Relo to Fort Worth - looking for great school district, not a horrible commute and space between houses (Flower Mound: real estate, neighborhoods)

[WSUCoug]

We are moving from an area with minimal traffic, easy commute to work and airport, an excellent school district and a house on 4 acres. We want to be in a suburb with a good school district, but some are SO much larger than we are used to (approx. 300 students/grade level) that I'm not sure it would be a good fit. Looking for insight into the Aledo and Argyle (similar in size to our current district) communities and if the commute to the 35/820 area is really as bad as I've read. I've watched some traffic maps in the morning and afternoon and it doesn't look as horrible as the posts I've seen. We are also looking in the Keller, Flower Mound and Southlake areas, but it sounds like traffic is horrible. Looking for the real scoop and recommendations . TIA!

[Threestep2]

It is worse than what you read on CD. Every new subdivision adds to the already frail infrastructure. We left a small neighborhood with 30 houses with required sqf/materials/lot sizes and a year later 1200 Lego homes filled what was originally platted as phase two. New elementary and high school. Try to get to a a freeway in the morning! We sold when the replatting was approved.

[jbb303]

I would be happy with any of those school districts, but just to clarify, is that 300/grade level in a single school or across a district? I seriously can't imagine any single school with that many kids. That's 14 classes per grade level if they're even trying to stick to the maximum class size guidelines or 1500 kids in a single K-4 school. I can't picture any district in this area with elementary schools that big. 300/grade level across a single district makes more sense and is probably fairly middle of the pack and probably pretty low for the districts you've mentioned.

You're more likely to find larger lots in Aledo or Argyle, but the commute is going to be pretty long, especially from Aledo. You might luck into one in Keller or Flower Mound, but there are fewer there. There are some larger lots in Southlake, but your budget better be pretty high to get one there. Saginaw or Haslet might be options, but the school quality may not be up there with the others you mentioned, especially in Saginaw.

In the end, you probably need to prioritize which of those criteria is more important because you may have to sacrifice something to get closer in the other areas. Commute is going to be the tough one. Even if you somehow luck your way into something that keeps you off of the freeway for your commute, the side streets can be just as bad.

[WorldKlas]

Also consider Mansfield. The schools in the attendance zone (the elementary and middle schools that feed in) and the original Mansfield High School are well regarded and higher performing than the rest of the schools in Mansfield. I think traffic is much better into FTW from Mansfield.

There is a local real estate search site that allows searches by specific schools. DM me if you want the link.

[tcualum]

Aledo ISD is a victim of its own success and has, from what I heard, gotten pretty crowded. You want small you either will have a horrible commute from a rural school district or you have to pay for private school. You haven't mentioned your budget. Also, when you say 35/820 are you talking North or South Loop?

[Loki2013]

The Argyle area is booming right now. Multiple new communities are being built and the vast majority of new construction homes are on very small lots. There are some older neighborhoods where you can find larger lots. Because of all the new residential growth in the area the school district will also be growing very rapidly, it won’t be a small district for much longer. What you’re looking for is going to be difficult to find in DFW.

[TeamLynn]

What is your budget?

[abelinkkin]

4 acres of land will require at least an hour commute into town. Those size lots are not found easily or cheaply anywhere. You will need at least a $350k+ budget for that much land. If you are looking west of Fort Worth consider Brock. Aledo has gotten too big and too crowded.

[WSUCoug]

Sorry about not being clear. Our current district has 300/grade level and 3 elementary schools. We don't need to have as much land as we have now. 1 acre would be fine. I've been watching the traffic in the mornings and it doesn't seem to bad from Argyle or Keller, but maybe the maps I'm looking at aren't accurate.

[abelinkkin]

Originally Posted by WSUCoug

Sorry about not being clear. Our current district has 300/grade level and 3 elementary schools. We don't need to have as much land as we have now. 1 acre would be fine. I've been watching the traffic in the mornings and it doesn't seem to bad from Argyle or Keller, but maybe the maps I'm looking at aren't accurate.

Argyle to Keller wouldn't be too bad. You will still have some stop and go traffic at peaks times on I35 and Highway 377 (377 has alot of stop lights). Argyle has a nice rural feel and lots of trees. It used to be known as a big horse farm area (it may still be) so it almost feels like Kentucky when you drive through, at least to me. Argyle is a booming area however and is very competitive in housing, finding a house with 1 acre may still be a challenge.