Incredible City Atmosphere

Name: Monica Navarro

City: Frisco

Neighborhood: The Arbors at Willow Bay

Company/Title: Hilti, Senior Manager

When did you move here? Where from? 
May 2015, from Tulsa, Oklahoma

Where else have you lived?
Leon, Mexico (born and raised), LA, San Diego, Aliso Viego, CA, Tulsa

What made you decide to Say Yes to Dallas?
There are many reasons why my husband and I jumped at the opportunity to move to the Dallas area when our company headquarters relocated to Plano. Affordable housing, safe neighborhoods, great schools and universities, a diverse population, and a variety of entertainment options are among some of the reasons. We also love the great restaurants, from local farm-to-table concepts to international ethnic cuisine. We enjoy the local breweries, parks, manageable traffic, plus two major airports that provide easy connections to the rest of the world.

How did you choose which part of town to live in?
Proximity to work, a great school district, new homes, and neighborhood safety were our main criteria.

Tell us about your city/neighborhood. What do you like best? What makes it different?
Everything we need is within 15 minutes driving. I’m close to my favorite grocery stores, and there are a lot of restaurants and things to do close by McKinney, Plano and Allen are really close. We are not far from the main airports, Downtown Dallas museums and Dallas restaurants.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to move here?
My husband and I love the fact that downtown Dallas is not far from our home in Frisco and our office in Plano. We love the amazing museums like the DMA and Perot Museum, just to name two. The Dallas Aquarium has a great variety of sea life. Our company hosted an employee event there recently and watching the families and children enjoy the space was very nice. Also, the arboretum is beautiful, and it always changing with seasonal decorations. We’re now DFW sports fans. The Star, Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters, is just five minutes from work and it’s much more than just a practice facility. The atmosphere incredible, and it has a new hotel and restaurants. Of course, the drive to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington is not bad – what a fun activity!

What is your passion, and how does Dallas help fulfill it?
I love arts and crafts and working out. Dallas is a great city to be in because you have access to various conventions, materials, trade shows, etc. As far as working out, I have everything from hiking to aerial yoga – its awesome.

Tell us about the work environment here.
Our offices are in North Plano (Legacy East) and the area is unique and dynamic. The amount of amazing, employee-friendly offices is outstanding. We have an award-winning design by Gensler Architects with everyone having sit-to-stand desks, chill-out areas and healthy in-house food options. Being at Legacy, it’s fun to get out and walk to the amazing variety of restaurants and shops. Right across the Dallas North Tollway, the new Legacy West has even more amazing stores, apartments, boutiques and the largest food court in North America (which my colleagues and I are working our way through).

What is your favorite restaurant in your neighborhood?
It’s hard to pick just one. Here are some of my favorites:

Thai – Simply Thai; Pizza – Fireside Pies; Italian – Crudo; Ramen – Habani; Mexican – El Come Taco; Indian – Paradise Biryani. And I can’t forget to mention In-N-Out Burgers.

How do you interact with your community?
I volunteer at Meal on Wheels, Children‘s Hospital, and a local food bank. It is a great opportunity to give back to the community, while paying back for everything you have. My employer gives everyone two days off per year to volunteer in the community, which is a great way to explore what type of community involvement appeals to you.

Do you travel often? Easier or harder to do here?
For business, having the options of Dallas Love Field and DFW Airport makes travelling easy. For pleasure, we like to hit the road.  While Texas is a massive state, we’ve enjoyed experiencing Austin, Houston and San Antonio, which are all less than a few hours away.

Photo Credit: Michael Samples