re: Plano vs Dallas

If you're trying to start a family, all the northern Dallas suburbs are fairly similar. Good schools, similar (chain) restaurants, malls, etc.

If you are not married or do not have kids, I would not move to those areas. As a current 20-something living in Plano for the summer, I do not spend any time here except to sleep and visit with family. Downtown still hasn't reached anywhere near the congestion levels of other major cities. All the 'fun' things to do in Dallas are downtown and not in suburbia land. Klyde Warren, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher, Perot, Deep Ellum, AAC, Uptown, etc. are all downtown. Nothing in the suburbs matches any of those things, except maybe Legacy.

You could not pay me to live in the suburbs as an unmarried individual.