Uncle Castro

One of the wife's co-workers just hired on at JC Penny's as a buyer and the wife might have some interest too. I'm not opposed.

It would be a huge pay increase for her and probably a decent raise for me...whatever I end up doing.

The price of real estate has me creaming my jeans. Is traffic a bitch there? It's north of Dallas I see, so that can't be good.

I'm from the Pac NW, so this would be a major climate change for me, she's from Tucson, AZ so less of one for her.

Neilm mentioned Plano might be in a dry county, can anyone corroborate that?

Lastly, people have mentioned high property taxes: I looked on Plano's Web site and it says $45.35/$1000. Is that correct? That means taxes on a $300k house is $13k/year. Sounds...high.

Thanks in advance.

CiscoS4

Well, I'll give you my 2 cents...

Plano and the surrounding areas (Allen, McKinney, Frisco, etc) are all pretty nice. Very much a family-raising suburban type of situation. Great schools, nice neigborhoods, lots of shopping and restaurants, etc. Traffic isn't too bad, especially if you don't need to drive into downtown. I think JC Penny's is actually based in Plano, so your commute from any of the surrounding areas would be pretty minimal.

Real estate is relatively cheap, but you will pay some for location. There are parts of Plano that will cost you significantly more than a better home and nicer neighborhood further north (Allen or McKinney).

The summers are hot - theres no way around that, but the winters are mild, and fall and spring are great. We spend most of our summers in another state, so thats how we cope.

As for property taxes, yes they are high, but I think in most of the cities in area they run between 2.5 and 3%, not the 4.5% you quoted.

Good luck with the move.

Plano-4.2

The worst traffic is going to/from downtown Dallas. If you find a place in the Plano/Frisco area, the commute won't be too bad. It's nothing like Seattle's traffic. At least here in Texas they can build/expand highways. If you notice the road 121 that passes by the Penny's office, that is being turned into a toll road, so there will be construction along that road for several years.

About that dry country crap, parts of Plano are dry-ish, some not. Basically there isn't hard liquor sold in stores in Plano/Frisco, you'd have to travel to another town to purchase it. Some places/restaurants require a 'club membership' to purchase beer. Those are usually free and it's just a nuisance.

As for the climate, Dallas generally gets more rain than Seattle, just that it seems to come all at once. None of this drizzle, mist, or sunny breaks stuff. Have a thunderstorm pass overhead, and there can be 1-2" of rain, then it's over. You will complain about the heat when you get down here, but after a while you realize that everything is A/C'd. So you go from an A/C'd house, to the A/C'd car, to the A/C'd office. Eventually you'll acclimate to the weather.

Of course you'll have to get a pickup and your wife will have to drive a gigantic SUV ;-)

pigred

and start practicing how to say "ya'll"

1st trax

Yeah it's Hot, but October and April are awesome!
Tax's are realatively high but there isn't any State income tax!
Frisco if I remember orrectly is the fastest growing city in the country right now, urban sprawl!
Let me know if you need an agent to help out with the relo.. Thw wife is an agent and the husband is a lender!
If you like golf, you'll love Texas!

bubba j

The good news is no income tax.

emansun

You will, however, need to make a short commute (10 minutes) to the Colony, Dallas or Addison for liquor.

specialblend

I came from Seattle about 3 years ago to the DFW area and it sure was a drastic change, especially the weather! The cost of living is really affordable down here though. Plano is a lovely area! All the surrounding areas are beautiful as well.

Well, hope to see you over here soon man! We need more Pacific Northwestern's over here. I REALLY miss that place...*sigh*

Agent009

Take a look at Frisco as well. One of the fastest growing cities in the US. It is literally 1/4 mile from JCP. The taxes are lower and believe it or not they have held the same or dropped over the last 4 years in a row. Plus it has location location location

JoTT

the taxes on my Plano home, value around $300K, are about $6,400 a year -- much less than your estimate. and no income tax...