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Old 09-03-2011, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Kaufman County, Texas
11,856 posts, read 26,876,979 times
Reputation: 10608

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You are basing your opinon of Grapevine on the NW corner of town (along NW Highway), which is the oldest part, and yes, there is one old pawn shop there. You need to look at the rest of Grapevine, especially the historic downtown and the newer SW part that has most of the new shops, restaurants, etc. Remember that Grapevine is the oldest town in Tarrant County; yes, even older than Fort Worth. GCISD schools are ranked right up there with Southlake, Colleyville, etc. We have a gorgeous library and community center, plus excellent parks, a huge lake, and a network of hike/bike trails that criss-cross the whole town. Many families call Grapevine home and love it, and many move here just for the schools! There are a few 5 bedroom homes for sale in Grapevine...you have to look to find them. Oh, and your property taxes in Coppell will be almost double what we pay in Grapevine. Coppell has some of the highest in Dallas County, and Grapevine has the second-lowest in Tarrant County. That makes a big difference on a $500k home!

The problem with coming in at the bottom of the price range in Southlake is the "keeping up with the Jones'" issue. Many homes in Southlake are $1 million and up. The peer pressure is VERY big! Just be aware...do a search here for the topic if you don't believe me...

Yes, commute to Dallas from Trophy Club will be awful. NWISD schools are good, but not great.
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Old 09-03-2011, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,688,447 times
Reputation: 7297
Quote:
Originally Posted by ManyCities View Post
Thank you so much for all the advice! I forgot to mention that we did, in fact, look in Grapevine. As I said, it's been a bit overwhelming figuring out all the areas of a totally new city, so I guess that one just slipped my mind. It also probably slipped my mind because my husband didn't care for it. Maybe it was just the part that we looked in, but there were a lot of run down businesses and pawn shops... not the most family-friendly vibe (although I know people say that it is). Our other concern was that the schools in Grapevine (maybe not including elementary schools) did not seem to be as good as Southlake, Coppell, FM schools. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I obviously do not know the area as well as all of you and would love to hear that Grapevine is much nicer than what we saw and has amazing schools! Coppell didn't have much in our price range, at least at this time, and also had smaller lots. We are looking for a 5 bedroom, which is a big limiting factor when combined with our budget. We did really like Coppell though. We are concerned that the commute from Flower Mound to church in Southlake would be a pain, especially for mid-week evening events. We are not open to switching churches even though we know it creates this whole "where on earth do we live???" dilemma.

So, if Flower Mound and Grapevine are out, I guess we could wait around and see if anything comes up in Coppell in our price range. This is why I was coming back to Southlake. We found a few homes we really like (4 bedrooms that we could make work), schools are great, close to church, shopping, dining... the only downside is the commute to work (which isn't an everyday thing). The thing that got us thinking Trophy Club is that we could basically buy our dream home and be close to church. Commute to Dallas is an issue with TC as well and I'm not convinced about the schools there. Does anyone know anything about Byron Nelson HS? I know it's new and fancy, rated Recognized, not exemplary. Like I said before, it's all overwhelming. Thanks again for all your help!

I have always liked Trophy Club and have heard WONDERFUL things about the schools. The resale on homes there have always seemed to be rather sluggish.....maybe not an issue for you. Anyone who I have known who has regularly driven in TC has complained to me about access from homes to highway. I am a property investor and have always kept a watchful eye on NE FTW burbs; my contractors always plead with me not to acquire property in TC because they hate the drive in and out.....

I love Coppell and that's my part of town (live in LC, invest in Irving and near places like Coppell). It is not too far a drive from Coppell to Southlake, where you will likely shop. The parts you saw in Grapevine was their shantytown version ....even Coppell has a similar area; you just didn't see it. You can't go wrong from an investment perspective in Coppell and there actually are larger lots in the older homes....especially if you look west of MacArthur and south of Bethal School Rd.

560 Arbor Brook Ln Coppell TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11597755 - Realtor.com®

This one has no photo but in a great neighborhood and it backs up to Andy Brown park (those houses have back gates to great, great park!)
402 Copperstone Trl Coppell TX - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #11650336 - Realtor.com®
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Old 09-03-2011, 10:34 AM
 
Location: Kaufman County, Texas
11,856 posts, read 26,876,979 times
Reputation: 10608
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
The parts you saw in Grapevine was their shantytown version ....even Coppell has a similar area; you just didn't see it.
Exactly. It's along Bethel Road just east of Royal. "Old downtown Coppell" with the emphasis on old. There's a tiny barbershop, a c-store and a garage at the crossroads.
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Old 09-03-2011, 06:18 PM
 
5 posts, read 7,094 times
Reputation: 15
Thank you for the clarification about Grapevine. Do you know where I could find some pictures of the pretty/nice parts of Grapevine to show my husband? I guess I can just do a search. He really wrote it off after what we saw. Honestly, he's not too enthusiastic about Dallas as a whole after this trip. He grew up in the Northwest and isn't too fond of the difference in scenery. (I like it.) Our move is voluntary. We don't want to stay where we are and were considering Dallas because of family and friends. But now my husband wants to start looking at other areas besides Dallas. So, we shall see what happens...
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Old 09-03-2011, 07:48 PM
 
Location: Kaufman County, Texas
11,856 posts, read 26,876,979 times
Reputation: 10608
Here are some websites to get a better view of Grapevine:
Grapevine Texas | Grapevine TX | Business, Shopping, Restaurants, Events, Calendar, GrapeFest
City's official website: City of Grapevine, Texas > Home
Parks and Rec department: City of Grapevine, Texas > Home
Library: City of Grapevine, Texas > Individual Departments > Library > Virtual Tour (http://www.grapevinetexas.gov/IndividualDepartments/Library/VirtualTour.aspx - broken link)
Downtown Grapevine: Grapevine Texas Business, Shopping, Entertainment, Dining, Wineries, Galleries

I actually went to Coppell and drove around today. I hadn't been there in a while. Basically, the town is a bunch of gated housing subdivisions, the retail shopping along Denton Tap, and all of the warehouses close to DFW. Many of their main roads are still bumpy 2-lane blacktops that harken back to Coppell's rural days! There's no pawn shop, though...

You are very correct that Dallas-Fort Worth is NOT the pacific northwest. it is not green here (especially this year with our horrible drought) and the terrain here is pretty flat.

Good luck with your decision!
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