Plano is the perfect place for families and increasingly younger couples and singles. There are parks, bike trails, dog parks, and recreation centers that everyone can enjoy. If you’re in the mood for a pickup game of tag football, a picnic with friends, or a walk with the fam, check out the two open space preserves: [**Arbor Hills Nature Preserve**](https://www.plano.gov/1397/Arbor-Hills-Nature-Preserve), which has a pond, and [**Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve**](https://www.plano.gov/1476/Oak-Point-Park-Nature-Preserve). Within both parks are biking trails void of interruption from cars or traffic. 

If you want indoor recreation, there are 5 recreation centers in Plano, three with indoor pools, one with an outdoor pool, and a recreation center exclusively for senior residents. If you or your family has a furry friend, there are many dog parks in the area, great for an afternoon with the pup! With the favorable weather and community feel of Plano, it’s no shocker that everyone loves to get out and about!

The pandemic means that people don’t have to live in high-population areas and sacrifice happiness for location. Texas is no stranger to the post-office life migration. Texas, as a whole, offers no income tax for citizens or corporations, meaning it’s a very popular place for headquarters including FedEx, Frito-Lay, and more. More people and more business means, you guessed it, traffic. 

For people who are still commuting to Dallas, you’re looking at your usual 25 minute commute go up to 70 minutes in the evening rush. As more and more businesses take advantage of Texas’s lack of corporate income taxes, we can expect even more people to move to the DFW area in the coming years than already have been 



Nature, Parks, and Trails

LookyLOO Review of Plano

Plano is a safe, sunny, family-friendly, and fun town. People who live here have found a perfect combination of work-life balance. There is a ton to do outside with family or friends, great restaurants, and amazing schools. Plano’s neighborhoods are tree-lined and gorgeous, full of families and young professionals looking for community and a good time!

If you want to see what's happening in Plano check out the [**calendar of events**](https://www.visitplano.com/events/).

Lifestyle 

Plano is home to a huge number of headquarters. At Home, FedEx Office, Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney, and many more are in Plano! Because there are so many growing businesses already in the city and more hiring on the way, there's no shortage of job opportunities for those on the hunt. The largest employers are Capital One Finance, DXC Technology, and Bank of America.


Worklife 

With the high number of headquarters already in Plano, plus more moving to the DFW area in the next few years, it’s only getting more crowded. Couple that with the pandemic’s rise in housing prices, and even a reasonably priced and populated city like Plano will boom! Move now while you can and watch Plano grow!


Move now before it’s too late!

Why Move Now? 

**curvedyield**
9mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

We were in your shoes 1 year ago (almost exactly it sounds like). We made the move and it’s been 10/10 choice - very happy we did. If you have kids and family in the area it’s hard to beat.

In my mind, the biggest knocks against it are:

summers are terrible/way too hot

good city parks, but in general very limited good nature nearby (no one @ me about these fake lakes you guys have in Texas - definitely does not count)

if suburbia would bother you, then not for you (personally love it for stage of life we are in now, but at a different time or for different personalities I could see how it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea).

Other than that, some things that surprised me (positively) vs my expectations:

had been visiting here for ~15-20 yrs before we moved, but I’ve really been noticing how clean it is vs anywhere else we’ve lived (mostly recently Boston suburbs). Not sure if that’s consensus opinion, but I run a lot and it’s not even close - really really clean vs anywhere else I’ve lived.

ppl are generally very friendly/neighborly

This place is stunningly pro construction/development (which I personally appreciate. The mayor joked about the orange traffic cone being the city flower of Plano and got applause. In the northeast or west coast they would 100% throw rotten fruit at you for that).

it feels/seems quite safe to me. The one exception would be driving. IMHO drivers here seem (overall), better than many cities, but there is a real road-rage vibe (& have seen a few incidents).

For more reviews of Plano from locals check out: [**The Reviews**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/plano/reviews)

The Reapers

Reviews of Plano from Locals

Young professionals in Plano have a ton to keep them occupied. Whether you’re commuting to Dallas or work at one of the many headquarters in town, your weekends will be filled with hanging out with friends outdoors, taking your favorite furry friend to the park, or hitting up one of the many great restaurants or bars. Stay close to the action in these neighborhoods:
- Downtown Plano
- Pitman Creek


Young Professionals

Downtown

Young Families settling down in Plano have a ton to look forward to. There are plenty of future fixer-uppers and great neighborhoods with awesome schools and parks, all while being close to the action.
- Timbercreek
- Pitman Creek
- King’s Ridge


Young Families

Timbercreek

Older families will find it no trouble at all to find a place in Plano to call home. There is a wide variety in listing price, all while giving your and your family the amenities and privacy they want. These neighborhoods have tree-lined streets, easy access to parks and nature trails, and great schools.
- Russell Creek
- Lakeside
- Legacy West


Established Families

Russell Creek

There is plenty in Plano to keep recently retired singles and couples busy. There are great shops, restaurants, and a ton of outdoor activities to participate in. If you find your nest recently empty, check out these areas:
- Downtown 
- Oak Point 


Retirees

Oak Point 

Plano

**Cloudy_Automation**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Dad-type advice here.

The quintessential Texas supermarket is HEB, and one opened in Plano at Preston&Spring Creek. If you haven't visited one, it's worth at least one visit. There are plenty of Tex-Mex and Barbeque restaurants, but there are a number of ethnic restaurants, Indian, Japanese, Korean, German, Jamaican and others.

While the speed limits seem more of a suggestion, once school starts, every school zone is strictly enforced, including handheld phone use. You have to stop for school buses in both directions, even on a 6 lane road. Getting a Texas drivers license takes forever, make an appointment online as soon as possible. You need to have your car insured, inspected, and registered in Texas within 30 days, and this has to be done before you go to your driver's appointment.

From what my daughter told me, the wine walks in Deep Ellum were fun, best to get there on DART and back, with an Uber of one has consumed too much. The DART train is in eastern Plano. It's also a good way to go to the State Fair in September, everyone needs to go once.

**Anonymous**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

A more balanced and accurate view of Plano, for someone that takes pride in thinking accurately. Plano is a dense suburb of Dallas, population near 285K, good mix of residential options but is mostly single family homes, ranging from high end homes mostly in the west side to more modest homes in the east. There are also apartments, garden style and new urbanist style in several locations. The city has excellent parks, bike trails, recreation centers, good restaurants, fairly good cultural amenities (performing arts)for a suburban city in the U.S. The population is diverse. Crime is low. Road infrastructure is good, excellent sidewalks for a car oriented city. Public transportation is good, with rail to Dallas on the east side, fair to good bus transit with routes from train station to employment areas on the west side of town, two park and ride bus centers and an on demand transit system across most of the city not on a bike route. Thus, the comment that public transportation is a joke is not accurate. It is not Paris or London, but good to very good for a U.S suburban city. 

**sapphirekangaroo**
Living in Plano
9mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

Plano is a boring city and expensive BUT it’s an amazing place to raise a family. I have a 4 and 8 year old - there are excellent schools, many parks, lots of family entertainment, and it’s safe and clean. Plano itself has lots of shops and restaurants and is easy to live in. Traffic within the city isn’t too bad, except during rush hour. Dallas and two major airports are nearby. The people of Plano are great - a family member recently came out as transgender and we’ve had no issues and only neutral to welcoming responses.

**Thinking about moving to Plano. Have some questions.**

hailstorms occur every few years. they happen but too often. summers are brutal - i was born and raised here and still hate going outside; the only time when its tolerable is early mornings and late evenings. winters are ok, mild, rarely snows but it has happened before!

politically conservative but I've never encountered super expressive people. most keep to themselves especially with the more diverse population.

population is pretty diverse as i said before. in recent years, I've noticed more Asians especially Chinese moving in (I'm Asian myself and I grew up with many other Asian peers at school). There's been a lot of new cute resturants and cafes opening that students have been going to but there isnt really that much of a night life going on. We weren't ranked as one of the most boring cities in the States for no reason lol.

Plano is known to be very safe. Gun violence has never been a problem until recent years. You don't NEED one but owning a gun is very common in TX.

Haven't heard of opioid crisis but drugs are a known issue in high school (then again this isnt an unique problem) especially on the West side. i went to a school known as the 'pharmacy' where weed was dealt freely and drugs were found in restrooms so 🤷‍♂️

Plano, Texas

The Reapers

Looklyloo Score: 91