Wylie or McKinney or Allen (Dallas, Plano: coupons, houses, good schools)

[mdntblu]

I am currently living in SoCal (Corona, CA) and am thinking about moving to the Dallas Metroplex area. I just recently visited there for a few days and had some interviews. We drove all over the place and found lots of different areas we liked. Looking at spending no more than $180,000 for a house.

Allen : Nice area, good schools, lots of shopping and close to 75 and 121 fwys which is nice. Houses a little more expensive.

Wylie : A little out in the rural part of the area but houses are very affordable. Read that schools in this area are good. Some bad I heard was traffic in mornings/evenings in and out of the city. Like the Birmingham Farms area and the Lakewood area.

McKinney : Nice houses which are affordable as well. Close to Allen. Eldorado and Virgina Hills areas seem really nice.

I am in the Data/Phone/Low Voltage cabling industry. Looking for work. Very experienced and run jobs here in CA. Looking for around $21/hr - $23/hr. Anyone know anyone in this industry that can get me into their company. Some of the companies I've interviewed for are Spencer Technologies, DMI Technologies, Southwest Networks, Structured Network Cabling. Since I'm in this industry I am always driving all over and won't necessarily be going to the same place everyday for long periods of time. So traffic is always different for me.

Based on this information can you tell me what you think is better?

Thanks
Brad

[Guerilla]

Allen because it is closer in. The schools are not bad at all, either. McKinney is a little farther out, but if you ever wanted to go there to shop, you wouldn't be too far away.

[socketz]

Mckinney has some nice topography and cultural things that makes it a better choice in my mind. Allen to me feels to much like an extension of Central Plano. I was actually there in Mckinney yesterday and was on the 75 access road going south toward Eldorado and there was a huge hill I had to go up then down. It was so refreshing to see that type of scenery again. Also, there's the downtown scene in Mckinney which is pretty cool if your into shops/antiques, then there are all the parks in the area. I went to one yesterday that was off the 380 (Erwin?) and the road going into the park was full of people with mountain bikes on the roof of their cars. There's just something about being able to live in an upscale area then go 5 mins away and be so close to farms, parks, trees, horses, etc.

I spent my teenage years in an area of Southern Maryland called Calvert County. Mckinney reminds me alot of Calvert, which is now one of the most desirable 'upscale rural' areas to live in the entire DC Metro area.

[socketz]

Interesting. Are these located elsewhere in the US ? Seems a place like Minnesota would benefit more from something like this.

Doesn't Mckinney already have about 4-6 Golf Courses ?

[stargazer]

I live in Mckinney and love it.

[socketz]

Stargazer. You need to clue me in on all the good spots to eat over there (I move in July). So far, I've only eaten at the Mckinney Tavern on El Dorado and the Panda Express on Stonebridge.

[stargazer]

Next to Mckinney Tavern, both Dos Charros and Tasty China are great, they are my favorite places to eat in Mckinney! We also like eating over at Genghis Grill. Also for some adventure and you have to have cash Bill's Smiths Cafe. That is a very much a legend here and a hole and the wall. Been here forever. Everyone has to eat there once to say they have been. It is a big ole grease pit lol. I also like Ameri Yaki over next to the Home Depot on Custer is good and clean. I don't care for Dodies and go to Razoos for my fill of cajun in Richardson but over in that strip center I do like Panera Bread and Cafe Brazil. I also do like eating cheese fries at Snuffers but the rest of the menu is bland. Texas RoadHouse is good as well as Rock Fish and Salt Grass Steakhouse( the potatoe soup is so yummy) but

La Madeline's I don't care for too much with the exception of their desserts.

Let's see, Sonic is a regular on our radar for drinks. I also like going to Chili's and Citrus Grill. Citrus Grill has some good coupons over at Restaurant.com. I like getting them and taking my kids to eat there before a movie. They have huge booths and plentiful crayons and love drawing there. They also have good pizzas and great cornmeal fried shrimp and calamari. They call it rock shrimp although it isn't but it is still yum. Let's see, for pizza I like Brooklyn's and Red Brick Oven. For burgers just sonic is good to me. For Japanese, Wasabi is good for lunch. The prices are a bit high at night unless you just want sushi , half price wednesday sushi is good. Try a box luch with tempura, it is good there. The place though that I adore going to eat is Market Street. That is on the corner of Ridge and El Dorado. It is a super market but it has a food court inside and food is really delicious. My kids love the pizza and pastas. They hand make the pasta dishes to order before your eyes. You can also get a salad from the salad bar or have a chef make you a cesaer. I like getting though california rolls from the sushi bar and a japenese soda.

Hope you enjoy all that Mckinney has.

[socketz]

Market Street is nice.

Thanks for all the info Stargazer.

I read somewhere that Old Town Mckinney has some sports bars, but I went down there several times and can never find them. All I see are antique shops. Is there another part of downtown I'm missing ?

[Spree]

>> La Madeline's I don't care for too much with the exception of their desserts.<<

What kind of food does this place have? They seem to be all over the place there, I assumed it was a bakery/dessert coffee type of place. From the above, it appears there's more? I can't wait for some good Tex-Mex.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by gulf5driver

>> La Madeline's I don't care for too much with the exception of their desserts.<<

What kind of food does this place have? They seem to be all over the place there, I assumed it was a bakery/dessert coffee type of place. From the above, it appears there's more? I can't wait for some good Tex-Mex.

I'd best describe it as a French bistro: soups, salads, sandwiches, fruit, pastries, brunch, a few entrees, etc. It is okay. Ruby Tuesday in McKinney is good. Dickey's BBQ just opened (not as good as Red, Hot & Blue but they do have free soft serve ice cream).

You can head down to Allen to Mimi's Cafe and Two Rows. Two Rows is a notch above Chilis and much better. Mimi's has brunch, soups, sandwiches, muffins, breads, some entrees, etc. Better than La Madeline's and it has a kids menu and more extensive menu.