Advice needed: Sunnyvale, Allen, Murphy? (Dallas, Plano: lease, how much, house)

[ITguy1981]

Hi guys,
so i have been perusing this forum for a while trying to study up on the whole DFW area.. Background info: I am in IT and i work from home.. My wife is in healthcare and will be commuting to work in Dallas (75231 zip).. No kids yet,we are expecting.. We are relocating from Michigan.. We plan to do a 3 month lease while we get to know the area before we buy.. We will probably live in this house for 5 years or so.. We visited Dallas once for my wife's interview and we toured some neighborhoods.. we liked Sunnyvale but we also liked what Allen had to offer..

Since i work from home, i am mostly concerned about my wife's commute to zip code 75231 (Dallas). We like the neighborhood feel in Allen zip code 75013 (trails, pools, stuff like that) but we also liked how much land you get in Sunnyvale.. We are looking for a 4 bed/3+ bath/3 car garage house and we would like to stay in the $450k and under range.. Preferably a house newer than 2000 or something renovated as i wont be able to do any renovations with a new baby around.. We really liked Starcreek and TwinCreek in Allen, Murphy farms in Murphy(75094) seemed nice too but lately it seems like looking online, there is little to no inventory that matches this criteria in Allen and as soon as something pops up, it gets snatched up.. There are very few that match this criteria

Looking at Sunnyvale (75182), it seems like there is more inventory within the area that meets this criteria and it also seems like our money might go a lot further there.. Whats it like living in Sunnyvale? Is there access to shopping and commercial activity like Allen or Murphy?

Can people familiar with these areas list the pro's and cons of these areas? Is it worth paying a premium for Allen over Murphy and Sunnyvale? Which would you pick and why?

[biafra4life]

It would depend on your wife's work hours. If she has non rush hour commute, then your options become more widespread. If she's on a 9-5 schedule then I would pick Murphy then Allen. Sunnyvale would be too hard a commute I think.

Sunnyvale does have the homes on acreage that you won't find in most other DFW suburbs. Only Prosper, Lucas, Fairview and Parker offer large lots within reasonable commuting distance of the metroplex. Most other cities offer small to tiny lots including most of Murphy and Allen

Allen is served by ample shopping, very family friendly and is very close to the action in Plano and Frisco. If your wife worked in Collin County, then it would be perfect. The schools are ok, but since I don't want to start a flame war and derail your thread all I'll say is do a search in the Dallas forum on schools. You will see a ton of information.

Murphy is similar to Allen in many respects, a highly affluent suburb. Not as jam packed with shopping compared to Allen but is fine for regular strip mall shopping with Plano and Firewheel in Garland nearby. Most of the city is served by Plano ISD schools which I feel is stronger than either Allen or Sunnyvale but again read up on these threads and draw your own conclusions. If you like Murphy you could also look at East Richardson right next door.

Sunnyvale is full of large homes on acreage and not much else. Very little shopping. You will be driving out to other cities for just about everything. That works for some, doesn't for others. Your mileage may vary.

[ITguy1981]

she works 9pm to 7am.. but after her initial two year contract, she plans to switch to the day shift.. Is Allen to the metroplex a really bad commute during the day time? Are there any downsides to murphy that you can think of?

Originally Posted by biafra4life

It would depend on your wife's work hours. If she has non rush hour commute, then your options become more widespread. If she's on a 9-5 schedule then I would pick Murphy then Allen. Sunnyvale would be too hard a commute I think.

Sunnyvale does have the homes on acreage that you won't find in most other DFW suburbs. Only Prosper, Lucas, Fairview and Parker offer large lots within reasonable commuting distance of the metroplex. Most other cities offer small to tiny lots including most of Murphy and Allen

Allen is served by ample shopping, very family friendly and is very close to the action in Plano and Frisco. If your wife worked in Collin County, then it would be perfect. The schools are ok, but since I don't want to start a flame war and derail your thread all I'll say is do a search in the Dallas forum on schools. You will see a ton of information.

Murphy is similar to Allen in many respects, a highly affluent suburb. Not as jam packed with shopping compared to Allen but is fine for regular strip mall shopping with Plano and Firewheel in Garland nearby. Most of the city is served by Plano ISD schools which I feel is stronger than either Allen or Sunnyvale but again read up on these threads and draw your own conclusions. If you like Murphy you could also look at East Richardson right next door.

Sunnyvale is full of large homes on acreage and not much else. Very little shopping. You will be driving out to other cities for just about everything. That works for some, doesn't for others. Your mileage may vary.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by ITguy1981

she works 9pm to 7am.. but after her initial two year contract, she plans to switch to the day shift.. Is Allen to the metroplex a really bad commute during the day time? Are there any downsides to murphy that you can think of?

Well with those hours she will avoid most if not all of the rush hour traffic, so most towns will be good. If she moves to the day shift, it would depend on when exactly she has to be at work. My wife is a nurse at Medical City. She leaves the house (in Wylie) at 5.40 am and gets to work before 6.30 am. So if your wifes day schedule needs her to be at work before 7, then you would be ok.

The problem with Allen is that the main way to go south will be 75...and 75 is horrible for rush hour traffic. Now your wife wont be going all the way downtown so maybe it might work out better.

The only thing with Murphy that you may not like is the lack of shopping compared to Allen or Frisco. There is no mall in Murphy for example, just strip malls with your basic every day shopping needs (Target/Walmart/Lowes etc). Same deal with restaurants, you wont find much compared to neighboring towns. This may be a big deal to you. I live next door in Wylie, and it doesn't bother me at all as the other cities are a quick drive away. I feel Murphy with Plano Schools is a better deal than Allen schools PERSONALLY, but you may decide other wise after doing your due diligence.

[MurphyPl1]

Except that the OP is looking at Murphy Farms which is Wylie ISD.

There are larger lots available but like in Parker will be older homes. Although it is possible to find 1/3 and 1/2 acres in some of the areas in PISD in the northern part of town.

[ITguy1981]

I am not restricting myself to just Murphy Farms.. I just used that as an example.. I am open to all of Murphy..

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Except that the OP is looking at Murphy Farms which is Wylie ISD.

There are larger lots available but like in Parker will be older homes. Although it is possible to find 1/3 and 1/2 acres in some of the areas in PISD in the northern part of town.

[biafra4life]

Good catch Murphy, yes OP, I don't know where you are coming from, but over here in the metroplex, the school districts don't always align up with the city boundaries, in fact, they rarely do. So while MOST of Murphy is served by Plano ISD, there is a part that is served by Wylie ISD, which is not considered to be as good as Plano. Same deal with Allen, most of the city is served by Allen ISD, but parts are also served by Plano and Lovejoy if I recall correctly. So it's important to verify that any house you are looking at is in the desired school district. Most district websites have a location checker that will verify whether they serve the house in question (realtors can get this wrong, and once you buy the house, you CANNOT change districts later).

[aggieplaya]

OP said they will probably only live there around 5 yrs, so I doubt they care as much about their future 5yr old going to Plano vs Wylie :-)

[FutureTex]

Allen to Dallas is a BAD commute.

[ITguy1981]

really? how bad is it? going by google maps/mapquest, its an 18 mile commute.. i would estimate it to be about 35 minutes - 40 minutes, is that wrong? Is Murphy any better?

Originally Posted by FutureTex

Allen to Dallas is a BAD commute.