Allen, Tx: East vs. West (Plano, Carrollton: cheap apartments, rent, neighborhood)

[sumith007]

Ok folks finally we bought a nice inventory home in 'west allen' quail run subdivision...Thank u all for your inputs.

[rolltide87]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

When comparing west Allen to east Allen, west Allen is clearly the more prestigious side but Allen overall is not a prestigious place to live. That does not mean it is not a nice place to live but it does not carry the prestige of Highland Park, Preston Hollow, the nicest parts of Lakewood, or even a suburb like Coppell or the western half of Plano. Loneranger is right; Allen and overall prestige do not really go hand in hand.

Personally I think east Allen is the Mesquite of the future. No offense to people who live in Mesquite but it is not exactly the most sought-after suburb.

I don't even care for east Allen, but in no way is it the 'Mesquite of the future.' That is one of the most inane comments I have ever heard.

You have absolutely nothing to substantiate your claim. In order for that to actually materealize, Allen would have to construct a new high school solely for the west side of the community. As long as Allen has one high school it will help maintain relatively stable property values in any part of the community, as Allen High has a reputation for academic and athletic excellence.

You can try to deny this, but look at the number of National Merit Finalists & Semi-Finalists in Allen v. any high school in Mesquite. Furthermore, Allen has the highly coveted IB program, in addition to almost every AP class and a branch of Quad C within the high school. Conversely, I think the only premier program at Mesquite schools would be ESL.

More importantly, east Allen will never be Mesquite because east Allen does not and will never (because of available land for development) have the number of low-income apartments and public housing projects they have in Mesquite. Generally speaking, apartments draw a transient population, contributing to crime, suburban blight & decreased property values for surrounding single-family subdivisions. In fact, the number of apartment communities in east Allen is actually relatively low with respect to the population as a whole, whereas in Mesquite that is not the case.

Additionally, 'east Allen' will always be close to the high-end new developments on the west side of the city, as well as upscale commercial and residential developments in neighboring suburbs, which will help maintain stable property values. I'm pretty sure that can't be said for Mesquite...

East Allen is also surrounded by the upscale communities of Fairview, Parker & Lucas--all of which have primarily semi-custom or custom homes on larger lots. I'm fairly sure this will help east Allen from becoming some hellhole.

I'm happy to live in west Allen and prefer it, but it's absurd to make comments that have no basis in reality as far as the real estate market or long-term growth and sustainability are concerned. To liken east Allen to Mesquite or any other decaying inner-ring suburb is just ridiculous.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by rolltide87

I don't even care for east Allen, but in no way is it the 'Mesquite of the future.' That is one of the most inane comments I have ever heard.

You have absolutely nothing to substantiate your claim. In order for that to actually materealize, Allen would have to construct a new high school solely for the west side of the community. As long as Allen has one high school it will help maintain relatively stable property values in any part of the community, as Allen High has a reputation for academic and athletic excellence.

You can try to deny this, but look at the number of National Merit Finalists & Semi-Finalists in Allen v. any high school in Mesquite. Furthermore, Allen has the highly coveted IB program, in addition to almost every AP class and a branch of Quad C within the high school. Conversely, I think the only premier program at Mesquite schools would be ESL.

More importantly, east Allen will never be Mesquite because east Allen does not and will never (because of available land for development) have the number of low-income apartments and public housing projects they have in Mesquite. Generally speaking, apartments draw a transient population, contributing to crime, suburban blight & decreased property values for surrounding single-family subdivisions. In fact, the number of apartment communities in east Allen is actually relatively low with respect to the population as a whole, whereas in Mesquite that is not the case.

Additionally, 'east Allen' will always be close to the high-end new developments on the west side of the city, as well as upscale commercial and residential developments in neighboring suburbs, which will help maintain stable property values. I'm pretty sure that can't be said for Mesquite...

East Allen is also surrounded by the upscale communities of Fairview, Parker & Lucas--all of which have primarily semi-custom or custom homes on larger lots. I'm fairly sure this will help east Allen from becoming some hellhole.

I'm happy to live in west Allen and prefer it, but it's absurd to make comments that have no basis in reality as far as the real estate market or long-term growth and sustainability are concerned. To liken east Allen to Mesquite or any other decaying inner-ring suburb is just ridiculous.

I grew up in DFW and I have seen previously nice areas turn in a matter of a few years.

East Allen is not immune from this fate, in fact it is at a higher risk of turning because it is so far away and property values are not all that high. Sorry but it's the truth. And you may not have a lot of high density housing now but that can change in a heartbeat.

Allen will be a decaying outer ring suburb in 20 years.

[DaveG99]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Allen will be a decaying outer ring suburb in 20 years.

You think I can borrow your crystal ball?

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by rolltide87

I don't even care for east Allen, but in no way is it the 'Mesquite of the future.' That is one of the most inane comments I have ever heard.

You have absolutely nothing to substantiate your claim. In order for that to actually materealize, Allen would have to construct a new high school solely for the west side of the community. As long as Allen has one high school it will help maintain relatively stable property values in any part of the community, as Allen High has a reputation for academic and athletic excellence.

You can try to deny this, but look at the number of National Merit Finalists & Semi-Finalists in Allen v. any high school in Mesquite. Furthermore, Allen has the highly coveted IB program, in addition to almost every AP class and a branch of Quad C within the high school. Conversely, I think the only premier program at Mesquite schools would be ESL.

More importantly, east Allen will never be Mesquite because east Allen does not and will never (because of available land for development) have the number of low-income apartments and public housing projects they have in Mesquite. Generally speaking, apartments draw a transient population, contributing to crime, suburban blight & decreased property values for surrounding single-family subdivisions. In fact, the number of apartment communities in east Allen is actually relatively low with respect to the population as a whole, whereas in Mesquite that is not the case.

Additionally, 'east Allen' will always be close to the high-end new developments on the west side of the city, as well as upscale commercial and residential developments in neighboring suburbs, which will help maintain stable property values. I'm pretty sure that can't be said for Mesquite...

East Allen is also surrounded by the upscale communities of Fairview, Parker & Lucas--all of which have primarily semi-custom or custom homes on larger lots. I'm fairly sure this will help east Allen from becoming some hellhole.

I'm happy to live in west Allen and prefer it, but it's absurd to make comments that have no basis in reality as far as the real estate market or long-term growth and sustainability are concerned. To liken east Allen to Mesquite or any other decaying inner-ring suburb is just ridiculous.

The Number of National Merit Finalists has absolutely nothing to do with the education the schools receive. It has everything to do with natural intelligence and how that intelligence is cultivated from a very young age. Allen only does better than Mesquite in this regard because higher-income people tend to cultivate their children more.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

You think I can borrow your crystal ball?

It's my opinion based on a lifetime of living in DFW. It does not even matter to me who is right in the end because I do not live in Allen, never would, and would not advise any of my friends to do so. The kind of people I am friends with would mostly hate it there. However from my other posts please note that I do go to Allen from time to time to go out to eat, to shop, etc. One of my good friends lives and works in McKinney and sometimes we meet halfway in Allen after we get off work so I know the restaurants there pretty well! It is not totally worthless, it is a nice little suburb. But it will not stay that way.

Originally Posted by theloneranger

The Number of National Merit Finalists has absolutely nothing to do with the education the schools receive. It has everything to do with natural intelligence and how that intelligence is cultivated from a very young age. Allen only does better than Mesquite in this regard because higher-income people tend to cultivate their children more.

It has more to do with how good the kids are at taking the PSAT too. More affluent children are more likely to be coached.

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I grew up in DFW and I have seen previously nice areas turn in a matter of a few years.

East Allen is not immune from this fate, in fact it is at a higher risk of turning because it is so far away and property values are not all that high. Sorry but it's the truth. And you may not have a lot of high density housing now but that can change in a heartbeat.

Allen will be a decaying outer ring suburb in 20 years.

In 20 years, there is no telling what will be the newest areas of DFW.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by $DFW8$

In 20 years, there is no telling what will be the newest areas of DFW.

By then OKC and Norman will be considered "suburbs" of Dallas and count towards the growth of Dallas as a metropolitan area. Heck, we might as well count Shreveport and Abilene in there with the continued growth of the area.

[rolltide87]

The most important thing to note is that the original poster stated they purchased a home in west Allen; congratulations. It sounds like you made a good choice, and I hope y'all enjoy being in Allen.

[compSciGuy]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

It has more to do with how good the kids are at taking the PSAT too. More affluent children are more likely to be coached.

Where are kids being coached for the PSAT? I knew lots of kids that practiced for the SAT, but not for the PSAT. Actually, when I was younger and at a school with a high number of National Merit Semifinalists, ... all those people that I knew that were National Merit were those that may have done some self preparation, but had no external coaching.