McKinney or Irving? Police officer moving to area (Houston, Dallas: crime, cheap home)

[KCROYALS]

I hope some of y’all could answer a few questions of mineregarding the Dallas area. I am looking to move back to Texas from Seattle. Wemoved to Seattle three years ago from the Houston area. We loved it our firstyear, but the cost of living up here has skyrocketed to levels of absolute insanityover the last two years. The average house now in the Seattle area is 800k while it’s 295k in Dallas. I make a 100k a year and I am struggling. It’s just nuts. Also, the opioid drug crisis andhomelessness is off the charts. I am a police officer, so I deal with thisevery day. Sadly, the days of Seattle being this clean, quaint Northwest cityare gone. The crime here is through the roof and my wife is pretty much done with it all.


We are looking at Dallas as opposed to going back to Houstonas we would like a fresh start and not take steps backwards. The only problemis we both have very limited knowledge of the entire Metroplex. I am looking at either working for McKinney PD or Irving PD.We do have a five year old who would be in 1st grade next year, so living in atown with good schools are important. I don't have to reside in the town I work in. Overall, we are looking for a nice quiet suburbthat is middle to upper middle class. Good diverse restaurants and convenient shoppingare a plus. McKinney seems like a good place to live. How is Irving interms of living? What would my commutebe like if I worked in Irving, but lived in McKinney? Are there other nicetowns that are outside of both Irving and McKinney that one would recommend? Iam not afraid of a lengthy commute if the town I reside in is worth it.


Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

[Katana49]

Sounds like McKinney will suit you just fine. Good school district, and housing can range from cheap homes under $200k to the millions. Stonebridge Ranch is a great community to live in, while also not being too far from McKinney PD.

I have a friend who used to be a cop for McKinney, he enjoyed his time there and still has a lot of friends on the force.

You wouldn't want to commute from McKinney to Irving, or vice versa. I would throw out Prosper for you to look at, as McKinney has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade. Prosper is just a bit northwest of McKinney, and has more of a small town feel, while still being an easy commute to McKinney. But traffic is not as bad and the school district is also very good.

We moved from McKinney to Prosper because McKinney was getting to be a bit too crowded for our taste. But I think you'd be happy living in either area, and your salary will definitely go farther than it does in Seattle.

[Rakin]

Irving has a great PD. You could work there and in live in Keller, Grapevine or Flower Mound which all have great schools.

[mSooner]

I wouldn't commute between the two, but McKinney and the areas surrounding Irving (Coppell, Grapevine, Keller, etc) will fit the bill. Not sure about Irving itself--the schools aren't great, except for the portion of Valley Ranch zoned to Coppell ISD

[KCROYALS]

Thank you all for the helpful information..

[UnfairPark]

I would compare salary, benefits and work conditions and use that as a deciding factor. You can pick either and find several options within 30 minutes of your station. Collin County has a lot to offer for for a young family so if all things are equal at job, pick Mckinney. Welcome to DFW and thank you for trying to make this world safe for everyone.