Flower Mound v Frisco (Dallas, Plano: houses, neighborhoods, buy)

[Mikes Mom]

Hi All,

I have just returned from my 2nd visit to the DFW area to scope out an area to relo to. I think I have narrowed it down to Flower Mound and Frisco (West Plano is still in consideration but I think that most of it is out of my price range).

As I mentioned in my previous posts, here is a bit of my history and constraints:
I am relocating from NJ - close to NYC.
I have a 5 year old and another on the way. Schools are very important to me.
I am pretty lucky in that at the moment, I can work remotely and once settled can open an office where I choose so I do not have commute parameters. This is the same for my husband. My concern is that if the economy continues to decline, I may have to look for a new job and would want to be within commutable areas for business districts.
I have narrowed my budget to 300-350k...if needed I could go a little higher.
I am not able to fly again for the rest of the pregnancy so I cannot make any additional trips out. Once we finalize on an area, I will be sending Hubby to find the actual house (yikes!)
I am really hoping to find a super child friendly area (which I think both are) so my kids and I can make new friends.

I am really interested in any experience/opinions with these areas and recommendations if I am missing any other obvious choices.

Thank you for your help. You were all very helpful in my previous posts.

[getmeoutofhere]

I live right by Flower Mound. The schools are excellent, much better than Frisco (I did my teacher training in Flower Mound, and my wife did hers in Frisco).

Both are very family-friendly, but I think Flower Mound has a nicer vibe, hence the reason we bought there instead of Frisco. Ton's of families and kids in Flower Mound, everything is nice and convenient, and it has almost a small-town feel to it. I run into people all the time that I know, at restaurants or shopping or whatever.

Plus for that at-home business person, Verixon FiOS is everywhere.

You can buy a beautiful house for $300K in Flower Mound, with a nice open lot, or you can save some money and go a little cheaper and still get a great house.

I don't like Texas, and can't wait to leave (coincidentally, up near where you are coming from), but I have nothing but good things to say about Flower Mound. We actually live a little north of it now, in Lantana, but we lived in Flower Mound for several years before we bought our house. If you are interested, Lantana is actually very nice as well. Master-planned community, with its own schools and parks and golf courses and pretty much everything.

Anyway, highly recommend Flower Mound area, and DM me if you need a good realtor. I was extremely happy with mine, genuinely nice guy who knows the Flower Mound area very well.

[Grainraiser]

I think both areas are great but I would take Flower Mound over Frisco. I simply think Flower Mound has more charm than Frisco. Both cities offer great schools so that would be a wash. Both have plenty of young families and lots of activities for kids to do. Flower Mound is not as congested and more mature tree lined streets. Driving thru both areas should make the decision pretty easy.

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

You might want to also look at Castle Hills - it is just a little west of Plano and would meet all your criteria. It has better commutability than Flower Mound and Frisco if that ever becomes necessary for you.

Check out this thread - http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ewisville.html. I've posted some pictures that will give you an idea of the feel of the area.

[$DFW8$]

I think Frisco would be the best choice. It is VERY family-oriented. You are going to see kids playing together in neighborhoods and families out together. The schools there are very good and are ranked well. You could definitely get a nice house in Frisco for that price and be very happy. Frisco is only about 40 minutes(with traffic) from Downtown Dallas, so commuting is not too bad at all. It is a straight shot down the tollway. Flower Mound has limited highways going in and out, so that causes major backups. I know many people who live in Flower Mound and work in Downtown Dallas, and they always complain about how long it takes just to get out of Flower Mound. Plus Frisco has more shopping and dining.

[renlouis]

Frisco is probably a bit of an easier commute to Dallas than FM, but in my opinion, Flower Mound offers more of a small-town, community feel to it (a little less retail oriented) and local traffic not as congested. I don't know much about Frisco schools, but FM schools are stellar. If you are looking to be close to LOTS and LOTS of shopping, then Frisco will have a little more (although FM has plenty). Either way you go, you'll probably find a neighborhood that you are happy with. Good Luck!!

[jeffari-al-texani]

I ventured to Flower Mound a couple of weeks ago when a friend of mine came to town. She grew up in Flower Mound, but moved moments after she graduated from Marcus...so we went back to see her old neighborhood...

I'll have to say this, Flower Mound is certainly prettier than Frisco...

[NotaCheesehead]

We moved to Flower Mound about 2 months ago and I love it! The schools are top notch, the neighborhoods are friendly and safe, and I don't have to drive farther than 10 minutes to do my day-to-day activities. I also heard good things about Castle Hills, but it was out of our price range. We bought a 4 bed, 2.5 bath with an inground pool for less than 200,000. There's certainly bigger houses in Flower Mound (the Wellington subdivision is nice).

[ct005ke002]

We would prefer Flower Mound. We moved to Lantana 5 months ago and we love it. We have 4 boys 8,6,4,and new born.

[getmeoutofhere]

Originally Posted by ct005ke002

We would prefer Flower Mound. We moved to Lantana 5 months ago and we love it. We have 4 boys 8,6,4,and new born.

Which part of Lantana?