McKinney

McKinney is an immensely popular suburb of Dallas, only 20 minutes away. This ever growing town has excellent schools, shopping, dining and employment to boot. Housing is more than affordable than neighboring cities and was voted Money Magazine's # Best Place to Live in the US. You definitely get more bang for your buck in the cost per square foot.

Schools are rated highly and parent/teacher participation is out of the norm - in a good way. A new Charter school just opened this year and many are flocking to get in the lottery to attend. Lots of parks, recreation and outdoor activities are abundant.

The Historic Downtown area boasts homes from the late 1800's and a town square that is always buzzing with festivals and art walks. Speaking of the arts, McKinney not only has the Performing Arts Centers, the Heard Museum but also is the home the Collin County Youth Ballet. Did I mention the Children's Theater that hosts several plays throughout the year?

So many dining choices that sometimes I can't make up my mind. From the fine dining at Rick's onthe square to coffee shops, pizza bars and wine bistros there is never any reason to leave McKinney.

Lakeside is a wind-y street at the back of the orginal Eldorado neighborhood. The street ends in a cul-de-sac just at the dam portion of the large lake. Many families live on the street, and school-aged kids are often seen scootering, throwing the football, or holding lemonade stands. Lakeside has a well-maintined feel to the upscale homes that were built between the 90's to the mid-00's, with a traditional feel to most of the 2-story houses. Many homes have pools, large, fenced lots, and lots of landscaping. Some of the homes back up to the greenbelt/golf path/walking path, and there is even a massive kids swing nestled among the multitude of trees along the walking path, near the iron bridges that cross over the 'loch' of lakes/rivers that flow east-west through the neighborhood, filling the large lake at the end of Lakeside.
All in all, this street is a great place to live, very peaceful, and maintained with an iron fist (!) by the homeowners association. This is not a place that you will see weed-y yards or homes in need of painting/upkeep - there are always a lot of activity by yard services or contractors adding to or updating homes on this street - in fact, 2 custom home builders live on this street!
The nearby shopping corner of highway 75/Eldorado is home to some of the best retail therapy in McKinney, short of the charming downtown square, which is only 10 minutes to the north. Across the highway (75) to the north is also McKinney's Town Lake park, with a large lake, paddleboating, play areas for the kids, fishing, and walking paths under the many trees. This park is home to many festivals throughout the year for this growing community of over 120,000 residents.