Commute from North Richland Hills to Downtown FW (Dallas, Fort Worth: apartments, rentals)

[LonestarAlaskan]

Hi. I am most likely taking a job in downtown FW in the next month, and looking for places to live. I'm a single mom with a middle schooler, and trying to put him in a place where he is close to school, and close to activities for the summer.

The reason I'm looking at North Richland Hills is because the schools appear to be decent, and I see there's a big water park right in town - somewhere for him to visit in the summer when I'm stuck at work.

I will be renting, and looking for 2 bedroom townhouses between $1000 - $1200 per month.

Is the commute reasonable?
Is my price range reasonable?
Are there any other considerations I've missed?

If you know of any other good areas where there's decent schools and summertime activities that are within commuting distance to downtown Fort Worth, I'm open to any suggestions.

Thanks guys.

[RockyJoe817]

Hello,
North Richland Hills is a 30-40 minute commute to downtown Fort Worth.
Depends if you take Davis, Precint Line, Rufe Snow, or 377.
There is construction at 35W at 820. You may consider going East 820 south to the 121 directly
to Fort worth.
Other cities to consider are Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Keller.
Plenty of good schools and activities for children of any age.

Roanoke is supposed to have a water park too. "The hawaiian waterfalls".


Moderator cut: off topic, no ads

[LonestarAlaskan]

Thank you for your reply. Is the commute from Bedford quicker to downtown FW? Keller looked a bit too far away.

[RockyJoe817]

Roughly five to ten minutes depending on weather and traffic.
Keller and North Richland Hills are neighboring cities.
As everyone says "Rent first" get to know the metroplex.

I was in Fort Worth yesterday, there is plenty of growth happening in Downtown and
around seventh street. Plenty of lofts and apartments.
I-30 around the hospital district seems to be underway as well.


Bedford is close to the airport, there is a leg of hwy 121 that runs by bedford.
The portion of 121 that I was referring to was the hwy 121 that runs from Hurst through
Haltom City to Fort worth.
Bedford has good schools and is close to the freeway/highway. Construction and especially traffic (where 183 meets 820 at Northeast Mall towards Rufe snow) is an always.
You may want to look over some of the previous or search entries concerning people wanting to relocated to the H.E.B. (Hurst, Euless, Bedford) or area.


Found the forum that I was referring to.
Hope it helps:
//www.city-data.com/forum/fort-...-tx-where.html

[Barefoot Daisy]

I live in NRH off Rufe Snow, and though I commute a different way (and have further to go, darn it!), I have occasionally commuted into Sundance Square for work .. took me 20 minutes at 6:30am.

We head that way on off hours as well, often down 26 rather than taking the freeway, and it's only 25 or so minutes .. try out your route.

[loves2read]

we live 5 min N of the NRH20 water park--it takes my husband about 25 min to drive on Airport Frwy
(183/121) into downtown FTW/Sundance Sq where he works
depending on how far from the freeway you live or if you have to take alternate route--like driving in on Hwy 26 (which is doable but not recommended) your drive can be 20 min or 45

There are townhomes in the HomeTown development just off Bridge St in NRHills--you can theoretically ride a bike from HomeTown on bike trail or city street to the water park but I have never done it and don't know how safe it would be
I don't know if the city's bike trail to NRH20 has been completed from any of the neighborhoods around it

Hwy 26 is a VERY busy 4-6 lane street--there are no bike lanes on it and no sidewalks for most of it
so having a middle schooler walking along it or riding a bike on it would not be very safe...

When you say rent a townhome--do you mean a SFR townhome or do you mean something in an apt complex
there are few townhomes in NRHills--maybe a few duplexes that are scattered around and there are some apartments--some of them pretty nice...but don't know if they have a two story townhome type of apartment

there are some zero lot homes in N Hurst close to Glade Rd in development but don't know if any are for rent
I think your price point for an apt is ok--but I don't think you are really going to find what you are looking for in a "townhome"
there just aren't that many built for rentals like Dallas and other urban areas have

Do you might saying how old your son is?
Middle school/jr high can range in age

[LonestarAlaskan]

My son will be 14 next month, so he's not super young. However, I don't want him traveling on dangerous roads, so if that's not a feasible idea, then forget it. I'm used to living in a gated neighborhood with a full time security force where he can ride to the golf course, or ride to the pool any time he wants with absolutely no danger. So we're a little bit spoiled.

Thanks for the comments. I will have to revise my plans a bit. Bedford is looking more and more appealing. I also like that their schools start at 8am and not 9:30. What is up with that?? They only send buses for kids who live farther than 2 miles from school. How do working parents get their kids to school at 9:30? Many of them must be walking there.

[hypocore]

If your son will be 14 he most likely will be going into 9th grade. In Birdville ISD that would be high school which begins at 7:30 AM but in HEB it would be in Jr High which begins at 8:15. That will make a difference in where you look.

Commuting into downtown FTW from most of NRH can be done in less than 30 minutes....as long as you aren't using 820/I-35 or caught smack dab in the middle of rush hour. From Bedford you will have to tack on another 10-15 minutes.

Pretty much all schools in the area only provide buses for those who live more than 2 miles from their zoned school.

If you want easy access for him while you are at work, you might consider The Venue at Home Town off Blvd 26 (or Grapevine Hwy to most of us) I think that might fall into your price range. That would also put him right next to the water park, NRH Library and the new Recreation Centre that is being constructed. It also would be a short walk to Birdville High School. Right around the corner is a Kroger and a host of small retail stores.
If he is going into 8th grade instead, Smithfield Middle is not too far away either and he could walk if necessary. Middle school begins at 8:40 (not 9:30 as you posted) and many parents still drop their kids off by 8 AM.