Specific Neighborhood Recomendations (Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth: house, neighborhoods, new construction)

[williams18]

Hi all. My husband and I are looking to build somewhere in the north Dallas area. We are currently in Flower Mound and want to be closer to 75 and the Tollway. We are looking in the Allen vicinity, but are open to all cities in that area... Plano, Frisco, parts of Dallas, etc.
I'm hoping you might be able to recommend specific neighborhoods or subdivisions that meet our criteria.
-new construction or built in the last 5 years
-safe and family friendly
-3500+ square feet
-large lots, or at least not stacked on top of each other
-great public schools and nearby private school (haven't decided which route we will go- we have preschoolers)
Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[txgolfer130]

W. Plano, Frisco (but will be EXPENSIVE for lg. lot) will meet all those. Allen is another option, but don't know of any areas that have lg. lots (.35 ac+). There are some in McKinney (.25-1.5 ac ~ Mallard Lakes area), but depending upon where you work, that may rule it out.

[TurtleCreek80]

How about Murphy? It's just east of 75 & Bush and at least part of it feeds into Plano ISD. I think all the lots there are a min of 1/4 acre with many 1/5 acre lots. Should be new construction and relatively new construction available to choose from.

Also, Fairview, Lucas, and Parker (all east of 75) all offer large lots (up to acreage), good public schools, and new construction. They aren't exactly close to the DNT but if you're considering Allen, it's the same distance.

[williams18]

Thanks, TXGolfer. We work out of the house so commute is not an issue. TurtleCreek, I haven't looked at Murphy- I will check that out!

[Obamney1]

If you want to have good public schools but also have an open option of good private schools nearby than Plano is the obvious choice. Allen or Frisco schools aren't at the same level and decent private schools have a very long commute from there.

[williams18]

Could you share specifics on Plano schools? I'm a M.Ed but only know the Austin area school in and outs. Clearly Plano has some great spots, but I believe there are some bad ones as well... Thank you!

[Obamney1]

You can get all specifications, details, facts and opinions about Plano schools by running a search on this forum. There are numerous old threads where this topic has been discussed in great detail. However, in the end your budget and commute are going to be the deciding factor about which part of Plano you should pick.

[Bypass13]

For good schools and newer homes with decent size lots near tollway, you should look in far west Plano. Their zip code is 75093.

[williams18]

Thanks, Bypass! Exactly the info I needed.

[txgolfer130]

Originally Posted by williams18

Could you share specifics on Plano schools? I'm a M.Ed but only know the Austin area school in and outs. Clearly Plano has some great spots, but I believe there are some bad ones as well... Thank you!

Being a transplant from Austin as well, let me try to interpret. W. Plano = Westwood, Lake Travis, Leander ISD's(upper tier). Allen = Leander & LTISD (mid to lower level). Same for McKinney (but on a slightly higher level). Frisco = mix of Bowie, McNeil and Anderson HS's. Lot of potential but just fall short, but still very good. Lower than Allen & McKinney (IMO).

Highland Park = Eanes, but not quite as good.

Plano = closest thing you're going to get to Eanes w/out the heft price tag (perspective, you're still paying high price for W. Plano/Plano area). But you don't absolutely have to be in W. Plano. And both Plano West & Plano Sr. both had 44 NMS's.

Plano ISD leads state in National Merit Scholars | Dallas-Fort Worth Communities - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

So schools in the W. Plano & Plano Sr. area would be #1, (unless obviously you could afford HP). McKinney, then Allen and Frisco.