Relo to FW - Where to Live? (Haslet: schools, subdivisions)

[5stones]

They are putting in toll HOV lanes in 820 right now. 820 is a mess! I avoid it all costs that strech from 121 to 35 is a huge bottleneck and is bad even in non rush hour. Same with 35 south it will get all backed up at the strrangest hours.
Part of the problem is the merge when 820 merges with 35 there is one lane that goes N35 and one that goes S35 and the 2 stay 820.

Colleyville is super nice and yes you are in the right price...but the commute not under 30min

[loves2read]

There are people who live in Colleyville and work on the west side of FTW but it is not an easy commute
living as close as you can to 121 and going through downtown merge to 30 is better than using 820 north loop--that just is about the worst stretch of highway in the metroplex now even with Airport Frwy under construction and 121 in Grapevine

Aledo MIGHT be the best choice--but even the commute in from Aledo is getting more crowded and slowing down
my husband works with several people who live west of FTW -- as far as Weatherford--and they commute to downtown/Sundance SQ
5-10 yrs ago the commute was really quick and did not pick up traffic until they were east of the 20/30 merge--
now it is busy west of there like around Hudson Oaks--just because more people have moved that way

From what I have read I think Aledo ISD is better than Burleson which is largist town south of FTW with some nice neighborhoods

and around here--most neighborhoods that are expensive enough and with lots large enough for people to put in their own pools don't have community pool
Keller has some nice neighborhoods with neighborhood facilities but I can't really think of one in Colleyville that does

[Carolina Texan]

thanks for the input, everyone. much appreciated.

focusing my search on Aledo ISD now. Anyone familiar with these subdivisions?

1. Covered Bridge Canyon
2. Bella Ranch / Bella Flora
3. Saddle Creek
4. Lakes of Aledo
5. Stone Creek Farms

[loves2read]

Lakes of Aledo is beautiful community--
custom homes by some quality builders
John Askew who was the developer there I think has excellent reputation and history as builder

Stone Creek might be the closest to the freeway
but some of them are not that easy to get to--kind of off the I-20 a good ways if I remember correctly
most roads in this area are two lane with stop signs--
and there is farm equipment at times using it

Covered Bridge is older neighborhood--done in at least 3 stages I think with some newer construction

the issue with many of these neighborhoods is that they are not on city water
they have volunteer fire depts which can affect your home insurance rates
they require aerobic sewer systems which (because the topsoil can be minimal with lot of hard rock underneath) can make having things like a swimming pool a problem because of the required amount of surface to bleed the aerobic discharge into

most people have wells--some apparently went dry during this past drought--
some communities might get water from private water source--
that can be problem because there often is little oversight of management of those companies--
they can restrict water, raise rates, fail to follow through with promised improvements and homeowners who are tied to their systems have little way to control the mgmt company's actions

I know that Covered Bridge has a community web site
Covered Bridge Canyon Homepage

be aware there has been significant amount of Barnett Shale drilling in Parker county--and there will be more
lots of people out there are unhappy with how they don't have mineral rights so won't get royalties and yet have burden of dealing with the service trucks, the damaged roads, the drilling problems, the compressor stations that have come into being

you are going to need a real estate agent who is really familiar with the area and hopefully who understands something about the Barnett Shale situation

many of these neighborhoods have some beautiful homes on large, attractive lots BUT they are pretty isolated from anything meaningful
it can take you 20-40 min to get to a grocery store or gas station or to take your kids to school if they don't want to ride the bus
and some kids are on the bus for 45 min to 2 hours depending on its route

any real shopping could mean either going into Weatherford or more likely the west/south side of FTW if you want a "mall" with stores like Dillard's or Macy's...
Aledo has a WalMart but don't think it has Target yet...
Google map these subdivisions and then search for stores like "Target" or "grocery store"

We had friends who lived in Aledo area for probably 10 yrs after moving from MS to go to work where my husband does--in downtown Sundance Sq
they bought in Hudson Oaks and then bought property with larger land amount that was individual home vs being in "neighborhood" south of Aledo
she did not mind the isolation from her neighbors (they had like 4 or 5 acres)
but the drive into town to take her boys to private schools, to go to grocery store, to drive into FTW for shopping grew to be a real drag...

I don't know where the closest hospital would be--
And EMT service can also be problamatic because the county probably contracts with a provider

[Carolina Texan]

re: Barnett Shale... why wouldn't the homeowner own the mineral rights to his land? (at the risk of going too off-topic)

[albus87]

We might be moving to the Fort Worth area as well. The issues Loves2Read mentions, particularly houses that don't have access to city water, are a definite concern for me and I'm pretty sure we won't consider a house without city water (especially with the drought!). But, I've discussed Bella Ranch briefly with a realtor. Bella Ranch (and presumably Bella Flora) does have city water and city sewer. I'm unsure of any other city services (police, fire dept, etc).

[loves2read]

surface owners are the home owners

mineral rights owners are not automatically the owners of the land the house is on--
mineral rights travel separately from surface rights in TX law--
a piece of property can be sold dozens or hundreds of times but the original seller might have kept the mineral rights which are passed down to that person's heirs and on to third and fourth generations of ownership interests
or mineral ownership can be sold as separate type of property

there are some people buying homes and making the transfer of mineral interests part of the deal when the seller does not have mineral ownership
most title companies don't normally do a mineral title search since in the DFW part of TX there was no gas/oil drilling until the past 8 yrs or so--

my husband has worked for close to 40 yrs in oil/gas land work and knows that even people who think they own mineral interests can find out they don't--because someone did not do an accurate title check

[Carolina Texan]

so our relocation is finally happening. house in TN under contract, and so now feverishly trying to settle on a home in FW area. You guys convinced me about Aledo, but i haven't been able to convince my wife of same. She feels it's too much in the country, and that every shopping trip will be a chore. (the real reason is more likely that it is too far from her family in Flower Mound)

Looking mostly in Keller, in the Hidden Lakes area, but also some in Colleyville ISD.

Will just have to suck it up on the commute, at least until all that 820 construction is done.

[Carolina Texan]

we have developed a great fondness for the city of Fort Worth over the past 8 months of my back&forth travel. I grew up in Dallas, but like FW better now. Feels more Texan. A better downtown area. We are really looking forward to living here.

[Texasgirl1963]

I will throw out another neighborhood for you, Van Zandt Farms in Haslet? We just moved here and love it! It is a gated community, one acre lots, trails and a community pool. It would be an easy commute to Lake Worth from here.