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Bologna..Marshalls and TJs do NOT get all the run off from higher end retailers-trust me, I live and work right near their headquarters and headquarter stores. Absolute rubbish.
And anyway, who says these so-called "people" who shop so called high end don't just hit the sales? Have you ever been to the Nordstrom half yearly? Or experienced a Bloomingdales sale (they're incredible). And you get actual good quality merchandise that will LAST! Not junk from Geoffrey Beene that you have to buy annually because it falls apart.
I despise Marshalls and TJs, and I am not some uppity type. Those places are ratholes and confuse the hell out of me trying to find stuff.
The only "SALE" ive seen at the SL TC are the ones where they knock off 5% off of retail . Still expensive.
In anycase I guess the point is moot because if they can pay 500k for a home im sure they dont mind paying 65$ for a scarf.
I wear stuff I bought at Marshalls over 4 years ago, weird that they havent fallen apart yet.
I'd rather spend on education and food than on wasteful clothing.
To each his own i guess.
The only "SALE" ive seen at the SL TC are the ones where they knock off 5% off of retail . Still expensive.
In anycase I guess the point is moot because if they can pay 500k for a home im sure they dont mind paying 65$ for a scarf.
I wear stuff I bought at Marshalls over 4 years ago, weird that they havent fallen apart yet.
I'd rather spend on education and food than on wasteful clothing.
To each his own i guess.
depends on your line of work, at least in my case..I can't look like a skidder, and in my business how you look is important, believe it or not. But in my opinion, you dress for the job you want, blah bah blah.
A) No, you don't need to go to Nordstrom's or whatnot to buy clothes for most if not all jobs (you can read "The Millionaire Next Door" for examples of, say, suits at JC Penney's actually being rated higher in most ways than far more expensive suits). There is virtually no reason why one would "have" to buy expensive clothes (or other items) from upscale retailers.
That having been said
2) Different people have different priorities, tastes and interests, as well as incomes. You allocate your financial resources in whatever ways maximize your (or your family's) goals and happiness, whatever they may be. I buy inexpensive clothes and spend very little on cars and am generally a cheapas....er, "frugal" person. OTOH, I also spend money on "foodie" items that some people would roll their eyes at. (Yes, I generally do try to buy high quality items at reduced costs and such, but it doesn't always work that way). Other people spend lots on their wardrobes and cut costs in other places. Some people have lots more to spend than I do, others have a lot less, so ALL their choices reflect different frames of reference.
As long as people don't complain about the predictable outcomes of their lifestyle choices, I really don't care (and even then, I just find the complaints annoying, as it's their life, not mine). Some people buy expensive cars - if they enjoy them and have the income to meet their other obligations, more power to them. Some people travel a lot. Some go to fancy restaurants.
And again, everyone's income is different. Used to be a time when my "luxury spending" was buying soda in CANS rather than in two liter bottles, when adding cheese to my homemade bean and rice burritos was a splurge, and buying a $15 table at a garage sale for my studio apartment took a lot of soul-searching. Fortunately those days are in the past, but like everyone I make spending choices every day, just that there's a bit more flexibility now. If someone's idea of "cutting expenses" is traveling commercial first class to a fancy hotel in New York City rather than on a charter jet to a private European resort or something...well, again, that's way above where I'm at, but their choice and their life, assuming they can otherwise pay their bills, what difference does it make?
I've got my own life to live and can't be overly concerned about everyone else's budgets, although I do get amused by people who spend money they don't have on items they can't afford in an effort to impress people they don't know (the famous "30K Millionaires" that are often discussed here).
It's all about getting the most bang for your bucks. If anyone wants to criticize my Coach items or my Calphalon cookware, so be it. I get a lot of use out of them - and bought them from outlets anyway, not that anyone would know.
depends on your line of work, at least in my case..I can't look like a skidder, and in my business how you look is important, believe it or not. But in my opinion, you dress for the job you want, blah bah blah.
Fair enough.. peace.
To the topic - I own about an acre land in a hot SL area and will build the house of my dreams eventually but for now I live in Grapevine.
Im looking at buying a house further west, perhaps Keller or even FM. You certainly get more value for your money there, but one thing the convenience of living close to an arterial highway is imperative IMHO especially as the DFW corridor expands westwards.
Grapevine is very convenient as is SL in that department, it takes about 5 mins to get onto 114 and once the DFW connector project is completed it will help commute times.
Just for the convenience of getting to work / airport and Dallas /NE Dallas, SL is better of the 2. Once the Orange line is built you can park your car in Irving and ride all the way to Dallas and then perhaps take Red to Plano etc.
FM traffic is pretty terrible nowadays especially Southbound.
Once Texrail is commissioned heck you can just park in Grapevine from SL and go either to FW or Dallas pretty quickly.
I've got to admit, my first thought when I read the OP's post was, "WHAT? I don't even get the question!"
You're going to work in Flower Mound (I could stop right there), and you can get a one-acre lot in a gorgeous subdivision of FM for the same price as a .33 acre lot in SL, and you want to know which one to choose??
I seriously don't even get why you'd ask!
Flower Mound, of course! This is a no-brainer. But, yes ... I know it depends on a person's values.
OP, you said,
Quote:
I like FM because it's so close to my job. I like SL because it seems the place to be if you're not in Park Cities.
Are you buying your new home for your own contentment and enjoyment? Or are you buying it for other people? Is this going to be a 'status' move? I think I know the answer ...
So just choose Flower Mound and get it over with!
You like Flower Mound and the one acre lot. The schools are great. Appreciation will be fine and representative of the metroplex at worst, and great (in relation to metroplex numbers) at best. Shopping is more than sufficient.
Posters are discussing traffic between SL or FM and Dallas. Traffic between FM and Dallas is no better or worse than what you'd currently face between SL and Dallas. And why are we talking traffic between FM/SL to Dallas anyway? You're going to be working in ... FLOWER MOUND!
And that brings me to my #1 point. WHY would you burden yourself with a commute on potentially crowded, jammed up, noisy highways when you can live 15 minutes down the road from your job in a gorgeous, green, family-oriented area?!
The poster above said that FM traffic is pretty terrible nowadays. I don't agree. It used to be horrible, not too long ago, when nearly every East-West corridor was under construction, as was the one main North-South corridor (2499). Now, the vast majority of that is all done! 2499 has some heavy traffic in rush hour -- going south on 2499 in the mornings and north on 2499 in the evenings. (You won't be in that -- because you're working in ... Flower Mound! ) But it keeps moving, at 45 mph, maybe, at its slowest. And pretty much all of the other roads in FM run quite smoothly 24/7. Southlake traffic, OTOH, runs quite slowly on all roads that are populated by shops and strip malls -- at least in my experience.
Yeah. This is a no-brainer. If you're buying this house for you, you should buy in Flower Mound.
Looks like maybe we'll try to swing for something in Southlake if it's possible. I checked out Bella Lago again - I definitely like some subdivisions in SL a bit more. We are also very interested in Manors at Waterford in northeast Keller (near Westlake area).
The subdivision we like in SL is Carillon. Or maybe Palomar Estates. We shall see.
I would choose Southlake. Flower mound is further from places like Whole Foods,Sprouts,Costco and major upscale shopping
I cant believe I missed this original thread. The quote above gets me...yes, Flower Mound does not have the Southlake Town Center, but it has a Sprouts, is apparently getting a Whole Foods in the Highland Village Shopping area soon, and that same shopping area is nothing to sneeze at. No Costco, but it isn't that far away in Lewisville!
Now Westlake > Flower Mound, but Keller, no way. Flower Mound has the better schools out of all (except maybe Westlake) hands down.
Seriously, if you are working in Flower Mound, why would you want to tack on a 30 min or more commute when you can be minutes away? Grapevine Lake gets in the way of things. Keller/Southlake to Flower Mound isn't an awful commute, but it sure is not easy.
If you do not like Bello Lago, is there anything else in Flower Mound you've considered? Three Bridges might be built out by now, but I know there are others.
"I'd rather live closer to shopping than my job." (We should take a poll on this one.)
I don't think it's that simple. I find it more appealing to be in the SL area and I find the prospect of housing appreciation to be a good bet.
I think SL is closer to many things for me - not just shopping. The good stuff in FM are more west... maybe even inching towards Highland Village or Lantana... and that's way too far from everything for me.
I don't think it's that simple. I find it more appealing to be in the SL area and I find the prospect of housing appreciation to be a good bet.
I think SL is closer to many things for me - not just shopping. The good stuff in FM are more west... maybe even inching towards Highland Village or Lantana... and that's way too far from everything for me.
Just my thoughts.
FM has been very conservative in terms of permitting retail and yet their property tax is approximately 2.15% Vs 2.52% for Southlake. There is a strong undercurrent to have more Retail/ Business, medical/ hospitals and corporate offices as part of SMART GROWTH but FM town / residents will never permit "Retail" to the extent of Southlake. Academy Sports, Market Street applications are already with the Town and there is a high probability of Lakeside development coming up again near the Grapevine lake side of FM. For shopping we have everything in/near FM - Shops in Highland Village shopping or any of the shopping near 1171/ 2499 or 2499/3040, Grapevine Mills...etc and they don't appear far to me. I live in Wellington.
We like Southlake Town Center and many other malls in DFW but don't go there very often. For shopping / retail, I agree, Southlake provides far more options specially on the high end and may be nearer depending on where you buy in SL. From location perspective, I think SL is good if your current or future job location is more towards Keller or Fort Worth.
Regarding house appreciation, I don't think you should expect this in SL or FM specially if you are buying a new house. For a 500- 750K range or higher you will not find a huge difference in what you get on your dollar or on appreciation. If you are looking for price appreciation you should look for existing houses in distress sale in either of these two towns or may be Grapevine/ Colleyville and Coppell.
Here are some average statistics/ inventory for single homes as of date for both towns:
Houses 500-750K:
South Lake no. of houses on sale : 74
Avg $/SqFoot: $146.86
Avg Price: $626,923.00
Avg Days Listed: 114
Flower Mound no. of houses on sale : 54
Avg $/SqFoot: $139.53
Avg Price: $628,394.00
Avg Days Listed: 115
Houses over 500K:
No. of houses on sale in Southlake : 155
Avg $/SqFoot: $181.70
Avg Price: $1,008,289.00
Avg Days Listed: 118
No. of houses on sale in FM : 92
Avg $/SqFoot: $168.19
Avg Price: $968,300.00
Avg Days Listed: 128
Given the size/ population of both towns, the house inventory in FM is a lot lower than SL.
Last edited by adixyz; 08-08-2012 at 05:58 AM..
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