Commuting to downtown Dallas from suburbs? (McKinney, Allen: insurance, new house, buying)

[stan4]

Frisco or Allen to downtown? Every day?

That's insane.

[jdallas]

drive to the Parker Rd DART station and take the train in to Akard. Monthly pass is $80
Otherwise, might as well rent a room from someone in a loft downtown M-F and visit the family on the weekends.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by HyndeSyte2020

My family (wife, two toddlers b/g, and 1 dog) will be moving to the Dallas area over the coming holiday season. I am the only one working and will be working on Akard St in downtown Dallas. Currently we are in Atlanta and live in an apartment (but are used to single-family homes) solely for the commute to work and us sharing a vehicle to cut costs. Interested in feedback on the commute from say Frisco, Coppell, Allen to/from work. Does arriving at 7am vs 8 or 9 impact it? I know here in Atlanta, if you want to get to work at 8 and live in a suburb outside the “perimeter” you should expect nearly an hour commute, while if you want to get to work by 7, you can make the same leg in under 30.

Main ask: how is the commute into Dallas for arriving to work at 7/8/9am from the surrounding suburbs? TIA.

What are you looking for in a house/community? What is your budget? Do you plan on staying in this house long enough for your kids to attend school? Are you interested in private schools?

I think you need to answer these questions because commuting from the areas you listed is not realistic. You have two young kids (I do too) and you will miss so much if you leave at 6 every morning and get home right before their bed time. It's not worth it.

[nissan]

I assume you're a T relo, welcome!

I make this commute 3x a week and was doing it 5x a week before from SW McKinney via 75. I get into the office betw. 8:15 and 8:30. The mornings are not bad in that it'll take about 45 mins to an hour. I use the HOV as a single pax (use waze). Otherwise, no way in h3ll I'd sit in that traffic. If you don't use the HOV, you're looking at over an hour and 15 mins. If you're not willing to use the HOV and have waze save your *** from off-ramp enforcement, you could take DART. Many of my colleagues in Allen drive the 15-25 mins to the Parker Rd station and then take the 40 min ride downtown. It will take an hr to commute, but at least the 40 min block is guaranteed and not subj. to accidents, etc.

Afternoons are horrible no matter if you leave at 4:30 or later. Guaranteed hour and 15 mins. by car, even using the HOV.

I didn't build in McKinney to do a downtown commute. I was working in Plano when we started building and moved into a diff. job a yr after we settled. You have the choice to pay more potentially/get less house and lower the commute times by living closer or near the DART lines.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by nissan

I assume you're a T relo, welcome!

I make this commute 3x a week and was doing it 5x a week before from SW McKinney via 75. I get into the office betw. 8:15 and 8:30. The mornings are not bad in that it'll take about 45 mins to an hour. I use the HOV as a single pax (use waze). Otherwise, no way in h3ll I'd sit in that traffic. If you don't use the HOV, you're looking at over an hour and 15 mins. If you're not willing to use the HOV and have waze save your *** from off-ramp enforcement, you could take DART. Many of my colleagues in Allen drive the 15-25 mins to the Parker Rd station and then take the 40 min ride downtown. It will take an hr to commute, but at least the 40 min block is guaranteed and not subj. to accidents, etc.

Afternoons are horrible no matter if you leave at 4:30 or later. Guaranteed hour and 15 mins. by car, even using the HOV.

I didn't build in McKinney to do a downtown commute. I was working in Plano when we started building and moved into a diff. job a yr after we settled. You have the choice to pay more potentially/get less house and lower the commute times by living closer or near the DART lines.

I have a few questions.

(1) What's a T relo?
(2) Do you work from home or something now 2x a week?
(3) What's a single pax and how does Waze prevent you from getting a ticket?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by stephwin

What are you looking for in a house/community? What is your budget? Do you plan on staying in this house long enough for your kids to attend school? Are you interested in private schools?

I think you need to answer these questions because commuting from the areas you listed is not realistic. You have two young kids (I do too) and you will miss so much if you leave at 6 every morning and get home right before their bed time. It's not worth it.

Good advice. Frisco and Allen are great if you work in Frisco, Plano, Richardson, or Far North Dallas/ Addison. With a job downtown, you're buying into a certain quality of suburb life with a house in Frisco / Allen, but at what expense to your family? The big brand new home comes at the cost of a parent spending 2.5-3 hours a day commuting....that's the equivalent of an ENTIRE month every year in your car....

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

I have a few questions.

(1) What's a T relo?
(2) Do you work from home or something now 2x a week?
(3) What's a single pax and how does Waze prevent you from getting a ticket?

Can't answer 1 & 2, but this poster's advice is to illegally use the HOV lane when he is the only person in the car. With Waze, you can generally get a 1 mile or so head's up to the location of police on the highway. I don't know how frequently 75 is patrolled for HOV violations (my guess is not often) but it's a risk he's willing to take.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

I have a few questions.

(1) What's a T relo?
(2) Do you work from home or something now 2x a week?
(3) What's a single pax and how does Waze prevent you from getting a ticket?

I assume the poster means AT&T. "T" is the stock exchange symbol for AT&T.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by cordata

I assume the poster means AT&T. "T" is the stock exchange symbol for AT&T.

I figured it meant Toyota.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I figured it meant Toyota.

ATT is located on Akard Street downtown, I don't think Toyota is. ATT also has facilities in Plano.