Allen - Best Neighborhoods? (Plano, Richardson: sales, rent, new house)

[SportyGamerGirl]

In my research so far I have seen that the neighborhoods in West Allen, along 121, are much better.
* Starcreek
* Cypress Meadows
* Twin Creeks
* Fall Creek
* Cumberland Crossing

Those are the neighborhoods that I have seen the most on "best of" lists throughout my research over the past few weeks.

I would love to hear all opinions regardings Allen neighborhoods (listed above, or any others), Why Allen is or is not a good place to live, why other places (Plano/Frisco/McKinney) are better/worse. Or anything else that could be helpful or things we should be considering.

Other Info:
- My Fiance and I both are 25
- We both are in Sales - traffic is not a concern since we can schedule meetings during low-traffic hours
- Having our first kid in 3ish years - we plan on having 2 kids total
- We love Movies/Shows/Video Games
- Also would like a yard large enough for a pool/Spa with Pergola
- We currently have a cat but could have a dog in the future - connected paths/parks Allen has is a +
- My fiance like to play sports so the parks help with that as well for his 7v7 Flag Football games
- Between $500-600k would be ideal

[TexanByMarriage]

We currently rent in Lost Creek, and that should fit your bill. Lots of great parks here, which is great for kids (and flag football). The community pool is pretty neat, but a lot of houses have their own pool as well. Back yards run different in size. But based on the listings I've seen you should get space enough for 2 kids and pool and yard within your budget for sure.

We like it in Allen, and like how it is close to shopping and a few restaurants (less than Plano, but not bad). Also close to McKinney with nice downtown as well. If you're not commuting downtown it's a good place to live. Plano has more neighborhoods that are more packed/houses closer together. McKinney has a mixed bags of schools, but more open neighborhoods.

[TheOverdog]

In my opinion, the parks in east Allen are among the best in DFW. Celebration Park and Bethany Lakes are both super nice. All the new houses in west Allen also have relatively small lots, no different than the lot sizes in Plano or McKinney. Access to Waters Creek is nice too, among the best mixed use master planned areas in DFW. Plano has lower taxes, but has 3X the population of Allen. McKinney is perfectly fine but is farther away from jobs. It's is really up to you which one you like best and which city suits your needs. Overall they are all very similar, and short of very small areas in each, you really can't go wrong with where you choose to live.

[veuvegirl]

We live in Twin Creeks and love it! I found that most of the neighborhoods don’t have yards large enough to fit a pool and a small yard except for our neighborhood. There are not a lot of houses on the market currently, I’m sure that will change soon!

[DFWUser1]

Originally Posted by SportyGamerGirl

In my research so far I have seen that the neighborhoods in West Allen, along 121, are much better.
* Starcreek
* Cypress Meadows
* Twin Creeks
* Fall Creek
* Cumberland Crossing

Those are the neighborhoods that I have seen the most on "best of" lists throughout my research over the past few weeks.

I would love to hear all opinions regardings Allen neighborhoods (listed above, or any others), Why Allen is or is not a good place to live, why other places (Plano/Frisco/McKinney) are better/worse. Or anything else that could be helpful or things we should be considering.

Other Info:
- My Fiance and I both are 25
- We both are in Sales - traffic is not a concern since we can schedule meetings during low-traffic hours
- Having our first kid in 3ish years - we plan on having 2 kids total
- We love Movies/Shows/Video Games
- Also would like a yard large enough for a pool/Spa with Pergola
- We currently have a cat but could have a dog in the future - connected paths/parks Allen has is a +
- My fiance like to play sports so the parks help with that as well for his 7v7 Flag Football games
- Between $500-600k would be ideal

All those are very good neighborhoods, within your price range, I will give more details (long post) to your questions and hope it is helpful to you. I am a resident in Allen and we were thinking a lot before taking a decision, but now we are very happy we didn't follow the hype or get influenced by what others are doing instead focusing on what matters most to us, so some of these are from personal experiences.

You are right on spot in identifying a good location - and not getting into herd mentality. In general, most people go by the city - say Plano, Allen, Frisco or any town/city for that matter. Which is wrong. Need to look at specifics. For example, many far away neighborhoods in Frisco, Plano are far from the most happening location DNT/121 area than say other towns along 121 and will be much more convenient to the location. So similarly not all schools in the entire town are good or bad. Lesson: Do not paint the entire towns as either good or bad. But go with specifics on each of the criteria - location, schools, specific neighborhood, specific home within a neighborhood, surrounding areas, commute, proximity to parks, amenities, shopping, highways, future development potential etc.

Taking the above into consideration, the area in West Allen 75013 between 121 and 75 is an excellent location, one of the best. You seem to have done your research already , but I will give few more details below, just in case.

(1) Parks, Amenities, Trail System: Like you noticed, Allen is recognized nationally for its parks, amenities, trail system. A new park was approved on exchange parkway, with gymnasium, sports courts, indoor trails, cafeteria, child care etc. which will be a good addition to the existing facilities (Celebration Park, Ford Park, Spirit Park, Allen Natatorium etc.). City also regularly conducts family friendly events like Allen USA Celebration, Concerts at Allen Event Center, and lots of other activities. You can see all of it here:

https://www.cityofallen.org/1969/Ste...reation-Center
https://www.cityofallen.org/1835/Get...creation-Guide

Good thing is since Allen is "relatively" small compared to neighboring towns, you feel like close to all above. Most of these are also in other towns but there, depending on the location, you may feel like they are on other part of town, far away to access regularly.

(2) Shopping, Dining, Entertainment: Very close to Stonebriar mall, Legacy West, Village at Allen & Fairview, Allen Outlet Malls, Upscale Watters Creek Shopping. Many movie theaters around (Movie house and eatery, Cinemark etc.), McKinney Towne Crossing, Whole foods, Targets, Sprouts etc. etc. for day to day shopping.

The cool thing is you do not feel like you are living in retail, yet all of the above are close by around 15 min reach. Within the town you will mostly have calm, residential feel. Especially the area around 121 and Exchange parkway is more neat and clean, green compared to other areas. Montgomery farms area too is very nice.

(3) Location: Very easy access to both 121 and 75, which is unique advantage - one toll way and one free access. Not many areas have this flexibility. So, you will have straight access to DFW, Love field airports and Plano, Frisco, Richardson which are key job centers. Other areas if needed, you will be close to highways.

(4) Future growth - New exciting developments planned/announced along 121 corridor - need to see how many of them will come up based on economy etc. Things are shaky at this moment. Need to wait and watch. Link below on some of them:

https://www.bisnow.com/dallas-ft-wor...ot-spot-103358


(5) Schools - there are excellent, top rated elementary schools in 75013 - Kerr, Boon, Mary Evans, Cheatham, Green, Jenney Preston Elementary etc. Erekson Middle school is also one of the top middle schools in the region - consistently ranks top in their Robotics Program etc. Then there is STEAM Center, Lowery Freshman Center to help reduce some load on Allen high. Allen high got 38 National Merit Semi Finalists in 2020, which is very good. Has all kinds of programs, courses, facilities who want and the stadium, which is awesome. The atmosphere there will be electric if you go on any game night to experience. Some like the big school environment, some do not - it is an individual choice. The fact is though the school is big, teacher/student ratio should be within the state limits. Allen chose to remain 1 high school town for now to avoid east/west divide like in case of other towns and instead chose to develop the existing school and add STEAM center etc. But you have a long time to think about high school in your case at least 15 years away.

Go and tour all the facilities I listed to get a feel for your self and compare the rankings, courses offered, teachers, qualifications


Comparing Allen with other near by towns - Plano, Frisco, McKinney.

(1) Ideally, any specific neighborhoods close to highways and tied to good schools in ALL the towns - no difference. Your personal choice on the house itself, budget, surrounding areas etc.

(2) Plano West (75093, 75024 mainly) is a good location and a good choice - only drawback is homes are more expensive, not many new home choices (relative), mostly back garages which we don't like (again, personal preference). I am not considering East and Central Plano in discussion as I personally do not like for various reasons.

(3) Frisco - Anything close to highways is fine. Interior and far away places in Frisco do not appeal to me - no highway (toll free) access even if you have flexibility to travel during off-peak hours, you just get confined to DNT and 121, that too takes long time to just get on to highway or to get to DNT/Legacy if it is an interior location. While some schools are good and established but many are also brand new - not suggesting they will be bad, but not advisable or be a reason to go to far away places assuming they will be good or chose far away places in Frisco just for schools or a new home.

Then - most of the new developments in Frisco are HUGE - 1000's of homes, nothing else, the entrances will be grand, but once you go inside, you will see homes, homes, homes and end up in some mini Indian cities - Most of the new neighborhoods are upwards of 80% or more Indian. Schools reflect the same. Not that it is bad, personally I do not feel like living in improved version of Hyderabad or Mumbai.


(4) McKinney: Again same principle, as long as the location is close to highways, tied to good schools, no difference. May be little less expensive than other choices. But other locations, your individual preference like say you want to be very close to McKinney downtown which some like or more wooded areas (some parts) etc.


Now, comparing within your choices in Allen:

If you want new or relatively new - Fall Creek, Star Creek, Shaddock Park, Saddle Ridge Estates, Twin Creeks at Walnut Springs, Village at Twin Creeks on Exchange Parkway are good choices.

You can also look at many neighborhoods coming up at Montgomery Farms area in Allen (75 & Bethany, Alma) - one of the nicest locations in Allen.

Not many choices if you want a big yard - but you can find out in some sections of Twin Creeks, Star Creek, Saddle ridge estates, Montgomery Farms and can get expensive.

I am not trying to sell anything here, I am not a realtor (some people on the board accused me before), but these are my personal experiences and observations. It appeared to me you are thinking along similar lines, so gave the above details. Good luck and all the best!