Just curious...... (Dallas, Plano, McKinney: relocation, house, crime)

[kaykay]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

It was in McKinney. The saleslady at one of the model homes was killed. A few weeks ago a lady had someone break into her apartment and rape her in Frisco. McKinney recently had a gang of teens going around shooting out windows of cars and houses w/ bb guns. I know of two such cases in the last year or so in Plano where car vandalism was a problem, someone or a group of people going on a spree several times. Same with thefts of cars. Some guy got killed at a Jack In The Box in Plano last year during a robbery.

Waxahachie and Ennis are NOT suburbs of Dallas (well, they may be considered that nowdays by some but they are not connected to Dallas like other suburbs). I had family in both cities/towns and have been to both of them MANY times. They are great towns w/ a small town feel. Waxahachie has some great little shops and restaurants and Ennis is known for the race track. You mentioned Balch Springs, now that area is one that I would avoid and the same goes for Wilmer-Hutchins, Lancaster, Pleasant Grove. Avoid that area. Some of Mesquite borders this side of town and there is cross-over problems.

Yes, I would definitely agree with that. If we want to get specific, Pleasant Grove (which is part of southeast Dallas) is the area of Dallas where we lived and we had all the crime issues. (There are areas in southwest Dallas -parts of Oak Cliff and nearby areas which are extremely troublesome as well.)

And yes, the northern suburbs DO have their crime issues. Let me be clear on this, but it is MUCH more isolated than what occurs in many areas of Dallas,especially the south side. (It's kinda like the difference between knowing you need to take "reasonable" precautions as opposed to constantly feeling (knowing!) that you need to watch your back in order not to be a victim!)

[mpope409]

Isn't Waxahachie where some young men gave weed to a baby?

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by mpope409

Isn't Waxahachie where some young men gave weed to a baby?

NO, it was not in Waxahachie. Not even in the same county as Waxahachie.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

NO, it was not in Waxahachie. Not even in the same county as Waxahachie.

Well then where was it?

[mpope409]

Nevermind, I found out it was in Watauga. So sad, but actually not all that surprising to me. I mean, the accused were just babies themselves.

[ladyjay73]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I feel better now. I will be there in about a week, & I have a lot of ground to cover. I just want to find the best place for me & the babies.

Thanks again.

[JLouis]

The suburbs mentioned are very different than the areas where there is a high crime rate. It's inner city poor areas that are less desirable just like anywhere else. It's just uninformed bias that makes people say that the south side suburbs are not good areas. The southern suburbs actually have more beautiful hill country type geography, lakes and trees. The northern suburbs are filled with tract homes on flat land. More businesses have located north, and people running from Dallas schools have led to the rapid growth. Look around and see what works for you and your family.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by JLouis

The suburbs mentioned are very different than the areas where there is a high crime rate. It's inner city poor areas that are less desirable just like anywhere else. It's just uninformed bias that makes people say that the south side suburbs are not good areas. The southern suburbs actually have more beautiful hill country type geography, lakes and trees. The northern suburbs are filled with tract homes on flat land. More businesses have located north, and people running from Dallas schools have led to the rapid growth. Look around and see what works for you and your family.

Which "south side suburbs" are you referring to? Balch Springs? Wilmer-Hutchins? Desoto? Cedar Hill? Lancaster? Some of these ARE bad areas and have areas worse than anything in the "inner city". Oh, and I'm not "uninformed bias" as I am VERY familiar w/ these areas even though I don't nor have ever lived there.

[sicorange]

The only "crime-rampant" part of Dallas is Pleasant Grove and Oak Cliff which is just East and South Dallas respectively. I live in Duncanville which is right next to Cedar Hill. Cedar Hill is coming up in the world, there is construction right now for an upscale outdoor mall with Neiman Marcus among other high end retailers. There is also major road construction, and the football team just won state. Lake Ridge is the upscale, lakeside community with custom homes all around.

[MrSpkr]

Originally Posted by kaykay

The reason people migrate to the northern suburbs of Dallas rather than the south is primarily to avoid high crime rate in the southern sector! I have lived in southeast Dallas (for about 10 years) and now about 11 years in Plano(northern suburb of Dallas) The difference is like night and day! For those of you moving to this area, I can't warn you strongly enough! Dallas and many of the southern areas, crime is rampant!

That is true down into the Duncanville/Desoto/Lancaster areas. Waxahachie, Ovilla, and Midlothian work hard to keep that kind of crime out of their cities.

I don't know much about Ennis or Waxahachie etc.

I can tell.

They might be fine, but I warn you many areas in the southern suburbs and Dallas are NOT. We put up with continuing vandalism, petty theft (from the automobiles), cars broken into and almost stolen themselves, etc. etc. The last straw was when I was held up in the grocery store parking lot at gunpoint. (The Dallas police who responded said that the crime was at a level they could not control--that if we didn't like it, we'd have to move. They said even though they worked for Dallas, they both now lived in a suburb of Dallas.)

I don't blame them. I wouldn't live in Dallas due to the high crime rates, high taxes, and failing schools.

On the other hand, I wouldn't live in Collin or Denton counties (or North Dallas) because I want more housing, gasoline, food, etc., etc., for my dollar.

And this is primarily why people move to the so-called cookie cutter, bland NORTHERN suburbs of Dallas! I am sure there are areas in the southern area that are nice and/or safe--especially I would imagine as you get on out some of the smaller towns and more rural areas, but in general, I would move to the northern areas and I've told you why!

I understand your desire to live in a low crime area; however, you should educate yourself about the Ellis County area, particularly the western portion. Crime is very low here (Midlothian has had one homicide in the past five years), the police are active, and the neighborhoods, safe. Most of the people in government here have lived in the area for decades and have no desire for their towns to become crime ridden or to suffer the problems that places like Frisco and Plano have had due to uncontrolled growth. They also have no desire for their towns to be overrun, driving up prices, straining city services and infrastructure, and destroying their smaller town way of life.

My wife and I moved to this area in 1999. The only crime I know of in our neighborhood during the past several years involved a couple of teenagers stealing equipment out of a garage. Those kids are now doing trash cleanup on weekends as community service. We have a nice home (we paid in the low $160s for a home with 2700 sq ft, a two car garage, and a 1/3 acre lot). We couldn't have touched a home that size for $160K up north.

We also like the fact that gasoline and grocery prices are lower than up north (by about 5%). Not much, but that goes a long way when you have a family of six!

Finally, the commute is pretty easy. I work in the Northpark Mall area (75 and Northwest Highway) and can commute each way in about 45 minutes (a little longer if there is inclement weather or traffic accidents). A coworker who lives in McKinney says his commute is at least an hour.

Finally, the plants. They suck. No way around it. And they are very prominent as you come into town. But we aren't all dropping like flies (as much as some activists would like you to believe). There's no "haze" over Midlothian. The air in Dallas is far dirtier (I see it driving into work each day).