Garland/Rowlett v. Frisco? (Dallas, Arlington: for sale, apartment complexes, rental)

[002]

Between Garland/Rowlett and Frisco, where would you suggest us to buy a new home? Why?
Thanks!!

[momof2dfw]

Garland hands down.

Great community involvement and great schools. Less traffic than Frisco by a long shot.

Where would you be commuting to for work? That could make a HUGE difference as well.

[Metro Matt]

Garland less traffic than Frisco? I don't think so.

Everywhere in the Dallas area has bad traffic.

[galore]

Why don't you think so? I rarely saw a traffic jam when I lived in North Garland (2000-2007). If I venture into Frisco, I often get stuck in bumper-bumper traffic...

[Grainraiser]

I would have to know where the OP job is located before answering the question.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by galore

why don't you think so? I rarely saw a traffic jam when i lived in north garland (2000-2007). If i venture into frisco, i often get stuck in bumper-bumper traffic...

635 with all that construction. Its a mess right now.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Garland less traffic than Frisco? I don't think so.

Everywhere in the Dallas area has bad traffic.

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

635 with all that construction. Its a mess right now.

Yes, Garland DOES have LESS traffic than Frisco. I live IN Garland and I do travel to and thru Frisco for some things. And no, not "everywhere" in the Dallas area has bad traffic. Some areas are worse than others. Taki 190 eastbound during rush hour traffic from I-35 and once you cross over 75 going East the traffic DRASTICALLY reduces. Heck, you don't even have to do it in rush hour to notice the drastic difference. There IS less congestion when it comes to traffic in Garland than there is in Frisco.

635 is not ALL of Garland Garland is a pretty large city in and of itself. 635 is a teeny-tiny portion of Garland. One can live in Garland and hardly ever need to get on 635.

[002]

If I tell you where's my job, I know your answer
I think I'm more interested in the other factors like quality of life (parks, air quality, security, infrastructure...), ISDs, home appreciation, future growth, etc...
I'm new in the area & haven't heard good things about Garland... nothing specific, though. I've been looking around and don't see anything wrong with Garland/Rowlett... that's why I'm asking for your insight.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by 002

If I tell you where's my job, I know your answer
I think I'm more interested in the other factors like quality of life (parks, air quality, security, infrastructure...), ISDs, home appreciation, future growth, etc...
I'm new in the area & haven't heard good things about Garland... nothing specific, though. I've been looking around and don't see anything wrong with Garland/Rowlett... that's why I'm asking for your insight.

Then I'm going to guess the job is closer to the Garland side of town. If that is the case your quality of life will suffer greatly with a daily commute from Frisco. NO THANKS!

There is nothing wrong with Garland. That "opinion" is usually coming from people that have never lived in Garland and may have only passed thru on 635. That is why it is nothing specific. They don't really know except what has been hearsay for way too many years of misinformed people . As mentioned, 635 is a VERY SMALL fraction of the city and it is an older area.

The quality of life is GREAT! We have LOVED it. It has a great small town community feel and a very involved community. There is the annual Labor Day Parade that it seems like the ENTIRE city comes out for. Every GISD high school participates in as well as other groups in the city be it pee-wee football to local businesses. The parks are great and well cared for and you do see people using them. Hawaiian Falls WaterPark is GREAT and always busy. The air quality is just fine and there is actually more green space which helps out in that area. Infrastructure, Garland is great about keeping up the roads and staying on top of things. They have been VERY proactive in revitalizing older parts of town and like the old apartment complexes if the owners don't take care of them they take them over and tear them down. They have a STRICT rental property inspection program and stringent codes for rental properties .

I have kids in the school district and it really is a great one. The magnet programs are AWESOME! I've got one that has done the magnet program and I am VERY impressed and have even compared it to what is offered in other districts. Nothing hardly compares. I have friends in every district around here with kids in them and friends and relatives that teach in every district. A student is going to get out of it what they put in. The GISD does a GREAT job of educating their students and their programs are inline w/ every other district around.

As for home appreciation, I just had my house refi'd. It was up compared to last year drastically compared to when I refi'd a year and a half ago (hey, a lot lower rate and less years. I'm not passing that up ). I drove around and checked out the comps they used and even the brand new neighborhood up the road from me in the Firewheel area is selling. There were hardly any homes for sale. I spoke to a newbie to the area yesterday and she even said they looked for 6 months trying to find a house in our area, Firewheel, and had a hard time as houses don't go up for sale. That is right, people STAY HERE . That means you can get to know your neighbors and your kids friends from school won't be moving off every year.

Concerning the future growth of the area. We have the new developments around Firewheel. Garland is close to being built out. It is not a "boom town" that sees all of the up's and down's of the market. It is a pretty steady city that constantly does well when other areas are hurting. The city has been proactive in getting positive growth to come in up in the Firewheel area and redeveloping the I-30 corridor as well as the areas along LBJ.

Don't let the naysayers that really don't know much about the area fool you. It REALLY IS a GREAT place to live.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Yes, Garland DOES have LESS traffic than Frisco. I live IN Garland and I do travel to and thru Frisco for some things. And no, not "everywhere" in the Dallas area has bad traffic. Some areas are worse than others. Taki 190 eastbound during rush hour traffic from I-35 and once you cross over 75 going East the traffic DRASTICALLY reduces. Heck, you don't even have to do it in rush hour to notice the drastic difference. There IS less congestion when it comes to traffic in Garland than there is in Frisco.

635 is not ALL of Garland Garland is a pretty large city in and of itself. 635 is a teeny-tiny portion of Garland. One can live in Garland and hardly ever need to get on 635.

Thanks for the insight.

I've only been going to the Dallas area for the past 30 years to visit family & friends then lived there for 3. One year in Arlington (2000-2001) another in Lewisville (2001-2002) then most recently North Dallas (2007-2008)