Great Neighborhood or even ZipCode?! (Dallas, Fort Worth: daycare, new house, transfer to)

[BMDmom]

Hello,
We are a family of three toddlers(5, 3, 1 are their ages), and may have a transfer to the Fort Worth Area, my husbands job would be right in downtown Fort Worth. We are moving from the Pacific Northwest(Oregonian through and through , and I need some help!!!!!!!!Dying over here! I need a great community, safe to send kids to public schools, and I am not opposed to suburbia land at all. $350 to $500,000 range in housing, and I concerned about the weather? Okay I know that was a lot, if you want to send me some zip codes any and all info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[txtoal]

How far is your husband willing to commute?

[barcwood]

If your range is 350-500 thousand for a house the only zip code for you is 76107 or close by in the Rivercrest area.

[ChristieP]

76051. Grapevine all the way! Your husband's drive will be about 20 miles and will take 30 minutes.

[Guingirl]

From Grapevine to Downtown FW? How?? Flying? We drive from North Fort Worth via 114 to North Entrance DFW and it is a minimum of 40 minutes in a medium commute, not even considering any type of dense traffic which Grapevine (while full of retail and nice homes) is very busy.

While that purchase price may seem midpriced in Oregon, you will have a LOT to choose from in that price range. My recommendation would be spend some time looking at geographic areas that would fit your family. We moved here from Northern California in 2007 where the average home (back in 2007 was about 485K). Here in Texas it is much lower in prices.

If you want, I can send you the link of the site I used for looking at different areas. Just let me know.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by Guingirl

From Grapevine to Downtown FW? How?? Flying? We drive from North Fort Worth via 114 to North Entrance DFW and it is a minimum of 40 minutes in a medium commute, not even considering any type of dense traffic which Grapevine (while full of retail and nice homes) is very busy.

From Grapevine to downtown FW, you take 121 and 183. You're not on 114 at all. Yes, 114 though Southlake is a parking lot coming and going.

I made the commute to downtown FW from Grapevine for a year and unless there was a wreck on 121, it only took 30 minutes, tops. It was almost all against traffic, too.

[BMDmom]

Thanks guys!
I would like to keep his commute under 40 minutes due to having no family or friends in the area, I may be on the tad "demanding" side when it comes to dinner time and he being at home for it you know!?! Guingirl any and all websites, please send me! Many thanks!

[mudbelly]

Being somewheat East of Fort Worth has an advantage if your ever laid off, and need to expand your job search to Dallas or Plano. I am biased toward the NE Tarrant area since I have been here since the 80's. You have a lot of leeway in your price range, just make sure to add 700-1100 each month for taxes, and 150-250 for Homeowners for 350-500K.

76034, 76248, 76092, and 76180 (north) are all good; 76051 isn't bad, but can be to FW unless your leaving before 6 am. Avoid using 114, 1709, 820, 170, and I-35 in your husband's commute; try to be west of the 121/183 merge and the commute will be faster using 121 all the way in (this is the one disadvantage of Grapevine). 76034 using Brown Trail to 121; 76248, 76092 and 76180 using Davis Blvd. which dumps into 121 in either direction works very nice (I know because I work in Dallas and my wife in FW).

I like the newer Keller (76248) houses since they have all the goodies (multiple living, media, learning centers, 3 car garages, energy effeciency, etc.) at the best value, but the schools can be a bit crowded compared to Southlake (76092) and Colleyville (76034), and the new houses there are very spendy (although 500K can get you in any of them quite easily). Good luck!

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by barcwood

If your range is 350-500 thousand for a house the only zip code for you is 76107 or close by in the Rivercrest area.

I'm not in the market for a new home, but I decided to take a look at this neighborhood over the weekend, for grins and giggles. FWIW, $500K appears to be towards the bottom end of the market out there for interesting, but not terribly nice homes (compared to what $350 - $500K would purchase out in the 'burbs). The nieghborhood ranges from quite nice to quite dicey, especially W 4th street. The golf course is nice as are the homes around it.

Also, since the OP has little kids, what's up w/ the schools in that area? While the elementary school is rated exemplary, everything else is "unacceptable." Very few schools rate that low - if any at all - in suburban Tarrant County. I guess those w/ kids send them to private school and leave the public schools to rot.

So, tell me: What is it that makes the 76107 zip code the one to aspire to? It has a certain urban appeal, I suppose. I'm not from around these parts, so fill me in.

-Eric

[h152cc2]

Check out the bluffs at heritage in North Fort Worth/Keller. It has large homes, friendly atmosphere, swimming/recreation for the kiddies (plenty of daycare if you needed it), and tons of elementary schools, middle schools and high schools nearby. Also Keller has some of the best schools in the area.

Also, check out Southlake/Grapevine Areas. Although your commute will be the easiest and shortest in Keller (particularly heritage).