collin county

NEWCOMER’S GUIDE: 4

A ‘BEST PLACE’ TO LIVE

PLANO WAS NAMED THE 4TH BEST PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY IN WALLETHUB’S 2022 NATIONAL RANKING, WHICH LOOKED AT THE COST OF HOUSING, QUALITY OF SCHOOLS AND HEALTHCARE, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION. IN ANOTHER RANKING BY LIVABILITY, MCKINNEY LANDED THE NO. 18 SPOT FOR THE 2022 BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN THE U.S. PLANO MADE THAT LIST, TOO, COMING IN AT NO. 29.

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TEXAS FOUNDING FATHER

BOTH COLLIN COUNTY AND THE COUNTY SEAT, MCKINNEY, WERE NAMED AFTER COLLIN MCKINNEY, ONE OF THE FIVE MEN WHO DRAFTED THE TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE OLDEST OF THE 59 MEN WHO SIGNED IT. COLLIN MCKINNEY, WHO’S MEMORIALIZED WITH A HISTORICAL MARKER IN THE VAN ALSTYNE CEMETERY, DIED AT AGE 95 AND LIVED UNDER THE FOUR FLAGS OF FOUR NATIONS—UNITED STATES, MEXICO, TEXAS AND CONFEDERACY.

ABOVE // MCKINNEY, COLLIN COUNTY’S THIRD-LARGEST CITY AFTER PLANO AND FRISCO, CONSISTENTLY RANKS AS A TOP PLACE TO LIVE IN THE NATION.

QUAINT, HOMETOWN CHARM coupled with all the big-city amenities make the communities in Collin County a great place to call home. And folks have noticed, too—since 2000 the region has seen a surge in its population, which now stands at 1.1 million.

Coming Attraction

COLLIN COUNTY WILL BE HOME TO UNIVERSAL STUDIO’S FIRST-EVER THEME PARK DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR LITTLE KIDS. THE ONE-OF-A-KIND PARK, COMING TO A 97-ACRE PLOT IN FRISCO, WILL FEATURE IMMERSIVE THEMED LANDS, RIDES, RESTAURANTS AND WATER FEATURES INTENDED FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. IT’S SLATED TO OPEN IN 2026.

SKATERS’ PARADISE

THE REGION BOASTS THREE OF TEXAS’ LARGEST SKATEPARKS. AT A COLOSSAL 47,000-SQUARE FEET, THE NORTHEAST COMMUNITY SKATEPARK IN FRISCO IS THE SECOND BIGGEST IN THE STATE AND THE LARGEST IN NORTH TEXAS. AND NOT FAR BEHIND IT, THE GABE NESBITT SKATEPARK IN MCKINNEY AND THE EDGE IN ALLEN COME IN AT A WHOPPING 30,000- AND 37,915-SQUARE-FEET, RESPECTIVELY.