Plano, Frisco, or Carrollton?
Posted by UnseasonedPasta@reddit | askdfw | View on Reddit | 30 comments
(Posted in the wrong subreddit before so reposting here! Sorry!)
We’re considering a move to far north Dallas suburbs and think we’ve narrowed it down to those three areas. If you had to pick between, which would you say is better based on the following order of priorities:
- good school district
- young, new family (early 30s)
- safe, walkable around neighborhoods/trails/parks etc
- youth sports
- Korean food/culture (I know #1 for this is Carrollton)
Home budget ~500k, ideally looking for something with a large yard
Other considerations but not huge: - an active adult volleyball community - nice local restaurants/date spots nearby would be cool
Also open to other suggestions if you have any!
pasak1987@reddit
Walkability isn't a thing for most of Frisco.
Carrollton or Plano would be better, as they at least have a decent network of bike/walking lanes.
Lanky-Highlight9508@reddit
not a thing in DFW as a whole.
pasak1987@reddit
it's not, but both Carrollton and Plano are still relatively better than Frisco.
MarieOnThree@reddit
I agree. Walkability in neighborhoods is doable in some of the older areas or the newer planned communities.
DemonsInsid3@reddit
Coppell has all of those besides #5 and it’s right next to Carrollton. That would be my choice
Serpephone@reddit
Coppell has great schools but not cheap.
KitchenPalentologist@reddit
Academic competitiveness is a problem in Coppell.
backspinnn@reddit
I would avoid Carrollton and Plano. Frisco is probably the best option. That is just based on city age and infrastructure alone. Plano is nice too, but it is full of
AAA_battery@reddit
you cant really go wrong with any. Ive lived in Frisco and now currently live right on the border of Carrollton and Plano.
Im honestly not sure on the schooling but if I had to guess Plano and Frisco might be a bit better than Carrollton.
All 3 have young families
All 3 are safe for the most part although crime happens everywhere. If I had to rank safety it would be Frisco>Plano>Carrollton.
Not sure on sports but there are plenty of options everywhere and its always easy to just drive over to another town.
Carrolton is literally one of the largest Korean communities in the US. Plano and Frisco also have alot of Korean/Asian representation.
All 3 have great restaurant options although Carrolton and Plano have Frisco beat on diversity of options.
summed up. Frisco is going to be the most expensive, newest/safest city but is more limited when it comes to restaurants and culture as its new and still developing. Carrollton is the oldest and cheapest with the most cultural richness but a bit less safe than Plano and Frisco. Plano is the middle option within all these metrics.
latinobombshell@reddit
Sent you a message!
darvillin@reddit
Your money will go a lot farther in Carrollton than it will McKinney or Frisco, especially if you want a backyard. I’m not sure about up north, but there’s a good volleyball community on the border of Coppell/Carrollton, and further east along PGBT.
UnseasonedPasta@reddit (OP)
Backyards seem to be very small from what we’ve seen. Having the garage out the back eats up 1/2 the backyard!
darvillin@reddit
If you want a “big” backyard by DFW standards, you’re probably going to have to go closer to Dallas and get a smaller house, or go so far north you’re almost in the country. We don’t have big backyards in the suburbs uno.
Lanky-Highlight9508@reddit
There are some big ish ones in Plano. Frisco area not so much.
UnseasonedPasta@reddit (OP)
Ahhhh, I see. Sounds like we just need to rewire what we consider “big” then
PomeloPepper@reddit
Sadly so. That's my one gripe about housing in this area.
That said, I do see people having a gate/fence across the back driveway, incorporating it into the yard area. I also see some circular drives in front to accommodate parking.
Another option is to find a home closer to the greenbelt. A lot of Carrollton has developed walking trails, tennis courts and playgrounds into that space.
UnseasonedPasta@reddit (OP)
I think your idea of finding a place close to a greenbelt is a solid compromise! We really want to be able to “play” sports with our kids in the backyard, but settling for a park within walking distance would work just as well!
PomeloPepper@reddit
There's a nice sense of community around it. In the area south of Hebron, there's a monarch butterfly way station that that a local group maintains under the guidance of a master gardener. Also, more secluded trails with bird boxes along the creek.
I think the larger playground is off of Frankford and Furneaux, and a small lake along Josey. But it's a long greenbelt and I'm sure there's a lot more I'm not aware of.
Heinz0033@reddit
There are communities that try to have large yards, but generally yards are smaller than in more established parts of the US. Argle is a horse community that require minimum 1 acre lots. I have a friend in Corinth that has 2/3 acre.
bigkodiakbear@reddit
Carrollton has plenty of date night options and several more a short drive away. It is also a more central area and puts you closer to North Dallas, Denton, and the other cities OP mentioned.
Kathw13@reddit
Farmers Branch isn’t far and has large backyards.
spam_lite@reddit
I would go towards Mckinney and adjacent areas that still have land and semi easy access to almost everything (via tollway. Toll $$$ will hurt).
Lemondrop168@reddit
Best possible description in every way
UnseasonedPasta@reddit (OP)
lol this is super helpful! Thank you!!
deaddaughterconfetti@reddit
In Carrollton, check out the neighborhood just north of H-Mart, between Old Denton, Frankford, and Dickerson. I absolutely love it here-- the houses have some unique charm, they're nice size/yard size for the area, and it's quiet while being super close to 35 and George Bush (and of course, the main reason I moved here, K-Town). There are a few on the market now that are really cute and at or below $500k.
PunkRockDude@reddit
All three are fine. For schools probably Frisco, Plano, then Carrollton.
For young new family probably the same Frisco is top, then probably Carrollton and then Plano. I didn’t look up the last two but Frisco IsD is still growing, Plano is starting to close schools due to shrinking enrollment, and Carrollton is older but being more affordable might be better for starters.
None are very walkable but all have green belts and parks that are good for walking. Wouldn’t say a highlight of any of them though.
N Texas is crazy aggressive with youth sports and with most sports you can find very high end teams but have to commit and generally expensive club teams versus dabbling in everything. All three areas are similar in that regard.
I do know that there are frequent adult volleyball matches at Plano rec centers but otherwise not sure. My kids played national team level volleyball so there is a lot of it around but haven’t looked at adult leagues personally. All are safe. Frisco and Plano frequently make safest cities in US. Carrolton is probably more varied and would want to look by neighborhood.
N
Buehler_DFW@reddit
I'd try Flower Mound honestly. Super family friendly, great schools, have some nice parks and walking trails. Plenty of youth sports locally and not too far. Can't comment too much on the Korean part but we did help an awesome young Korean couple move into a home here this year. There's also Sports Garden in Coppell which is about 15-20 away and it has a massive Volleyball league setup and bar, it's very cool. There's a good amount of restaurants and you're close to other areas like Highland Village and Grapevine.
If you're stuck with the 3 choices, i'd go with Plano, specifically west Plano. Close to the Legacy area, great schools and i believe still has some nice parks and trails.
There's a handful of off market properties currently in those areas, when are you guys considering moving?
UnseasonedPasta@reddit (OP)
I look into flower mound and check it out!
I’m curious on the off market properties you mention - how does one find those? (Are you a realtor?)
Buehler_DFW@reddit
I am yes! Some brokerages will have their own listings that clients don’t want to have open to the public, maybe they’re not ready unless they get a top offer or they just don’t want constant showings in their home. We’ve gotten 4 clients into off market properties in the last 12 months, 3 purchases and a lease. Often saves them a few thousand dollars because they’re not competing against the rest of the market.
Soundwave234@reddit
I enjoyed my time in the colony its kind of near all of those you mentioned.