Best time to visit Dallas (Richardson, Frisco: how much, neighborhood, property tax)

[Caligirl8]

Originally Posted by texstout

Are you looking to come when weather is nice or prepare yourself for the worst when weather is bad?



Nice weather - come between now and March. Bad weather - come May-Sept


Frisco is fine...not my favorite, but many people like it. Honestly - most of these suburbs are pretty interchangeable. Search on this forum on 'Frisco' and you will see different opinions on it, as well as the demographics of certain neighborhoods. (Many of which are may not be as community-minded as you are looking for unless your are Desi). The most important questions to ask yourself are: Where will you be working? What are you looking to spend? These will greatly impact where people will recommend you to live.


If this trip is your only scouting trip, then I seriously hope you plan on renting when you move. I never recommend buying from out-of-state unless you have significant knowledge of the area. Its such a hot, sellers market right now..that I've heard many realtor encourage sellers to not take an out-of-state offers.

I’d like nice weather while we are there to check it out. I am from Arkansas and have lived in Ohio and Arizona so I am used to a variety of climates

[Caligirl8]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

The two questions we always ask here:
What's your budget for housing?
Where will you be commuting to for work?

I agree that you should rent first, since trying to buy from out of state will likely not work in your favor. Sellers are currently getting multiple offers on their houses, and you don't want anything to put you at a disadvantage. You also don't want to buy when you are unfamiliar with the area, and end up in an area with either a horrible commute, or a bad cultural fit.

Despite what you may read online, Frisco is NOT the be-all, end-all in DFW. There are many other cities with family-oriented neighborhoods, excellent schools, and lots of employers in the area.

Interesting and good to know! I keep hearing about frisco online and I am at the beginning of my search really so that’s helpful.

Job will be in Dallas but able to be remote for a good part of the week. I currently commute 1hr into the office so I am used to it but I guess it would be nice to be closer. Budget would be under 1M.

[Caligirl8]

Originally Posted by Julio July

*Sigh*..............

Seriously? Just looking for a better fit for our family...

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Caligirl8

Interesting and good to know! I keep hearing about frisco online and I am at the beginning of my search really so that’s helpful.

Job will be in Dallas but able to be remote for a good part of the week. I currently commute 1hr into the office so I am used to it but I guess it would be nice to be closer. Budget would be under 1M.

Check out Lakewood & Lake Highlands for in-town living. Depending on exact joh location, would cut your drive time down into the 10-20 minute range.

Some closer in suburbs you might add to your list are Richardson, Coppell, and the southern parts of Plano (just north & just south of Bush Turnpike). Maybe Sunnyvale if you want a little more Texas-y feel (not as densely developed as the northern burbs but great community & public schools).

[R1070]

Lakewood, Kessler Park, M Streets for good Central Dallas areas that aren’t as pricey as the Park Cities. As others have said about the burbs, there’s so much more out there than Frisco.
Sept-Dec is a very nice time of year here. Jan and Feb can be a mixed bag of cold and nice days. March to June can be stormy and more humid. July and august are typically very hot and sunny with lower humidity. So with that, you can pick which time of year would be best based on your preferred weather.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by Caligirl8

Seriously? Just looking for a better fit for our family...

People here get a little irritated with so many Californians moving in. Nothing against you guys personally, but the massive amount of people moving in has made traffic a nightmare and the cost of living has skyrocketed. A lot of the locals are stuck with higher property tax bills because of the increase in housing.

I look at it this way: This is such a great place to live and a lot of people want to move here. We should be proud of that.


To answer your question: Right around now is the best weather. It's still warm but not scorching hot. It's nice and sunny outside too. If you come in July it's too hot and if you come in January you risk some colder weather. The other good time to come out would be March or April.

[Caligirl8]

Thank you all for all of these great suggestions!!

[GigiTer]

We are transplants from the east coast two years ago. I liked the weather both times we came. First time was a scouting visit for schools which was in early November. Son had several days off so we used to our advantage to tour schools in various areas we were potentially interested in. We then came out in mid-April for 10 days to actually house hunt and go over our top areas. We had been prepared to come out again in June but didn’t need too as we found area/house in April. Fall and spring are definitely good times to tour!

Good Luck!

[tcualum]

What's your budget and where in Dallas will you work when not remote? Dallas is very spread out and the traffic can be horrendous during rush hour.

[texstout]

Originally Posted by Caligirl8

Interesting and good to know! I keep hearing about frisco online and I am at the beginning of my search really so that’s helpful.

Job will be in Dallas but able to be remote for a good part of the week. I currently commute 1hr into the office so I am used to it but I guess it would be nice to be closer. Budget would be under 1M.

Living here, I rarely hear anything good about Frisco. But obviously some people love it since its growing like gangbusters! Its now over 200K people - so not really a smalltown feeling. Its a new build area without a history so its pretty much all brandnew (which some people like!). The schools are good and very competitive. I do like that the Frisco HSs are smaller than other area high schools. So that is a plus! Some of the subdivisions are majority South East Asian families so others have said its hard to make family friendships. I will say that its very far from Dallas offices (since you say you will occasionally work there). But you also said that you are currently good with a long commute - so you might be fine with it. I also recommend trying the commute during rush hour (which is just now getting back due to Covid).


Since your budget is close to a Million - there are plenty of other places (both suburb and inner Dallas) that would be much closer and still have a family friendly environment. I am always partial to Lakewood - which is very close to downtown and very family friendly. (parades, kid activities, etc.) Close to White Rock Lake etc. Schools are good. There are many other areas of Dallas proper that I love, but would be hard for a transplant to make sense of remotely (e.g., Kessler Park).



Richardson is a close-in suburb with some really nice areas and good schools. Lake Highlands is also even closer to downtown, but zoned to Richardson schools. I was there last week and had forgotten how many mature trees and big lots the neighborhood had. In terms of suburbs, Plano is closer in and still very popular. Some people like Rockwall (which is East of downtown) because its very family friendly and on a big lake. It has a different feel that areas North of Dallas. Carrolton and Coppell are still fairly far from downtown, but very popular. Allen and McKinney are just as far (if not farther) than Frisco.