Plano, Farmers Branch, Carrolton? (Dallas, Carrollton: new house, good schools, taxes)

[skbs]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Just a FYI. You can forget about a basement in Dallas. They are as rare as a unicorn

That is the reason we are looking for a larger home than the one we currently own in NY. We use our basement as a playroom and storage and I know I am going to need more space and get rid of a lot of stuff prior to the move

[dfwguy70]

Originally Posted by skbs

Right now I live on the outskirts of a very popular town... large class sizes, busy roads, shopping centers- but beautiful... our home is in the "country" as some would say...or in the sticks and we are forced to drive to everything... I am assuming Frisco might be similar based on this statement? I love where I live- 40 acres of everwild in my backyard with the benifits of living in a very small neighborhood of newer homes... we moved here because it was cheaper to build and the distance wasn't an issue... if that is the case w/ Frisco we might be happy there.

If you prefer an area with wide-open spaces...you may want to check out Rockwall/Heath and maybe even Forney and Royse City. This is, of course, the eastern suburbs of Dallas. However, all of these school districts are good and it has more of a true suburban/rural feel to it.

[redmom217]

Plano, without a doubt. I grew up in the PISD...it is, by far, not only one of the best in the DFW area, but one of the best in the nation. You should be able to get a decent house out there for under $350K (so long as you stay out of far West Plano), but you're in for a shock on property taxes...or maybe not. There's a reason why, for the most part, values don't really go anywhere in Texas, and that's property taxes! We're talking about $8-$10K/year on a $400K house. Ouch!!

[skbs]

Originally Posted by redmom217

you're in for a shock on property taxes...or maybe not. There's a reason why, for the most part, values don't really go anywhere in Texas, and that's property taxes! We're talking about $8-$10K/year on a $400K house. Ouch!!

Considering I pay $7K in property taxes for a 5 yr old home I paid $174K on (Assessed at $190K) I will not be shocked... $8K-$10K on a $400K home sounds SO much more reasonable. This is what you pay here for an almost 10 yr old home that goes for just under $375K

Type:Single-FamilyRooms:9Bedrooms:3Bathrooms:2.5Year Built:1999Taxes:$13,835Acres:Approximately 5 acresLot Size:Approximately 339Square Ft:Approximately 2,273 sq ft

Or if you want to go to a town on the other side of the city, where the homes are a bit cheaper but the taxes are higher...
A $320K six yr old home that is almost 3000sqft has taxes of just under $13,500.

[snowburn5]

LOL. I usually detest Plano, but I live in Carrollton/FB and even I say choose Plano.

I'm shocked no one has mentioned Allen. Allen is between Plano and McKinney (sticks), maybe slightly more south than Frisco. I'm not enlightened enough to compare school districts, but much has been said about Allen schools.

I think someone else pointed out North Carrollton near the border of Plano, and I agree. This area is pretty nice, and new developments are still popping up.

Farmers Branch has some pretty, classic streets/neighborhoods, but they're right in the thick of highways and less-appealing areas. North Carrollton/Plano/Allen/Frisco will be shiny and new.

[skbs]

Originally Posted by snowburn5

Farmers Branch has some pretty, classic streets/neighborhoods, but they're right in the thick of highways and less-appealing areas. North Carrollton/Plano/Allen/Frisco will be shiny and new.

Thanks for the advice I will take a look at those... already looked at Frisco and you can get a ton of house for the price! Taxes are pretty low and the amenities are amazing! I think I really need to step back and take a good look at other areas.

[MurphyPl1]

And Murphy - Welcome to the City of Murphy, Texas

Very family friendly, plano schools, larger lots, close to 190 and shopping.

[poisonakki]

ok i'm curious as to how folks are getting this 'working from home' type jobs

Originally Posted by skbs

Commute is not an issue- mostly working from home. So, we are mainly concerned with the area we will be living in. Since I don't know the area well I am just curious, of the three, which is the best choice... if you think another area is better, please share....

[catluvr]

We lived in Carrollton until we bought a home. We didn't buy in Carrollton, because we fell in love with a different house than what we could find in Carrollton.

Of the 3 areas, I like Carrollton. Like Plano and Farmer's Branch, you have to be careful about where you buy because each city has a good and not so good part. Farmer's Branch is ideal if you work in Dallas since it's a 1st string suburb (closest to Dallas). They have some fabulous homes in FB, million dollar plus along Royal!

The people were very friendly in Carrollton and we lived in a location close to everything. The only thing about Carrollton I can mention (I don't know much about Plano) is that there are people everywhere you go. The city has 120K people in it. I know Plano and FB both have crime, but I would like to see the new mayor of Carrollton take care of some of the crime. It is not bad by any means, but like many other cities in the Metroplex, it's going up. Everyone wants theri city to be fairly safe. Carrollton is, but the old mayor (or somebody) didn't do enough to keep the crime number decreasing or at least stagnant. One other point about Carrollton...the roads stink!

I still recommend Carrollton for families. It's family oriented,it is an easy commute distance to Plano, Dallas, and Irving. I could even get to far south Dallas in a half hour. I could get to MCKinny in about 35 or 40 minutes. It's a nice central location. You can also get quite a bit of house for your money! With the cost of gas, I prefer to get more house and a closer, easier commute for my money. I'm not sure where you will be working so nowdays, schools and the distance driven is what matters.

Of the 3 cities you chose, be aware that even good districts have bad schools (bad districts also have good schools). I can't make more of a recommendation than that because I actually send the kids to private school for many reasons (mainly convenience for me and the Christian teachings)

[RN7676]

Frisco is great as long as you dont have to go anywhere. Little Elm and McKinney face similar traffic issues.

One of the main problems with these booming communities in Texas is that many of the thoroughfares are Texas Farm to Market roads (FM 720). These are 2 lane blacktop state highways that were built in the late 40s and 1950s. If you live in those areas you drive them everyday and know what I'm talking about. Most have been repaved and some are even getting left turn lanes and shoulders, but they are not the 6 lane divided & lighted concrete streets that they need to be. The cities cannot widen those roads without state intervention even if the city offered to design and pay for 100% of it. So the city has to get their request into the state and get it surveyed, flood tested, enviro impacted, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, then once approved, get on the waiting list. Then 4,5,6,7,8 years later those roads can get re-developed by the state (usually with the city still paying for part of it).

On the good side, the neighborhoods all have nice new streets and the intercity streets that connect the FM roads are almost always very well developed and very capable. But if you want to get accross town or out of town you'll be sharing a 2 lane blacktop with 100,000+ people that didn't live there 10 years ago.

Just google map Frisco or Little elm. Most of those "city streets" with Texas highway numbers (423 & 720 in particular) are not at all capable of handling the local population. Too bad you can't 'street view' those roads so you could really see them. They are well paved and smooth, but way too narrow. As bad as the city wants to upgrade those roads they have to wait in a long line with the rest of the states population.