Mckinney, Frisco, Allen, Lakewood? (Dallas, Plano: apartment, house, buyers)

[aexchange]

Try looking at the Montgomery Farms subdivision in Allen. Not necessarily with a lot of mature trees, but may have the style of homes you are looking for. The price may be a bit out of your range though, but its in a very nice area of Allen.

[turnbun]

You may want to check out Old Lake Highlands and the L Streets in Lake Highlands as well. You will find you get more bang for your buck in those areas, and they have the nice treed lots and older homes you are looking for without the expense of Lakewood and M Streets. The L Streets feed into Lake Highlands Elem, Lake Highlands Jr High and Lake Highlands HS, all great schools in Richardson ISD. Old Lake Highlands is in DISD and the schools aren't great (esp. past elementary school), but it is a LOVELY area!

[gosaints]

Originally Posted by turnbun

You may want to check out Old Lake Highlands and the L Streets in Lake Highlands as well. You will find you get more bang for your buck in those areas, and they have the nice treed lots and older homes you are looking for without the expense of Lakewood and M Streets. The L Streets feed into Lake Highlands Elem, Lake Highlands Jr High and Lake Highlands HS, all great schools in Richardson ISD. Old Lake Highlands is in DISD and the schools aren't great (esp. past elementary school), but it is a LOVELY area!

What's the zip code in Old Lake Highlands & Lake Highlands areas?

[justinkevans]

Thank you so much the map and for all the responses! We went this weekend and looked and have come to this: We didn't care for Mckinney, or Allen, but loved Frisco/Plano and the M Streets area. Its confusing as to which part is which when you are driving through, but we love the small (3 br) cape cod style houses in that area. The trees are gorgeous also! Lakewoods was very nice also but the houses were a little large for just us two. Bu then again, as I said it was confusing to see whcich part was which!

We want to live around young couples and families, and we saw the most of that on the M streets. Our biggest concern is getting into an old house and having problems as is to be expected. That was the one thing Frisco had over Dallas, newer houses for half the price, half the charm yes, but probably the smart thing for us now.

Frisco was not bad, we have a better chance of both obtaining jobs in that area vs dallas. With all the new schools in the Frisco area, my wife has a better chance to teach with her Alt Cert. I am looking in HR, Managemnt and even Marketing. So many headquarters there, surely I can find something!

I have one more question: What is the differnce in the people living in M Streets/Lakewood etc versus Frisco and Plano?? Which has more young families? Which is better area for starting careers? Which area has less crime overall?

Thanks so much, I appreciate it

[nsumner]

Speaking of maps, check this crime map for the city of Dallas. You can navigate through the streets on it. City of Dallas Interactive Maps I wish there was such a map for every town. Frisco isn't a member of www.Crimereports.com yet. I sent a request to the Frisco PD to join, it's free to them.

I think Frisco is a lot more family oriented than Lakewood. It is a very typical suburbia town. There are a few neighborhoods that have a lot of trees in Frisco. They would be closer to 121 and built in the 90s.

Also, I know you didn't care for Allen, but there is a neighborhood west of 75 called Twin Creeks that is in the city of Allen. It's a very pretty neighborhood with lots and lots of trees. It doesn't have the cape cod homes you like but it is still very charming.

Naima

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by gosaints

What's the zip code in Old Lake Highlands & Lake Highlands areas?

Old Lake Highlants is 75218 and Lake Highlands is 75238 and portions of 75231 & 75243 fall within the area.

Naima

[turnbun]

Naima is correct on zip codes.

[billdfw]

Well, with your budget you are going to have to make a trade-off.

Here are some pros/cons:

Frisco:

Pros: lower crime, newer cheap houses (I see this as a con), good schools

Cons: Sterile - no character, most chain restaurants and chain stores, geared mainly to families, none if any nightlife, must drive 5+ miles for anything, long commute to Downtown Dallas

Lakewood/M Streets

Pros: Architectual character, everything you could need within a 5 mile radius, mostly locally owned (and very good) restaurants and shops, mixture of young professionals, families and older couples, great nightlife everywhere, commute of Dallas would be against traffic

Cons: Higher crime (although mostly non-violent), poor schools past elementary school (Stonewall & Lakewood are pretty good), more expensive


To sum up, Frisco has better schools and less crime, but is bland and sterile and no place for a young couple unless you have children and plan to stay at home all of the time. M Streets/Lakewood have a much higher quality of life and have a lot more to offer. There is just no comparison.

You really won't find anything other than a fixer for $250k in Lakewood or the M Streets, but look just east of White Rock Lake in Lake Highlands, Old Lake Highlands, and Little Forest Hills. You can find a nice older (1950's) home that has been remodeled for under $250k.

[Grainraiser]

Wow I thought I would never agree with Billdfw on his views of the area but I must say I agree with 95% of what he said. I do believe the middle & highschool (Woodrow Wilson) are on par if not better than those offered by Frisco. Other than that he is pretty much spot on.

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by billdfw

Well, with your budget you are going to have to make a trade-off.

Here are some pros/cons:

Frisco:

Pros: lower crime, newer cheap houses (I see this as a con), good schools

Cons: Sterile - no character, most chain restaurants and chain stores, geared mainly to families, none if any nightlife, must drive 5+ miles for anything, long commute to Downtown Dallas

Lakewood/M Streets

Pros: Architectual character, everything you could need within a 5 mile radius, mostly locally owned (and very good) restaurants and shops, mixture of young professionals, families and older couples, great nightlife everywhere, commute of Dallas would be against traffic

Cons: Higher crime (although mostly non-violent), poor schools past elementary school (Stonewall & Lakewood are pretty good), more expensive


To sum up, Frisco has better schools and less crime, but is bland and sterile and no place for a young couple unless you have children and plan to stay at home all of the time. M Streets/Lakewood have a much higher quality of life and have a lot more to offer. There is just no comparison.

You really won't find anything other than a fixer for $250k in Lakewood or the M Streets, but look just east of White Rock Lake in Lake Highlands, Old Lake Highlands, and Little Forest Hills. You can find a nice older (1950's) home that has been remodeled for under $250k.

Okay, I agree with everything except the part about having to drive 5 miles for anything and long commutes into Dallas. There are a lot of neighborhoods and areas where you can live and be within 5 miles of stores, restaurants, and Stonebriar mall.

I commute to downtown Dallas everyday from Frisco and I can be at my office from my driveway in about 35 minutes. Some days it can take up to 40 minutes if traffic is bad or the weather is bad. Some people might consider this a long commute, but it really isn't at all. I know people that commute from other cities and suburbs and have a longer commute than that.