Advice needed! Brooklynites looking to possibly relocate to Plano (or DFW area)

[NP78]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Thank you! I get tired of hearing it too.


This isn't a cheap version of Long Island. This is Texas. It's very different.


As for Cantonese speakers here, there aren't many. I can count the ones I've met in my lifetime in Dallas on one hand.

I suspect you have met some and not even known.

There are plenty. Trust me (My wife is one of them). Obviously not as prevalent as Mandarin here, but still present in decent numbers.

[TeamLynn]

Welcome to Texas. It's not Chinatown or Chinatown Brooklyn, but you should be able to find most of what you need in Plano area. Probably less Cantonese speaking population, but you will find some.
We have Mandarin Saturday school here....never heard about Cantonese Saturday school, but if there isn't one, start one.
Plenty of grocery stores. Ranch 99 might serve you well....maybe even larger than what you are used to. HMart is Korean based, but has pan asian and probably willing to get you what you want if they don't have it. Probably larger than any Asian grocery in Brooklyn.
Great public schools, very international probably like Brooklyn in that regards.
Cost of Living should be significantly less....and you get a house with a yard, if that's what you want.

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by platon20

I hate to say this, but you are in for a disappointment.

Sounds like the most important concern to you is chinese community. Plano has some Chinese folks, but it's not going to be anywhere close to NYC. You'll be lucky to find 2 or 3 asian food stores in Plano, whereas some enclaves in NYC easily have 30.

I agree, and was thinking the same thing as I read her post and each paragraph delved more and more into how badly she wanted her and her family to be immersed in Chinese culture and language (specifically Cantonese). As far as Asians go in Plano and in DFW in general, INDIANS/Southeast Asians are the group who have things on lock and are so surrounded by their own cultural amenities, languages, etc to the point where living in many parts of DFW probably isn't too much different from living back home. And even when it comes to East Asians in DFW, most of the business and amenities are mostly Korean by far, and then probably Vietnamese second.

Edit: HOUSTON has a way bigger, way better Chinese community than DFW does. Houston even has TWO Chinatowns. That's about as close to the NYC Chinese experience and setup as you're going to get in Texas.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by NP78

I suspect you have met some and not even known.

There are plenty. Trust me (My wife is one of them). Obviously not as prevalent as Mandarin here, but still present in decent numbers.

I don't go out looking for Cantonese speakers but I live in Richardson and I work in IT, so I've met a lot of Chinese people. I can tell the difference between spoken Mandarin and spoken Cantonese, as in I can identify one vs the other though I can't understand either one. I rarely hear the latter.

[Pinkett]

Moved to Frisco from NY. You absolutely need to visit DFW. Don't go by what's on the internet. You'll want a bigger lot. We don't care about what we don't know. So please visit. Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney are all great areas with diverse communities. Schools are excellent here so no need for private schooling.

[WorldKlas]

I think you’ll like the DFW area. But, it can be quite humid in the summer. I noticed there is a Chinese School in Plano. Registration

[NP78]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

I think you’ll like the DFW area. But, it can be quite humid in the summer. I noticed there is a Chinese School in Plano. Registration

That is a Mandarin speaking school I believe. There are other schools, including one that I know of (Merit Chinese: Merit Chinese School) that is Cantonese speaking.

[Betty_Baylor99]

There are several Chinese schools in Plano. One of the parents at my daughters’ west Plano elementary school is a teacher at the Merit Chinese school in Plano, which teaches both Cantonese and Mandarin. Merit Chinese School - ????????

[Soonhun]

Originally Posted by Taynxtlvl

So False!! Dallas Ft. Worth while not on the level of NYC and San Fran has a very very large asian population. I know of at least 5 china towns in the area. (Carrolton, Dallas off 35, East Plano, Richardson, and Irving). The OP can definitely find much of what that are accustomed to.

Please do not conflate Koreans with Chinese.