--- title: McKinney, Texas description: When Alex and Kristen Lanio, 52 and 43, decided to relocate their chocolate-making company from Newport, R.I., to the Dallas–Fort Worth area in 2011, they… authors: - name: turnercowles url: https://money.com/author/turnercowles/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 23 covers: - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Retirement - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2014-09-19T18:56:12.000Z' modified: '2019-08-20T14:24:02.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Best Places to Live - best places to live 2014 - McKinney - Texas canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![201410_BPL_01MCKINNEY](https://img.money.com/2014/09/201410_bpl_01mckinney.jpg) When Alex and Kristen Lanio, 52 and 43, decided to relocate their chocolate-making company from Newport, R.I., to the Dallas–Fort Worth area in 2011, they had plenty of business-friendly, affordable towns to choose from. Once they walked through downtown ­McKinney, with its brick buildings and cobblestone streets, they knew they’d found the place. “Around here, everyone says hello and stops to chat,” says Alex. “It’s a truly hometown feeling.” Underlying McKinney’s homey Southern charm is a thoroughly modern city. The area is a hotbed for growth-industry jobs. Ray­theon recently brought a 3,600-employee division to town, and companies in green energy, aviation, and medical services have also moved to the region. Next up: a Sheraton hotel and conference center opening in February. Other Fortune 500 companies are a 15- to 45-minute commute away. Career and college prep are big in McKinney’s schools. AP courses start in middle school, and high schoolers can get internships in a range of industries. Technology is central; grade schoolers get lessons on wired smartboards, and starting in January, every high school freshman will be issued a MacBook Air laptop. The historic downtown houses a mix of art galleries, boutiques, and farm-to-table restaurants, as well as basics like a butcher, shoe repair, and farm-supplies stores. Mark Strange, 41, who relocated from California two years ago for his job at Fossil, an accessories manufacturer, says that living downtown was a no-brainer for him, his wife, Patrizia Montanari, and their two young children. “It’s a mix of European, East Coast, and West Coast here,” adds Mon­tan­ari, 36, a photographer. “You get culture and more country charm for less money than what you’d find in Dallas.” Housing options range from restored Victorians to Texas-style mansions. With three-bedrooms averaging in the low $200,000s, the price is still right, though the market is heating up. For Americo and Silvana Galdos, 37 and 34, who moved back to McKinney last year after a stint in Mississippi, that meant getting outbid a few times before they clinched the deal. They ultimately landed a great house, right across from a park, where they and their three kids walk the dog or go for bike rides. “There’s so much nature around us,” says Americo, a manager for a car manufacturer, “it’s easy to forget you’re in a city.” *Want to live large in our #1 Best Place? This Italian villa, complete with a wine cellar and a swim-up poolside bar, is the most expensive home on the market in McKinney:* *[See homes for sale in McKinney, Texas.](http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/McKinney,TX/popularity;d_sort)* ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Places to Travel", "item": "https://money.com/places-to-travel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "McKinney, Texas" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/", "name": "McKinney, Texas", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2014-09-19T18:56:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2019-08-20T14:24:02.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "McKinney, Texas", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2014/09/201410_bpl_01mckinney.jpg", "width": 2100, "height": 1292, "caption": "201410_BPL_01MCKINNEY" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "turnercowles", "url": "https://money.com/author/turnercowles/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/turnercowles/#author" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2014-09-19T18:56:12.000Z", "description": "When Alex and Kristen Lanio, 52 and 43, decided to relocate their chocolate-making company from Newport, R.I., to the Dallas–Fort Worth area in 2011, they…", "abstract": "When Alex and Kristen Lanio, 52 and 43, decided to relocate their chocolate-making company from Newport, R.I., to the Dallas–Fort Worth area in 2011, they…", "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/mckinney-texas-best-places-to-live/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2019-08-20T14:24:02.000Z", "keywords": [ "Best Places to Live", "best places to live 2014", "McKinney", "Texas" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "World Tourism rankings", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings" ] } ] } ] } ```