commute of 30min. Obviously there are some times where it's unusually bad and we understand those outliers, but we would want to get to work within 30min of leaving probably ~80-85% of the time. We are looking at Plano and Richardson. We can probably lean a bit more south since she'll be driving the opposite direction as the main rush hour flow (although I am aware that 5pm traffic both ways can still be pretty bad). Additionally, I work near TI and there is a shuttle that will pick me up from the DART Rail stop and bring me to the office a minute or two away. I would be OK taking the DART to work as long as I was a quick/easy drive away from my departing DART Rail station.

2. Location: Aside from commute concerns, we don't really care about schools other than for the impact on future salability. No kids on the horizon for awhile. We like to bike (casually...we are not true cyclists), run, walk the dog, etc. and be outside near something nature-y. Right now we live in The Village and love biking/running around White Rock Lake and just hanging out there to get a little bti of escape. That's going to be super hard to leave behind and I know that there isn't much that can replace it up north, but proximity to something with trails where we could run and not be running along busy streets or through humdrum neighborhoods would be nice.
- Proximity to Dallas proper is important too. All of our friends are down in Dallas, we still enjoy going out/hanging out down there.

3. Neighborhood character: We really hate the cookie-cutter houses with no mature trees in sight vibe in some of the suburban neighborhoods. We would love to be somewhere with a bit more character in the houses and mature trees and greenery.

We aren't looking for a huge house, it's just the two of us (and the pup) and it's our first house, so we are not looking for "the perfect house" just yet. We know there will be compromises. We are willing to compromise a bit on the actual niceness of the house to end up in a neighborhood we like that is close enough to work and a park or some trails or something. Given those things, I think we can make a variety of actual houses work.

Budget: Up to $400k (but wouldn't mind spending a lot less). Before my wife accepted this job in Allen, her other potential jobs were down inside 635 and we were looking basically all around White Rock Lake (extended a few miles). It seemed like we would have to spend $350-400k to get something decent within that proximity to the lake. Financially I have the ability to go that high, not a problem. However, just because I can doesn't mean I should, and looking at homes in Plano/Richardson tells me I get way more house for my money. If there's someplace that is a slam dunk for all my priorities and it's $400k, then fine I'll spend that and be happy. But I also would not be upset spending low $300ks for a much less nice house as long as the location works.

MY initial impressions (let me know if I'm off base): I've heard/read that east of 75 is not the best...why is that? I see plenty of affordable stuff east of 75...what's so bad about east Plano or richardson? Why is the central 75/DNT corridor so much better? What do you think about the UTD area? I could take Coit all the way down to work or 75, depending on what traffic is looking like, and my wife could take either Renner/Campbell/PGBT to 75 and on up to Allen. Or Richardson just north of 635 between DNT and 75 (75248)? Am I looking in the right areas for what I want?

I appreciate your time reading this and any insight you guys have!

[keribeth818]

The Sherrill Park area of Richardson comes to mind.

[TheOverdog]

East Plano and east Richardson are perfectly fine. There are a few blocks near US75 that aren't great, but the rest is perfectly fine. So feel free to buy over there. It's mostly valued less because the major highways and major retail are farther away. East Richardson has nicer trails than west of 75. So check around Renner and 75 and south all the way to Jupiter. Close to Dart, close to Allen, close to 635 & 75.

[Soccernerd]

Richardson near UTD or southeastern Texas are older but well-established neighborhoods. These areas will be a mix of long-time homeowners as well as young couples and families on their first house.

[turf3]

Lake Highlands.

East of Abrams, north of Mockingbird, west of the lake (not sure what that area is currently called).

Pretty much anywhere in Richardson except that pit along Spring Valley east of Coit to Central would be OK.

[MthomasW]

Nobody on this forum mentions Farmers Branch often. Character, mature trees and parks abound. Not far from downtown.
If that’s too far from your jobs, then Richardson is your best bet.

[biafra4life]

Yeah Richardson is number one with a bullet for you
Perfect location for both commuters

[speedyg]

The UTD area (assuming you mean to the east of UTD) is definitely older, but it's one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the Dallas area.

Nothing is wrong with East Richardson and East Plano. The people running down East Plano are mostly people who are comparing it to West Plano. Sure, West Plano is nicer with higher end homes, but East Plano is a relatively safe good middle class area.

East Plano and East Richardson have better trail systems than compared to the west side of each city. The closest you are going to get up north to the White Rock trails is the Bob Woodruff/Oak Point trails in Plano and then whatever is just south of CityLine in Richardson. Both are really nice.

[Skipito]

I'd even throw Central Plano into the mix. I'm near Alma/Spring Creek and can get to 635/75 in under 30 in even the worst AM traffic, and now that construction is done (for the most part) on 75 there's only a couple of times that afternoon traffic would be worse than 30.

There's also an awesome trail system that we use all the time and I'm sure there are plenty of homes well below your budget - some may be updated, some may not be, but I've been overall very happy with the area.

I'll second (or fifth?) the statement that East Plano and East Richardson get a bad rap - particularly for what you're looking for.

[thompssc]

Originally Posted by Skipito

I'd even throw Central Plano into the mix. I'm near Alma/Spring Creek and can get to 635/75 in under 30 in even the worst AM traffic, and now that construction is done (for the most part) on 75 there's only a couple of times that afternoon traffic would be worse than 30.

There's also an awesome trail system that we use all the time and I'm sure there are plenty of homes well below your budget - some may be updated, some may not be, but I've been overall very happy with the area.

I'll second (or fifth?) the statement that East Plano and East Richardson get a bad rap - particularly for what you're looking for.

Sorry, are you saying the bad rap is accurate, or are you saying it gets the bad rap unfairly?

I appreciate all the inputs everyone! Super helpful to gather a few more data points.