You know you're from WEST Plano when.... (Dallas, Garland: middle-class, spring break)

[the_hollywoodian]

Well, I've decided to make the move to West Plano from Los Angeles. I'm very pleased with my decision and the neighborhood. My children will be enrolled at Plano West Senior Highschool as well as Shepton, however, my daughter found this Facebook group, and some of these descriptors have me a bit worried! This sounds like a bunch of entitled, stuck up rich brats!

I really don't want my kids to grow up in this kind of environment where there's a constant competition based upon how much money you have, what you drive, or what you have. This makes for very shallow and superficial personalities in my opinion. My question is, is the social dynamic in West Plano really this bad or are these points just broad generalizations? Take a read:


• Someone asks you where you’re from and you reply “Plano…West Plano…and yes, that’s relevant.”

• Everyone you know asks “How’s the heroine problem in Plano?” and you answer “oh that wasn’t MY side of Plano”

• You’ve gotten dressed up in really cute outfits to “go out” with your friends and end up driving up and down Park and Preston and then end up drinking by someone’s pool.

• Your house is on the Gleneagles golf course.

• Everyone you know has a pool. You get skeptical of people when they don't have one.

• Being called a “daddy’s girl” (or a rich prick in a boy’s case) is okay with you.

• You think it’s weird when you’re the only one out of your college friends who had a football team with a blowup tunnel to run out of onto the field.

• 1 or more people you know were obsessed with their class rank in highschool.

• You get pissed when you’re stuck behind “out-of-towners” who come and stare at the mansions in Willow Bend Country while driving 10 miles an hour.

• It's completely probable that you now go to college with someone who went to the same highschool as you and you never knew they existed before.

• You have a maid. Your mom is a housewife, but still has a maid…..

• Taking 75 is gross….the Tollway is classy.

• It’s not a question of whether you will get a car for your 16th birthday, but what TYPE of car.

• It’s tacky when people over the age of 17 have fake Louis Vuitton or Gucci purses….unless you got them on a cruise and look so legit it’s scary….

• Almost all of your friends have a new car.

• The workers at Willowbend’s Neiman Marcus/Saks know you and your entire family and bow down in your presence.

• You have no idea where Collin Creek Mall is and quite frankly, you don’t care.

• Being called a snob can be a compliment.

• You’ve bought alcohol at Beverage Island or the Chevron Station without an ID and seen three of your classmates there doing the same thing.

• You found it funny, not offensive, when someone made a sign at a West Hockey game v. Plano that said “Our dad’s are your dad’s bosses” or something to that effect. You found it funny because it’s true.

• Karen Dillard’s.

• Crossing Ohio makes you cringe.

• Someone who has grass in their yard has a “big” yard.

• You regularly see Troy Aikman jogging down Willowbend Drive and Bernie Mac driving his Bently.

• In 8th grade if you weren’t standing outside of Tinseltown in a huge group waiting to be picked up in your parents SUV, you probably didn’t have any friends.

• You get nervous when you drive into a part of Dallas where you’re the only BMW/Mercedes/Lexus on the road.

• You know how to drive through the alleys in Willowbend to get to your friend’s house. And you’ve driven them drunk more than a few times.

• Neiman Marcus is your credit cards’ best friend.

• Even though the Willowbend Mall is slowly becoming emptier, you still love it.

• 1+ of your friends drive a Hummer.

• There isn't a DART station anywhere in West Plano for a reason.

• You’ve heard that 75093 is the new 90210 and you almost burst from pride.

• Either your parents or your friend’s parents have gotten drunk with you on multiple occasions or have caught you drinking and proceeded to drink with you or make a 2nd beer run.

• You know all of these points sounded really snobby….but you joined anyway.

[Texan#1]

I have never really cared much for the city of Plano or its residents. Many of the items listed do depict Plano life to an extent, but they're exaggerated. In college, meeting someone who said they were from West Plano was a huge turn off. I enjoy being in the company of friends who say they are from Dallas when they're actually from the Park Cities or in many cases Dallas proper itself. The people tend to be more genuine and showing of their character in the 'ghetto.' West Plano is very well off and you will always have people who think highly of themselves in areas like that.

[Big G]

Sad to say, those comments are surprisingly accurate. That's my I have my son attending Central cluster schools, even though I live in the Plano West zone. I'd rather have him be with a group of upper-middle-class students than send him into that gauntlet.

[pepper131]

Very hilarious!

I especially like this one:
You get nervous when you drive into a part of Dallas where you’re the only BMW/Mercedes/Lexus on the road.

They must be intimidated by Smart Cars!

[momof2dfw]

LOL!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! Funny. And as others have said, while some of them are extreme exagerations.......... some are a little too true.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

My question is, is the social dynamic in West Plano really this bad or are these points just broad generalizations? Take a read:


• Someone asks you where you’re from and you reply “Plano…West Plano…and yes, that’s relevant.” SO TRUE!!!! No one that lives in "West Plano" responds w/ "Plano" when asked where they live. EVER!

• Everyone you know asks “How’s the heroine problem in Plano?” and you answer “oh that wasn’t MY side of Plano” RIGHT

• You’ve gotten dressed up in really cute outfits to “go out” with your friends and end up driving up and down Park and Preston and then end up drinking by someone’s pool.
With the parents no less. If your lucky the parents have a built-in kegarator.

• Your house is on the Gleneagles golf course.

• Everyone you know has a pool. You get skeptical of people when they don't have one.
HEE! But true.

• Being called a “daddy’s girl” (or a rich prick in a boy’s case) is okay with you.
And they wear a t-shirt (high end designer t-shirt) that proclaims such. Mom of course has her own t-shirt that is happy to announce she IS the "Diva" or "Princess".

• You think it’s weird when you’re the only one out of your college friends who had a football team with a blowup tunnel to run out of onto the field.
Or they run into someone whose class size was 600 or less and they assume it was a small town school.

• 1 or more people you know were obsessed with their class rank in highschool.
1 or MORE! Honey, you mean EVERYONE AND THEIR PARENTS!!!! There has actually been lawyers involved in disputes on who got valedictorian over there. SERIOUSLY!

• You get pissed when you’re stuck behind “out-of-towners” who come and stare at the mansions in Willow Bend Country while driving 10 miles an hour.
They also don't look to kindly on workers or anyone that might drive a pickup truck in their area. No matter that the new truck sitting in their drive costs more than the kids 3series bimmer.

• It's completely probable that you now go to college with someone who went to the same highschool as you and you never knew they existed before.

• You have a maid. Your mom is a housewife, but still has a maid…..
HEY! What is so wrong with that? I'm a housewife and I have a maid. There is NOTHING in that "stay at home mom" title that is legit at all .

• Taking 75 is gross….the Tollway is classy.
That is considered "East" Plano to those and they would not dare cross it. But alas, they must to come over to the Garland ISD Special Events Center for graduations and tournaments.

• It’s not a question of whether you will get a car for your 16th birthday, but what TYPE of car.
HEE!!!!

• It’s tacky when people over the age of 17 have fake Louis Vuitton or Gucci purses….unless you got them on a cruise and look so legit it’s scary….
LOL!!! But sooooo true. Even worse, being in the LV store at the Galleria and the mom and daughter are "experiencing" the different luggage sizes that Princess NEEDS to go on Spring Break.

• Almost all of your friends have a new car.
"Almost all"............... You mean ALL!

• The workers at Willowbend’s Neiman Marcus/Saks know you and your entire family and bow down in your presence.

• You have no idea where Collin Creek Mall is and quite frankly, you don’t care.
Honey, even I don't care for Collin Creek Mall. I ONLY go there if I must.

• Being called a snob can be a compliment.
If they even hear it. Remember they are up higher than others so they may not even hear it.

• You’ve bought alcohol at Beverage Island or the Chevron Station without an ID and seen three of your classmates there doing the same thing.
Or you have a fake ID.

• You found it funny, not offensive, when someone made a sign at a West Hockey game v. Plano that said “Our dad’s are your dad’s bosses” or something to that effect. You found it funny because it’s true.
HEE!!! Funny, some of those in West Plano actually work for US and we live in............. that ghetto place called Garland.

• Karen Dillard’s.

• Crossing Ohio makes you cringe.
Only to race down Park or Plano Pkwy.

• Someone who has grass in their yard has a “big” yard.
LOL!!! Another poster that does not live in this state actually just posted saying that houses in Plano are on "BIG LOTS". LOL!!!!

• You regularly see Troy Aikman jogging down Willowbend Drive and Bernie Mac driving his Bently.
If they are seeing Bernie Mac driving over there in a Bently they are smoking some serious crack.

I used to watch Troy jog (topless ) when he lived in Valley Ranch and I was working out there.

• In 8th grade if you weren’t standing outside of Tinseltown in a huge group waiting to be picked up in your parents SUV, you probably didn’t have any friends.
It is enough of a throng of kids to scare off any sane adult. NO LIE!!!

• You get nervous when you drive into a part of Dallas where you’re the only BMW/Mercedes/Lexus on the road.
Poor things. Too bad I have to drive my Garland BMW all the way over to West Plano now. Wish they would have kept their digs in Richardson. But alas, the BMW dealerships body shop is still in Richardson. The fine folks over in West Plano didn't want a "body shop" in their part of town. They never wreck their bimmers

• You know how to drive through the alleys in Willowbend to get to your friend’s house. And you’ve driven them drunk more than a few times.

• Neiman Marcus is your credit cards’ best friend.

• Even though the Willowbend Mall is slowly becoming emptier, you still love it.

• 1+ of your friends drive a Hummer.

• There isn't a DART station anywhere in West Plano for a reason.

• You’ve heard that 75093 is the new 90210 and you almost burst from pride.

• Either your parents or your friend’s parents have gotten drunk with you on multiple occasions or have caught you drinking and proceeded to drink with you or make a 2nd beer run.
They provide it ............. what else would you expect.

• You know all of these points sounded really snobby….but you joined anyway.

Sorry, had to have some fun with these

[FarNorthDallas]

What do you expect? It's an area with a lot of upper middle class white kids. It just goes with the territory. But, not all of those things are true.

Troy Aikman moved to Highland Park. His girls attend private school.

There are just as many drugs at West Plano as there are at any other public high school. In fact some would say, more money = more drugs/alcohol.

Class rank is crucial to everyone in the state of Texas because being in the top 10% of your class is the only way to get into The University of Texas.

Yes, residents answer "West Plano" just like people who live in University Park say they live in the "Park Cities" and residents of Highland Park say "Highland Park." Just like the people who live in Little Elm who say, "I live in Little Elm-in-the-Frisco-school-district" as if that is the full name of the town.

Taking the Tollway is just convenient. 75/Central isn't close to West Plano. Same with Willow Bend Mall vs Collin Creek Mall. Besides, no one goes to Collin Creek mall anymore.

Karen Dillard's is used by monied kids all over Dallas. (It's an SAT prep course.)

The phrase, "Our dads are your dad's bosses" is said by nerd children everywhere to the jocks in whatever school they are in.

LOTS of people have maids that you wouldn't suspect to have maids. With illegal aliens all over the place you can get your house cleaned for little money and they do a great job. I know people who live in apartments who have maids.

Now, the parents drinking with their kids thing or supplying alcohol to their own kids, that's interesting to me, because it's not just drinking. Wealthy parents just tend to be very loosey goosey with their kids as far as laws and rules.

If you don't want to have your kids around this materialism, find a more diverse school - diversity in every way including economic makeup. This is one of the reasons parents seek out more diverse schools.

[hsw]

Usually the most screwed up kids have similarly screwed up, insecure parents (DNA and environment, right?)

Suspect some in Highland Pk or Preston Hollow will ridicule the McMansion wannabes of "exurban" Plano; and some wealthy guys in Manhattan will ridicule wealthy folks from TX or CA (or NJ or LI)

And old money sometimes ridicules new money; smart money sometimes ridicules dumb money; self-made money sometimes ridicules trust fund money, etc etc....humans will be humans

Such jealousies and hazing occur at every school, college, workplace or city/suburb that contains humans, whether diverse or non-diverse....educational for kids to figure it out at a young age (hopefully w/some guidance from their presumably grounded parents who themselves figured out such dynamics/politics long ago)

[ChristieP]

It's my experience that most of those statemetns are VERY true about West Plano. I worked at the Willow Bend Mall for a while, and the customer base pretty much fit those molds. They all wanted very high-end stuff, and they were willing to pay for it!

I also used to do college recruiting as an alumni of a state school, and at West Plano, hardly any students would come to my table. They were all lined up at the Div 1 and ivy league schools' tables. If they would have talked to me, I could have told them about my school's awesome endowed scholarship programs, and small student-teacher ratios, but they never bothered...

If you want your kids to not be in this environment, look at Plano East or Plano HS. They are not quite as bad as Plano West...

[BigDGeek]

I think you are right to be worried, Plano West HS can be brutal. But West Plano is not anything special. It's affluent but not a remarkable place. If I had millions of dollars I would probably live in Lakewood, the conspicuous wealth in Plano is a turnoff for me.

[debtex]

West Plano is a lot like Orange County. But if you all are involved parents and you have a good relationship with your kids, is there really that much to worry about? There are a lot of kids at those schools, surely there is a clique of levelheaded, smart kids who don't buy in to all the navel-gazing hype, right?