Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So we are home in quarantine back in New York from our long weekend trip to Dallas Northern suburbs.
This was our second trip. We visited back in 2018. We are exhausted from all of the driving and home tours.
Due to Covid/holiday weekend no HS school tours were available. We had already done most of our research in the school area online any how.
For those looking to relocate: there is no substitution for going to visit in person.
For those of you looking to move from the Northeast: you will be overwhelmed by how massive the DFW metroplex is.
We merely focused on McKinney, Allen and Plano. There is no shortage of gorgeous subdivisions to choose from. You will drive though one- declare it to be heavenly... and then in the next hour find anther that tops what you just saw. There is no shortage of beautiful, clean shopping areas. Honestly it was breathtaking. This trip has cracked open our little Northeastern brains (sarcasm) and poured in a shovelful of POSSIBILITY we didn't know we didn't know.
We went there thinking Richardson would be our pick. After landing at the airport, we headed straight to the Richardson Kroger at the corner of N Coit and Belt line. I had read here on City Data that that intersection had some issues with crime.
Being from the Bronx, I had to go! The Kroger was very nice- and the majority of the shoppers in the store when we went were gray haired. So I am going to go out on a limb and assume the surrounding neighborhood demographics skew older. Not a bad thing at all.
I could see that the strip mall it was located in wasn't brand spanking new, but the area was not dirty and I had no reason to feel unsafe. We bought 4 days worth of groceries and did notice a difference in food prices. a dozen eggs (small) was .99 cents.
Yes the neighborhoods in Richardson were very nice. Manicured. Beautiful ranches. Large trees. We drove through Northrich, Greenwood Hills, Arapaho and Heights Park.
Our hotel was in Plano. We were shocked to see so many beautiful apartment complexes, Subdivision neighborhoods and shopping areas. One after another. Plano was overwhelming. if you are accustomed to shopping in Paramus in NJ, you will not be disappointed. Plano, like Richardson has tons of business headquarters. What is nice about Plano and other newer planned cities is that their corporate business office buildings are on park-like campuses, surrounded by trees and other lush landscaping. Just a very pleasant experience to drive though.
LEGACY WEST. LEGACY WEST. LEGACY WEST. in Plano. GO. JUST GO. park and go into the Food Hall. You won't regret it.
Oh and for those who like shopping at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, there is the same SIMON Premium outlet in Allen.
We visited Historic Downtown Mckinney which was so nice. Boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Friendly people. We ate at a restaurant called SUGARBACON. To die for. YOU MUST GO. GO!!
Visited Mom and Popcorn, an old fashioned candy and popcorn shop. Everyone was so friendly and eager to strike up conversation.
Historic Downtown Mckinney (even with the current street construction) is picture perfect.
If you are feeling adventurous, drive east across the train tracks to see a different type of neighborhood. People live there too. Not everyone is a part of the new home building boom.
We visited The Star at Frisco and ate at THE COMMON TABLE because our favorite, TUPELO HONEY was closed for the 4th of July.
The Star in Frisco is the Dallas Cowboys World headquarters. There is a large entertainment screen overlooking an artificial turf field for the public to lounge and play. The surrounding streets house shopping and dining.
We visited Dallas city proper- we drove though some nice historic parts; M- Streets neighborhood which was gorgeous and expensive. Highland Park, Lower Greenville ... same.
Parked and walked around Klyde Warren park. Nice for what it is.
We went to Deep Ellum and took photos of The Traveling Man sculptures. Fun with kids.
So in four days - we explored a lot- and had a realtor show us about 6 houses! COVID BE DAMNED. Waiting to hear on our choice in our desired school district.
The next few weeks are going to be interesting.
edit: for those wondering about how or why we would travel with our family during Covid- we analyzed the risk and felt it was worth it. We all had multiple masks, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. No housekeeping in our hotel room.
Everywhere we went was properly social distanced.
The flight to Dallas on American wasn't as spaced out as we would have liked. Masks were required. Boarding and de-boarding were not organized to prevent crowding. But they did give out individual hand sanitizer and wipes.
The flight home on United was much better. Flight seating was nicely spaced. Everyone wore masks.
The flight was organized as to board passengers from back to front, row by row- so no one had to pass anyone else. De-boarding was done in reverse; row by row. Its a change that helped everything go smoothly. I hope its a change that remains permanent.
Last edited by colorsofspring; 07-08-2020 at 07:58 PM..
Reason: added klyde Warren park
Coming from NY, its a common reaction to see the expanses of clean, well groomed neighborhoods and great shopping centers with abundant parking.
It sounds like you made an offer on a house.....report back and tell us about it!
You will miss a lot about the East coast. The ocean, the history, the beautiful day trips to so many areas, oh and the geography. But DFW offers a very high standard of living for family life.
Coming from NY, its a common reaction to see the expanses of clean, well groomed neighborhoods and great shopping centers with abundant parking.
It sounds like you made an offer on a house.....report back and tell us about it!
You will miss a lot about the East coast. The ocean, the history, the beautiful day trips to so many areas, oh and the geography. But DFW offers a very high standard of living for family life.
Coming from NY, its a common reaction to see the expanses of clean, well groomed neighborhoods and great shopping centers with abundant parking.
It sounds like you made an offer on a house.....report back and tell us about it!
You will miss a lot about the East coast. The ocean, the history, the beautiful day trips to so many areas, oh and the geography. But DFW offers a very high standard of living for family life.
Yup, we ended up moving back to the north east as soon as our kids graduated high school.
After we had lived in DFW for about a year, we flew back east for a family event and drove back. It really is almost a shock to see the old homes and towns in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and the like in comparison to the shiny new areas of DFW. It's a very different feeling and atmosphere.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of old and run down places all over DFW away from the new malls and upper end neighborhoods. I think it's easy as a newcomer from back east to be impressed by the flash and the cash; it's a different matter when you live in DFW for a few years. I remember people on this board telling me the same thing and I vowed to remain optimistic in the face of such pessimism, LOL. I think the heat wore out my optimism.
edit: for those wondering about how or why we would travel with our family during Covid- we analyzed the risk and felt it was worth it. We all had multiple masks, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. No housekeeping in our hotel room.
Everywhere we went was properly social distanced.
A big howdy from Texas! I must say, your enthusiasm is contagious. I might have to make a run up to old town McKinney before too long as it's been years since I was up that way.
As to your edit, I personally saw no need for it. It's my opinion that's your business, not anyone else's.
So we are home in quarantine back in New York from our long weekend trip to Dallas Northern suburbs.
This was our second trip. We visited back in 2018. We are exhausted from all of the driving and home tours.
Due to Covid/holiday weekend no HS school tours were available. We had already done most of our research in the school area online any how.
For those looking to relocate: there is no substitution for going to visit in person.
For those of you looking to move from the Northeast: you will be overwhelmed by how massive the DFW metroplex is.
We merely focused on McKinney, Allen and Plano. There is no shortage of gorgeous subdivisions to choose from. You will drive though one- declare it to be heavenly... and then in the next hour find anther that tops what you just saw. There is no shortage of beautiful, clean shopping areas. Honestly it was breathtaking. This trip has cracked open our little Northeastern brains (sarcasm) and poured in a shovelful of POSSIBILITY we didn't know we didn't know.
We went there thinking Richardson would be our pick. After landing at the airport, we headed straight to the Richardson Kroger at the corner of N Coit and Belt line. I had read here on City Data that that intersection had some issues with crime.
Being from the Bronx, I had to go! The Kroger was very nice- and the majority of the shoppers in the store when we went were gray haired. So I am going to go out on a limb and assume the surrounding neighborhood demographics skew older. Not a bad thing at all.
I could see that the strip mall it was located in wasn't brand spanking new, but the area was not dirty and I had no reason to feel unsafe. We bought 4 days worth of groceries and did notice a difference in food prices. a dozen eggs (small) was .99 cents.
Yes the neighborhoods in Richardson were very nice. Manicured. Beautiful ranches. Large trees. We drove through Northrich, Greenwood Hills, Arapaho and Heights Park.
Our hotel was in Plano. We were shocked to see so many beautiful apartment complexes, Subdivision neighborhoods and shopping areas. One after another. Plano was overwhelming. if you are accustomed to shopping in Paramus in NJ, you will not be disappointed. Plano, like Richardson has tons of business headquarters. What is nice about Plano and other newer planned cities is that their corporate business office buildings are on park-like campuses, surrounded by trees and other lush landscaping. Just a very pleasant experience to drive though.
LEGACY WEST. LEGACY WEST. LEGACY WEST. in Plano. GO. JUST GO. park and go into the Food Hall. You won't regret it.
Oh and for those who like shopping at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, there is the same SIMON Premium outlet in Allen.
We visited Historic Downtown Mckinney which was so nice. Boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Friendly people. We ate at a restaurant called SUGARBACON. To die for. YOU MUST GO. GO!!
Visited Mom and Popcorn, an old fashioned candy and popcorn shop. Everyone was so friendly and eager to strike up conversation.
Historic Downtown Mckinney (even with the current street construction) is picture perfect.
If you are feeling adventurous, drive east across the train tracks to see a different type of neighborhood. People live there too. Not everyone is a part of the new home building boom.
We visited The Star at Frisco and ate at THE COMMON TABLE because our favorite, TUPELO HONEY was closed for the 4th of July.
The Star in Frisco is the Dallas Cowboys World headquarters. There is a large entertainment screen overlooking an artificial turf field for the public to lounge and play. The surrounding streets house shopping and dining.
We visited Dallas city proper- we drove though some nice historic parts; M- Streets neighborhood which was gorgeous and expensive. Highland Park, Lower Greenville ... same.
Parked and walked around Klyde Warren park. Nice for what it is.
We went to Deep Ellum and took photos of The Traveling Man sculptures. Fun with kids.
So in four days - we explored a lot- and had a realtor show us about 6 houses! COVID BE DAMNED. Waiting to hear on our choice in our desired school district.
The next few weeks are going to be interesting.
edit: for those wondering about how or why we would travel with our family during Covid- we analyzed the risk and felt it was worth it. We all had multiple masks, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. No housekeeping in our hotel room.
Everywhere we went was properly social distanced.
The flight to Dallas on American wasn't as spaced out as we would have liked. Masks were required. Boarding and de-boarding were not organized to prevent crowding. But they did give out individual hand sanitizer and wipes.
The flight home on United was much better. Flight seating was nicely spaced. Everyone wore masks.
The flight was organized as to board passengers from back to front, row by row- so no one had to pass anyone else. De-boarding was done in reverse; row by row. Its a change that helped everything go smoothly. I hope its a change that remains permanent.
Like to say welcome to a fellow 718'er! Go Yanks! Bring a slice and a cheesecake from Junior's!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and poured in a shovelful of POSSIBILITY we didn't know we didn't know.
The Kroger was very nice- and the majority of the shoppers in the store when we went were gray haired. So I am going to go out on a limb and assume the surrounding neighborhood demographics skew older. Not a bad thing at all.
