commute vs neighborhoods (Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington: renting, crime, house)

[Elle04]

moving from VA, Job in Ft Worth lockheed. commutes from Keller or southlake? Needs to accomodate active family living, close to shopping , public or private school (St. Eliz. Ann Seaton??), kids in neighborhood. Need help with balance of commute / quality of life.

[ChristieP]

Price range? Buying or renting?

[loves2read]

Lockheed commute from Southlake or Keller won't be easy--40 min one way at least is what I am thinking
the Keller area around Elizabeth Ann Seaton has some nice neighborhoods and good Keller public schools
the easiest way to get to Lockheed from that area (if you are dropping off) MIGHT be to go down 377 to the 820 Loop and go west--most of the clogging on 820 happens from NE Mall to 377 or I-35N so the west side might be a semi decent drive
but I-35 into downtown and then out to Lockheed is crazy busy--older freeway--narrow lanes--bad commute on I35 either way

Some people who work at Lockheed choose Aledo--west of FTW--

Southlake is really minimum of 400K and that usually means smaller, older homes probably not updated but also can have a pool, 3 car garage, and decent lot--

Keller little lower price range but nicer areas close to EA Seaton are 350K+
lots of families in either place with athletic opportunities
Keller especially

But also parts of NRHills are close to EA Seaton and have good public schools in the area
Colleyille itself is compares well to Southlake with good public schools
commute to EA Seaton not that easy to make but there are other Catholic schools in area and GCISD are good public schools

price point, commute time, and schools (quality public or specifically EA Seaton) will be the factors since most areas in suburbs have resources for family living

[5stones]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Price range? Buying or renting?

Yes, please give more info.

Most areas around here are filled with families and have great rec programs etc... crime is very low and schools are good.

SEAS(St Elizabeth Anne Seaton) has a great reputation for a Catholic education K-8.
Those who wish to continue in Catholic HS then muist go into Ft Worth to Nolan Catholic.

[Elle04]

thank you, we will be buying, and range is 350-495,000. Academics, Athletics and FUN are important to us, and we are very happy with neighborhoods with kids.

We are attraced to Hidden Lakes and Marshall Ridge (homes, ammenities, shopping, families) but I have concerns about commute for my husband.

Are there any other areas or subdivisions comparable, but closer to Lockheed Ft. Woth?

Thank you for your responses so far, so appreciated!!

[loves2read]

One thing to know is that in TX cities and school districts are not axiomatically the same--one city can have many ISDs in its boundaries and any ISD can serve homes in more than 1-2-3 towns--
so make sure you know what ISD your neighborhood is tied to

IMO there is nothing really close to Lockheed that would work for you--some areas are too low for your price point--Westover Hills in FTW itself is way over your price point--

the burbs are really your best option--
the ISDs to the south or west part of FTW are just not rated as high as those in the NE part of Tarrant county
you can check the area where Northwest ISD serves--the part that is more around Haslet might work better than Keller--but there is a trade off (to me) in just the general esthetics of the area--
Haslet is featureless plains-type area--I just don't find that appealing in the least--but you have to judge for yourself

[adixyz]

My neighbor (both husband & wife) work for Lockheed. They choose Flower Mound for excellent schools and kids/family friendly neighborhood. However they mostly work from home and go to office only twice a week. Their commute time is 50 -65 mins each way. If commute is a major factor and you are commuting daily I do not recommend this commute time.
Unless you live closer in Fort Worth, your commute is not going to be less than 40 mins each way from Keller, Southlake, Colleyville or Haslet. I haven't been to Haslet but Keller, Southlake and Colleyville are nice areas. With your price point you can get a good house in Keller. Property taxes are generally higher in Fort Worth compared to Dallas or Mid cities.

[LuvsFW]

In your price range you could get a home in the Tanglewood or Overton Park neighborhoods. Both very family-friendly with a great elementary school. Middle and High School are iffy. There is a Catholic school, St. Andrews, in the neighborhood, k-8. Very easy drive to Lockheed (I wouldn't even call it a commute).

On the West side of FW, there are also the Ridglea, Ridgmar, Arlington Heights, Monticello, Crestwood neighborhoods. In that price range, you will have some good family-friendly neighborhood options very close to Lockheed and Catholic schools. These are all in FW proper.

[loves2read]

but the FTW ISD schools are the issue--
Castleberry and White Settlement schools are not a good choice either
so if you buy in those areas you probably should strongly consider private schools--

someone posted a letter to the editor this week about a new FTW ISD elementary school in the Benbrook area--
there are decent elementary schools because they pull from smaller neighborhood areas but the junior highs in FTW just don't have good scores--and have not for years
you can check the history at TEA's web site under TAKS school performance data

and you might look at Aledo west of FTW--you can find a house in your price range--maybe larger lot than in burbs in towns like NRHills or Keller or
colleyville and southlake are going to have fewer homes to pick from because your top price point is low for those areas--
Aledo has decent schools--not as good as many NE Tarrant districts but Aledo gets good marks for getting bang for the tax $$--new high school in the areas--
only problem is most schools are far from homes/neighborhoods and there is bus-riding or commutes for parents...few kids walk because Aledo is more rural area

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by LuvsFW

In your price range you could get a home in the Tanglewood or Overton Park neighborhoods. Both very family-friendly with a great elementary school. Middle and High School are iffy. There is a Catholic school, St. Andrews, in the neighborhood, k-8. Very easy drive to Lockheed (I wouldn't even call it a commute).

On the West side of FW, there are also the Ridglea, Ridgmar, Arlington Heights, Monticello, Crestwood neighborhoods. In that price range, you will have some good family-friendly neighborhood options very close to Lockheed and Catholic schools. These are all in FW proper.

You consider Paschal HS "iffy"? It outperforms every single other high school /ISD mentioned on this thread (except Flower mound....which isn't commutable to Lockheed at all!) in terms of National Merit Finalists, SAT's, college placement, etc. Literally 2X the amount of NMSF as Southlake or Keller last year! And it has a great 5A athletic program. Guess you're scared to send your kids to a school with a significant minority population?! Because I can't think of any other reason Paschal could be considered "iffy".

OP, I replied to your other thread (Dallas forum) and suggested some listings in Tanglewood and surrounding neighborhoods zoned to Paschal HS. It would be a 10-12 minute drive to Lockheed vs 50-60 minutes from Southlake.