Allen,Frisco,Plano OR Coppell?? (Houston, Dallas: transplants, low crime, new home)

[nutoTX]

We are looking to buy a home in one of these cities - Allen, Frisco, Plano or Coppell. We recently re-located from the NE & our child currently goes to CISD...we like the school but Coppell seems to have either old homes within budget or newer homes that are very expensive.
Plano,Allen & Frisco seem to have newer homes in a decent price range.
Which would be a good city to raise a family with regards to good school district & low crime rate?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated..

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by nutoTX

We are looking to buy a home in one of these cities - Allen, Frisco, Plano or Coppell. We recently re-located from the NE & our child currently goes to CISD...we like the school but Coppell seems to have either old homes within budget or newer homes that are very expensive.
Plano,Allen & Frisco seem to have newer homes in a decent price range.
Which would be a good city to raise a family with regards to good school district & low crime rate?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated..

I live in Plano and like it but with no kids my needs are probably different. I like that most things I like to do are near by. I am not a DT or night life person, NYC filled my needs for that when I was much younger. Good restaurants, nice neighbors, diverse population, good shopping, golf choices near by and like the free way access Plano has. I believe the schools are good but its a big system so finding the right particular schools for you is something the experts on here can help you address. Plano is a nice safe city, pretty mature so not a lot of residential building still to be done in most areas. So you see what you get. Also Legacy has some good restaurant choices and a nice urban feel to it. Trader Joe's is coming to Plano soon as is Spec's from Houston. So it is keeping up with the times retail wise.

I am a fan of Plano and recommend it to anyone whose situation it fits.

[RockyJoe817]

I have to agree with the other entry about Plano, I too lived in Plano for a time and enjoyed it very
much. The proximity and accessibility to the metro is important to me.

[Double-G]

It is striking when people moving here as transplants say they want a newish home in DFW.

If they did any research and talked to people who did this before them, they'd soon realize that these ritzy looking new homes are typically built out of crap. Tons of examples abound in the areas you mention...

"They don't build them like they used to" is a truism when it comes to 'new' homes in DFW.

[Dfw789]

All of them are family friendly, nice and safe areas with good schools. Coppell and Plano have advantage of excellent schooling and proximity to Dallas and shorter commute to areas beyond that. Frisco has economical newer housing. With exception of Coppell, all others offer plenty of shopping and dinning. Plano has corporate offices while Coppell has warehouses. Frisco has smaller schools and sports arena. Frisco has lots of land to develop but other three are more established and mostly built out so existing home resale is better. You should pick one that suits your requirements.

[ChristieP]

So what IS your budget?
And where will you be commuting to for work?

[Jazzy_2010]

Well, I live in Plano now and I like it a lot. It's in a good location so you can get to other parts of DFW in a reasonable amount of time. Also, Plano has a good infrastructure of shopping, restaurants, rec. centers, good schools and other entertainment. Frisco is not as developed as Plano but it still have pretty much all those things as well. I personally don't care for Allen. All are safe cities though.

[MckinneyOwnr]

You need to post your budget. Most new homes in Plano are going to be expensive, Frisco a bit less expensive, and Allen about the same. You might want to consider West McKinney, as you can still find new homes being built that will be cheaper than ones built in the other cities you mention.

[theplanoman]

The Texas Education Agency rates school districts overall and also individual schools within those districts. Highest to lowest ratings are: Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable.

Frisco ISD is rated Exemplary, while Allen ISD, Coppell ISD and Plano ISD are all rated Recognized.

However, there are many Exemplary Rated schools within Allen, Plano and Coppell school districts so the specific location of your new home in those cities will need to be looked at closely.

According to City-Data, Coppell’s 2010 crime index is 138, Allen is 157, Plano is 178 and Frisco is 236. In comparison, the national crime index is 319, so all of these cities have relatively low crime rates.

All four cities you are considering can be great places to live and offer a wide range of affordable housing options depending on your budget.

One other major consideration is how long you are willing to travel each day to and from work.

Hope this helps!