Reverse Commute from Park Cities? (Dallas, Fort Worth: 2015, rental, home)

[Lawgirl99]

Thank you for the thoughtful comments! I think this will be a tough choice and Ill have to see what awaits when I take the trip down soon. ChristieP's comment is spot on; the only available rentals I'm finding in Southlake are homes that, if a lower price, are not the quality I'd want, or if higher price, are way too much space for the two of us (5BR!), or just more money than I'm willing to throw away on rent. Nothing "just right."
I ought to have mentioned my son has attended a smaller private school, and I do worry about how he'd adjust to a large public system. Most of the private schools I've looked at are nearer to downtown, however, so again the trade off there will be dealing with some kind of a commute!

[ChristieP]

That's exactly the problem in Southlake: most of it is new and huge, and there's a little bit of old and small.

Look in Grapevine. There's a little part north of 114 that is in Carroll ISD, and the rest of the city that's in GCISD is also very good. You will find more "normal" sized houses.

[HockDad]

Personally, as a single parent, I would try to prevent being in the car at least an hour, sometimes 2 hours, commuting to work. I make the commute that is similar (dallas to FW) and I only do it because I have a spouse and nanny that can bail me out when a wreck happens and I am just stuck.

As for Southlake, their moms and dads get divorced just like everywhere else. Look at Grapevine and other suroounding areas. Good luck.

[Lawgirl99]

Back from our visit to Dallas. The great tips here for us off to a great start. But I'm still in limbo with the housing question. I ought to have mentioned that my son has attended a private school since PK with no more than 16 kids in his class and 60 or so per grade. When the HP administrator ( a lovely woman, BTW) told us they have over FIVE HUNDRED in the sixth grade alone, my son balked. He basically told me, "no way." He's athletic and friendly so I feel like he'd make friendships easily, but I may have underestimated how he'd feel adapting to a school with so many more children.
He fell in love with a private school where he shadowed for the morning and raved about the kids, the food, the classrooms, just everything. I'm so pleased to have found the school but of course, it's one of the highest tuition fees in town😁. The academics are just outstanding, though.

Since admission isn't guaranteed, we are in limbo with a housing decision! Once we get a decision (he's sitting for the ISEE as I type this) I'm thinking we look for rentals closer to the school,in the area just north of park cities...this looks to be prestonwood, Preston hollow, Addison areas. What would 3 BR rentals cost in this area, and would the commute to Southlake be any better?

I'd love to just sign a lease for a home in southlake, put him in carroll, and have a 4 mile drive to work. That's what any normal person would do. But as a single working mom I guess im prone to doing anything I need to to make sure he's happy and having the best experience he can, even if I have to drive all over town and get creative with my budget to handle it. Besides, I do worry that Southlake, though beautiful, might be just a little boring for me. Maybe.

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by Lawgirl99

Back from our visit to Dallas. The great tips here for us off to a great start. But I'm still in limbo with the housing question. I ought to have mentioned that my son has attended a private school since PK with no more than 16 kids in his class and 60 or so per grade. When the HP administrator ( a lovely woman, BTW) told us they have over FIVE HUNDRED in the sixth grade alone, my son balked. He basically told me, "no way." He's athletic and friendly so I feel like he'd make friendships easily, but I may have underestimated how he'd feel adapting to a school with so many more children.
He fell in love with a private school where he shadowed for the morning and raved about the kids, the food, the classrooms, just everything. I'm so pleased to have found the school but of course, it's one of the highest tuition fees in town😁. The academics are just outstanding, though.

Since admission isn't guaranteed, we are in limbo with a housing decision! Once we get a decision (he's sitting for the ISEE as I type this) I'm thinking we look for rentals closer to the school,in the area just north of park cities...this looks to be prestonwood, Preston hollow, Addison areas. What would 3 BR rentals cost in this area, and would the commute to Southlake be any better?

I'd love to just sign a lease for a home in southlake, put him in carroll, and have a 4 mile drive to work. That's what any normal person would do. But as a single working mom I guess im prone to doing anything I need to to make sure he's happy and having the best experience he can, even if I have to drive all over town and get creative with my budget to handle it. Besides, I do worry that Southlake, though beautiful, might be just a little boring for me. Maybe.

Look at Trinity Christian School in Argyle. My friends who live in Southlake send their kids there and love it.

[ChristieP]

My neighbors' kids attend Covenant Christian in Colleyville. There's also Faith Christian in Grapevine.

[JTC Mom]

Private school sounds like a good choice for you. We are currently in elementary school in HPISD and love it. I have found it to be a welcoming community but I can imagine it would be harder to get plugged in in later grades with larger total class sizes, especially if you are working/commuting a lot away from home. Ive met a lot of moms just standing out front waiting for school to let out or volunteering at school. I work full time but often work from home, so that makes it easier to be at school more. There are many wonderful private school options - best of luck finding one that works well for you and your child.

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by Squirl

Look at Trinity Christian School in Argyle. My friends who live in Southlake send their kids there and love it.

I think you mean Liberty Christian. Welcome to Liberty Christian School - Liberty Christian School

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Lawgirl99

He fell in love with a private school where he shadowed for the morning and raved about the kids, the food, the classrooms, just everything. I'm so pleased to have found the school but of course, it's one of the highest tuition fees in town��. The academics are just outstanding, though.

Did you only visit one private school? If you want to go private, I HIGHLY encourage you to to not put your eggs in one basket. Especially since 5th and 9th grades are the big expansion years when more seats open up, not 6-8. At St Mark's, for example, there are only about 6 openings per year in middle school and upwards of 30 extremely well qualified boys applying. You need to find 3-5 schools to apply and just like applying for college, include a "safety" choice.

Originally Posted by Lawgirl99

Since admission isn't guaranteed, we are in limbo with a housing decision! Once we get a decision (he's sitting for the ISEE as I type this) I'm thinking we look for rentals closer to the school,in the area just north of park cities...this looks to be prestonwood, Preston hollow, Addison areas. What would 3 BR rentals cost in this area, and would the commute to Southlake be any better?

To live close to school, you should look in the 75220,75229,75230 zip codes (the areas between Northwest Highway/ 635/ Preston (just to keep you not too far east)/ Marsh). It will only take about 10 minutes off the commute vs HPISD as your route would be 635/121/114. 635 is under construction westbound until I-35.

You *can* find cheaper, but you're most likely looking in the $3500-4500 range for a remodeled 1950's ranch home with a nice sized lot. There is not a good public middle or high school in these neighborhoods so you would need to move if private school doesn't work for some reason.

Originally Posted by Lawgirl99

I'd love to just sign a lease for a home in southlake, put him in carroll, and have a 4 mile drive to work. That's what any normal person would do. But as a single working mom I guess im prone to doing anything I need to to make sure he's happy and having the best experience he can, even if I have to drive all over town and get creative with my budget to handle it. Besides, I do worry that Southlake, though beautiful, might be just a little boring for me. Maybe.

Here's a thought: why don't you see which private school he gets accepted to, and then ask those schools if there are families near his age who also live in Southlake? Perhaps he could carpool with them (and you'd only have to make the drive 1-2 days/week) and have a great school fit and an easy commute for you? With private school enrollment, you can always move closer into the city if you just really hate Southlake. Or....he may end up liking his private school but really missing the athletic program (b/c privates for the most part don't have very competitive athletics aside from lacrosse, unless the school is Jesuit) and want to enroll at Southlake for high school ?

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

OY. I think that's a tough one. I grew up in the Park Cities and would usually recommend it to anyone who can afford it, but I think you'll have to weigh your options:

1. Commute- the commute from near HPHS (western edge of Park Cities) to Southlake is currently showing 35 minutes at 5pm on a Sunday while most of Dallas is watching the Cowboys game I'd guess that even though it will take less time as a reverse, you're still looking at 35-45+ minutes each way. AM commute is easier, PM is worse.

2. Middle school is a ROUGH time for many kids and even in the Park Cities, it's the age where the more, shall we say "bad/ advanced" kids are first exposed to drinking and drugs. We have friends who are having a really rough go with their 8th grader for about a year now..... Only you know your son, but if you think he's even remotely prone to falling into that crowd in his quest to fit into a new school/ friend group, I wouldn't want him alone for another 1.5 hours a day while I commuted. You'd probably want to find a very trusted part-time nanny to be there after school.

3. Don't rule out Southlake itself. Yes, it's a family-centered suburb, but so are the Park Cities for the most part. Southlake's schools are excellent and you'd have zero commute. Even though most families will have 2 married parents, you can bet that a decent chunk of that is 2nd+ marriages and of course you will hardly be the only single parent either!
You can always get into Dallas easily for events & other social happenings in the evenings and on the weekends. And you'll be an empty nester in 5-7 years so you can always move to Uptown Dallas or another lively city neighborhood once your son graduates. Just a thought.

Well said.

We live in UP and occasionally commute to South lake and the above travel times are spot on.

As for Middle School, our son attends MIS (HP Middle school) and it's a great school. The teachers are awesome and the kids are nice. This is our son's 3rd year in the district and he really enjoys it.

South Lake is a good area as well but it could be too pricey. As mentioned above, you maybe able to find a more affordable place in the PC area vs South Lake. You just have to show around and see what works best price wise.