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Nice place to raise a family
Lots of restaurants and parks in the area.
45 min drive into downtown Dallas with minimal traffic (rare)
Has a downtown that is being revitalized
Fastest growing city in Texas with population under (i can't remember the stat)
Are you looking for anything in particular about McKinney?
Has a great older town also ...a Historic area and downtown. Southwest Airlines has applied to fly out of that airport. I think with the anticipated growth due in the metroplex this should be a northern Dallas suburb. Moderator cut: no soliciting allowed Moderator cut: contact moderator concerning infractions I know a lot about the metroplex due to 21 years here and my job.
Looking into this area...any info at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
If you're going to be working south of 635, don't live there; the commute times are hellish. There also seem to be a lot of foreclosures and short sales up there which is good if you're trying to buy but doesn't seem so nice if you're looking for a stable community. There's also a lot of construction and roadworks up there so look for it to change a LOT in the next decade. I'm thinking if Dallas has a major real estate crash it could get ugly in exurbia. I've also heard mixed reviews about the schools; the people who complain usually say that the curriculum is not challenging enough.
Basically I wouldn't choose to live there, and I don't have anything against the suburbs.
I have lived in McKinney for the past 8 years and I love it!! The schools are good, I have one in high school and two in elementary. The elementary is a blue ribbon school. The high school is the new one, Boyd, and we are pleased with it. Good friends, very friendly, helpful neighbors. I agree that if you work downtown, in Las Colinas or anywhere farther south than Plano, your quality of life will suffer b/c of the traffic. Historic Downtown McKinney is gorgeous! Lots of charm and character. Many shops, antique, chain, etc. You can find decent housing in the historic part if you want to go that route or purchase newer homes in West McKinney. It is growing and we are all proud of our "little" town that is not so little anymore. I have lived in Dallas before and I MUCH prefer living here and working in Princeton. My quality of life has greatly improved. I rarely go into Dallas, except to sightsee when family comes to visit. Everything is close by, shopping, great dining (both chain and unique restaurants), great schools, good jobs around here. What else do you want to know? I really recommend it.
Not that McKinney is a bad place; but I should add a disclaimer here.
Not everybody would fit right in to the culture of that town. It is very much a country town at heart and many of the residents still have that mentality.
Which is not bad if that is who you are. Then you would fit right in. On the other hand, if you are a little bit more urban/suburban than country (Think blackberry vs wranglers and cowboy hats) then McKinney may not feel as comfortable for you. It all depends on who you are.
Case and point is CTR36's description of downtown McKinney. She/He may have the opinion that it is beautiful, while my personal opinion is that it is rundown and just plain ugly. That comes from my perception of what a beautiful downtown is: modern archetecture, skyscrapers, trendy shops & resturants, etc... While somebody else may describe a downtown that has small older buildings with antique shops as being beautiful. Neither one of us is wrong, it just comes down to perceptions and who you are and what you are looking for.
I agree with ND that Allen, Frisco, and even certain parts of Plano would be good alternatives. Then again if you are a country person at heart than you wouldn't have any problems in McKinney. The crime is relatively low, and the homes cheap. There are plenty of rundown/gritty areas in McKinney while some areas are nicer.
Oh, and if you are going to be commuting from McKinney to anywhere south during rush-hour I hope you are a VERY patient person. It may be worth not living up there for that reason alone.
Hi Melbon-
I am new in Mckinney and this is my experience so far........
I like it (not love yet), the downtown area is very cute. Many of the old homes could use some TLC. I like to eat in MCkinney's downtown area. Shopping is ok--most of it is overpriced and antique shopping here is not as good as the south. They have a nice yoga studio.
Mckinney school system------very much on the fence here. My child is on the brighter end of the spectrum and while she is learning there is room for school improvement. She goes to one of those nice, new, sparkley, award winning elementary schools as well. The grading is weird on the report cards. You only receive a 1,2,3 or 4 no letter grades. Spelling is also not taught in the traditional sense. You do not get spelling words to study with a follow up Friday spelling test. Teachers are great but overall I would only rate the school a B-. You must verify that the school you are zoned for is the school your child will attend.
Housing is affordable here--you can get a really, really nice home with all the upgrades in several different price ranges. 95% of all the homes in our neighborhood are nice size yards.
I have to disagree with Contrails abot the country aspect. Everyone that I have meet are positively NOT country. I have not once seen anyone with a cowboy hat and wranglers on. (although I am sure that is cute) Most everyone is our community are corporate peeps with their own crackberry.
Traffic..........not bad within the community. The area near 75 and 380 is a bit of a pain. The north Dallas tollway makes going downtown for events a breeze. Now if you are working in Downtown, MCkinney is NOT the city for you. You would have to leave your home at 6 am just to arrive late to your 8 am job. We go downtown probably once a month just to hang out and explore our new area. It never feels inconvient but we are also making the trip on the weekends with no traffic. Hwy 75 to me is just a overall pain. I do try to avoid it if possible.
Overall I probably would not change where I currently live. I am happy with my neighborhood and great neighbors. Do I want to live in burbs forever-NO, but right now it works for us.
Other areas I like in the Dallas area: Allen, Richardson, some of Plano, and on the otherside of the metro--Grapevine.
Hi Melbon-
I am new in Mckinney and this is my experience so far........
I like it (not love yet), the downtown area is very cute. Many of the old homes could use some TLC. I like to eat in MCkinney's downtown area. Shopping is ok--most of it is overpriced and antique shopping here is not as good as the south. They have a nice yoga studio.
Mckinney school system------very much on the fence here. My child is on the brighter end of the spectrum and while she is learning there is room for school improvement. She goes to one of those nice, new, sparkley, award winning elementary schools as well. The grading is weird on the report cards. You only receive a 1,2,3 or 4 no letter grades. Spelling is also not taught in the traditional sense. You do not get spelling words to study with a follow up Friday spelling test. Teachers are great but overall I would only rate the school a B-. You must verify that the school you are zoned for is the school your child will attend.
Housing is affordable here--you can get a really, really nice home with all the upgrades in several different price ranges. 95% of all the homes in our neighborhood are nice size yards.
I have to disagree with Contrails abot the country aspect. Everyone that I have meet are positively NOT country. I have not once seen anyone with a cowboy hat and wranglers on. (although I am sure that is cute) Most everyone is our community are corporate peeps with their own crackberry.
Traffic..........not bad within the community. The area near 75 and 380 is a bit of a pain. The north Dallas tollway makes going downtown for events a breeze. Now if you are working in Downtown, MCkinney is NOT the city for you. You would have to leave your home at 6 am just to arrive late to your 8 am job. We go downtown probably once a month just to hang out and explore our new area. It never feels inconvient but we are also making the trip on the weekends with no traffic. Hwy 75 to me is just a overall pain. I do try to avoid it if possible.
Overall I probably would not change where I currently live. I am happy with my neighborhood and great neighbors. Do I want to live in burbs forever-NO, but right now it works for us.
Other areas I like in the Dallas area: Allen, Richardson, some of Plano, and on the otherside of the metro--Grapevine.
I pretty much agree with the above as our experience in McKinney where we lived up until last year (moved to Georgia, did our time in Hell and came back as soon as possible). I never did "love" it. I do like Allen a lot for being here a short time, but again we just returned from a place I never want to be again so maybe I'm appreciating what I have lol.
I don't live in McKinney but my sister does. There is no way I'd describe the McKinney TODAY as "country". Maybe psuedo-country but it is very much "suburban" even though it is LONG hike from downtown. The only people that may still be seen wearing jeans, boots and a cowboy hat/ballcap are those few older natives. The overwhelming MAJORITY of those that live in McKinney are NOT natives to Dallas or even Texas so the "country" atmosphere, way of thinking, etc are long gone. Sure you will see some women wearing "cowboy boots" but more than likely they were ones purchased at a department store like Dillard's and not at a western wear store and they are purely for looks. Most are not even further up the leg than the ankle . So don't be fooled by that. As for the downtown area, sure it is fun to shop at some but not all the time. It is NOT stroller friendly and some of the stores are not "kid friendly". Most of the stuff in the stores on the square can be found for MUCH less at other stores in and around Dallas. They are very proud of what they have but most of it has to do with being "high rent". The stores and their "stock" have drastically changed over the last 10-12 years. Used to be a much better place to shop and find some great bargains on nice stuff and antiques but not much anymore. My only favorite place to shop at near the square now is Doug & Linda's Ski Shop, other than that, no thanks. I'll save my time, money and gas and buy the same thing closer to home for much less .
As for the schools - the grading system is just totally wrong. It does no favors for those kids. Many of the teachers may not like it but don't have a lot of say about it. I don't hold much stock in "Blue Ribbon" schools or "Exemplary" as it is all based on criteria that is totally lacking in a standard across the board rating system. There is PLENTY you can find on this on this site by just using the search funciton.
Traffic - NO WAY!!! No way would I live there and commute to any place further south than Plano. I was wondering how all those people were dealing w/ the problems last week when on Tuesday night the highway was shut down from Allen all the way to practically Sherman. NO THANKS!!!!!!! Not many alternative routes to take and if your not super familiar w/ all of the backroads you really don't want to take them. McKinney is not part of DART and never will be so consider that if your thinking of using public transportation. Even to get to Plano to ride DART on into Dallas would be a pain. I also don't care for driving in McKinney as if your not going 10-15 mph over the speed limit they can get pretty testy with you (I typically go 5 mph over and that is NOT fast enough there). My sis is in Stonebridge and we have to take Stonebridge Pkwy to get to her house. I don't recall one single time that I did not see a wreck or a near miss on Stonebridge Pkwy as people don't like to stop at the stop signs along there and even those on the cross streets run them. Pretty sad really. Eldorado Pkwy is a pain to drive down even during the day in non rush hour traffic as far as I'm concerned. I don't want it to take 15 minutes just to go 3 miles down the road to the store .
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Wow
. So don't be fooled by that. As for the downtown area, sure it is fun to shop at some but not all the time. It is NOT stroller friendly and some of the stores are not "kid friendly". Most of the stuff in the stores on the square can be found for MUCH less at other stores in and around Dallas. They are very proud of what they have but most of it has to do with being "high rent". The stores and their "stock" have drastically changed over the last 10-12 years. Used to be a much better place to shop and find some great bargains on nice stuff and antiques but not much anymore. My only favorite place to shop at near the square now is Doug & Linda's Ski Shop, other than that, no thanks. I'll save my time, money and gas and buy the same thing closer to home for much less 
NO WAY!!! No way would I live there and commute to any place further south than Plano. I was wondering how all those people were dealing w/ the problems last week when on Tuesday night the highway was shut down from Allen all the way to practically Sherman. NO THANKS!!!!!!! Not many alternative routes to take and if your not super familiar w/ all of the backroads you really don't want to take them. McKinney is not part of DART and never will be so consider that if your thinking of using public transportation. Even to get to Plano to ride DART on into Dallas would be a pain. I also don't care for driving in McKinney as if your not going 10-15 mph over the speed limit they can get pretty testy with you (I typically go 5 mph over and that is NOT fast enough there). My sis is in Stonebridge and we have to take Stonebridge Pkwy to get to her house. I don't recall one single time that I did not see a wreck or a near miss on Stonebridge Pkwy as people don't like to stop at the stop signs along there and even those on the cross streets run them. Pretty sad really. Eldorado Pkwy is a pain to drive down even during the day in non rush hour traffic as far as I'm concerned. I don't want it to take 15 minutes just to go 3 miles down the road to the store 
