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They are different towns. Richardson is older and more established than Plano. You would find nice homes, good schools in both areas and it will all depend on your budget.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,403 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phoebecressy1
Which is the most productive when it comes to nice houses,good schools,outdoor activities etc,etc. All information would be greatly appreciated.
Let me give you the answer you have been waiting for:
RICHARDSON
- Has good schools for the most part. The schools are rated close to Plano.
- Does not sell Alcohol.
-Richardson Square mall is becoming a ghost town.
-Downtown Richardson is depressing.
-There are a car dealerships everywhere along I-75.
-Near Downtown Richardson there is a section that is like "China Town" its pretty cool.
-DART rail stops in Richardson.
-Richardson has many nice neighborhoods, cheap houses around $129,000 for a 3 bedroom upwards to $250,000 maybe a bit more.
PLANO
-Plano has some good schools and some bad. The schools that are good are REALLY good. Plano school district has a good reputation.
-Plano has a nice mall, lots of shopping.
-Plano is where you go to get Beer, Wine and Licquor.
-Downtown Plano is charming.
-DART Rail stops in Plano.
-Plano has many nice neighborhoods too, though the house prices tend to be a bit higher, since Plano is a bigger city, more taxes.
-More bad things happen in Plano, there is more crime, more low-income.
-There are a car dealerships in the southern part of Plano along I-75.
Let me give you the answer you have been waiting for:
Let me correct some of this information
RICHARDSON
- Has good schools for the most part. The schools are rated close to Plano.
Richardson has some very good schools. Their high schools have a much smaller graduating class than Plano (PISD has class sizes of 1000+)
- Does not sell Alcohol.
Yes, it does. There is an area of Richardson known as "Buckingham". Up until a few years ago it was its own city. The city of Richardson annexed it and it went thru ONLY if that area could still sell alcohol. There are beer/wine stores AND liquor stores.
-Richardson Square mall is becoming a ghost town.
Yes it has since Firewheel Mall in Garland opened and the stores moved there. However, the Sears and SuperTarget are still there and doing well. The rest of the mall is being torn down by Simon Malls and a new Loew's and other stores are coming in. They are revamping it.
-Downtown Richardson is depressing.
I would not call it "depressing". It is just not your typical downtown w/ a square. Plano does not have a great downtown either but it is getting better.
-There are a car dealerships everywhere along I-75.
Yes, there are several large car dealerships along Central. Most dealerships are on highways anyway. Among them are North Central Ford, Toyota of Richardson, Broadway Volkswagon, Reliable Chevrolet. Not like it is tons and tons of cheap tote the note dealerships.
-Near Downtown Richardson there is a section that is like "China Town" its pretty cool.
Great place to find authentic Asian restaurants and such.
-DART rail stops in Richardson.
Yes it does. They have a HUGE DART park & ride for bus and rail off of 190.
-Richardson has many nice neighborhoods, cheap houses around $129,000 for a 3 bedroom upwards to $250,000 maybe a bit more.
Richardson is also home to new subdivisions w/ homes well over $1M. The newer side of Richardson is far east Richardson out by Breckinridge Park. GREAT PARK!!!!
PLANO
-Plano has some good schools and some bad. The schools that are good are REALLY good. Plano school district has a good reputation.
TAKS scores mean nothing. Like every district they have good and bad schools. I don't care for the size of the high schools. They only have 3 senior highs and the graduating classes are well over 1000. Have to keep the top 10% in mind w/ this.
-Plano has a nice mall, lots of shopping.
They also have a mall that is a ghost town - Collin Creek. Collin Creek has totally changed and not for the better. Look for it to be shuttered or a totally different venue in the next 5 years. Willow Bend Mall is also a ghost town and the higher end stores have left in many cases. For a mall of what caliber this was supposed to be it has flopped. TONS of shopping for sure but so does Richardson.
-Plano is where you go to get Beer, Wine and Licquor.
Can not buy liquor in Plano. You can buy beer & wine though.
-Downtown Plano is charming.
eh. That is in the eye of the beholder. There are a few shops along a very small block of 15th at Ave K but not much. Sure could not spend a day hitting them, more like an hour max.
-DART Rail stops in Plano.
Yes it does.
-Plano has many nice neighborhoods too, though the house prices tend to be a bit higher, since Plano is a bigger city, more taxes.
It has nice neighborhoods and some really bad ones just like every other city around. I prefer FAR East Plano where it borders Parker, Richardson & Murphy as it is FAR LESS congested than west Plano. Although in Plano you have a severe case of the West Plano vs everyone else.
-More bad things happen in Plano, there is more crime, more low-income.
It is a larger city w/ more congestion, more apartments, etc. Crime happens anywhere. Awhile back one news story was how crime in the middle of the day for home burglaries was up in Plano. Went on to say that typically burglary suspects stick close to home in familiar territory but in the case w/ Plano they were finding them coming there from other areas because they could go undetected since so many of the households have both adults working during the day.
-There are a car dealerships in the southern part of Plano along I-75.
There are car dealerships along most of 75 north and south.
Richardson sells beer and wine now. It just started within the last year. It's available everywhere at least over here on the west side of Central.
Most of Richardson's schools are located in the city of Dallas. There are more "bad" Richardson schools than "good" ones. In Plano there are more "good" schools than "bad" ones, generally speaking.
Plano schools are K-5, then 6-8, then 9-10, and last 11-12. Richardson schools are K-6, then 7-8, then 9-12 although at Lake Highlands the 9th graders are in a separate building across the parking lot from the high school 10-12.
Plano schools have a tuition based preschool open to anyone who wants to pay in addition to the high needs preschool. Richardson only does the high needs preschool for ESL kids, poor kids, special ed kids.
Plano schools have an increasing enrollment. Richardson schools have a declining enrollment. Richardson has a majority minority enrollment (34% white). Plano is still majority Caucasian, although not by much (54% white).
Plano's parks and rec facilities are better than Richardson's. Richardson has one library that is big and quite good and they get great speakers in there. Plano has several smaller libraries.
Both Plano and Richarson have access to the DART train. The train starts/ends in Plano and is full by the time it gets to the Richardson stops during rush hour in the morning, so Richardson commuters often have to stand up all the way to downtown.
Big box shopping is much better in Plano. If I want to go to Toys r Us, Academy, Best Buy, it's in Plano.
Full disclosure - I live in Dallas/ Richardson schools, but could throw a rock at west Richardson and I am also a mile or so away from Plano. I drive between them all without ever thinking, Oh I am leaving Dallas and entering Richardson. It's just all one big place.
ETA - Plano has a great outdoor park in West Plano with trails for hiking and mountain biking. Richardson has Breckenridge Park which I have never been to.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
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Plano is very congested Traffic wise, mainly due to the tons of shopping available in the southern Plano area along I-75.
Yes Buckingham does sell beer and it is part of Richardson, but its such a small pocket, not to mention expensive, that its far more convenient to go to Plano to get you beer & wine.
Also there are parts of Garland that are growing more and more with beer stores & wine etc. Eventually all of Richardson will be the same. Which doesn't necessarily mean its a bad thing.
Richardson has nice parks, like Huffines park. Its great for kids and has more trees (shade) than most other parks.
The Richardson police is very responsive but on the same hand they seem to be more relaxed when it comes to catching speeders. Not like Plano, they are hungry to meet quotas all the time.
You get much better dining choices in Plano as opposed to Richardson.
In the east side of Richardson, you have a few grocery stores like Albertsons and maybe a Minyards over there but its technically Garland.
Plano has a Fry's electronics which is close to Richardson's north east side so its convenient for getting cheap computers & parts, toys etc.
If I had to choose, I would choose Plano as the winner. I would move there if I were you and get your kids enrolled in Plano schools. Statistics dont lie.
Sorry, and no disrespect, but a good student will do good no matter what school he/she attends.
It doesn't matter that that your child attends an all white school to do good, that doesn't mean anything when it comes to academics. It's good for kids to get to know different cultures & learn to live with each other, rather than sheltering them from minorities, just because they mostly get the free lunches. A good student will do good in ANY school, but the parents HAVE to help them at home. You cant just depend on the school system to do it all for you. You have to help them at home no matter what - unless you just don't care.
After all let's not forget that Texas once belonged to the Mexicans.
I'm not making a judgment, just stating facts for someone relocating to the area.
Plano is very congested Traffic wise, mainly due to the tons of shopping available in the southern Plano area along I-75.
Yes Buckingham does sell beer and it is part of Richardson, but its such a small pocket, not to mention expensive, that its far more convenient to go to Plano to get you beer & wine.
Also there are parts of Garland that are growing more and more with beer stores & wine etc. Eventually all of Richardson will be the same. Which doesn't necessarily mean its a bad thing.
Richardson has nice parks, like Huffines park. Its great for kids and has more trees (shade) than most other parks.
The Richardson police is very responsive but on the same hand they seem to be more relaxed when it comes to catching speeders. Not like Plano, they are hungry to meet quotas all the time.
You get much better dining choices in Plano as opposed to Richardson.
In the east side of Richardson, you have a few grocery stores like Albertsons and maybe a Minyards over there but its technically Garland.
Plano has a Fry's electronics which is close to Richardson's north east side so its convenient for getting cheap computers & parts, toys etc.
If I had to choose, I would choose Plano as the winner. I would move there if I were you and get your kids enrolled in Plano schools. Statistics dont lie.
Richardson has beer/wine all over town. Buckingham has liquor also. Plano has none and you have to drive to Buckingham or Addison to buy anything other than beer/wine.
I'm surprised to hear you say that Richardson isn't after speeders. I don't go through Richardson as much as I used to, but the whole time I've lived here, Richardson has had the reputation that you just don't speed in Richardson. Now that I'm driving through Plano a lot more I've not heard that about their PD.
Stats don't lie, but Plano is notorious for playing games with enrollment to make sure their numbers stay high. God forbid you actually get all the kids to learn, if its easier to shift attendance boundaries.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,403 times
Reputation: 261
Quote:
Originally Posted by lajollaeleven
Check out Canyon Creek in North Richardson. It is a great neighborhood with a country club. Half is in Collin County and kids go to Plano Schools.
Great neighborhood but just dont leave your home unattended during mid-day
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