Doing my research (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: appointed, insurance, coop)

[flangl18]

My husband will be retiring from the military in the next year and we are looking to move back to Texas. (I am from Midland). Either the Ft. Worth/Dallas area or San Antonio, depending on jobs.

Looking for ideas on best places to live in the Ft. Worth area for commuting to JRB Ft. Worth (for possibly myself) and likely somewhere around DFW/Arlington for my husband. We are looking for great school options for our daughters, middle school and high school aged. Plan to buy a home and anticipate a budget of $200-$250k for a home.

Ideas on energy costs? Insurance rates? That sort of thing. We have lived in military housing for 20 yrs, so a little out of touch on what utilities cost.

[loves2read]

I don't want to poke a snake but have you seen any of the stories about what the TX legislature is doing to the school budget and what local districts are facing for their next budget/school year?

MANY school districts across the state are facing laying off teachers--Dallas and Houston will probably be the hardest hit because they get the most assistance from the state
but there are few districts that won't have to do some significant cutting to programs across the board--
even athletics might be hurt (but maybe only golf or tennis)

So right now it would be a tough call to say which districts will be least effected by the reductions
because your daughters are middle school and older FTW ISD has no good choice for middle school--all of them have poor TAKS ratings
Paschal HS has great advanced classes for kids who are on the college track but because it also gets other students who are not as motivated or able the school gets on Acceptable on TAKS scores but it has MANY National Merit Scholarship semifinalists each year
a house in your price point in Paschal zone would be difficult I think--you can live in the district and apply for Paschal but that might be a lottery system next year

In the Midcities--the area between FTW and Dallas north of Arlington--
Birdville, HEB, Keller, Grapevine Colleyville are all ISD that have good stats and positive aspects to their schools and homes in your price range--but they would likely be a 20-40 min drive to JNB through FTW and maybe the same to your husband's job
the city of Colleyville is likely too expensive except for homes in HEB ISD but Grapevine might have some homes in your price range...


Arlington's best high school is in the sw area--as a district there are good points but many students from lower socio-economic/ethnic groups--some of its schools are not that well ranked

Northwest ISD is getting lots of play in the news--building some new schools because of growth to the north and west along 377 but that would be long commute for your husband even if you could go down the west side of 820 Loop fairly easily

will PM a good web site for looking at houses in metroplex
well organized and great map feature

[flangl18]

Thanks for the information. I will keep all that in mind as we look for places and decide "where" we want to be located. As of yet nothing is set in stone, so that gives us things to think about. Schools where we are located are horrendous and have some of the highest drug use/teen pregnancies in the area. Unfortunately there is but ONE high school in this town.

I can handle a 20-40 minute commute if it means my girls are in good schools. Keller was one area we were really looking hard at because the schools and the home prices all seemed to be what we are looking for.

[expatChicagoan]

Your experience may vary, but here are some ideas on utility costs for our average size (2400sf) home:
Atmos Energy (Gas): $40 per month
Ft. Worth Water (Water, Sewer, Trash): avg. $90 per month
Tricounty Electric: avg. $90 per month in winter; maximum $160 per month in summer with air conditioning running 24/7.

I love the schools my son has been attending (Keller ISD) for elementary and now intermediate school.

I don't have any experience with any other school districts.

Good luck in your research!

[loves2read]

FYI--Texas has some of the highest utility/insurance costs in the nation--because we are a "pro" business state with a weak insurance (appointed) board.
TriCounty Elec is not available to most homes in the Tarrant county area--more the area west of 377 north of 114--
because it is electric coop the rates are usually better than the other electric providers that you can choose--
there are web sites out there that compare electric providers/costs/customer service
Atmos is the provider for natural gas
some areas in the city/country don't have gas because no pipelines were run--and in rural areas people could use butane/propane--but that is again--not the usual in Keller and most cities in metroplex

[loves2read]

Saw this article--did not see the actual news story
but thought you might be interested
HEB ISD would be price wise and location a viable choice for you
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/H--116352569.html

[flangl18]

Thank you for the continued good information. I can say that $90-$150 is very good for electric compared to the California rates where average summer utilities in the central valley very often top $300-$400. Weather here is very similar to West Texas - hot and dry in the summer and mild winters.
Current job situation looks like I may have an opportunity with the Army Corps of Engineers in Dallas, which means shifting our focus to Dallas rather than Ft. Worth, possibly Arlington, HEB areas....so much to research! LOL....My grandmother lived in Bedford for many years and I drilled at the old Navy Reserve base, which was in the Arlington area, when I was a navy reservist.
If this job offer comes through, I will actually be looking for a short term housing solution for myself for 4-8 weeks, which would be a great opportunity for me to be there checking things out while my kids remain in CA with my husband finishing the school year.

[loves2read]

My son lives in our Bedford house and drives in to Dallas each day--to One McKinney Plaza
but he goes in late and comes home late so he misses most of the commute traffic

[flangl18]

That is good to know. As a civil service employee, I can usually flex my hours to work with traffic patterns, that sort of thing.