Hired at Texas Instruments..where best to live? (Dallas, Plano: to rent, low crime) - (TX) - City-Data Forum

mrboast · 10-25-2009, 07:50 PM

First of all, thank you all for your help! My wife and I will be moving to the area soon as I am accepting a job at TI. It looks as though TI has its on DART stop and I would definitely love to take the DART...How would the commute be from Allen? (I could drive to Parkers station and ride from there?). Anways, would love some insight..we are in our late 20's and will be having kids soon! (From reading the board, west Plano seems like a great spot...but I dont' think I could take public transportation!)..would love to get to a town far away enough to get some bang for your buck on a home, but also a reasonable commute.

Thanks!

I should probably add that our price level on a home is up to 275...the neat neighborhoods in Dallas (M Streets, Lakewood) appear just too expensive...don't want a 2BR place! Also, it will be the TI Dallas site.

UTDGraduate · 10-25-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrboast

First of all, thank you all for your help! My wife and I will be moving to the area soon as I am accepting a job at TI. It looks as though TI has its on DART stop and I would definitely love to take the DART...How would the commute be from Allen? (I could drive to Parkers station and ride from there?). Anways, would love some insight..we are in our late 20's and will be having kids soon! (From reading the board, west Plano seems like a great spot...but I dont' think I could take public transportation!)

Thanks!

Which TI site do you work in? Is it the one in Plano (Chase Oaks Blvd & Legacy Rd) or in Dallas(between 75 & 635)? I want to know the site before I give you some input.

Ok, I got your edited/update message. I would strongly recommend the new home community(probably Town Houses) that David Weekey Homes going to build soon between Greenville Rd& Spring Valley Rd. This community is close to TI Dallas North Building and so convenience to access to major HW and using Dart train to travel to Downtown Dallas to enjoy your weekend activities too. There are a big Asian shopping center between Greenville and Beltline Rd near Richardson Police Station, about 5 minutes drive from this home site.
Check out the website David Weekley Homes - Home
There is another David Week home site that is being built on Buckingham Rd near Abrams Rd that you might check out. This is also a good place and close to your workplace.

UTDGraduate · 10-25-2009, 09:02 PM

I would like to add the home prices for those communities are within your budget that you will be looking for. To me, this is an ideal place to live for young people who work at TI and companies around HW 75 & 635. Also these home communities close to some good restaurants, movie theater and Microcenter store(similar to Best Buy store).

txgolfer130 · 10-26-2009, 12:11 AM

My wife works at TI Dallas site. We're in McKinney and it takes her 45 minutes on avg. door-to-door, leaving now at 7:50. There are quite a few deals in Allen right now @ your price point.

nsumner · 10-26-2009, 03:24 AM

First, congrats on the job!

Lots of options in Allen. From new construction to pre-owned. You can do well for 260K. Lots of good deals out there.

Naima

kacvb1974 · 10-26-2009, 05:43 AM

Well, I wouldn't rule out Richardson. I'm a native that's lived all over DFW and Richardson has turned out to be my most favorite 'burb. So I'm partial.

But a very quick commute can never be under valued, IMO, so when I think TI, I think Richardson. We do have a wonderful school district, fantastic parks, great DART access and statistically low crime in most all areas. The 'big new house for less money' thing is a bit harder to do here as the majority of Richardson is older construction and there are fewer new home options in that budget compared to areas further north. Fewer, but not impossible. (And I'm also partial to many spots just to the East in our sister city, Garland.)

My husband is in IT and works right near George Bush @ Jupiter, less than 4 miles from our house. So very easy. But because, unfortunately, there are mass layoffs and restructuring in his chosen field, heck in any field during this current economy, we wanted to purchase a home that was very convenient to public transport...just in case one day he should he suddenly find himself employed downtown or some other area far, far away from the bedroom communities of the North or even here in the Corridor. (DART is expanding and should have an eventual presence in the north, but I think it's currently a political cluster***k. So no rail up there for a good long while.) We, too, didn't want to spend $400,000 on a M-street bungalow, so Richardson turned out to be the compromise we were looking for---it's more centrally located to the metroplex, has lots of established neighborhoods that have beautifully held their value, and offers, for our sensibilities, an appealing, diverse population in age, race and income.

But I think finding the "best" place to live hinges not just on a house or commute, but what your own lifestyle dictates. Obviously, having kids can shift priorities. My DH has several co-workers in the far north burbs like Allen, McKinney and Frisco who, now that the kids are off to college, are looking to relocate to Dallas proper, or 'hoods more near Dallas, simply because those areas of the metroplex are much more convenient for their current interests--sports, arts, nightlife, etc. Not to say varied activities are not available in Allen or that there's little to do there, because that's not entirely true, but for some folks, even ones with school aged kids, the area is too far flung to align with their lifestyle and/or they're merely fed up with being in their cars so long. Everything you need will be Allen and if everything you want is too in terms of pace and demographics, I'd recommend it. I must admit I occasionally, though usually very briefly when I see the traffic on 75, experience pangs of jealously over the media rooms and granite counters, lol. LOTS of house for the money.

Ideally, you'd want to visit first to see if the Allen area is a fit, and lots of people new to the area find it wiser to rent first so they can discover all the area has to offer. 'Cause the word 'sprawling' is a bit of understatement when you start listing the overwhelming amount of 'burbs here!!! Just driving from one to another can exhaust you. Sooo many affordable housing options in DFW and exploring all options, if you have that luxury, makes for a happier homeowner in the long run. Congrats on the job!!

aceplace · 10-26-2009, 06:26 AM

The LBJ DART station is convenient to two TI sites and there is (or was a couple of yesrs ago) a system of shuttle buses that connected the parts of the LBJ/US75 campus with the station. I'd think you'd want to locate in a house a reasonable driving distance to a DART Red line rail station, especially if (or when) the price of fuel rises to $4 or $5 per gallon.