Frisco, Texas - Your Thoughts (Plano, Denton: transplants, sales, foreclosures)

[vkashyap1971]

Hello,
My family and I are moving from NJ this summer. We've visited Texas over a dozen times in the last 5 years and LOVE the people, the hospitality and the [SIZE=2]camaraderie your state has to offer. I think it's the perfect place to race my kids so I definitely am not interested in any negative opinions as to why I shouldn't move to Texas. NJ just doesn't compare to what Texas has to offer in pretty much any and all categories and I am a native New Jersyian so I have 38 years of experience under my belt to make such a statement. [/SIZE]

Now that I've probably offended some (SORRY!) and limited my responses, I'd really love to hear from natives and transplants about Frisco. Originally, my husband and I were leaning towards Colleyville but that would have been a horrendous commute for my husband and therefore we settled on Frisco per his commuting requirements.
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
There has been a great subjective debate over West vs. East Frisco and in all honesty, I have no clue why. Perhaps you can provide some insight. My realtor thinks its because of the large number of existing communities on the West side that are pro West leading to the hype. I personally loved East Frisco while there this past December and have scoped out Villages of Stonelake Estates as a possibility of where we'd like to buy.

As for the school debate, I've read about Plano being a better school system but there is very little in terms of new housing there and I feel because there are so many new schools in Frisco, the data is skewed at this time.

So in a nutshell, if you can provide some insight regarding some communities in Frisco (preferably East of Preston) with a price ranging from $400 - $550K, I would be most grateful.

Any other information about why you love Frisco would also be stellar. Thank you in advance and I look forward to all your responses.

A future Texan!
Veena

[Grainraiser]

I'm not why there would be a debate about east/west Frisco. The vast majority of the city is 10 yrs old or less. I would also say that the schools are not that different than Plano. The Frisco you see today is a direct result of Plano running out of space. I'm not sure what kind of house you have in Jersey but 400-550k will buy you one heck of a house in Texas. Just make sure you figure in property taxes. I really don't think one area of Frisco is better than the other. Just find a house you like and settle in. Welcome in advance to the Long Star State.

[LQQKOUT]

Be very careful if you purchase a home in that range when it comes to taxes, here in the BIG State of Texas we pay the Nations HIGHEST property taxes! So my advise purchase some where between 200-300k you will still get that beautiful home and your taxes will be slightly less. Don't know much about Frisco, but it is nice! So are many other places in the Metro area.

Welcome to Texas!

[FarNorthDallas]

People who live in Frisco like to debate the east/west thing. No one else knows about it or cares or even understands that Frisco is divided up like that. They have two different zip codes and I think the dividing line is Preston Road.

[Lakewooder]

I didn't know the East/West debate from Frisco has moved from Plano -- that's hilarious. Which side is 'better'?

I believe the west side has more foreclosures as extends over to Little Elm..

Frisco high schools are much smaller than Plano high schools.

I don't think you are going to find that many from Texas on either side -- they will probably mostly be transplants like yourself.

[vkashyap1971]

Thank you for the quick responses. I have a 2100 sq. ft. home in NJ and I pay $15K in taxes so we're used to it out here. I've taken the taxes into consideration. The no sales tax makes up for the property taxes in a big way.

Much appreciated!
Veena

[Saintmarks]

See more of a divide in East/West in Plano, Allen and McKinney as all of these have more upscale neighborhoods on the west side than the east, all of these have their original town centers and thus older neighborhoods on the east side as well.

Perhaps some of Frisco's pricier neighborhoods are on the west side as well. That kind of class envy will pop up everywhere when one micro inspects a region (the my house is bigger than your house silliness) but as previous posters have mentioned, it is not something that someone from the outside would even notice.

I personally prefer the Frisco ISD over Plano as they have made a proactive decision to build more schools with smaller enrollments. Already Frisco has four high schools and two more under construction with half the population of Plano which has 3 massive Sr. high schools (jr and sr classes only). Plano ISD is more established of course, so it has had a little more time to establish a reputation, but it isn't that much better than Frisco in any measurable way.

Again, when one micro inspects a region, you will find those that exagerrate their area to make it look better than the neighbor rival, but an objective look will show any school district in this part of the metroplex to be more than adequate and well above average.

You will do fine in Frisco.

[GayleTX]

You really don't have to spend half a million for a great home in that area......and you really do need to consider taxes and utility bills (summers are hot and long in Texas!) and a huge 2-story house will make your electric bill rival your mortgage payment. Did you look at homes in West McKinney? Many of those neighborhoods are in the Frisco and Propser ISD's, both very good choices for education.

[soonergirl80]

We live on the west side of Frisco. There are some great deals right now on the west side and if your house is in Denton county the taxes are less then Collin county. Good luck on the house hunt!!!

[txgolfer130]

Frisco is a great area. I live right on the line between Frisco & McKinney and very, very close to Stonelake Estates. Instead of the villages (which is 80% incomplete), I would chose the Estates section instead. For that price you'll go from 2100 sq. ft to over 4000 sq ft.

As far as the West/East thing, it's all about Stonebriar Mall locations. From Stonelake estates, it's 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. There are many, many opportunities in West Frisco right now, foreclosures abound. The same can be said for East as well. West Frisco is also closer to West Plano, and that could be the case as well. However, let me say...both W. Plano & Frisco are very, very nice.

As far as neighborhoods, like I said the Stonelake Estates will be very nice. Stonebridge which is actually in McKinney (but across the street from Stonelake Estates) is also very nice. There is a neighborhood right off of Preston and Eldorado that I can't remember the name of right now, that is really nice. I'm not sure about the price range, but every time I drive by I always think the homes look nice and I would love to live there.

Hope this helps even if it's just a little.