Sadly, Plano's golden days are over - 6/22/2022

I had lived in Plano for over 30 years. It is where I bought my first home as a single woman, where I married, and where I raised my children. I was fortunate enough to do all of that when Plano was a growing, wonderful city and it was an amazing place to live. However, some city leaders through the years made decisions that did not benefit the citizens of the city, and as a result it's not the place that it once was. They are constantly changing zoning, despite strong citizen objections, and stacking people on top of each other. Infastructure is hurting. School system used to be one of the best in the country, and although still okay, it doesn't even make top 10 lists of best schools in the state anymore (and it's not even one of the best in DFW anymore). For people just moving in from out of state, they don't realize how great Plano used to be compared to now. People are leaving (school enrollment is down..city leaders blame that on housing costs, but the truth is other affluent areas still have strong school student population) and according to the latest census, Plano's population is decreasing (despite apartments popping up on every available space of land possible). I think it's still an okay place to live, but it's no longer the great city it used to be. We left b/c there are many other options in the DFW area with a better quality of live. With many people having the option to work from home, you no longer have to live in a place like Plano to have easy access to the rest of the city and people are moving to Prosper, Gunther, Celina, Lucas, Fairview, etc. where the communities remind me of what Plano used to be. It's sad, I loved "my" city, but too many poor decisions by city leaders over the years had decreased our quality of life so much that we said "we're out".

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Always a Best Place To Live - 1/7/2022

We have lived in Plano for 20 years. It has been consistently rated very highly in surveys of best places to live in the US. Pros are the parks system; which includes water parks and natural areas with wildlife, access to medical care, facilities and services for seniors, and an A+ educational system. Cons: it does get uncomfortably hot in July and August.

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Utopia - 1/6/2021

I've lived here for a while now. It's wonderful here. There's a ton to do, great jobs, great parks, and pretty good school. It's the perfect suburb.

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Thinking about moving to Plano from Arkansas - 8/2/2019

Been in Arkansas for the past 15 years of my life, tired of it, detest it. I'm Chinese, and this state is very hostile against all non-whites and particularly Chinese for no reason. Is Plano friendly to Chinese? Would a $180k income suffice in Plano? Not married, no kids, but hoping to be able to date without discrimination. Thank you.

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A good place to raise kids, but.... - 11/28/2018

I logged into this site because my husband and I are ready to leave Plano and I wanted to compare statistics to some other areas. I think many of the points made in other reviews are still salient even thought the last review I saw was about 4 years ago. I have lived here for 18 years. Positives: 1) It IS a great place to raise kids. The schools are good and every activity to which you might want to expose your kids is available in a nearby radius. I read in one review that the high schools here are harder than the freshman year of college and I can attest to the fact that my youngest son, who is a sophomore at a major public Texas university, made that statement just the other day. He specifically said that his freshman year at college was easier than high school. The Plano schools are more exacting even than nearby suburbs. For example, the Plano schools require comprehensive finals - other surrounding school districts do not have this policy. The schools are also very diverse. All my children had many friends from various cultures and races - hispanic, white, black, Middle eastern/Muslim, Indian and Chinese. 2) If you travel frequently, there are two airports and many non-stops from DFW international (home to American Airlines ) or even Love Field (home to Southwest airlines) Now that we are in our 50s, still productive professionally, but done raising kids, we are ready to find someplace that better suits our personalities as we go into our last decade of professional life. We want to find someplace we would like to settle long term and make friends there BEFORE we retire. Plano is just not that place, and here is where I get to the negative side. I also agree with many of the complaints expressed about Plano in other reviews. 1) The area is aesthetically boring, not pretty, and we want to be outside - hiking and biking in a prettier setting, or at least somewhere that is within a short day trip to some really pretty places. They say people come to Dallas to do business, not for the scenery, and that is definitely true! 2) The culture here IS very politically conservative and pretentious. Here is an example - last Christmas we went to a local church that we attended regularly for several years and the pastor told a story about how he had to PAY someone to put up his Christmas tree. What??!! The congregation collectively thought this was funny. I see it as "classic" Plano. This church isn't even on the ritzy side of Plano. Yes, there is a range, even within Plano, progressively increasing in income level (in general) going from east (low) to west (higher). I've always felt a bit uncomfortable living here - like it was not quite home, mostly due to that braggy, pretentious culture. Maybe my mid-western roots are showing, I don't know. Plano is politically conservative even for Texas. I felt like I was slightly left of center before moving here. Here, I try to stay quiet about my views. I have found conservative friends that I greatly respect for their views and beliefs, but many are bullies about it. They don't know the meaning of the phrase "to each their own." However, this might be said by conservatives in left leaning cities as well. 3) There are CONSTANT lane closures. I live in central Plano - built in the late 70s to early 90s. I have not been able to drive in any direction for the past 15 years without encountering a lane closure. I guess there is no perfect place - only the perfect place for particular times of your life. If you are a young family, Plano is a good place. It is safe, everything is convenient, it is pretty diverse, and has good education. I'm just past that stage and ready to move on, so take from this review what you will...

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We Are Considering Moving to Plano, TX - 12/3/2015

We would like your honest opinion. 1. Are people really braggy "Christians" in Plano,TX? 2. Are taxes really as high or close to what you pay for your mortgage? 3. If you're not Caucasian are you treated with disregard? These are the only questions we have for now. Just asking due to some of the reviews we've read about Plano,TX.

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Best Place to Live - 2/14/2015

Plano has everything! And everything is close. Jobs are plentiful and growing, schools are very good, cost of living is great, and a safe place to live. Would recommend anyone consider Plano,TX as a great place to live and raise a family!

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Unique type of religious behavior.... - 1/12/2015

I moved here 5 years ago from west of Chicago, before that-northern Indiana. Work is in north Dallas, live in south Plano, (middle-class older ranch homes.) I thought we were pretty conservative in the Midwest, boy was I wrong. We are actually pretty liberal compared to the locals here. Let me share my positives about the area: great highways-like racetracks, clean, restaurants galore, real estate affordable-closer to Indiana prices, wages in my industry comparable to Chicago, low crime-not even a concern. The negatives for me: weird sort of prideful, in-your-face, rich, snooty, bragging, "christianity." Good works or volunteering must be broadcast! Never have I experienced anything like it. I work in a dental office. Barely will I have said two sentences to someone before they start dropping phrases like: my pastor said..., at bible study..., I was just praying about..., I go to(fill in the blank...Baptist church), and etc. etc. Once a Bruno Mars song came on and the person said: 'Oh, the last girl that worked here was a Christian...' My husband works at the aiport and doesn't come across this type of behavior. My daughter works downtown Dallas with a creative artsy bunch of people and also has no issues. So, if you can get in with the right group of people at your job, and avoid all the religious-speak, you should be fine.

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Plano - 8/23/2014

Plano has everything you could ever want or need in a place to live.

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demographics - 8/16/2014

I moved to Plano 15 years ago and loved it. However, the demographics have changed drastically. If you are Indian you will love it. If not, you will be a minority, period. I am not saying this is good or bad, just stating facts. Plano has the largest population of Indians, percentage wise than any other city in the country. The majority of the city is showing its age, the main areas that are nice are west of the Tollway. Where I used to shop for books, there is now a Condom Sense store and an Oriental Massage next door and a large bar across the street.

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GOP Ground Zero - 7/14/2014

Plano Texas is an excellent place to live in most respects, especially if conservative GOP politics is your preference. Gun-toting, homophobic Creationists are the norm.

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Plano-my two cents - 5/27/2013

I have lived in Plano for 20 years now but have lived in California (LA area), the Midwest and the East coast. Lots of people say Plano is the best so lots of people want to hear the reviews heres mine: 1. The property taxes-the property taxes are high all over Texas but the rates here are about as low as you can get close to Dallas, a 200000 house will cost you about 3800 a year as of 2013. 2. The schools-most people rave about the schools here and they are decent. I had 3 kids go here from elementary through high school and they were all well prepared to handle college. I wish they had better fine arts and physical education though. 3. Crime- A very safe place with a very involved police force. I never worry about going out in my own neighbor hood no matter the time. 4. The City 'feel'- very very suburbia, fairly bland. Lots of stores, lots of restaurants, and quite a lot of traffic.Nicely laid out on with 6 lane roads everywhere. Easy to get around. 5. The people- this is kind of the rough spot. I have met lots of nice people here but the general attitude is one of preteniousness and very conservative. There is a general impression that everyone should be conservative wealthy and christian. It is not an impossible attitude to deal with but it can come off as rather cold. All said, i have often recommend this city and Collin county as a good place to live if you are working in the Dallas area. Plano has lots of companies headquartered here and the commute into downtown Dallas is made easier by a good light rail system.

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If you are considering relocating to the Metroplex - 2/18/2013

So, Plano, TX could be considered the "nucleus" of Collin County not only for its location within the county, but also due to its economical stance, helping develop the surrounding areas grow such as, Allen, Murphy, Parker, Lucas, Fairview, Mckinney, Frisco, and a slight piece of Northeast Carrollton along the west plano area. Plano is a nice place to live, offering a solid, decent place to settle into. Housing is affordable and schools are pretty good; especially for those who've moved or plan to move from areas where a 3,000 square foot home will cost you well over $350,000+. I've been living here for approximately 3.5 years, and I have found that the economy of the Metroplex (Dallas-Forth Worth area), is very diverse with many companies, both large and small, with either headquarters or major regional operations. The Metroplex is mostly white-collar with a presence of some blue collar industries. Great accessibility to Dallas' sports team events including the happenings of Arlington, Fort Worth and many other cities and small town attractions. West Plano is still being developed on top of the successful developments which are already established such as the Shops at Legacy, which brought about other commercial investors and businesses in the area. Another similar concept to the Shops at Legacy is the Austin Ranch planned apartment/condo community (actually part of a town called The Colony, TX), which doesn't offer an abundance of retail business, mainly offering hair/beauty services, a few places to eat and some business offices. A decent apartment in the West Plano area will run around an average of $950 to upwards of whatever you want to spend. West Plano's location along the Dallas Tollway makes it prime location for commuters into Dallas. East Plano is not as commercially developed, and has a nice nature preserve however, if you travel further east from K Avenue, along the Parker area, not far from SouthFork Ranch, you will find larger lots for homes compared to other areas of Plano. Overall, Plano is a nice place to be; very clean, police force full of college graduates, a few lakes, not completely flat with a few, very slight elevations no more than 15-50 feet. As with most of the metroplex, there's a lot of places to eat. Its almost the norm to see a Lamborghini or some other type of expensive road toy. There are people who are very wealthy here, then there are those that earn $80,000 but spend as if they earn $120,000, often overcompensating, purchasing more than they need. No State Tax, but property tax is well above the average. Vehicle registration renewals are around $65 a year per vehicle. For those concerned about Tornado's, the Tornado siren's alert us occasionally, usually in the late spring/early summer, but I haven't experienced a Tornado as of yet. Again, The Metroplex is more or less, simply "a good place to be", and has many things to do, but I haven't found anything specific about the area that has that "must see or do" characteristic. Dallas people want to show their wealth whereas Fort Worth people are a bit less "showy". Thanks to great airports (DFW and Love Field), you can always visit other places if you need to get away as we are nowhere near a beach. This is just my experience and observations thus far; other's may have had a different experience living here. I've lived on both coasts of the U.S., and quality of life is pretty good here.

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Love this school - 10/7/2012

My child went here from age 2 to 5 if you are looking for some academic activity, discipline and a loving atmosphere for your child this is the school for you they have been in the business for 30 Years and the experience shows! .children were quiet and busy with their work/activities no yelling screaming and running around which I had observed at 4 other schools I visited. I decided right then that was the school for my daughter. She joined in the toddler class they do potty training there as well . Ms Linda and ms Nisha were excellent with my daughter .ms Linda is amazing with all the kids in the after school session as well . My daughter moved to the primary class at 3 .Ms Mersedeh, is a great teacher so loving to the children but gets work done my child really progressed academically -started reading by age 4 . Ms Kerry is also a good teacher firm and the kids love her too. The director runs a tight ship and always shares her experience " respect others and respect yourself" is what she tells the kids. Ms judy the receptionist is so nice and helpful.The only drawback I faced was the lack of email communication I hope they will remedy that soon! The building is a bit old and dark don't l let that affect you the atmosphere inside is fun, loving & disciplined

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Overall... - 2/18/2012

I have a love-hate relationship with Texas as a whole so this may be tough, but I'll try to break it down and give you my honest opinion. (Warning: This will be long.) I live in northeast Plano, on the edge of Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Allen. The whole area is generally affluent and people are typically well educated. Everything is new, clean, and consistent, albeit a bit homogeneous. Neighborhoods are safe for sure and I sometimes go jogging by myself at 12am without feeling at risk. It's a peaceful and quiet place but not laid-back per se, since Dallas as a whole is a business-oriented city and people are generally operating at a faster pace. Overall, Plano has a high standard of living and is definitely a great place to raise a family. Housing here offers high quality for very low prices. Big houses. (Bigger than necessary, really.) Just don't bother investing in property here. My uncle was thinking about moving his money over here but reconsidered when he found out our house has barely grown in value in the past 10 years. So yes, great to live here, not to invest. Also, since the Plano/Frisco area is the fastest growing city in America, there is unavoidable construction with new buildings and malls popping up everywhere - again, because the land is so inexpensive. It’s been very apparent in the last couple of years that we’re quickly expanding north, which may be a problem for commuters who work in downtown Dallas. Luckily, traffic is not too bad here but you do have to drive everywhere. It's nearly impossible to walk anywhere in Plano, partially because everything is so spaced out and partially due to the weather. Speaking of weather, IT IS HOT. The first year we moved here from South Carolina, we could barely stand it. After 10 years, we have gotten used to it but for newcomers, be prepared. Weather in the 100s for 2 weeks straight is not surprising at all, and people here flip out when anything besides rain falls from the sky. If we're lucky, we get ONE day of snow a year. That's if we're lucky. (And apparently a couple of flakes without even any white on the ground counts too.) Plano is dry/hot, so luckily it's low in humidity here, but the sun just beats down on this city nearly every day. It really lowers peoples' motivation to go outside sometimes, not that there's much to do, which brings me to the next point. Where I live people mostly gravitate towards Stonebriar Mall in Frisco and that's honestly about it. I've definitely spent a good portion of my life around the heart of Plano but it is admittedly older and doesn't have as much to offer in comparison with Frisco in this department. But if you don't like Stonebriar, you're kinda out of luck, because though it's a gigantic mall (I still get lost every time I go despite my good directional sense) and has everything from restaurants to an ice rink to a theater to a multitude of brand name stores, there's really not much else outside of that area besides a few movie theaters unless you go to Willowbend or the Shops at Legacy which are the smaller, upscale strip malls. Yes, admittedly, life here is rather boring and repetitive. With regards to schools, Plano has some of the most competitive and best education systems in the nation. I actually went to Frisco ISD since I live on the edge of Plano, and it's not nearly as competitive but still a very good district. However, Plano in particular spits out Ivy-league students left and right every year. Competition is through the roof and most who go through the Plano system say college is ridiculously easy in comparison, but that their high school years were indeed very stressful. The programs in Plano have been around for ages, and the teachers are mostly very qualified. You will get what you put in, but it is cutthroat, with the top slots dominated by Asians/Indians. Yes, the top 8% is not easy to squeeze in. (In Texas, the top 8% gets automatic admittance to public universities, regardless of how difficult/easy the high school curriculum was.) Now as the north is developing, even Frisco ISD, which used to be so laid back (I managed to graduate in the top 3%), is becoming more competitive as families of younger Plano kids are moving with the development. Lastly, Plano is probably one of the most socially conservative cities in the US. It’s a haven for conservatives. Most everyone is Republican, whether for religious or economic reasons (though I think it’s more the latter). It’s not that people aren’t nice, but this is not a city where people chat with the grocer or say hello to their neighbors every day. People are very focused on their own lives and there is also this very backward mentality rooted deeply in the culture here. The majority of people here are white, heterosexual, Christian, Republican, and wealthy so anything outside of that is generally frowned upon or viewed as some sort of strange specimen. These people are educated, yet many have never even been outside their zip code and lack an open mind about other cultures, religions and thoughts. I would not say this place is racist, but some of the incidences I’ve witnessed consistently throughout the past 10 years are just baffling. Of course, this is generally true for Texas as a whole. The fact that an embarrassment like Rick Perry can get elected governor for so many terms should clue you in on that. But I digress. I think the only reason I survived here for so many years is that I live conservatively as well and am rather low-key. I’m perfectly fine with others’ different opinions as long as they don’t tell me what to do, but the majority of folks here seem to either itch to preach to others, or are very unskilled at hiding their uninformed judgments. Even if you live minding your own business, that doesn’t stop some people from flooding your surroundings with their ignorance. With that said, it certainly could be worse and I guess you can’t have everything. Plano is for the most part a great place to live with a decent job market, you just have to decide for yourself what matters to you.

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Nice Affordable Apartments - 12/28/2011

Does anyone know some nice apartments in Plano that are affordable? I'm retiring soon & don't want to buy a house but do want a comfortable & safe place to live in Plano, TX email teriod@yahoo.com

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Living in Plano - 3/24/2011

Plano is a good place to live if you work in Plano. If you work in Dallas you will have a 45 minute to 1 hour commute each way. Housing is good just like the rest of Texas. Plano is too crowded, too many people, too many Indians and H1B workers, and immigrants. Too many immigrant Doctors. Overall health care is poor. The cap on Medical Malpractice is 250k which attracts all of the poor quality health care providers. Plano attracts all of the immigrant and low quality health care providers because it is rated as the highest income per capita town in the state. You have to go into Dallas to get good health care. East Plano is like little Mexico with an abundace of illegals.

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Fabulous Place - 1/5/2010

I've lived all over the world and been exposed to the best and worst of people in many places and from many cultures. I have to say that I have never lived anywhere that really felt like home until now. I have all the cultural conveniences of a large city, easy travel to anywhere in the world, great climate, and good-hearted people as my neighbors. Who could honestly ask for much more than being in a place where you feel safe, welcome, and know that no matter where in the world you are from, your children are getting a first class education and that your neighbors have just as much hometown pride as you do. Plano is fabulous!

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Quality of life - 8/29/2009

Great safe place to live, easy commuting, modern services. Little or no history, the development ran over most history except the extreme downtown area, most restaurants are chain and there is little or no nostalgia/history type invironament.

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Downtown - 7/15/2009

I live in downtown Plano it's changing fast definitely quiet but a few fun places to hang out and you can always catch the dart to downtown

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