Foo - CLERMONT vs PLANO!!!

i have this huge decision to make.

whether to move to Plano, TX or stay in Clermont, FL

info about me:
male/19/sexy as hell.
going into mechanical engineering.
luv to ride my bike <3

right now im trying to compare the economy's of the two.

what i know:

1. plano's economy is far better right now.
2. clermont is growing very fast
3. clermont got struck with the housing problem that helped start this whole economy crisis that we are in now (US), so the economy here is now so great.

what im trying to figure out:

1. will texas's economy keep growing?
2. will clermonts economy BOOOOOOOM like Plano and Frisco did....or will it just die down after awhile.

there are pros and cons to my list of moving, im just trying to find whats best for me long term.

and economy pros in here?
or and links or references you can point me towards?

I don't know Plano, TX, but I do know FL a little bit. I lived nearly my whole life there until I moved out to Seattle area a few years ago.

FL => HOT, but so it TX, so probably a wash.

Both are likely very flat for riding, FYI.

Clermont, when I lived in Tampa had a running joke that the city income was generated by giving out speeding tickets. When we went to Orlando, we slooooowed down in Clermont.

Clermon is near Orlando. That's either good or bad depending on your perspective.

Clermont is a pretty small town. Probably not a lot going on or to do there.

Going to school there? Thinking of going to UCF there? I went to USF in Tampa (computer engineering), but the company I worked for in Clearwater had plenty of UCF engineering grads. From what I saw and heard (via discussions about school), UCF had a decent engineering program (possibly best in FL).

That's about all I can think of. Hope it helped.

I don't know Plano, TX, but I do know FL a little bit. I lived nearly my whole life there until I moved out to Seattle area a few years ago.

FL => HOT, but so it TX, so probably a wash.

Both are likely very flat for riding, FYI.

Clermont, when I lived in Tampa had a running joke that the city income was generated by giving out speeding tickets. When we went to Orlando, we slooooowed down in Clermont.

Clermon is near Orlando. That's either good or bad depending on your perspective.

Clermont is a pretty small town. Probably not a lot going on or to do there.

Going to school there? Thinking of going to UCF there? I went to USF in Tampa (computer engineering), but the company I worked for in Clearwater had plenty of UCF engineering grads. From what I saw and heard (via discussions about school), UCF had a decent engineering program (possibly best in FL).

That's about all I can think of. Hope it helped.


that does help, its good that you know the area, clermont is blowing up it seems. we have a BJ's and a epic theaters and lots of nice restaurants now. its just not blowing up like plano did because of the economy.

and yeah,i would be attending the ucf at lake Sumpter (low gpa)

i just wish i could predict the future....

If those were my only two options, I'd shoot myself.

If those were my only two options, I'd shoot myself.


haha, any other ideas? im open for moving anywhere with a nice career to start me off, the trouble is finding one that will keep me a job for 10+ years...

If it were me, I'd choose Clermont in a heartbeat. Plano is close enough to Dallas that it'll make driving anywhere a royal pain in the ass. Clermont is completely surrounded by water, and if a lake isn't good enough, the ocean is a short enough drive away. ;) That said, I've never lived in either city, so my post is pretty much a moot point. :p However, if you have a job lined up, and housing is cheap, that's a definite plus.

Is there a third choice?

I thought I read somewhere that Plano was the most affluent community in the US...

Cost of living might be a bit higher than you might expect...

Jerry

haha, any other ideas? im open for moving anywhere with a nice career to start me off, the trouble is finding one that will keep me a job for 10+ years...

A job for 10+ years. Ahahahahaaha, you get a hearty chortle for that one. I find your naivete amusing.

Seriously, scale it down to 3-5 and you'll be closer to reality.

If it were me, I'd choose Clermont in a heartbeat. Plano is close enough to Dallas that it'll make driving anywhere a royal pain in the ass. Clermont is completely surrounded by water, and if a lake isn't good enough, the ocean is a short enough drive away. ;) That said, I've never lived in either city, so my post is pretty much a moot point. :p However, if you have a job lined up, and housing is cheap, that's a definite plus.

I've spent 14 miserable weeks of my life in Plano. It is overbuilt to the extreme - more McMansions than anywhere else I've even been... and I've been quite a few places. Traffic is horrific. Grass is brown for much of the year. It is flat, and the weather tends to the extremes. The only thing bigger than the traffic problem is the average size of the ego there. Many of the residents are from somewhere else.

florida is dangerous for cycling. and plano... well, my walmart cut everyones' hours and told me sales were down.

and it's not that flat. just try plano parkway!

The only thing bigger than the traffic problem is the average size of the ego there. Many of the residents are from somewhere else.

Funny; the biggest egos I found were in those that were from TX. :p

florida is dangerous for cycling. and plano... well, my walmart cut everyones' hours and told me sales were down.

and it's not that flat. just try plano parkway!

TX - at least the "metroplex" of the DFW area is worse for cycling. There are some bike paths, but on the road? Forget it... drivers there are psycho. I was nervous driving my 7000# pickup around let alone my 20# bicycle!!

I'm with the "is there a 3rd option" group?

I lived in the DFW area for a bit over 2 years. It's a miserable place. The locals would often say something like "we're from here, so we like it... but why would you actually MOVE here?"

Funny; the biggest egos I found were in those that were from TX. :p

Some of the nicest, and some of the most annoying were born and raised. Of course I'm stereotyping, but I've not seen another community that better epitomizes the white collar rat race. Status is super-important (in general), and the ego isn't so much the "Cowboys" or "don't mess with Texas", but the "our child is on the honor roll, is in the Olympic Development program for soccer and swimming, and drives an '09 450SL the half mile from the $850,000, 3,100 square foot McMansion on .13 acres to school" kind.

YMMV

i've never noticed this. i guess i don't bother with these people enough. i'm really shocked. :eek:

and UTD is supposed to be a good tech school. although, much of academia (sp?) is bull****.

FL=Hurricanes and gators.
TX=Twisters and rattlers.

Other than that, go ask a Magic 8 ball.

i have this huge decision to make.

whether to move to Plano, TX or stay in Clermont, FL

info about me:
male/19/sexy as hell.
going into mechanical engineering.
luv to ride my bike <3

right now im trying to compare the economy's of the two.

what i know:

1. plano's economy is far better right now.
2. clermont is growing very fast
3. clermont got struck with the housing problem that helped start this whole economy crisis that we are in now (US), so the economy here is now so great.

what im trying to figure out:

1. will texas's economy keep growing?
2. will clermonts economy BOOOOOOOM like Plano and Frisco did....or will it just die down after awhile.

there are pros and cons to my list of moving, im just trying to find whats best for me long term.

and economy pros in here?
or and links or references you can point me towards?

Plano has a kick arse debate team. Hell, Texas is a debate team. That is all.

Sometimes, change for the sake of change is good.

FL=Hurricanes and gators.
TX=Twisters and rattlers.

Other than that, go ask a Magic 8 ball.

FYI, FL has plenty of twisters (FL calls them tornados) and rattlers too. A rattler made it in to our house (and MY bedroom) when I was a kid.

I lived and rode in Plano, but that was 25 years ago. As to where to live, you need to figure this out yourself, you need to learn how to make your decisions. As to having a job, what you do and how well you do it is much more important. Study hard, pick a job that you would take even if it paid 30% less than it does, and keep learning on the job.

Traffic in Plano and North Dallas went from bad to worse between 1975 and 1980, when I left the state. I doubt that it has improved...

I live just north of Plano, and despite what everyone says it's not that bad.
There are good and bad aspects to living in north Texas, just like you'd find anywhere
in the U.S.
Yes there are McMansions, but there are also some very nice communities with sensible houses.
Yes there are All hat no cattle types with huge ego's, but there are also very down to earth folks
too. I'd say the majority of folks from here are transplanted from somewhere else.
I've been riding here for almost 10 years now and have yet to have any real problems with
drivers other than the occasional brain dead motorist on a cell phone, and that can happen anywhere.
At least here in Texas the majority of drivers aren't geriatric patients or lost tourons looking for MickeyLand.
There are some sections of Plano that Zorro has it exactly right, and other areas that are almost
polar opposite.

As for the economy? the recession has not hit here in N. Texas as hard as it has elsewhere in the country, Real estate is down but not that much. Jobless rates are also lower than other areas of
the country as well.
I could think of worse places to live, and better. It's all what you make of it.

Marty

are there decent schools for mechanical engineering where you're looking?

move to boulder, go to UC boulder, get a job in the denver area. there's 5-10 years for you.

or move to san diego, go to UC san diego, get a job in the san diego area.

all depends on your climate preference.

i have this huge decision to make.

whether to move to Plano, TX or stay in Clermont, FL

info about me:
male/19/sexy as hell.
going into mechanical engineering.
luv to ride my bike <3

right now im trying to compare the economy's of the two.

what i know:

1. plano's economy is far better right now.
2. clermont is growing very fast
3. clermont got struck with the housing problem that helped start this whole economy crisis that we are in now (US), so the economy here is now so great.

what im trying to figure out:

1. will texas's economy keep growing?
2. will clermonts economy BOOOOOOOM like Plano and Frisco did....or will it just die down after awhile.

there are pros and cons to my list of moving, im just trying to find whats best for me long term.

and economy pros in here?
or and links or references you can point me towards?
not sure why economy is such a big factor in where you go to COLLEGE. The COLLEGE should be the deciding factor- its a 4-year sentence, and you can go anywhere you want after.

I thought I read somewhere that Plano was the most affluent community in the US...

Cost of living might be a bit higher than you might expect...

Jerry

I think you might be thinking about Collin county and having the highest per capita income. None the less, there are affordable areas,

Some of Zorro's points are spot on. There are some hyper socially competitive folks and some ridiculous displays of wealth. For the most part though, people are pretty friendly and you can find just about every interest or demographic represented.

I live about 5 miles East of Plano, 12 years ago when we moved here it was really really quiet. Not so much now, but still not too bad at all. Where I live is the most popular destination for a ton of group rides and many many cyclists. On the weekends there are tons of riders. There are certainly parts of the area it is not advisable to ride. Heck, what major 6 lane major thruway is smart to ride on? There is a pretty healthy riding community none the less. with some awesome areas to log tons of miles in once you learn the area. Check out here http://www.planobicycle.org/

From a 19 year olds perspective it probably has more point of interest than a smaller town, but never discount the small town and what it has to offer. I applaud your consideration for school and subsequent employment. I assume you are considering UTD. It has a great engineering and CS department and is also supported quite well by the local tech industries with money, equipment, and people. There is also a really diverse student body.

You should drop into the Texas forum and ask some questions.

Good Luck in your decision making process and best of luck in your future plans.