McKinney is frequently rated high on lists for the city overall and for raising families in particular. If you like your politics and schools red, you’re going to like it here. Banning CRT (regardless of it not being taught), banning books, and sexuality and gender regulations are hot-button issues that are generally passed in the McKinney school district. Expect local and national elections to vote conservative or extreme conservative here. If that’s your cup of tea, this could be your place. 

There are plenty of families moving to southern states like Texas, looking to take advantage of the lower cost of living. If you’re liberal and are considering McKinney, you may want to double-check yourself. While growth has brought a bit of diversity, at least in thinking, overall, the population and the schools will feel unwelcoming on the political and policy front. 

If you like conservative family towns!

LookyLOO Review of McKinney

As recently as 2014, McKinney was rated the best city in the U.S. to live by Money Magazine. That ranking, plus overall migration trends, have driven tremendous growth in McKinney and the other north Dallas suburbs. This is a deeply family-driven suburban city of Dallas, and the lifestyle mirrors that role. It has very high-ranked schools, great parks, tons of family-friendly activities, and, relative to other parts of the country (we see you, Cali), amazing prices on homes. You are very close to Downtown Dallas here, so expect to head into the big city for more glamor nights out, but also know there are plenty of more casual restaurant/bar options in town. 

If you want to know what's happening in McKinney, check out the [**calendar of events**](https://www.mckinneytexas.org/2088/Downtown-Calendar). 

We highly recommend visiting McKinney and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our [partnership with Expedia](expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.

Lifestyle 

Many of the north Dallas suburban cities cater to commuters heading to Dallas-based headquarters, but there are several big employers here: Raytheon in the defense space, Torchmark in insurance, and several health/medical facilities overall, though the majority of residents live in McKinney and other northern suburbs to get affordable housing and commute to work. 


Worklife

The cost of living relative to the quality of education and family lifestyle is hard to beat. There are tons of apartment buildings that are going up nonstop in the area if you’re looking to rent, and even though housing costs have gone up quite a bit if you’re coming from the west or east coasts you’ll find it affordable. 


Education/Family Lifestyle > Cost of Living

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**AvariciousAltruist**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

So I just moved to McKinney a couple months ago thanks to getting a new job in the area. So far, it's been pretty awesome. This place is growing quickly. There are already a lot of shops, homes, apartments, etc. and more being built.

Collin county has an excellent community college system as well. Everyone around here seems to know someone who goes, is going, or has been to one of the campuses.

There are also lots of great places to eat and hang out. I don't think I've ever been so spoiled for choice when it comes to non-chain restaurants.

I can't speak much for homes in the area, but my apartment is $1500/month for a single bedroom.

My biggest gripe is with the horrible traffic. I won't get into the details of why I think that is, but it can be pretty bad at certain times in certain places. Honestly, though, it's probably not as bad as LA (yet, lol). Unfortunately, there is no public transit at all. The nearest DART light rail station is in Plano, which is 10 miles away from the edge of McKinney.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that this is Texas. It's hot, it's heavily conservative, and it's hot. If you can live with that, it'll work out for you.


Reviews of McKinney from Locals

McKinney is on the north side of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, more commonly known as DFW Metroplex. It’s farther north than other suburban cities like Plano or Frisco but not by much.  All of DFW is easily accessible by car and there is a train but it doesn’t reach McKinney so not practical for commuting. 

Many people think of DFW as a great big giant city (with 7.2 million people) with borders among the cities, suburbs and towns as largely irrelevant given the lack of natural borders from things like rivers or lakes. While there can be plenty of traffic in DFW for the most part the freeway system/turnpike gets everyone around in very short drives (or train rides) relative to most of the other large metroplexes. DFW is extremely new compared to the other big developed metroplexes and that means it is just more convenient. You’re 15-35 minutes into downtown Dallas or Fort Worth from a great majority of the suburbs which means if you choose to live that rolling lawn lifestyle it’s not far to hit the big cities. Most of the popular suburbs are directly north Dallas: Plano, McKinney, Frisco among others but there are also plenty in between the two cities: Irving, Arlington and Grand Prairie that draw a lot of attention as well. 

If you’re looking for the most “developed” of the north suburbs in terms of a commercial district then Plano is a good option. Frisco is the fastest growing with the most development happening and McKinney as the farthest north tends to be a bit better on pricing. It also tends to be the most conservative if that is to your liking.  

None of this means you have to live close to one of the big cities. The Metroplex is nearly 9,300 square miles, which means it is larger than the land areas of six U.S. states. If you want rural you can find it here. 


The Area

McKinney has a notable Historic Downtown district and while it will in no way replace being in downtown Dallas it can make do in a pinch for a local beer or meal. If you’re trying to save some bucks and live away from the big city, perhaps also for a shorter commute than this is a good neighborhood option. There are some casual eating and drinking options when you feel like hanging local and want to just walk to the bar or restaurant of your choosing. 
- Historic Downtown


Young Professionals

Historic Downtown

Family life is where McKinney shines. Master-planned communities like Auburn Hills are ideal if you want life to be easy and awesome for the kiddos. The Gray Branch Park has cycling and hiking trails, an amphitheater, lacrosse, soccer, baseball fields and both indoor and outdoor recreation spaces for all sorts of other sports and play options. This is all in addition to great newer homes and excellent schools. Master-planned communities like Auburn Hills dominate the neighborhoods here, all with plenty of amenities, outdoor play, and plenty of water to cool off in during the summer months. 
- Auburn Hills
- Craig Ranch
- Hardin Lake
- Isleworth
- Trinity Falls


Families

Auburn Hills


McKinney has a combination of appealing neighborhoods and 55+ communities to choose from. The weather, amenity-filled options and reasonable prices are appealing for empty nesters and retirees. Any of the master-planned communities have a lot of the great homes and nearby amenities retirees appreciate. There are several highly-rated 55+ communities in McKinney, like The Retreat at Craig Ranch. The Retreat has a 9,000 square foot, two-story clubhouse with amazing activity options for residents. It also offers access to the Cooper Aerobics and Fitness Center, and indoor and outdoor fitness and spa facility. This place is nice. 
- The Retreat at Craig Ranch
- Villas at Willow Grove
- Fireside Village


Empty Nesters/Retirees

The Retreat at Craig Ranch

McKinney

**Aromatic_Location**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

In general McKinney is older and more family oriented. There are still things for younger groups though, but not as much as the uptown area. Frisco is close by, and there are some nice entertainment areas there. There is a lot to do in DFW in general and everything is within a 1 to 1.5 hour drive. Even a weekend trip down to Austin is easy, only a 4 hour drive. My girlfriend moved here from the bay area 8 years ago and loves it here... except for the summer. The summer is really brutal, which everyone else mentioned. Houses have gotten more expensive, but should be coming down with the higher interest rates. Our house was 275k when we bought it 6 years ago and is somehow worth 575k now. I do expect it to go down to the 450k range next year though. When prices go down next year is probably going to be the best time to buy. You'll just have to refinance when interest rates go back down.

**AvariciousAltruist**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

So I just moved to McKinney a couple months ago thanks to getting a new job in the area. So far, it's been pretty awesome. This place is growing quickly. There are already a lot of shops, homes, apartments, etc. and more being built.

Collin county has an excellent community college system as well. Everyone around here seems to know someone who goes, is going, or has been to one of the campuses.

There are also lots of great places to eat and hang out. I don't think I've ever been so spoiled for choice when it comes to non-chain restaurants.

I can't speak much for homes in the area, but my apartment is $1500/month for a single bedroom.

My biggest gripe is with the horrible traffic. I won't get into the details of why I think that is, but it can be pretty bad at certain times in certain places. Honestly, though, it's probably not as bad as LA (yet, lol). Unfortunately, there is no public transit at all. The nearest DART light rail station is in Plano, which is 10 miles away from the edge of McKinney.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that this is Texas. It's hot, it's heavily conservative, and it's hot. If you can live with that, it'll work out for you.

**Own_Sky9933**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I moved from Northern California. I love it here and wish I would have moved sooner. I'm a Libertarian so I get annoyed with some of the bible thumping but I enjoy conservative ass Texas. I got tired of living in a homeless encampment in California and uber liberal things like a Rasta Charlie Brown statue was a major controversy where I am from. Lots of younger people want to live in trendy areas of Dallas and places like Addison. I moved here at 30 and I personally like suburbia and would have done the same at 25 or 18 if I would have been more courageous to leave family, etc. To each their own. There is a cool historic downtown.

#1 thing I would say is adjust your housing budget. Property taxes are basically 2% a year and adjust every time things go up. There is no Prop 13 cap. Again, I am from Northern California so the weather was more of an adjustment for me. Its hot as f*** like 6-8 months of the year. It will rain in the summer time and be humid for like 2 days. You will get large hail 2-5 times and year and it might snow/ice storm like a week each Jan/Feb where as a So Cal driver you can't leave because they don't salt the roads. Lots of So Cal people live in Collin County and DFW in general. I guess it reminds them of LA with the traffic and the crazy freeways. I am the rare Nor Cal person that likes it here most of us move to hill country regardless of politics. Reminds us more of home.

Fancy_Sawce
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

We moved from Mississippi to McKinney a few years ago and have absolutely loved it. I'd mostly echo what everyone else has said but I'll also add that I learned I really was into the Far North Dallas suburbs - primarily Frisco, McKinney, Prosper, and even Celina (where I ultimately live now). If you all are planning to visit, I'd give all these cities a look. Some quick details:

In the order I mentioned (South to North), you'll see they become decreasingly densely packed and become more rural. Though even Celina is growing rapidly and won't be rural for long.

You generally can get more house per dollar the further North you go but your price point should comfortably fit you in any of these. This is one reason we ended up in Celina

If you were to pick a house at random, you'd find a white Christian conservative family of four. Coming from Mississippi, I find more diversity here but you may find less having come from LA.

You can find a ton of recommended places to visit in this subreddit but here are some highlights I'd recommend:

Downtown McKinney is adorable and there are some good restaurants. I personally love The Yard and it's a perfect time of year for that

Check out The Adriatica - it's extremely unique

If you want to see a movie while here, Cut is quite unique. It's a Cinemark dine-in theater in Prosper and I personally love it.

The Star in Frisco is really neat. I don't care for football at all but still find this area really neat

McKinney, Texas

Home of the Lions

Looklyloo Score: 89