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I rented in west Plano (Spring Creek and the Tollway) over a decade ago, but haven't been up there very often since, except to go to IKEA. It was a nice enough area, but kind of bland compared to the city, so I bought a lovely old house in a conservation district in Dallas. Suffice it to say, my priorities have changed (time and children will do that to you) and I'm planning to move out of Dallas. However, maybe I’m suffering from “the grass is always greener” thinking. What’s it like to live up there north of the George Bush, in the vicinity of the Tollway/121 nowadays?
What I care about:
1. Schools. My kids are solid A/B students, they could probably get into some AP classes in middle or high school. The youngest might be “gifted”, but it’s probably too early to tell. The oldest is going to start middle school next year, and I’m not at all happy with the available DISD schools. The houses I’m looking at fall into the western Plano, eastern Lewisville, or southeastern Frisco ISDs. Would there be much difference between these districts?
2. Parks and green space. We spend most of our leisure time outside walking around or riding bikes and I recently realized that we almost always drive to Richardson or Plano instead of going to White Rock Lake or the Katy Trail. Along the same lines, we want to live in a neighborhood with lots of shade from mature trees. I think I’ve identified a few areas like that, so I’m not too worried.
3. Proximity to the museums and airports. Dallas wins hands down. But an extra 20 minutes of driving a few times per month seems like a small inconvenience.
What I don’t care about:
1. Nightlife/dining. Lower Greenville and Knox-Henderson are packed with a merry crowd every weekend, which is great. But I’m too busy to go drinking, and we go to fancy restaurants so rarely, maybe every few months, that it doesn’t matter how close they are.
2. Fancy shopping. The high-end stores at North Park mall and Highland Park Village are impressive, but we don’t buy any of that kind of stuff, and we don’t view shopping as a pastime. I’m more interested Central Market, but luckily there’s one in Plano.
3. Commute. My office is moving out of downtown, further north and near the tollway, so commuting won’t be too bad.
4. Sports. Professional, high school, rec league, we don’t follow any of it. Might this cause problems in the suburbs?
5. Walkable neighborhoods. It's just too hot too often to attempt to walk to anywhere except a neighborhood park (with trees).
What I just don’t know about:
1. What is it like to live under the authority of an HOA? I read the rules for a couple of prospective neighborhoods, and some of it seemed insane. Like, no alterations to the landscaping in your backyard without submitting plans and getting approval. Is some nosy retired guy on the HOA board going to climb my fence and check to see if a planted a shrub under my bathroom window?
2. Is politics and religion a big deal there? I don’t know how anyone on my block votes or where they go to church, and I don’t care. Will I have to pretend to be one way or another just to get people to leave me alone? More importantly, will my kids?
3. Is “keeping up with the Jones’s” a real thing? Will the neighbors treat us poorly if we don’t own the latest and greatest thing or otherwise keep up appearances?
I rented in west Plano (Spring Creek and the Tollway) over a decade ago, but haven't been up there very often since, except to go to IKEA. It was a nice enough area, but kind of bland compared to the city, so I bought a lovely old house in a conservation district in Dallas. Suffice it to say, my priorities have changed (time and children will do that to you) and I'm planning to move out of Dallas. However, maybe I’m suffering from “the grass is always greener” thinking. What’s it like to live up there north of the George Bush, in the vicinity of the Tollway/121 nowadays?
What I care about:
1. Schools. My kids are solid A/B students, they could probably get into some AP classes in middle or high school. The youngest might be “gifted”, but it’s probably too early to tell. The oldest is going to start middle school next year, and I’m not at all happy with the available DISD schools. The houses I’m looking at fall into the western Plano, eastern Lewisville, or southeastern Frisco ISDs. Would there be much difference between these districts?
2. Parks and green space. We spend most of our leisure time outside walking around or riding bikes and I recently realized that we almost always drive to Richardson or Plano instead of going to White Rock Lake or the Katy Trail. Along the same lines, we want to live in a neighborhood with lots of shade from mature trees. I think I’ve identified a few areas like that, so I’m not too worried.
3. Proximity to the museums and airports. Dallas wins hands down. But an extra 20 minutes of driving a few times per month seems like a small inconvenience.
What I don’t care about:
1. Nightlife/dining. Lower Greenville and Knox-Henderson are packed with a merry crowd every weekend, which is great. But I’m too busy to go drinking, and we go to fancy restaurants so rarely, maybe every few months, that it doesn’t matter how close they are.
2. Fancy shopping. The high-end stores at North Park mall and Highland Park Village are impressive, but we don’t buy any of that kind of stuff, and we don’t view shopping as a pastime. I’m more interested Central Market, but luckily there’s one in Plano.
3. Commute. My office is moving out of downtown, further north and near the tollway, so commuting won’t be too bad.
4. Sports. Professional, high school, rec league, we don’t follow any of it. Might this cause problems in the suburbs?
5. Walkable neighborhoods. It's just too hot too often to attempt to walk to anywhere except a neighborhood park (with trees).
What I just don’t know about:
1. What is it like to live under the authority of an HOA? I read the rules for a couple of prospective neighborhoods, and some of it seemed insane. Like, no alterations to the landscaping in your backyard without submitting plans and getting approval. Is some nosy retired guy on the HOA board going to climb my fence and check to see if a planted a shrub under my bathroom window?
2. Is politics and religion a big deal there? I don’t know how anyone on my block votes or where they go to church, and I don’t care. Will I have to pretend to be one way or another just to get people to leave me alone? More importantly, will my kids?
3. Is “keeping up with the Jones’s” a real thing? Will the neighbors treat us poorly if we don’t own the latest and greatest thing or otherwise keep up appearances?
I just moved out of west Plano earlier this year. I didn't leave because I didn't like it; I left because I left my now ex-husband.
I don't have children so I can't comment on schools at all.
I am a Democrat and while I experienced some harassment at my home in 2020, it was nothing serious. I'm atheist but I didn't beat people over the head with it. People occasionally mentioned which church they attended but nobody grabbed my arm and said "You just HAVE to check it out!" We're all adults, we all have smartphones, we're all capable of looking for a church (or not) on our own. I was far from the only Democrat, too. Lots of Biden signs in 2020 and Beto signs in 2022. My neighborhood was split almost 50/50 with Republicans having a slight edge. Not a huge edge, just a small one.
I never felt pressured to keep up with the Joneses. Some of my neighbors had luxury cars, others didn't. Nobody really seemed to care. I'm pretty resistant to that sort of thing, though; YMMV. I couldn't care less what my neighbors think of my house or my car; they're not paying for them.
My neighborhood did not have an HOA.
Overall the vibe was quiet and safe. Dull, but quiet and safe. If you're a culture vulture who goes into Dallas several times a week for shows/plays/etc. you are going to be bored out of your mind. I'm also going to warn you right now: west Plano's restaurant scene kind of sucks. There are some wonderful hidden gems further east in central Plano but west Plano itself seems to be more flash than substance. The Legacy area is particularly disappointing. It's not BAD, it's just boring.
My neighbors were mostly very nice and pretty chill. Much more chill than I was expecting for that part of town.
FYI, my house is about to go on the market. Just putting that out there.
Last edited by ilovepizza1975; 12-05-2023 at 06:27 AM..
The question of how far north your office is moving will matter. Traffic on the tollway is pretty horrible, and at more hours of the day than you might expect. It sounds like you live in E Dallas (generally) and may not take it on a day to day basis right now. Counterintuitively (at least to me), the tollway seems much, much worse once you get north of 635 and it's bad going both directions. Otherwise it sounds like you'd be perfectly happy giving up Dallas proper.
West Plano isn't the most exciting place to live by any means but if you want to live in Texas, in DFW area, in a Collin County suburb, there is no better place to be. You wouldn't find a more convenient location. Schools, grocery, pharmacies, shopping, restaurants, hospitals, medical offices, parks, recreation centers etc, all are so easy to get to. Unless you need to go to Dallas downtown or airport during rush hours (which are worse to get to from other northern suburbs), commute is very reasonable to most places you'll need to go to.
Almost all things Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Allen, The Colony, Richardson, Lewisville and Carrollton are easy to get to. Once older, your kids can drive to UTD and SMU and safe on housing cost if they need to. Uber, Amazon, Lyft, Grub hub etc delivery is much better than most places, so is cell phone and internet coverage.
Since you mentioned children's education as a priority, there is another significant advantage. You'll have access to many many options for private schooling, tutoring, Kumon, Karen Dillard college prep, Princeton Review SAT prep, dance and art programs, sport's coaching, music and drama schools, coding and programming centers, internships, part time jobs etc.
As high school kids need to be really smart about time management, proximity to all of these things can save their precious time to avail more opportunities yet have decent amount of sleep and some social life.
If you want to live in a giant baby-box where absolutely EVERYTHING is "for the children" and a total monoculture, then it's the place for you. I"m not talking about people with different skin colors or national origins, I'm talking about the whole place having about six subject matters amongst them:
If that's where you are (25-45, 1-4 school age children, work in large corporation, love spectator sports, only books in the house are computer manuals), then it'll be PERFECT.
If you want to live in a giant baby-box where absolutely EVERYTHING is "for the children" and a total monoculture, then it's the place for you. I"m not talking about people with different skin colors or national origins, I'm talking about the whole place having about six subject matters amongst them:
If that's where you are (25-45, 1-4 school age children, work in large corporation, love spectator sports, only books in the house are computer manuals), then it'll be PERFECT.
This is harsh but fair criticism though some of it is people dependent. For example there are lots of book worms including children.
Libraries are convenient, Barnes & Noble's, Half price books nearby, plenty of book clubs, Amazon delivers within hours, audio books are legal (well some are banned) Kindle works well so you can enjoy books as little or as much as you need to.
I don't really read much but if I wanted to, nothing is stopping me.
I'm asking that facetiously: I live there, and have lived in W Plano in the past. Day to day life is exactly the same, other than being farther away from a few things, equally far from other things, and closer to a few other things. Most of the things you are closer to (and why I moved) are the things the OP says they have no interest in.
I never felt pressured to keep up with the Joneses. Some of my neighbors had luxury cars, others didn't. Nobody really seemed to care. I'm pretty resistant to that sort of thing, though; YMMV. I couldn't care less what my neighbors think of my house or my car; they're not paying for them.
To be clear, I'm not going to keep up with the Jones's. The shirts I wear to the office most days are old enough to drink. My neighbors, my boss, and I don't care. I just wanted to check if not being into conspicuous consumption would make our family a target for shenanigans, like the hypothetical HOA shrub-examiner. It sounds like no, which is a plus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovepizza1975
Overall the vibe was quiet and safe. Dull, but quiet and safe. If you're a culture vulture who goes into Dallas several times a week for shows/plays/etc. you are going to be bored out of your mind. I'm also going to warn you right now: west Plano's restaurant scene kind of sucks. There are some wonderful hidden gems further east in central Plano but west Plano itself seems to be more flash than substance. The Legacy area is particularly disappointing. It's not BAD, it's just boring.
My neighbors were mostly very nice and pretty chill. Much more chill than I was expecting for that part of town.
I can live without good restaurants and a longer drive to the stuff we only do on weekends. Chill neighbors sounds pretty good to me. You described what I want better than I could. I'd prefer neighbors who want talk about boring neighbor stuff like lost cats. Besides that, let's just say "Hi, how about this weather?".
I lived in suburban OKC for a few years before I came to Dallas and I feared the suburbs here were similar to there. Every time you went into your front yard or got up from your desk at work, someone would wander over and start blathering about their very strong feelings regarding some sports/religion/politics thing. It got old.
Quote:
Originally Posted by numbersguy100
The question of how far north your office is moving will matter. Traffic on the tollway is pretty horrible, and at more hours of the day than you might expect. It sounds like you live in E Dallas (generally) and may not take it on a day to day basis right now. Counterintuitively (at least to me), the tollway seems much, much worse once you get north of 635 and it's bad going both directions. Otherwise it sounds like you'd be perfectly happy giving up Dallas proper.
Good point. You're right, I have no experience with rush hour on the tollway. I hadn't realized it was that bad. Considering where the office is likely to end up, it may make for an unpleasant commute. Yet another tradeoff to consider. I'd be willing to give up quite a bit of commute convenience for better schools, but the devil's in the details.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20Hope20
West Plano isn't the most exciting place to live by any means but if you want to live in Texas, in DFW area, in a Collin County suburb, there is no better place to be.
Want to? No. Have to? Yes. DFW is the least bad option available. If I had known my college major was going to constrain my location choices for 40+ years to a handful of cities that range from "Eh, whatever" to "I'd sooner starve", I would have chosen differently. Or chosen to be born rich. Oh, well. Just another quarter century to go...
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20Hope20
You wouldn't find a more convenient location. Schools, grocery, pharmacies, shopping, restaurants, hospitals, medical offices, parks, recreation centers etc, all are so easy to get to. Unless you need to go to Dallas downtown or airport during rush hours (which are worse to get to from other northern suburbs), commute is very reasonable to most places you'll need to go to.
Convenient is good, although I already have all the routine shopping convenience I could ask for. Moving north would be a tradeoff: better schools and better access to green space, worse access to the airports and downtown stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20Hope20
Uber, Amazon, Lyft, Grub hub etc delivery is much better than most places, so is cell phone and internet coverage.
Is there anywhere in the urban/suburban US where these services aren't functional? Amazon delivers to my house multiple times almost every week without any difficulty. I've never used any of the food delivery/fake taxi services, but they seem to be very active in my current neighborhood as well. Cell phone and internet service hasn't been a problem in any populated place I've been in many years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20Hope20
Since you mentioned children's education as a priority, there is another significant advantage. You'll have access to many many options for private schooling, tutoring, Kumon, Karen Dillard college prep, Princeton Review SAT prep, dance and art programs, sport's coaching, music and drama schools, coding and programming centers, internships, part time jobs etc.
My whole "How are the schools?" question presumes that the better suburban schools would mean less need for tutoring. We have a solid tutoring company here already. If typical suburban kids still need tutoring, I wonder how much better the schools actually are. Does anyone have an opinion on the differences between the adjacent school districts up north?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20Hope20
...audio books are legal (well some are banned)...
Wait, WHAT? That's a major difference. Are you certain you are talking about Plano, Texas? Is this Collin county as a whole, or does it vary by city? What kind of penalties? This is starting to sound like Oklahoma, after all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit33
If you want to live in a giant baby-box where absolutely EVERYTHING is "for the children" and a total monoculture, then it's the place for you. I"m not talking about people with different skin colors or national origins, I'm talking about the whole place having about six subject matters amongst them:
Now that's a dissenting opinion! It sounds one step short of a waking nightmare (add Church and it's full-on dystopia). On the other hand, the only people I talk to are at my office and they're not going to change if I move.
We're all adults, I don't care what a random stranger thinks of me, as long as they don't send code enforcement to measure my backyard grass because I don't share their fury that the Rangers didn't make the playoffs or I won't pledge to boycott some big-box store. I'm happy to nod and say "uh-huh" and "I hadn't heard about that" until people burn themselves out, but I don't care and I'm not going to agree with something crazy just because someone desires agreement.
I'm more concerned about my kids because they don't watch sports or follow influencers and they like to talk about "weird" things like bugs and engineering. Being kids, they have no tact and won't feign interest.
So, is it common for people, particularly schoolkids, to screw over/harass/bully others if they don't want to talk about their pet interests? Again, I don't care what anybody thinks of someone else, I only care about their actions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit33
If that's where you are (25-45, 1-4 school age children, work in large corporation, love spectator sports, only books in the house are computer manuals), then it'll be PERFECT.
I would say key considerations should be your housing budget and what kind of house you expect for it, where your work is located and what hours, and how far you are wanting to commute.
Plano is not nearly as geared towards children as Frisco, Prosper, and Celina. The median age is older and household size smaller in Plano than it is other large Collin County cities. It is a good place for all age groups.
Last edited by Leonard123; 12-07-2023 at 07:12 PM..
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