Shallow question: Colleyville, Bedford and NRH...

[sskkc]

I just found this thread, and while I realize everything is settled, I wanted to add my two cents for those who may dig up this thread as I did.

Now, I've never lived in Texas, but the question you asked: Are there any implicit benefits to living in a markedly more affluent area like Colleyville over Bedford or NRH? struck a cord in me.

My mom always wanted to impress everyone. We grew up in an affluent Chicago suburb... my parents were a waitress and a steelworker. Everyone else's parents were doctors, lawyers, etc. We had the house, in the right town, right neighborhood. But we didn't have anything else - the cost of our house took almost everything they had - and let me tell you - I got SICK of hearing it, especially because I always felt like I was paying for it more than they were.

Socially, my siblings and I were ostracized from the time we moved there. We were bullied and put down constantly. My mother and stepdad were mocked behind their backs, but to our faces. But all that seemed to matter to them was that we lived there - they loved telling their old high school friends, and other family that we lived there.

Meanwhile, I always envied my cousins who grew up in a slightly less desirable neighborhood. Their clothes fit in (and they had nicer than us, because their parents weren't living beyond their means). My fellow graduates got Lamborghinis, Corvettes as gifts... they were lined up outside the commencement hall. I got a clunker with a hole in the floorboard. Now, I was grateful to have something to drive, but as a teenager who already was socially ostracized, this didn't help my young adult years any.

Ah - the trials of childhood. But there you have it... the reason I would personally choose the neighborhood that was slightly below my budget than the one just above.

[Eric S]

Amen.

We purchased in Bedford, which suits us just fine. Social climbing is an insidious disease, though, once it takes hold... I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for sharing your experiences growing up. You have spoken volumes!

-Eric

[sjrasmussen]

I saw this thread and was interested in the posts. My husband and I are preparing to move to the DFW area...we are currently in College Station so doing a lot of research over the Internet. We have been looking for 3 car garage homes in Bedford/Euless/Colleyville/Grapevine. I came across a listing for a lot in the Woodson Addition of Bedford on realtor.com and am interested in this area.

Eric S - I am very curious to find out more about your thoughts on this neighborhood. How long do you expect the building of your home to take? Are you been happy with your builder...would you mind saying who it is, too? The satellite view of Google Maps shows four complete homes in the neighborhood. Do you know how many more are under/have finished construction?

Thanks for any information you can provide!

[loves2read]

Because Bedford was basically "built out" about 10 yrs ago most homes have 2 car garages...there are a few that have 3--
the ones built on Woodson are the newest SFR--not villa types--and were built by an individual who bought a section of land and started a small subdivision
Eric is living in his home I believe...
that neighborhood because it is new has probably one of the highest cost per sq ft of any home in Bedford on a standard lot--there are a few homes that are on acre or half acre lots that are priced over 400K but they are older homes...

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by sjrasmussen

Eric S - I am very curious to find out more about your thoughts on this neighborhood. How long do you expect the building of your home to take? Are you been happy with your builder...would you mind saying who it is, too? The satellite view of Google Maps shows four complete homes in the neighborhood. Do you know how many more are under/have finished construction?

Thanks for any information you can provide!

OK. This is going to be very long and drawn out, but here goes. How do I feel about the neighborhood? I'll share an excerpt from an email that I sent to friends back home in NY/NJ about our experiences in Bedford, TX:

[SIZE=3]We met the first guy who moved into our subdivision this past weekend while spreading 20 bags of mulch. He told us that he purchased the first house there on a leap of faith that the community would flesh itself out someday. He says that at night it was really dark there with the one house and nothing else. With us in place, the community now has about 11 families in place, most with kids in grade school and one newborn. Our immediate neighbors on one side have a 12 year old girl and on the other side are a DINK couple. Everyone is very nice and when you are outside working, they make it their business to come over to say hello. It really is nice. It makes you wonder what we did to deserve such a nice group of people. We try to be nice, too, but my wife accused me last night of acting NJ when I came home and didn't want to get dressed again to go outside and greet/meet the newest family that's moving into a home that we considered, but rejected. If I'm outside, I'll introduce myself and welcome you. If I'm inside, I can't see where I'm really obligated to get dressed and go outside just because someone is looking at a home. Maybe I'm wrong. I figure that we'll inevitably meet one another and that we'll have a friendly "wave at the neighbors" sort of relationship in the near future. I haven't been in Bedford long enough to become the official community relations officer yet. The newest folks have twin girls of about 7 years. Almost all of the residents of Woodson Addition are original Bedford folk that needed/wanted a bigger home. Staying put says something.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]There are five (or so) lots left.[/SIZE]

The builders that I know of are Westrom and Walling Developers - who built the home that we live in right now; and Stil-morr Homes - a couple of very nice brothers who built the most recent home in the subdivision. Both are great people to work with. My home was already built and had languished for a while (it was overpriced and the market didn't help things any) and Jon Westrom (Westrom and Walling) was willing to work with us and our particular relocation issues and timing. I can't say enough good things about them. Do you want them to build your home? Maybe/maybe not. I'll leave some links to sites at the end of this message. I'm happy with the builder because - honestly - I believe that our home was built to a higher than usual standard since it was to be owned by a family member of the builder AND the house meets all of our needs.

There's about three/four lots left at this point. I'll list links to Westrom and Walling and the most recent buyer of a lot that we know of. Here ya go:

Westrom and Walling Developers

Patrick Custom Homes

If you decide to build in Woodson Addition, I don't think that you'll find a better or more welcoming group of people ANYWHERE on the planet. That is fortunately what we have found in Bedford.

We'd love to have you, as a matter of fact!

-Eric

[sjrasmussen]

Thanks for all of the information to those of you who replied to my post! My husband and I are planning a trip up to DFW within a few weeks, so we will definitely drive by the Woodson Addition to check it out. Sounds like a great little neighborhood!

Thanks again! Stephanie

[loves2read]

if Patrick Custom homes bought one of those lots to build a spec house on--that is normally a builder of 700+ homes and many in the 1M range--custom builder who does a great job from the homes we have seen that he has done in the past...
currently I think he is building in Keller in Southern Hills--Patrick has built homes in Colleyville/Southlake/Keller over the past decade plus--
frankly from what I have seen I think they build a great house--it will be interesting to see what they do with something that is basically half the price or less of their current builds...
sq ft will be less which will be one factor but Patrick usually has some of the nicest trim/cabinetry work...that will probably have to be cut back to some extent...

[Ketabcha]

You made the right choice. Mansfield has had several problems with new home constructions that have been sub par. Lots of law suits. Also, the Mansfield school district is not all it should (or could) be.

At one time Mansfield was all the rage but it did not pass the test of time.

I don't dislike Mansfield and I have several friends who live there but I know exactly what you mean when you say "it just didn't feel right...." There is a sadness in that area. I can't explain it but it hits me every time I'm out that way. I live just north of Mansfield in south Arlington. I'm very familiar with the area.

[Eric S]

You must have read one of my other threads about Mansfield. Yes, before we arrived in TX Mansfield had quite a "buzz" about it. A good friend of mine from NYC told me that Mansfield was my best choice and that if he had the opportunity to do it all again, that is where he would live (he's in Waxahachie). I tried to like Mansfield. I was convinced that we would live there. However, the more trips we made out to Mansfield, the less we liked it. Individual subdivisions were nice... BUT there is/was something terribly missing about the place. It's just not "finished." It's less of a home town and more of a huge... "sea of homes," as me and the wife put it. It really is strange when you add all of the areas up together and try to form a cohesive image or feel for the place. It has a 100% absence of character. There is nothing to really sell the place.... nothing that I can put my finger on. Seriously, the northern burbs at least have character by the bucket loads... and feel like "home."

-Eric