Commute - MStreets/Vickery Place/Lakewood to Frisco (Dallas, San Antonio: neighborhood, school)

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Yeah but apparently it's ok to do the Frisco to downtown commute with the no-flow traffic! When I advise against that I am dragged over hot coals.

I'm wondering what would happen if the forums were split into a Dallas County and Collin County forum.

Would it take all the fun out of it?

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by mysterymachinebl

True, the tollway is a breeze in the mornings if you are going north, but getting to the tollway is the problem. It can take 20 minutes or so just to get to the tollway from the Lakewood area.

Ya I guess I should recalculate as I was referring to when they would get on the tollway from down in that area. They would probably go down Mockingbird. If one hits the lights just right(which rarely happens!), it may take 10 minutes. But with stopping at lights, I would say 15 minutes. Then probably 20 minutes to Frisco. So in all, about 35 minutes.

[TurtleCreek80]

Haha, $DFW, you have definitely never driven that route in rush hour! From Mockingbird & Abrams, it's at least 20-25 minutes to the Tollroad on Mockingbird. You hit 3 school zones (Stonewall Jackson & 2 in HP), not to mention the road is only 1 lane from Hillcrest to the Tollroad.

When I lived in Lakewood, I found the fastest route to the Tollroad was Abrams north to Lovers, & Lovers to the Tollroad (enter Northwest Hwy). That was still a good 15-18 minutes.

Once you're on the Tollroad, it's 20 miles to where her new office is, so 20 minutes on a great day, 25-30 on average (assuming the usual slowdown between Nw Hwy & 635), and 40-60 on a day with bad weather or a wreck (about 1 day per month).

So, from Lakewood to Frisco, minimum 35 minutes. Worst case scenario, 90 minutes. And yes, there really were a handful of times it took me 90 minutes to get to Legacy.

[momof2dfw]

I was going to add that the traffic in and around Denton, since it has been mentioned, is also a PAIN! There is a lot of road construction enough that some stores have shutdown around the new loop. Traffic in Denton is a CRAWL! It would probably take longer in rush hour traffic to get from Denton to their job in Frisco than it would from Lakewood to Frisco.

Someone mentioned Garland & Richardson. Since this would also be a reverse commute one could live in a great area with super close proximity to 190 and be in Frisco in no time. The worst of the traffic would be once they got to Frisco and making their way to the office.

[Lakewooder]

You can also go the back way from Lakewood Monticello or McCommas over to Hillcrest to Beverly, turn right and get on the tollroad at Mockingbird.

I have found that NW Highway is not too bad. Also Mockingbird is a little better since it was redone through HP.

You could also go down Live Oak to Woodall Rodgers if you live in the southern end of Lakewood. Fitzhugh/Wycliff can also work..

[billdfw]

The commute would be doable, but I would want to live closer to the tollway, but it's generally more expensive over there.

You didn't say what your budget was. If you have $1 million or more to spend, I would look at University Park or Preston Hollow. If you have $500,000 to spend, I would look just west of the tollway (but not too far west, as it get's shady really quick).

If you have less than $500k to spend, look at the M Streets or Lakewood area.

[Lakewooder]

Keep in mind M-Streets might shave off a few minutes vs. Lakewood Proper - but it will only be 5-7 minutes I would estimate.

[robynintexas]

Y'all have all been really helpful.

I keep telling folks "well, 'they' say that this commute is this or 'they' say that this neighborhood is that" ... so my daughter finally asked, "who in the he** is 'they'??" I told her "you guys!" OK that's scary, quoting folks on a blog. But I feel that you guys are honest brokers and just telling posters what you think. For that, I thank you.

I'm still gonna try to find something south of NW Hwy, north of downtown, between 75 and the Tollway. If necessary, east of 75, but I hate the extra 20 minutes on the commute. Wish me luck.....

I'll keep you posted!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

Lake Highlands is south and east of Richardson. Essentially the area north of White Rock Lake.

The high school is near 635 and Audelia IIRC.

And Richardson is still very much the quintessential suburb. Nice, clean, good schools, but not custom homes. There are a few more Hispanic-oriented businesses on Coit now, but it's still a very nice area.

Those are mostly around Spring Valley and south of Belt Line. You do not see much of that north of Belt Line and since many are on the west side of Coit, are they not technically in Dallas? A lot of the clientele for those places live around Spring Valley and Maham and I think that is technically Dallas.

Originally Posted by robynintexas

thanks for all your comments - and thanks for the ZIP codes. I had found some of those myself but y'all gave me some others.

ChristieP, I was looking to this move as a a chance to escape suburbia-ville. I'd like to live in an area that doesn't have a Lowe's and an Olive Garden on every corner - and have houses with character, neighborhoods where people talk to each other and yards big enough to garden like I do now. My sense of Plano, Carrolton, Frisco, Lewisville, Allen ... is that they're not those kinds of communities.

Some older parts of Carrollton maybe, the others no.

Originally Posted by Ketabcha

I would suggest looking in Richardson. It's a nice area. There are nice places to live. I love that area. My sis lives there.

Toll tags. Advice: Get one ASAP. Not only do you save some money but you also save a lot of time. Waiting to pay at each toll booth eats into a lot of your time. With the toll tag you just breeze right through.

Think how close to IKEA you will be.

I think I will become known as a poster who toots the horn for Richardson. I just bought a house in the Heights Park neighborhood and I think it may fit your needs. The houses are about 50 years old and most have been kept in very good condition, the yards are big, the streets have enormous trees and the neighbors, which ones I have met, seem very friendly. I am moving to my house in Richardson in about 10 days and I can't wait.

I think Richardson Heights, Cottonwood Heights, or the Heights Park neighborhoods might be right up your alley. They are all in the 75080 zip code but that zip code is enormous. Richardson Heights is west of 75, north of Spring Valley, east of something...Mimosa maybe?, and south of Belt Line in a nutshell; Cottonwood Heights is somewhere in there too, I think it's just east of Coit. Heights Park (where my house is) is north of Belt Line, south of Arapaho, west of Custer, and east of West Shore Drive. The Reservation neighborhood (right off Coit north of Arapaho, south of Campbell) is also very nice, the houses are not as old. Canyon Creek is very popular but due to the era the houses were built in you need to be careful with foundations and wiring.

Also, there are no Lowe's or Olive Gardens anywhere near my house. There are lots of ethnic food shops though, mostly Indian and Middle Eastern and, as you head east on Belt Line, Chinese.

Good luck!

[malaree]

i live in lakewood and am taking a job in Plano right off of the tollway. What's the north-bound commute like around 7-8 am?