Allen, McKinney, Frisco - Murphy? (Dallas, Austin: for sale, motels, custom home)

[canuckmom]

I just returned from a neighborhood scouting trip and wanted to share my impressions of Murphy and other nearby areas. These are just my personal views based on my family's needs - So pls. don't shoot me!

FYI......I am moving from Alpharetta, GA (north of Atlanta - rolling hills, lots of trees, good schools). Husband now working in Richardson. Two kids - 8th grade & 5th grade. Looking in the 350K to 450K range in a newer neighborhood that has some amenities - community pool, hiking trails, bike paths etc...Good schools important.

FRISCO - flat, flat, flat - you can see for miles. Rows & rows & rows of similar houses. Toll highways make commute "doable" and lots of attractions like Pizza Hut Park, Dr. Pepper Stadium - but did not like "feel" of city - Stepford Community, too much of the same. Seems like they'll be building Frisco out for the next 20 years!

ALLEN - liked it, especially Twin Creeks area, Waterford Lakes etc...Lots of resales and still some new construction in the area we were looking at. Schools good - but I am not comfortable with one high school for the entire town - 4400 kids!!!! I have a child who needs to be in a smaller environment - I was worried about high school here with 1800 students.

MCKINNEY - liked it - several large master planned communities - Southbridge Ranch is nice, a few hills here, schools good, but figure commute might be too far for hubby - hear 75N can be a nightmare!

MURPHY - "true" bedroom community where people live, but work, shop elsewhere. We liked Murphy and found several neighborhoods, that fit our criteria. Kids here, for the most part, attend either Wylie or Plano schools. Houses we were looking at fell into the PISD side. Elementary schools look good, new Murphy Middle School is good, but NO local high school! Kids bussed into Plano - older schools, split grades 9 & 10 (one school) then grades 11& 12 (different school). Why is there not a Murphy High School?

FAIRVIEW/LUCAS/PARKER - too rural for us.


NORTH GARLAND/EAST RICHARDSON - some nice newer areas around Firewheel & Breckenridge Park but had a harder time finding planned communities/neighborhoods - with amentities. Schools "hit & miss" depending on where you live. Perception is that you don't want to live in Garland and that Richardson is too old, but we found some nice areas.


Hubby is going to continue to look in Murphy, Allen, N. Garland areas. I am flying out again in October to hopefully make offer on house in one of those areas.

I appreciate any suggestions on places, neighborhoods I may have overlooked. I am thoroughly enjoying and appreciating all the information and opinions I have found in these forums. Thanks so much!

[Lakewooder]

Where is hubby working? To me it looks as if Garland or Richardson would be a better fit. It will be worth your time to find the hits and misses of the schools (much as you have to do inside Dallas). There is something weird about how people are 'assigned' to schools in McKinney which has nothing to do with their geographical location. That means a loss of the sense of neighborhood. Also in the newer communities the boundaries keep changing as new schools are built. And all those other places have huge high schools where the kids have virtually no chance of standing out from the crowd.

I hope you eschew the 'new house thing' (where you will lose money) and go for something more stable. Frisco is only the new Plano and now some on this board have pronounced Plano "old". "Old" is seen as the ultimate condemnation by the Stepford suburban set...

I'd like to suggest Lakewood of course, but that may not be close to the job...

[momof2dfw]

If you have any questions about an area of schools in the Richardson/Garland area feel free to ask or pm me. If my child does not go to one I probably know someone whose kids do.

Yes, you did notice that not all of the neighborhoods on this side are HUGE master planned communities. Some have the neighborhood pool(s) while others do not. Some are closer to walk to parks like Breckinridge Park while others are down the road from such. If you want the custom home in a small neighborhood w/ a community pool then try The Retreat off of Campbell between N. Garland Ave and Brand. There might be a few homes in your price range in there but most are over $450K. REALLY easy to get on 190 and on over to 75 or the Dallas North Tollroad from there (here ).

[scyogi]

Would like to clarify something about MISD. You are not assigned a school outside of your area UNLESS the classes are to capacity. Our child got to go the school assigned to our neighborhood. I think that is probably the norm for most people moving into the Mckinney area.
75 is bad to Richardson. It is 2 lanes from my exit (Hwy 380) until I believe the Hwy 121 exit. Plus TX DOT are always working on the road--ergh. They are trying to secure $$$$ to widden 75 to a total of 8 lanes with maybe some reversible. (Similar to HWY 78 over in the Snellville area if you are familiar)
Good luck with your continued home hunt! Looks like you are making progress!

[Lakewooder]

Well, with McKinney growing so fast it would seem even more will be assigned to another school as the classes are filled - also the commute will grow worse.

I guess I was spoiled going all the way from kindergarten through high school with the same people (who were also a few blocks this way or that). A dozen of us went on to SMU together.

I would trust anyone in my class with my life and I know if I got in trouble and had to call one of them they would help me - even if I hadn't talked to them in a few years...I could probably call any graduate of my school even if we are years apart.

That is a very stablizing and comforting thing to have in this chaotic, unpredictable world.

[gregandvicky]

First we are debating staying in Texas or moving to Arizona and are undecided.

We have a couple of questions for the McKinney, Frisco folks. A couple of questions I have are not addressed in other threads.

We currently live near Austin and the humidity is horrible, How does it compare to McKinney,Frisco?

I am retired and do not have to live near town or schools.

I pay property tax milage of $2.41 per $100 of valuation. I know it varies based on schools, but how does that compare?

Is it possible to find new construction in the 1600-1800 sq ft range for $160,000 or less?

Any reasonable priced motels to stay for a planned visit soon?

Any links or builder or realtor web sites would be appreciated.

Thanks for your input.

[gregandvicky]

Originally Posted by gregandvicky

First we are debating staying in Texas or moving to Arizona and are undecided.

We have a couple of questions for the McKinney, Frisco folks. A couple of questions I have are not addressed in other threads.

We currently live near Austin and the humidity is horrible, How does it compare to McKinney,Frisco?

I am retired and do not have to live near town or schools.

I pay property tax milage of $2.41 per $100 of valuation. I know it varies based on schools, but how does that compare?

Is it possible to find new construction in the 1600-1800 sq ft range for $160,000 or less?

Any reasonable priced motels to stay for a planned visit soon?

Any links or builder or realtor web sites would be appreciated.

Thanks for your input.

Forgot two other questions. Is the area far enough from the gulf that hurricanes are not an issue?

It there a problem with tornados?

[ERStexas]

I live in Frisco and enjoyed your post and perspective on the Noth Dallas area. If you have some time, you might visit my website and use our free MLS search to see current listings in the area you are favoring, as there are tons of new listings being added daily. It is a perfect time for you to be buying no matter where you decide to settle, therefore if you do you your homework you can get alot of home for prices below market value in the area you desire. The market is saturated with homes for sale and sellers who are desperate to sell. I relocated to Frisco almost 4 years ago from Los Angeles and I am very happy here. You can email me or call me anytime if you like, I'd be happy to help you if I can. Good Luck!