Relocating to Plano area and feeling overwhelmed! (McKinney, Wylie: apartments, homes)

[kaykay]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Maybe it's me but if I worked in Plano it would be hard for me not to live in Plano. Much can be said for working close to where you live.

I love living in Plano. Been here (in Plano area) about 15 years now.

[DaveG99]

coming from RI your going to love the drop in cost of living.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Maybe it's me but if I worked in Plano it would be hard for me not to live in Plano. Much can be said for working close to where you live.

Except they want the more open feel which one won't find in most of Plano. To the far east it is still the Plano ISD in Murphy and Parker and not that far from their work. It would be closer than if they lived in far West Plano actually.

[Big G]

Problem is, apartments and wide-open spaces don't go hand in hand. I don't think you're going to find many apartments in Murphy, and certainly not in Parker.

If you're willing to rely on parks for the green feel, Oak Point is a huge preserve located right next to the Spring Creek campus and not far from some nice complexes.

[MurphyPl1]

You wont find any apartments in Murphy either. A few reasonable choices for the OP, are Los Rios near 15th and Los Rios in Plano and an easy shot up to Quad C, and Amli and Clearwater Creek at Northstar and Renner in Richardson.

The ones in Richardson will feed 8th grade next year to Otto MS (brand new opening in the fall). Los Rios feeds to Armstrong.

For her 9th grade year, Otto will feed to Williams HS and Armstrong will feed to McMillan HS (brand new 9-10 hs).

From there everyone then feeds to Plano East which is on Los Rios and maybe 5 mins from Quad C.

[Ohiowan]

Wow. This is the first time I've had the chance to check this since I posted! So much advice and so much to think about. Thank you all. Now I need to comb through everything and think. I know it will be hard to find an apt. complex where it's greener. We'd be up for renting a house, too. It's just that we're not ready to buy until hubby finds job. But yes, certainly the cost of living is enticing!

[Big G]

In that case, the field is wide open. You can find houses for rent EVERYWHERE in all price ranges.

[Francois]

One thing to learn when moving from New England to the South--purge the word "wicked" from your vocabulary unless you are talking about a witch or a Broadway show!

[westcoastbound]

We moved here from RI, via LA. Nice apts on Renner Road close to 75 and very close to Collin College, @5 miles away

It's different from RI. We're adapting to it still. LOTS and LOTS of apt complexes, many with little paths, fountains, maybe a pool/exercise room etc. The nice thing is that you can be in a greener place very quickly, just drive away from the city for a bit. There is a lot of traffic, I mean, we were in LA a while before we got here, and this is still pretty bad. You learn which roads are better depending upon the time of day. There are access roads conveniently next to the highway, so we play a game to see how long we can go to avoid the traffic. I like the U turn lanes, so if you get on the highway going in the wrong direction, you can quickly get off by exiting in the very left lane. If your husband is counting on the train, the DART, the commutes can be very long, an hour or more appears to be the norm if you are living up in this area. Not all train stations have public parking either, so that would be something to consider.


As for schools, although we live in Richardson, because we are in Collin County, our child goes to Plano schools. Our child has special needs and the district so far has been respectful, communicates well, and has a well-oiled system in place.

People are friendly here, but some do not care for Easterners. We try to slow our speech and be polite (even though we may be gritting our teeth ). We try not to obnoxiously declare the differences between LA or RI to Dallas.

Texas is like its own country and really has its own distinctive presence and feel, in my limited experience. It's HUGE and proudly of it, in so many ways. We'll be discovering its nooks and crannies in the years to come. Welcome!

[eka]

Murphy does not have any apartments, but plenty of quality homes to rent. We rented for 6-months while our house was built and paid $1400/mo for a 3-bd, 2-bath home. Wylie has a few apartment complexes. Both cities would offer the small-town feel you're likely looking for. I moved to Murphy three years ago and chose this area because it felt sufficiently removed from the hustle and bustle of the US 75 corridor, yet convenient enough to access major shopping and employment centers. I commute to downtown Dallas via DART rail and find the commute very manageable and relaxing. The Collin College Spring Creek campus is just a short drive down Parker Road to Spring Creek Parkway. My kids attend WISD schools and we are very happy with the district. The PISD schools in Murphy are very good as well, but I've heard mixed reviews about the eastern Plano high schools (Williams and Plano East). PISD is building a new 9-10 high school in Murphy. Wylie High School has a good reputation. Good luck!