Allen, Tx: East vs. West (Dallas, McKinney: buying, prices, safe)

[tyanger]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

...If you are willing to pay $1.5 million for a house that in west Allen would cost $600,000 then clearly you feel that the area is prestigious enough to warrant paying over double the price.
...
That is you, but plenty of other people live in Preston Hollow who do not work nearby. They live there because they want to live in Preston Hollow and have that nice 75230 zip code.

I agree with you that 'prestige' is a factor, to some degree, in choosing where to live, but I question the magnitude of that component in general and specifically with the inference made in a previous post that it is the main reason for the difference in price - like I said, I would tend to weight the supply side more heavily than the demand side. Also, I mentioned proximity to work as just one example of like a million other reasons people have for living where they do other than the 'prestige' factor - I don't mean that it's a huge factor for everyone - again you are right that it's just my personal preference (just like the 'prestige' is for you). Anyway- it's probably not quantifiable, and not really that big a deal to me, more like idle speculation on my part.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by tyanger

I agree with you that 'prestige' is a factor, to some degree, in choosing where to live, but I question the magnitude of that component in general and specifically with the inference made in a previous post that it is the main reason for the difference in price - like I said, I would tend to weight the supply side more heavily than the demand side. Also, I mentioned proximity to work as just one example of like a million other reasons people have for living where they do other than the 'prestige' factor - I don't mean that it's a huge factor for everyone - again you are right that it's just my personal preference (just like the 'prestige' is for you). Anyway- it's probably not quantifiable, and not really that big a deal to me, more like idle speculation on my part.

I do not currently live in Preston Hollow, I only grew up there. If prestige was a huge factor for me, I would not have bought a house in Richardson. Richardson is great but it is not prestigious. It isn't NOT prestigious either. It is very....average. I like that.

[bobsacamono81]

As someone who has lived in "east" Allen for 27 years I feel qualified to fill you in on the difference. Untill 1997 or so there was no west allen the town stopped at the McDonalds on 75 and McDErmont. So everything past that will be newer. That being said most of those houses were thrown up quickly using nail guns cheap wood and unskilled labor. In my personal opinion they are cheaply made houses that cost a lot. Now for the east side the houses are older but they were built by skilled tradesmen and were built to last. Also you will get bigger lots and more house for much cheaper. I personally feel east Allen has a more old Allen town feel to it. In 1981 when I was born in Allen there were less than 10,000 people there. Now it has over 80,000. Regardless of were you live in Allen it is a ggreat town to grow up in. At least it was for me

[wordstringer]

Originally Posted by sumith007

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

By now, you're surely enjoying your home and community, though this thread was hijacked and took on a life of its own. Congrats and blessings to you and your family.

[lastbird97]

the East/West thing in more of a Plano thing which cames about throught the high school (Plano East vs Plano West)- - not so much in Allen - mainly since Allen has only one high school - - I know more people that have their cars broken into and things stolen from their garages on the West than the East... I would check on the local Police of the trouble neighborhoods - most we deal with are boring teens - and it is worst in some neighborhoods over others - they ARE on both sides of 75...Allen is not a big town so getting from one side to another - takes no time at all

[sofieshere]

[FONT=Tahoma]Living in "EAST" Allen for over 12 years and loving it! The East side was developed first, then the Westside. Our area is considered the older part but we got more bang for the buck so to say. If you want maybe you should look in Frisco, Prosper or Celina..[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma]We have a new High School on the East side. We have a lot of new shopping on the East side on Stacy and Exchange… All of Allen is the safest city in [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]Texas[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma] and 10 in the nation. So we must be doing something right![/FONT]

[TaylorTripp]

Hello, I am actually from Tulsa,OK and me and my fiance are trying to move to allen, we have found a few places but i am not familiar with the area at all. We are looking for a place to rent under $1,000 a month that allow a dog, a 1 bedroom would be efficient but a 2 bedroom would be better. He has a past drug history so we are trying to stay as far away from any drug filled areas... any input is greatly appreciated. I have found rent availabilities at Benton Pointe, Settler's Gate, Auberry at Twin Creeks, and Lansbrook at Twin Creek Apartments. Please let me know if there are a lot of drug problems or any gang problems in this area as we would like to stay as far away from that as possible.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by TaylorTripp

Hello, I am actually from Tulsa,OK and me and my fiance are trying to move to allen, we have found a few places but i am not familiar with the area at all. We are looking for a place to rent under $1,000 a month that allow a dog, a 1 bedroom would be efficient but a 2 bedroom would be better. He has a past drug history so we are trying to stay as far away from any drug filled areas... any input is greatly appreciated. I have found rent availabilities at Benton Pointe, Settler's Gate, Auberry at Twin Creeks, and Lansbrook at Twin Creek Apartments. Please let me know if there are a lot of drug problems or any gang problems in this area as we would like to stay as far away from that as possible.

Allen is as new and nice of a suburb and will be as close as you can come to what you are looking for as anywhere in America. Can't think of anything that would be considered a drug filled gang area. But in this day and age, drugs are everywhere, so can't tell you of a place where it will be totally drug free. In Allen, the apartment complexes, nice as they are, are still probably going to have more activity drug wise as compared to a single family home area. But, you can't get a rental in a neighborhood in Allen in your budget.

All the best in your move. I hope he is committed to some sort of 12 step program to stay on the straight and narrow.

[JustTess]

The gap between the prices of homes from the east and west side of Allen is slowly narrowing. There is a lot of new construction going on right now on the west side that have been on hold for a while. It's probably because of the anticipated population increase and lack of available homes in the area. The north east Allen has new walking trails, parks, and shopping centers which is very convenient.

All the students in Allen go to 1 high school so they would basically get the same opportunity for classes and high school experience.

[keribeth818]

You can find drugs anywhere if you look but no gangs in Allen.