New Doctor coming to FW, have no idea what I'm doing (housing) (Fort Worth: apartments, rental homes)

[Ost3oclast]

Hey all,

I would appreciate some help if possible! I've never left my home state of New Mexico and I am just venturing out into the great big world. I landed my first job as a resident physician at JPS hospital in FW. I don't start until June so I have some time to find a solid house. I'm not really looking to buy yet so the wife and I are going to rent. When I went to interview at the hospital I didn't have too much time to look around at different neighborhoods in FW because I had a flight to catch the next morning. Now that I am headed here, I'm really looking into some advice about where I should/shouldn't live. Really the only things I'm trying to find are a few decent elementary schools for my daughter in a safe area within about a 30 minute commute to JPS. Luckily I never really travel during rush hour so thats nice (get to work about 6:30 and leave around 6-8) but I'm still kind of lost here. I heard the Tanglewood area is nice and has a good elementary but is there anywhere else you can recommend? Right now I'm just stuck looking at Zillow and Trulia

[tcualum]

Luckily you've chosen a very friendly city to move to. What's your budget? There's some great neighborhoods but some are more expensive than others. Tanglewood, for example, is a very lovely neighborhood but the homes are quite expensive for their size and highly sought after. Many of them are sold before they even go on the market. There are also some great private schools as well. One option is to move to a less expensive neighborhood and opt for private school.

[bmlx]

The best commutes to JPS, with good schools, will be found in the Tanglewood area as well as Mistletoe Heights and Berkeley Place. The latter two neighborhoods are zoned to Lily. B Clayton Elementary, which ranks a little bit lower than Tanglewood on academic achievement, but is still a excellent choice that is comparable to many suburban elementary schools. This is especially true given the scarcity of good schools in the central part of Fort Worth. Both Tanglewood and Clayton feed into the same middle and high schools (McLean MS and Paschal HS), which are among the best secondary schools in the central Fort Worth area should you decide to remain in that area.

Also, be aware that as the Tanglewood and Clayton zones are close to TCU there can be students living in the neighborhoods, particularly in neighborhoods where less expensive rental homes are available. There are also a lot of nice apartments and condos in the Tanglewood zone which might be worth checking out if you have trouble finding a rental house that feeds into Tanglewood (if you go this route avoid The Kelton in the Clearfork development as it feeds into Como Elementary!).

I would also look in the Keller ISD area, particularly Heritage and the city of Keller proper, although the commute from there towards JPS will have horrible traffic, especially considering the construction taking place along 35W. Heritage is right next to 35W, so the commute will be easier, but still quite long due to traffic. Once the toll lanes open on 35W next year, there should be some traffic improvements for those willing to pay the toll.

Most areas due east of Fort Worth aren't as good as areas to the north or southwest, but I would also recommend the Butler Elementary zone in the Arlington ISD, as well as the River Trails Elementary zone in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. These areas are close to I-30 or 121 to allow for a quick commute towards JPS (I-30 and 121 east of downtown don't seem to be too awful bad traffic-wise, at least when compared with 35W north).

For looking in the Fort Worth ISD (school district) area, which includes Tanglewood Elementary and Lily B. Clayton Elementary, I would be sure to check out their School Site Locator which will display the attendance boundaries of all FWISD schools. A list of FWISD elementary schools that are good would include Tanglewood, Burton Hill, Lily B. Clayton, Charles Nash, Benbrook, and Westpark (the last two are in the FW suburb of Benbrook).

[Ost3oclast]

You guys are awesome thanks! We are looking to stay below 1800 on rent if possible. I will look into all the other areas you guys mentioned! FW seems like a really friendly place. Much different than Albuquerque I'm sure.......

[mschrief]

Tanglewood, Fairmont, Magnolia, Berkeley Place are good areas, but you will find few rentals as most homes are owner-occupied.

Keller may have more rentals.

[Ost3oclast]

Been doing a lot of research on the recommendations you all gave. We are looking closely at a house in the Tanglewood area within our price range right now although it is pretty close to I20. Also found a few places in Benbrook that are nice. Keller would be a rough drive from the look of it though . Any input on the area around effie morris elementary?

[ChristieP]

Keller to JPS would be a beating of a commute!

[jbb303]

Originally Posted by Ost3oclast

We are looking to stay below 1800 on rent if possible.

Originally Posted by mschrief

Tanglewood, Fairmont, Magnolia, Berkeley Place are good areas, but you will find few rentals as most homes are owner-occupied.

With the home prices in those neighborhoods, I would be surprised if there are many rentals to be found in that price range.

[tcualum]

Last year I looked for a rental home in the areas you mentioned. I must warn you that decent rental homes are thin on the ground in desireable areas of Fort Worth. If you luck upon one put a deposit down immediately because they are very hard to find. Also, be cautious about rental homes near TCU. A lot of them look nice on rental websites but when you do a drive by you discover that they're actually college student flop houses.

[bmlx]

There are definitely rental house options that are close to your target price in the TCU area; much of this area does feed into either Tanglewood or Lily B. Clayton. However, if you are south of Benbrook Boulevard (which is actually the name of a street in the TCU area) or south of the portion of Berry Street running from Bellaire to the Stadium Drive-Benbrook-Berry Street intersection then you will be in the zone for Westcliff Elementary instead.

The main disadvantage of this area is, of course, the presence of TCU students living off-campus. I am actually a current student at TCU and have heard that some students have caused problems off-campus with parties and similar shenanigans like loud noises, although I think things have started to get better.

EDIT: I agree with tcualum here too. Be careful with the TCU area.

Also with regard to mschrief's post, you should note that the zoned elementary schools that serve the Fairmount and Magnolia areas--DeZavala Elementary, as well as Daggett Elementary if you're south of Richmond Avenue--are not the best school option. Both of these schools are on the state's Public Education Grant (PEG) list, which means that the school has low academic performance and that parents can request a transfer to another school or district. Of course, not all PEG transfer requests are actually accepted by the other school(s) or district(s). Note that this does NOT refer to Daggett Montessori, which is a good school, but that is an FWISD School of Choice that requires an application and successful selection through a lottery in order to attend.