grapevine v flower mound v colleyville (Dallas, Fort Worth: real estate, apartment complex, new home)

[catalmom]

Thank you for the responses to my last post. It was really very helpful. I am definitely going to research Lakewood next time I get to DFW in a few weeks.

I also researched some old posts on this forum and have seen alot of positive feedback regarding Grapevine, Flower Mound and Colleyville. All seem to have great schools and nice homes. I had a few questions that I am hoping to insight to:

Colleyville: It seems the priciest of the 3 but the location seems really central. I would likely fall into the middle of the house pricing range.
Is there a significant amount of difference between the haves and have nots in this area? I realize that you get some of that anywhere but I think it tends to be more prevelant in some areas.
Since this seems to be an older area, is there a significant population of younger children (6 years and younger)?

Grapevine: Are there any areas that are better than others? Same question about younger children too...

Flower Mound: Is the traffic really that bad? I am from NY so I am used to dead stopped traffic... I see that there is quite a bit of roadway construction. In your opinion will this someday in the near future alleviate the major traffice problems?

If you had your pick, which would you choose of these 3?

My info to base decisions:
school a main priority, have 2 small children
price range 400-450k (maybe a little higher if needed)
work remote - commute not a main issue
proximity to city to enjoy what it has to offer

Thank you for your help!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by catalmom

Thank you for the responses to my last post. It was really very helpful. I am definitely going to research Lakewood next time I get to DFW in a few weeks.

I also researched some old posts on this forum and have seen alot of positive feedback regarding Grapevine, Flower Mound and Colleyville. All seem to have great schools and nice homes. I had a few questions that I am hoping to insight to:

Colleyville: It seems the priciest of the 3 but the location seems really central. I would likely fall into the middle of the house pricing range.
Is there a significant amount of difference between the haves and have nots in this area? I realize that you get some of that anywhere but I think it tends to be more prevelant in some areas.
Since this seems to be an older area, is there a significant population of younger children (6 years and younger)?

Grapevine: Are there any areas that are better than others? Same question about younger children too...

Flower Mound: Is the traffic really that bad? I am from NY so I am used to dead stopped traffic... I see that there is quite a bit of roadway construction. In your opinion will this someday in the near future alleviate the major traffice problems?

If you had your pick, which would you choose of these 3?

My info to base decisions:
school a main priority, have 2 small children
price range 400-450k (maybe a little higher if needed)
work remote - commute not a main issue
proximity to city to enjoy what it has to offer

Thank you for your help!

I love all those areas, but in that price range I think I would look in Colleyville.

As for the traffic in Flower Mound, sure it is bad during rush hour but coming from NY you won't find it that bad. We have lived many places and didn't think it was any worse than No Va or Los Angeles..

NIta

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by catalmom

Colleyville: It seems the priciest of the 3 but the location seems really central. I would likely fall into the middle of the house pricing range.
Is there a significant amount of difference between the haves and have nots in this area? I realize that you get some of that anywhere but I think it tends to be more prevelant in some areas. Since this seems to be an older area, is there a significant population of younger children (6 years and younger)?

Colleyville is by far the priciest of the three. Most people in Colleyville are upper class income. There are a few small, older homes with less-affluent people in them, but those are getting fewer and fewer as the developers buy them as tear-downs. MANY young families with children live here because the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD schools are well-regarded.

Originally Posted by catalmom

Grapevine: Are there any areas that are better than others? Same question about younger children too...

The best areas are the neighborhoods that line Hall-Johnson Road, either east or west of 121. Homes here sell VERY quickly! Since Grapevine and Colleyville share an ISD, see above for my comment about the schools and kids.

Originally Posted by catalmom

Flower Mound: Is the traffic really that bad? I am from NY so I am used to dead stopped traffic... I see that there is quite a bit of roadway construction. In your opinion will this someday in the near future alleviate the major traffice problems?!

Yes, the traffic is that bad. Flower Mound's problem is it is surrounded by lakes, so there are only a few roads in and out of the city. Many of the older roads in town are 2-lane roads, and those are being replaced with new, wider roads. Unless more bridges are built over the lakes (very unlikely), this issue will not get any better.

Originally Posted by catalmom

My info to base decisions:
school a main priority, have 2 small children
price range 400-450k (maybe a little higher if needed)
work remote - commute not a main issue
proximity to city to enjoy what it has to offer
If you had your pick, which would you choose of these 3?

We've lived in Grapevine for 7 years now, and we love it here.

[renlouis]

I totally disagree on the Flower Mound traffic issue. I've lived in FM for 10 years and yes, you'll sometimes hit a back-up because of construction, but it's not a frequent occurrence (unless we're talking about rush hour). Even then, coming from NY, you're not going to find it a big deal at all. We're not talking about dead-stopped traffic.

[padcrasher]

Flower Mound is the most boring of the three IMO.

[loves2read]

the fact is that part of FLower Mound/Lewisville is still growing and there is lots of construction and traffic is heavier (from what I have seen)
Colleyville is fairly built out--Hwy 26 is the main N/S road and due to be widened soon which will make traffic there a real hassle--
there is not lot of room in colleyville for big construction projects like strip malls--if city council would ok them--it is going to stay mainly residential which means that homeowners will bear the burden of taxes
Lewisville/Flower Mound/Grapevine have other commercial interests to bear part of that burden--which would make a difference in future tax rates for homeowners to some extent...

the streets like Hall-Johnson that go E/W are fairly good surface roads but in the evening (because they have stop signs vs lights at many intersections) it can be slow
But Colleyville is close to Southlake and other areas for shopping/entertainment and certainly closer to downtown FTW than Flower Mound

if you are working from home commuting traffic should not be a worry for you

Lewisville schools are very good
as are Grapevine Colleyville schools
there is small area in Grapevine city limits that is zoned for Southlake Carroll schools--houses there usually sell fairly readily even in this down economy

Grapevine has apartments--Colleyville does not--that makes a significant difference in schools' makeup/demographics --
there are apts in Flower Mound and Lewisville as well I believe

[adixyz]

I have lived in Plano & Irving previously and we chose Flower Mound for our new home after seeing houses / schools in many mid cities . I also drove through Grapevine & Colleyville in my commute when i lived in Irving few months back.

Schools in Grapevine & Colleyville are also good but FM schools have been consistently performing better year after year and all of its schools including the High schools are exemplary. Diversity in FM schools have gone up in the last few years due to availability of newer homes with good lot sizes/ excellent family living. Its proximity to DFW airport and the current subdued real estate prices is shifting a lot of folks to look at Flower Mound. Flower Mound also has least number of Apartment complex ( i think there is only 1 that feeds to Flower Mound Schools and its also a good one). You will get a lot more value for your $$$ in FM.

In my opinion traffic during peak hours is bad everywhere in DFW area. Few weeks back on a weekend i was driving in Plano/ Richardson & Surrounding areas and the traffic was one of worst i could imagine on a weekend. I was so glad i lived in Flower Mound.The traffic comments on Flower Mound are old and so many roads have been widened (and more under construction) since then. The DFW connector project will further reduce congestion on 121 which should help both the FM and Grapevine residents.

Depending on where you live in Flower Mound you can compare the commute time. I don't find any traffic issues in Flower Mound since my work is on North Fort Worth- its actually faster when i lived near the highways in Irving with almost same distance. Those who have to take 121 or 35 might find them in similar situation like other places during peak time. It all depends on how far you live away from the highways and how fast you get rolling when the congestion eases. Call this as Delta . I compared this Delta for some of these mid cities and neighborhood during peak time. Its hard to get a good house (that's re-saleable and holds value) with excellent schools and satisfy most of the personal choices on your house and yet hit the highway in minutes during peak time.

[loves2read]

frankly if you are working at home why are you even worried about traffic--you can choose to do shopping and other travel during un-congested times vs peak commute

[catalmom]

Originally Posted by loves2read

frankly if you are working at home why are you even worried about traffic--you can choose to do shopping and other travel during un-congested times vs peak commute

I do need to visit clients somewhat regularly for my business which would be in the city. Although appointments vary in time of day, they can end up being in rush hour. Since that is not all the time, I am not overly concerned but can influence my decision. Also, you never know what life brings your way and if I need to get another job...I'd want to be able to live with the commute to the city.

[loves2read]

OK--but there are people living in all those areas who have found themselves working either in Dallas or FTW and make the commute either by design or accident--it can be done--
IF future job commute plays part in your choice you need to consider where you would likely find a replacement job--
if Dallas is much more likely than FTW then you are better off just going to Dallas area to start with--
commuting to Dallas from Colleyville would take at least 35 min depending on how far from 183 or 114/635/Bush you might be...and it will get worse--there is not really any viable public tranportation for most people who live in Tarrant county and work in Dallas--the TRE is not that great
DART is moving to the west in Dallas county -- you could check the DART site and see current/proposed rail/bus lines

what you should probably remember is that most families don't have their younger children playing outside in front yards during the day--so it will be almost impossible to tell before you buy about the issue of neighbors with younger children--it is possible you could buy into an area that has mainly high schoolers--
I know someone who has a boy 2 yrs old--she does most of her/his interaction with peers via moms' groups--and scheduled activities like library reading groups--she does not interact with her neighbors because the one that has younger children works and many of her friends (because she lives in same area she grew up) have moved out of area if they have children...
Your realtor might have some info about immediate area homes IF s/he is able to get it from the listing agent/owner

Many of the people in the three areas you mentioned are active in churches and get lot of their friends through their church--don't know if that is area that you would be interested in persuing