Moving to Dallas from Chicago (Southlake area I think) (Fort Worth: real estate, HOA)

[lynarthur]

Well, we just moved to Southlake and I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. When we looked at the area I had a friend from high school who had moved from Chicago to Southlake about 10-15 years ago and had nothing but good things to say. My wife has an uncle who lives in the University Park area and recommended that area. Both have good schools but the University/
Highland Park area is much more urban than Southlake. Also, homes there start at $1.5M so you are looking at a condo and you would be in the “poorer” crowd of people in that area (crazy, right). In terms of dating, you’d probably have more to pick from in the city but in the burbs you would probably have more divorced men (with or without kids) who actually want to settle down.

[tcualum]

Here's an example of a home within your budget in Lakewood. Here's what your money can buy in Southlake. Both are lovely homes but they are very different. Which appeals to you more?

[SummerGirl05]

Originally Posted by tcualum

Here's an example of a home within your budget in Lakewood. Here's what your money can buy in Southlake. Both are lovely homes but they are very different. Which appeals to you more?

Honestly, the Southlake house is more appealing to me. I’m just really over the whole urban neighborhoods.
Dating aside, are there other suburbs like Southlake in the area that are great schools? Going through a hellacious divorce just makes the idea of dating sound revolting anyway so I don’t think that is even a real consideration. And I don’t go out to bars or anything like that lol.

[JTC Mom]

There are lots of wonderful neighborhoods, but if you want a suburban neighborhood, Southlake is one of the best. Since your budget works there, you don't have commuting needs, and your best friend/support system is there, no reason to look elsewhere.

[panacea1982]

Southlake is great. You will like it.
In terms of dating, you are not just going to meet guys from Southlake if you use dating app. You can always drive to Dallas to meet that person if he is from Dallas.
Also I heard from my colleagues, young and single live in uptown, mid aged and single live in Addison, mid aged and divorced live in Las Colinas, 40s and married/divorced live in Plano. I just thought it was funny. Not sure how valid it is.

[walker1962]

Just wondering why no one is recommending Plano, Flower Mound, or Grapevine? The one benefit of Grapevine and Plano is that both do have good restaurant/social areas and closer to Dallas than Southlake.

[SummerGirl05]

Originally Posted by walker1962

Just wondering why no one is recommending Plano, Flower Mound, or Grapevine? The one benefit of Grapevine and Plano is that both do have good restaurant/social areas and closer to Dallas than Southlake.

My BFF actually lives in Grapevine so I was curious about everyone's opinion about that too? And Colleyville? The houses seem to be a bit less expensive as well. Are the schools just as good?

My daughter is bi-racial (black and white) although she doesn't really look like it. Do you think Southlake could present problems for her? Is it diverse?

[ChristieP]

Grapevine and Colleyville share an ISD. The schools are right up there with Southlake when you consider they have some low income/ESL kids that Southlake does not. You are correct that the homes in Grapevine and Colleyville are less expensive than Southlake, and many have larger lots. A biracial child would have more peers in GCISD than in Southlake.

I doubt you’d find a single guy in Flower Mound. It’s family central! Surprisingly it’s a haul from there to Southlake since there’s no bridge across Lake Grapevine.

I live in Grapevine so ask if you need more info.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by SummerGirl05

My BFF actually lives in Grapevine so I was curious about everyone's opinion about that too? And Colleyville? The houses seem to be a bit less expensive as well. Are the schools just as good?

My daughter is bi-racial (black and white) although she doesn't really look like it. Do you think Southlake could present problems for her? Is it diverse?

No, I don't think Southlake would be problematic. Nate Newton, a black man, who played for the Dallas Cowboys lives there and his son graduated from Carroll High, getting a football scholarship to UT. Jermaine O'Neal who played for the Portland Trailblazers and Indiana Pacers retired there and I recall still does. BUT that said, there was an incident of ignorant high schoolers doing a bigoted video last year. So there are people lacking insensitivity everywhere but that's isolated in my opinion. Its not highly diverse. Living around Chicago, I know it happens there as I had a great aunt who was a southsider for over 50 years and a cousin who was resided in westside Chicago.

Keller, Flower Mound, Grapevine and Coppell are likely more diverse as they have more affordable housing and Southlake has basically zoned-out any multi-family housing with the exception of high-end townhouse in the towncenter development. The other suburbs mentioned has a more-varied housing mix.

I actually live in Coppell which has an excellent high school and homes in your price range. Its tucked in the NW corner of Dallas county with Grapevine to the immediate west and Lewisville to the north. Its not as high-end as Southlake and is about 15 minutes by car from Southlake. Its also closer to major employment centers of Dallas and Plano and the cultural attractions and rail lines.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by walker1962

No, I don't think Southlake would be problematic. Nate Newton, a black man, who played for the Dallas Cowboys lives there and his son graduated from Carroll High, getting a football scholarship to UT. Jermaine O'Neal who played for the Portland Trailblazers and Indiana Pacers retired there and I recall still does. BUT that said, there was an incident of ignorant high schoolers doing a bigoted video last year. So there are people lacking insensitivity everywhere but that's isolated in my opinion. Its not highly diverse. Living around Chicago, I know it happens there as I had a great aunt who was a southsider for over 50 years and a cousin who was resided in westside Chicago.

More than one recent “incident” as well as a long-time pattern of “incidents”. Buddy Luce, a former school board president of Carroll schools, is a long advocate of Southlake and Southlake schools. “Sadly, there has been a huge increase in racist incidents since about November 2016,” Luce said.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.sta...225631800.html

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/l...220797340.html

And the athletes’ families have had issues, too:


But two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Crockett has lived in Southlake since 1990. He saw racism back then, when his kids were part of the school district.

Crockett played cornerback for 14 years for the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. His sons Ray Jr. and Darryl had problems at Carroll, he said, and his daughter transferred to Keller Central because she couldn’t take it anymore.

+
Longtime Southlake resident Robin Cornish, whose husband Frank played for the Dallas Cowboys, recalled troubling incidents that happened to her and her family after moving to Southlake in the early 1990s.

When Cornish’s children were students in the Southlake Carroll schools, they were singled out for being black and were told “sit in the back of the bus” when civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks died, she said.

On another occasion, Cornish said, classmates told her daughter that she couldn’t be a nurse and that she would have to be a slave.

And more recently:
In 2017, Cornish received another bigoted message. She wanted to show relatives a plaque recognizing her husband in a park commemorating his legacy. Her husband died at 40 in 2008.

The message that greeted them was carved on the plaque: “The KKK will get you black people.”