Which North Dallas Suburb? (Plano, Richardson: apartment, renting, homeowners association)

[CCSracer13]

Hi there. My fiance and I are moving from Iowa to somewhere in the Plano area. So, we are full of questions. I will try to be as detailed as possible. Thanks in advance.

Schools:
We have two girls that are elementary age and we feel strongly about finding a good school district. Additionally, one of our girls has ADHD and will need some extra attention on occasion. Our research so far indicates Plano, Allen, and Frisco have goodschools, McKinney not so much. Do you agree/disagree?

Commute:
My fiance will be starting a job on Plano Pkwy just west of 75. I will be working from home. We have heard bad stories about traffic on 75. We would like her commute to be 30 minutes or under.

Buying a Home:
Our budget is in the lower $200's. We would like a new, or newer home. I have read about the 'cookie cutter' neighborhoods, etc. That doesn't really bother us. A few additional questions about homes. Do most families go with pools in the back yard or neighborhood pools? Also, how come I don't see many 3 car garages? That is pretty normal up here, but then the weather isn't as nice.

Additional Consideration:
Lastly, depending on how long it takes to sell our house up here, we may be renting an apartment for a few months. If that happens, we would want to find an apartment near the neighborhood that we will be buying a home so that we don't have to make the girls switch schools again.

So with that being said, what recommendations can anybody give us? Is the West Plano, West Allen, Frisco area the right area? Is one recommended over the other? Are other suburbs recommended? Can all of our criteria be met, or are we being unrealistic? We look forward to your thoughts.

[MurphyPl1]

OK, I'm sure there are going to be some realtors who can be more help. But I think you're going to have a tough time in that price range finding a pool and three car garage. And least in a newer neighborhood.

Deleted because I was wrong :-)

[BigDGeek]

For the lower 200s you will have a hard time finding a good-size house in west Allen and an even harder time finding one in west Plano. With that budget in most if not all new suburbs forget about a pool or 3-car garage. A lot of the yards are not big enough for a pool anyway. In Richardson and older parts of Plano you have bigger yards and a lot more houses have pools.

Plano Parkway just west of 75...commute-wise, forget west Plano and Frisco too if you want to stay under half an hour consistently. Allen is directly north of there so that is a possibility. Scratch McKinney. If you want a decent commute to that specific location consider central Plano and also Richardson, Murphy, Wylie, or Sachse.

Richardson's schools are actually very good, with most elementary schools rated exemplary or recognized. I think you will find that is on par with Plano. Richardson's schools are also much more diverse and established so their management tends to be very good (think experience) and they are more used to dealing with a range of student issues. I knew a parent of an ADHD child in Allen schools who was very unhappy with the support his child received. That is only one example though.

[MurphyPl1]

I didn't think you'd find anything in Murphy or East Richardson, but I was mistaken.

There's actually quite a few. And in Murphy you're going to find 1/4 acre lots - side entry. Decent drive down Plano Pkwy for wife's work and easy enough access to 190.

At the moment I would recommend you stick north of 544 - Boggess or Hunt Elementary areas. The rest of Murphy is great, but they go to Miller. Which is another great school. But PISD is reconfiguring their boundaries due to a new MS and HS coming online in the next couple of years. It's up in the air whether Miller (and Otto MS) will feed to the new HS in Murphy or all the way across the east cluster to Williams.

Williams has an iffy reputation but I know plenty of people who were happy enough with the school (it's only 9-10) but the concern is the drive time for folks.

www.MurphyTX.org and www.MurphyMessenger.com

[FarNorthDallas]

You might check Wylie, TX.

It's going to be tough to get a newer home, at your dollar amount, within 30 minutes of 75/Plano Parkway. I would look east, not west, which is why I suggested Wylie. Or, you could find your home in Frisco, but the commute would be more like 45 minutes. A 3 car garage will be really tough in the low $200s.

You could find a low $200,000's house in Plano or Richardson but it won't be new. It'll be 30-40 years old and won't have a 3 car garage, but the schools will be good.

[CCSracer13]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. This is the type of information that we were looking for. A pool or 3 car garage are definitely NOT a mandatory requirement. Maybe I don't need a 3 car garage due to the weather. I was just curious because I have a lot of man toys.

We have just been looking north, but we will definitely look east as well. Also, what happens if we extend out our commute? How far out do you go where you can see that housing prices are cheaper? Which cities would that be and how long would the commute be?

Thanks, and keep the advice coming!

[MurphyPl1]

Far East Richardson and Deep East Plano are hardly 30-40 years old homes. But they also have the same Miller Elementary issue I mentioned for Murphy.

The horribly high tax rates in Wylie made me hesitate to give them that recommendation. Their taxes don't provide as good a school system as it should AND they are voting on a bond for the 3rd time and this time it will likely pass and their goes the taxes again. But boy what a snazzy stadium! And the municipal tax rate is nearing a dollar. higher than Dallas even. For a city that doesn't really have all that many amenities, has horrible roads, poor layout and lousy zoning.

[FarNorthDallas]

Yeah, I don't know anything about Far East Richardson, is that what they call the Panhandle part of Richardson? When I say Richardson I'm talking about the older established part, which is what most of Richardson is, older, plus the part of Dallas on the other side of Coit that feeds into Richardson schools, which is also older.

Be sure and check homeowners association rules to see how they feel about your man toys.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

Yeah, I don't know anything about Far East Richardson, is that what they call the Panhandle part of Richardson? When I say Richardson I'm talking about the older established part, which is what most of Richardson is, older, plus the part of Dallas on the other side of Coit that feeds into Richardson schools, which is also older.

Be sure and check homeowners association rules to see how they feel about your man toys.

No HOA in my neighborhood in "old" Richardson (where the houses are 50+ years old). So as long as his "man toys" are kosher with city ordinances, he would be fine. I bet the new neighborhoods in northeast Richardson do have HOAs and they seem to be out of his price range anyway (I think).

The OP could also always build a shed; my shed in my backyard even has electricity. And some of these older houses have detached garages so if he is looking to have a "man cave" where he can work on projects, those would be ideal due to less noise in the house from power tools and less fumes from painting/staining projects.

I think the OP should look in Canyon Creek and Richardson Heights but I am biased. Maybe I am turning into Richardson's version of Lakewooder?

[MurphyPl1]

Not anymore than I am with Murphy.

I will say that it's gonna depend on what his ManToy is. I live in one of the nicest subdivisions in Murphy and there's plenty of classic cars that get tinkered with. As long as it looks like it's not just an abandoned heap most folks don't mind.