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Updated almost 6 years ago, 01/23/2019
Mega Life Change Ahead - Need Advice
So I have just accepted a new job in the North Dallas area. I currently live in California in the Bay Area where my wife and I own our home and will be selling it since it will not cash-flow as a rental.
What market near Allen do you like? What are your feelings/opinions on the market activity and direction it's heading right now? We will most likely rent initially since we don't want to buy something right away and then not like the area. (this will be for a primary residence).
@Andrew Neal even though I am based in CA, I have had an office in Texas for 15 years. I started in Richardson, moved to Plano and now I have my office in Allen. Are you tech? Where you live really will depend on the type of life style you want. If you like more of a city life style, I would personally stay along the 75 corridor in the above cities and maybe up to McKinney. Going West into Frisco would be a great choice. Going East toward Wylie, would not be bad if you want a more laid back feel.
Thanks @Arlen Chou I am actually in marketing but will be working for a web company. I'm from the Bay Area but have always preferred the suburbs/country. Some of my wife's family lives in Wylie and it's a nice area. I had never been to Frisco until a few months ago and my wife (who is from the Dallas area) was shocked by how much development is going on there. Thank you for the info.
@Andrew Neal - if you prefer the country, you might look at McKinney, a little north of Allen up 75. That place is booming and at some point was on one the "best places to live" lists. The suburbs are expanding north of there a bit (Melissa and Anna are a bit farther out, both of which are still smallish and you can get a better price on a rental up that way, but it is a bit of a hike into town. I know as we skydive at a dropzone up that way and pass through all the time).
Not sure when you are moving, but I do have a rental on the market right now in Lewisville, TX.
Andy
@Andy Webb Yeah I will have flexibility with not having to be on the road with all the other commuters or working from home. I had researched Melissa a bit since I don't mind small town. We won't be moving for a few months since my wife is pregnant. I'll be flying back and forth until after the baby (because things weren't chaotic enough ;) haha.
@Andrew Neal Wylie is a great area with big homes and lots of space. You also have Lavon Lake nearby. Frisco has been on FIRE for over a decade and the food scene is, in my opinion, much better. You cannot go wrong with either, they are just different life style choices. They are physically about the same distance from Allen. I actually prefer the commute in from both of those cities into Allen vs fighting the traffic on the 75 in either direction... at least for now;-) Good luck to you in Texas!
@Arlen Chou great insight and yes we ate at a Mexican place in Frisco while there that rivaled our California style Mexican food. If I can stay off of freeways I would love it.
What about actual Allen? I seem to find a lot of nice homes but slightly older perhaps than other areas.
Allen itself is a fantastic place to live. Very desirable, albeit the location is super far north of Dallas. Mckinney is even further north as is Fairview. If you are working in Allen I would suggest Frisco, The Colony, Allen, Fairview, Mckinney, Richardson, or Plano.
Everything in those markets are hot and the prices have gone up 50%+ in the last 3 years. The rents should be reasonable as there is pressure keeping them down from all of the 'luxury' apartments that have come online recently. Frisco has some growing pains from their rapid growth, Richardson is more mature, but older housing stock, Plano is a mix of old and new, Allen, Fairview, and Mckinney are mostly new.
I'm from Richardson and my brother and sister have rental houses in Allen and Frisco which are cash flowing less and less since the valuations have skyrocketed recently. If you like the country feel and are based in Allen you could consider settling further north from Wylie in places like Lucas or Farmersville which are more reasonably valued and nearer the lake.
Great input @Curt Riffel and @Michael W. McCord , i knew I could count on the BP community. Luckily my wife and son will be here in California for a few months while I go back and forth so I will be hitting the search hard. I know I can find a good rental. We could buy but don't feel it's wise until being there for a while to decide upon the area we like best.
I currently commute 5 days a week about 64 miles round trip and spend about 2.5 hours in my car a day. To not have to do that anymore will be amazing.
@Andrew Neal I would agree with @Curt Riffel about the various cities he mentioned. I personally don't think Allen has as much character as Frisco and it does not have as much of the country feel as Wylie. But you would save a ton in commute time. Colony is nice too, but it is a little farther away from Allen. I would personally look west, just because I would want to be closer to DFW. DFW to Wylie feels far especially in traffic. With Colony and Frisco you head straight up Sam Rayburn Tollway and you don't have to deal with the crazy traffic on 635 to Richardson or even the George Bush Turnpike to Plano. Although the George Bush does not feel as bad to me as the 635.
I moved to the North Dallas area 2 years ago. We rented in McKinney first to get a feel for the area. We decided to purchase a home in Melissa. We have 3 boys and a 4th on the way and got an almost new home in an amazing community with 2 pools, ponds and wlaking trails for $100k less then same size of home 10 years older and no amenties would be in McKinney. Great appreciation north of 380. I am a realtor and could sell our home now for $60k more then what we purchased just over a year ago. Melissa has amazing new schools as well. PM me if you want any more info on McKinney, Melissa, Anna areas happy to share info.
@Arlen Chou Yeah I've done the Wylie drive from Love Field a few times and it can be slow going. Luckily I won't need to travel too much once we officially move in the summer.
@Colin Conn thanks for sharing. We will most likely rent close to my job initially and then explore from there. Melissa is on the list of places to explore. Congrats on #4, we are expecting boy #2 in April.
I’ve lived in Wylie since 04 and love it. I will say it’s starting to turn into a little Plano though. When I first moved here it had the small town country feel but now it’s gotten really developed. Still a lot of new construction but houses are being built on smaller and smaller lots. We also have the highest property taxes in Collin County. Trade off is we have great schools that are always ranked in the top of the State.
If I was in your situation then I’d for sure consider Mellisa or Anna. Those are two up and coming areas that still have a small town feel. If you want to be a little closer to Allen Love Joy or Fairview are also good choices that still retain a little bit of the small town feel. Allen is also a great city. McKinney is a good choice but going a little outside of that to say Mellisa is going to yield you more house for your money. I’m sure Frisco is a nice place to live but if you didn’t know better you’d think it’s the center of the metroplex now.
Really it’s hard to go wrong with any of the cities around Allen. Collin County is a really good place to live.
@Andrew Neal congratulations on the opportunity! You are in a very good position and you'll be very happy living in the North Dallas area! I've lived in Frisco, Plano and Wylie and honestly you can go wrong with any of these locations and you can't really go wrong with any of the locations in North Dallas!
I still own a rental in Wylie, TX and think there is still a lot of opportunity for appreciation compared to the other markets in North Dallas, however, it's obviously not going to be the same appreciation as California.
Again, congratulations and I'm confident you'll make the right decision no matter where you end up in Dallas.
Congrats on the new position and welcome to TX! I've been in Frisco for 10 years now and I agree with what the others have said. Frisco and Plano are the hot cities. They have been on the list for years now as best cities to live in.
When I help buyers I always ask about commute because Melissa, Anna, Wylie and others are great cities and away from the hustle an bustle although majority of the people do the same drive every morning. Dallas North Tollway or 380 can be a mess during rush hour. This can become 45-1hr plus one way depending on your new position. I hope this helps and feel free to reach out to me if any more questions or if anything I can help with.
@Andrew Neal. We were in that same place in 2016. I had the good fortune of 2 months in a hotel. I was under pressure to find a place while my family were finishing up in Cali. We desperately wanted to know 'where' to live before I got here and I tell you - as much as you've spent a little time here, until you are actually here you don't need the pressure of finding your zip code - Dallas is big. While commute isn't important to you right now, what about your wife? what about day care until your child is at school age? Plus you said your wife is with baby; school districts are very important here and yes you pay the price to be in a good ISD. what about religion - if you are practicing - do you want to live near a place of worship so you can have a circle of friends near by (there are tons by the way). Plus with the large amount of chain restaurants and shops, most towns have a bit of everything. My suggestion is get here and then scope out the area, perhaps an Air BNB or extended stay hotel in the beginning. Just my 2 cents.
By all means PM me if you have any questions. And Andrew - welcome to Texas!
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So many great responses! @Lucia Rushton good advice, the current plan is I will be staying in Wylie with my brother in-law and sister in-law when I'm in town as I will be flying back almost every weekend until the baby arrive in April. While there I plan to scope out areas. Then after the baby is born I'll be in California for a month then in June will have about a month or so to get serious about finding us a rental so that when my wife and sons make the trip we already have a place secured. Also, my oldest son will be 2 next month so we are still a ways out from school age and my wife stays home. And yes we are Christian so finding a church will be another priority.
@Matt C. It's funny you mention the lot sizes because being from California and that I used to work for a new home builder out here I have literally said the same exact thing to my wife on our most recent visit in November. I was like "these lot sizes and subdivisions are looking more and more like California". I will certainly need to check out the Melissa area as man have mentioned it now. Also the fact that I don't need to go into the metroplex for work is a HUGE bonus.
Thanks @Michael T. yes we have seen some astronomical appreciation here, Our first home appreciated about 100K in 2 years without touching a thing except painting the exterior, I don't expect that appreciation in Texas. We feel blessed to be able to be in North Dallas because as I told someone here who asked "I could through a dart and hit a great school district and nice homes for under 300k".