Moving from Torrance, CA to Mckinney. (Houston, Dallas: 2014, insurance, daycares)

[JVDZETA]

Hello all,


A California South-bay native here. The family has made the decision to find a home and new life there in McKinney if possible. We saw a promo video for McKinney and we were floored by the beauty of the downtown area and the surrounding areas. We fell in love with the area! (well the wife did and I did as well but didn't want to admit it)....

A couple of questions of course:

1. Can we find a good home with a 70K salary? What would be a good area in MckKinney for a budget of at least 250K - 300K. We were pre-approved for 417K VA loan here in California but market here sucks.

(We have two kids, a 6 year old and a 1 year old, so a 4 bedroom would be ideal plus extra rooms for family and guests.)

2. My wife would love to work in the McKinney area in the healthcare field so as to be close to the kids and home there. She's a Unit Secretary and Tech at the major Providence Hospital here with 15 years experience and would like to know what the employment opportunities is like there.

3. I'll be working in Dallas, so how would the commute from McKinney to Dallas be? I drove on the 405N to Westwood in Los Angeles daily and that commute took me 90 minutes each way for a 15 mile drive from Torrance and that's without an accident or rain OR both!!. (I did that for 5 years).

4. We are Asian so were wondering what type of Asian markets would be available there if any?

5. What types of recreational stuff are there for families to do?

6. Is there a Methodist/christian church nearby?

7. What grocery stores are there in the area? Also what types of malls are there in the area...(sorry had to ask)...

8. Are there any National Guard units in the area? (I'm in the California National Guard so I have to find a unit I can transfer to as well)

9. Is there a danger of tornadoes or floods? I know the likelihood of being a victim of one is rare but you never know...Flooding I know can be a real threat so worried about that as well...

10. I know schools are great so wondering about daycare for the 1 year old...

I'm sure more questions will pop up but thank you in advance for any helpful answers or points of discussions!

[ChristieP]

WHERE in Dallas will you be working? Without an address, or even a zip code, it's impossible to estimate commute time. Unless it's in the far northern parts, commuting from McKinney makes no sense at all. Even then, there are many other communities, such as east Plano and Richardson, that are a lot closer in to Dallas which would cut your commute in half. The good thing is that Richardson has a lot of Asian people and several large Asian markets. Richardson ISD schools are also very good. There will also be a lot more job opportunities for your wife since the major hospitals are closer in to the center of Dallas.

What's your MOS in the Guard? Yes, Texas has lots of Guard units but it depends on your specialty as to which one you can join. You may end up having to drive a few hours away for drills.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Really, this is not The Sticks. You don't seem to have done much research before making a major life decision. Google McKinney grocery stores to see the selection. Google McKinney Asian population. Google McKinney churches. Get the idea?

[bluescreen73]

Two questions:

1. Have you ever been to Dallas-Fort Worth?
2. Have you ever spent considerable time (1-2 weeks) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in late July or early August?

If the answer to either of these questions is no then I strongly suggest you do a reconnaissance trip to DFW (1-2 weeks in the summer) before uprooting your family and moving halfway across the country based on a promo video. Do not make a major move like this sight-unseen.

[Katana49]

If you're used to a 90 min commute under good conditions, then you'll be happy with McKinney for commuting to downtown. For most parts of McKinney, it would take you about 60 min to downtown in rush hour most of the time, and 75 to 90 min under bad conditions. So, your commute should improve quite a bit, though I certainly wouldn't say it's desirable. Depends on exactly where you are working to give a more accurate assessment.

Grocery stores... McKinney has Kroger, Market Street, Sprouts, Winco, and soon will have an HEB/Central Market.

As far as budget goes, I think you should set your sights on the $350k mark. While you can find a 4 bedroom home for $300k, it's probably going to need some work or updating. Prices have risen dramatically the last few years, so a home that would have fit the bill a couple years ago for $300k is now going for $350k.

We have tornadoes, but unless your house gets hit directly you should be ok. McKinney doesn't have a flooding problem, there's a few sections where roads may become covered, but most of McKinney you don't have to worry about.

There are tons of daycare options, all over. My daughter goes to Primrose and likes it.

Anyway, this should get you started. I'd recommend looking around the Winding Creek area. Homes are within your budget, and are about 10 years old, while also being in a great area of McKinney that is close to grocery stores, schools, shopping, and not far from major roads for your commute.

[turf3]

"Working in Dallas" could mean anything from Preston and Keller Springs (not a terrible commute from McKinney) to downtown (I wouldn't do it) to Kleberg or South Oak Cliff (you would want to shoot yourself after a couple years doing that commute).

You don't say whether you already have a job offer. Be advised that if you don't, lots of people might say "the job is in Dallas" to distinguish it from Houston or San Antonio, but it might really mean Seagoville, Red Oak, or Mansfield, all of which would be hellish commutes from McKinney.

Frankly, it seems like the standard advice for someone relocating to this area is to find the job location first, then look for housing as near as possible that meets as many of your desires as possible. I think this is the standard advice for good reason.

As far as the "can we find xxx" questions, I see a lot of those from people who seem to think they're moving to Ogallala, Neb. or something. It's a metro area of something like 3M people. Anything commercial or cultural you can find in your current metro area you can find in DFW (obviously, this doesn't apply to geographical features).

[UnfairPark]

I don't mean to be rude but this is a stupid idea. I wouldn't uproot my family because grass is greener in a promotional video. First find jobs then come for a look see trip and see which place would suit your needs better.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by JVDZETA

1. Can we find a good home with a 70K salary? What would be a good area in MckKinney for a budget of at least 250K - 300K. We were pre-approved for 417K VA loan here in California but market here sucks.

(We have two kids, a 6 year old and a 1 year old, so a 4 bedroom would be ideal plus extra rooms for family and guests.)

You'll need a big down payment to get a decent house on that salary.

3. I'll be working in Dallas, so how would the commute from McKinney to Dallas be? I drove on the 405N to Westwood in Los Angeles daily and that commute took me 90 minutes each way for a 15 mile drive from Torrance and that's without an accident or rain OR both!!. (I did that for 5 years).

Unpleasant, depending on your tolerance for stop and go traffic and your job's flexibility. I work in Richardson and a lot of my coworkers commute here from McKinney. None of them are wild about the commute.

4. We are Asian so were wondering what type of Asian markets would be available there if any?

Asia's a big place. There are south Asian (i.e. Indo-Pak) and east Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.) markets all over the place. South Asian markets are mostly in Plano, Irving, and Richardson. Chinese markets are in Plano (and probably other places), Vietnamese shops cluster in Garland, and Korean shops cluster in Carrollton/NW Dallas. That's not to say you can't find any of that outside of those areas...you're just more likely to find them in those areas.

In other words, "Asian" isn't very specific. That's like saying you're "European" and want to know where "European" markets are. I wouldn't know whether to send you to an Italian deli or a German shop. Or maybe the Polish deli.

6. Is there a Methodist/christian church nearby?

Tons.

7. What grocery stores are there in the area? Also what types of malls are there in the area...(sorry had to ask)...

There's tons of supermarkets here, though likely you won't recognize the names. McKinney doesn't have a mall. Neither does Allen. Nearest mall to you would be Stonebriar in Frisco, or Collin Creek in Plano.

9. Is there a danger of tornadoes or floods? I know the likelihood of being a victim of one is rare but you never know...Flooding I know can be a real threat so worried about that as well...

Those are a threat to anyone anywhere, though you're not likely to get flooded out in McKinney. Tornadoes can happen anywhere anytime so your risk there is the same as it would be anywhere else in N. Texas. The odds of one hitting YOUR house are very small.



I agree with the others regarding moving here sight-unseen on the basis of a promo video.

I wouldn't if I were you. Visit in August...be realistic about what you can buy on your salary (don't forget taxes and insurance which are high here)...then make up your mind. COL here is not as cheap as it used to be.

[stephwin]

McKinney has over 150,000 people living in the city. It will have every type of store or service that you can dream up, minus a few minor things. It shouldn't be all that different from Torrance, honestly.

All types of churches are abundant in this area, especially Methodist/Christian churches. It doesn't have a mall, but there are outlet stores in Allen and malls in Frisco and Plano. There are a variety of Asian stores in Plano, Richardson, and Garland. There is a Baylor McKinney that your wife could look into for work. Frisco and Plano each have several hospitals as well.

As far as recreational, most families seem to have their kids in some type of sport whether it is soccer, football, cheerleading, etc. When the weather is nice, people like to get out and walk their neighborhoods or visit their local parks. When the weather isn't nice, people tend to stick to staying indoors and shopping.

Your commute could be an issue depending on your office location. I'd say at least an hour not knowing exactly where you will be working or living. Just because you had a long commute before doesn't mean you should settle for a long one here. There may be more ideal locations for you to live once we know where you are working.

Don't worry about tornadoes or floods. I'm always more worried about hail and straight-line winds. I seem to be hit by a decent hail storm every year and had about $30k in damage to my house back in 2014 from one storm that didn't produce any tornadoes or flood any area.

For schools, be aware that schools don't follow city boundaries. So just because you buy a house in McKinney doesn't mean it is always McKinney ISD. You could be zoned to Frisco or Prosper ISDs. There should be plenty of daycares in the area. If you choose a center, expect to pay between $900-1100 a month. In-home will be cheaper.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Two questions:

1. Have you ever been to Dallas-Fort Worth?
2. Have you ever spent considerable time (1-2 weeks) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in late July or early August?

If the answer to either of these questions is no then I strongly suggest you do a reconnaissance trip to DFW (1-2 weeks in the summer) before uprooting your family and moving halfway across the country based on a promo video. Do not make a major move like this sight-unseen.

I honestly cannot believe people move to an area without ever visiting. I've done it once and I won't ever do it again.

Is a $300 plane ticket and a few nights in a hotel worth spending thousands on moving, only to find out you hate the area?