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Old 11-15-2006, 09:59 PM
 
5 posts, read 24,113 times
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We are yet another family from CA looking to move to TX. We are flying out to check out the Plano area in two weeks and would really appreciate any insights you could give.
We'd like to live in a smallish community outside of a main town, we need a good junior high and a good Christian church (Stonebriar Comm looks great!). We are waterskiiers, so being near a skiable river or man-made ski lake would be heaven on earth! How's that for specific????
We are thinking of visiting Frisco, Allen and maybe McKinney?
I'm a little concerned about all of the houses for sale and am wondering why there are so many Texans moving. Any ideas? Are they upgrading, going out of state, lost jobs, leaving because of too many Californians moving IN ?
Thanks for your input. I hope we'll be one of ya real soon!
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Old 11-16-2006, 05:36 AM
 
3,035 posts, read 14,430,716 times
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Texans aren't typically moving out of the area, but buying a 'newer' house.

This creates a heap of resales on the market....

It seems that most folks here live in a home a few years, then move to something new a little further north from where they are now. I guess it's just enticing because there are so many new communities going up, you just need to drive a little further north.

With all this said, be extremely careful where you buy here if you ever have visions of selling one day.

It's probably a good idea to move out here and rent for a while. I did this and my ideas of where to live today are completely different from what they were in the Summer when I first came out here.

Where are you coming from in CA ? Where will you work here ? What is most important to you in a community (ie rural, close to shopping, excellent schools, upscale feel, etc.).
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Old 11-16-2006, 05:37 AM
 
Location: la hacienda
2,256 posts, read 9,761,000 times
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We are waterskiiers and found online this private ski lake community that is right out of McKinney. Unfortunately we need to be closer to Dallas, so it's not an option for us, but you might want to check it out: www.lsfdev.com/princetonhomepage.html (broken link)

good luck in your search, b
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Old 11-16-2006, 05:44 AM
 
3,035 posts, read 14,430,716 times
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McKinney has some nice areas.

However, be extremely careful with regards to your commute from there...

The 75 is absolutely the worst. I have tried the commute 4-5 times at different times and each time it seems to be worse than the last. They also announced recently that yet another Stonebridge Ranch type community is being built up there with another 5000-6000 new homes. I can't imagine how that poor little highway is going to support any more people than it already does. On top of that, the 75 is going to be part of the Trans Texas Corridor. Adding more traffic.

I mean, I lived in Socal 15 years, so I know traffic well. However, the 75 is a different animal. The highways in Socal can support massive amounts of traffic.....the 75 going north is not there yet. Before buying up there, do a dry run commute first....
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Old 11-16-2006, 09:49 AM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,869,842 times
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And they are not going to be doing any more expansions on 75 since it just recently finished one major one over the last 5-10 years. All of 75 has DRASTICALLY changed. If you think it is bad now you should have driven on it back in the 80's. Entrance ramps that were about the length of 1-2 cars. They actually had red/green lights at the ramps for the cars wanting ON the highway. One at a time to enter. Same for the length of the exit ramps, short. And less lanes.

OH, last night on Channel 8, wfaa, they did a study to see how long the commute is from Downtown Dallas to far north Plano in Collin County. One driver took the Dallas North Tollway while the other driver took 75-Central. The driver on 75 actually made better time by 3 minutes. You can probably look online at their site at wfaa.com to see the entire story.
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Old 11-16-2006, 10:00 AM
 
5 posts, read 24,113 times
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Socketz and Gulf5driver, thanks so much for your input. I've heard of the 75 and we'll be sure to have a go. One of the reasons we want to get out of where we are now in Central California, is due to the traffic. But the main reason we are looking to move is for a better quality of life.
We'd like a slightly upscale neighborhood - but NOT snobby. Right now we are slightly in the country, maybe two miles from larger grocery stores, 10 min from Christian school, 20 min from church, 20 min from the mall. The pie-in-the-sky dream would be to transplant what we have now to a better community (and state).
My husband is an insurance agent so we should be able to transfer okay.
Gulf5: Yeah, we saw the Princeton Lakes site - WOW! That's what started this whole thing! Check out http://www.waterskimag.com/article.jsp?ID=35637
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Old 11-16-2006, 11:26 AM
 
5 posts, read 24,113 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2dfw View Post
And they are not going to be doing any more expansions on 75 since it just recently finished one major one over the last 5-10 years. All of 75 has DRASTICALLY changed. If you think it is bad now you should have driven on it back in the 80's. Entrance ramps that were about the length of 1-2 cars. They actually had red/green lights at the ramps for the cars wanting ON the highway. One at a time to enter. Same for the length of the exit ramps, short. And less lanes.

OH, last night on Channel 8, wfaa, they did a study to see how long the commute is from Downtown Dallas to far north Plano in Collin County. One driver took the Dallas North Tollway while the other driver took 75-Central. The driver on 75 actually made better time by 3 minutes. You can probably look online at their site at wfaa.com to see the entire story.
Momof2: Thanks! I found the site and watched the video. Very interesting. Actually, here in CA, traffic that moves isn't really traffic! If it's moving, you're having a great day! Luckily, my husband or I don't have to commute (our area is called the "bedroom" of the Bay Area. People live here but commute to the Bay).
The stop lights for the highway entrance have been here for years and they do help a bit at crunch times. I try not to get caught in the Bay from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays, but when I have, I can understand how people get "road rage" from doing that EVERY DAY! The commute to/from the Bay to Central CA during those times takes a good 1.5 - 2.0 hours even in the designated car pool lanes! Each way, every day. Yuck! And tolls are $3. daily, too! However, the only tolls in CA are crossing any of the three bridges into the Bay Area. The only time it's worth it is around Christmas when you go to Union Square in SF and window shop. It's frosty, decorated, animated, fragrant and magical.
We are experiencing much the same phenomenon here as you probably are in TX. The Bay Area people are moving here for a better quality of life and lower housing costs, which is driving up our housing costs and causing more traffic, etc. They're building another 3,000 homes around the corner from us, this is after they've already built several thousand with several thousand more on the way! WHERE ARE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE COMING FROM????
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Old 11-17-2006, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Topeka, KS
1,560 posts, read 7,146,055 times
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Mostly from the NorthEast and MidWest. (Although between 1990 and 2000 California lost over 3/4 of a million residents.)

http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-7.pdf
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Old 11-17-2006, 06:53 PM
 
3,035 posts, read 14,430,716 times
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"OH, last night on Channel 8, wfaa, they did a study to see how long the commute is from Downtown Dallas to far north Plano in Collin County. One driver took the Dallas North Tollway while the other driver took 75-Central. The driver on 75 actually made better time by 3 minutes."

I've been on the 75 a few times coming from downtown Dallas and it actually seems better down south. It's like once you get more north near TI, it just piles up....then right there at the 190 on ramp, yuck. All the way to Virginia near Stonebridge. Tough commute. The tollway into Frisco is really bad too.
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Old 11-18-2006, 03:49 PM
 
5 posts, read 24,113 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by socketz View Post
"OH, last night on Channel 8, wfaa, they did a study to see how long the commute is from Downtown Dallas to far north Plano in Collin County. One driver took the Dallas North Tollway while the other driver took 75-Central. The driver on 75 actually made better time by 3 minutes."

I've been on the 75 a few times coming from downtown Dallas and it actually seems better down south. It's like once you get more north near TI, it just piles up....then right there at the 190 on ramp, yuck. All the way to Virginia near Stonebridge. Tough commute. The tollway into Frisco is really bad too.
Thanks Socketz! Yeah, momof2 mentioned the report on the news and I was able to watch it online. Lucky for us, we wouldn't need to commute to/from Dallas. It sounds a lot like the San Francisco area over here. We only go over there every once in a while and try to avoid certain times of the day.
Thanks for your input!
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