Richardson is the anti-sprawl play—a landlocked city executing three converging "super-cycles" of capital investment. The DART Silver Line opened October 25, 2025. The $1.4B RISD bond just passed. And the city is aggressively converting obsolete office buildings into apartments while bulldozing blight. This isn't suburban stasis—it's strategic rebuilding.

For families priced out of Plano but wanting transit access, strong schools, and Dallas proximity, Richardson is the value arbitrage. The city offers RISD quality at Carrollton prices, with the added bonus of two Silver Line stations putting you 44 minutes from DFW Airport by rail. The trick is knowing which neighborhoods are in "transformation" mode versus "stability" mode.