Keller v Southlake v Colleyville (Dallas, Irving: appointed, transplants, rent)

[Western Dad]

First post for a noob. Relocating from Rocky Mountain state to TX, we have decided on NE Tarrant County. We have high-school age children, with eye towards TCU after that.

Our family's goal is to get away from the "California-ization" effect-the impact of the exodus of ex-Californians descending on Oregon, Idaho, and Arizona. The nice little towns and suburbs are getting systematically "wrecked". The teen age girls that invade (even if they go to church) dress like Christine Aguilera (piercings, tatoos, ultra low jeans, potty mouths, myspace sites that will curl your hair--the works)--and their moms try to dress/be the same!

From what we've come across, we are a bit skeptical of Keller, as too-rapid of growth can leave a city without a soul-just endless rooflines and overcrowded schools. Therefore we are leaning towards Colleyville-perhaps the Heritage or Carrollton HS district? Cost is not the primary concern, rather it's finding the "sweet spot" of nice neighborhoods with people who have good solid American values, but avoiding potentially overly snobby/elite/aloof, not because of friendly native Texans, but rather unsavory elements from out-of-state.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

[Guingirl]

Wow...okay. First, I have to say instead of "Californiazation" I would have to say its "liberalization". Im from California and looking to move to the area for the exact same things you are looking for and the same reasons.

I have a two year old daughter and I don't want her exposed to those things either. Its LA and SF that propogate most of that garbage. I am moving because our VERY conservative town in the central valley is being overrun by those from the silicon valley bringing everything that they are trying to leave behind.

I don't want to do that to people in the area (texas) because I want a better life for my family.

I guess I am going to have a hard time trying to be a Texan with Texas values if people just assume that because I am from California that I must be an idiot.

When we visited everyone was sooo very friendly. Now I am a little disappointed and sure hope that people aren't just going to jump to conclusions because I am from another state.

[momof2dfw]

I'll tell you this, the majority of the people that live in the D/FW area are NOT Native Texans. Now, there are pockets of areas/suburbs/towns that do have a heavier concentration of Natives but the growth of the entire D/FW metroplex in the last 20 years has seen a HUGE influx of people moving here from other states and countries. If you are wanting to stay away from the areas that attract the "immigrants" then you will need to look for the places that are "popular". The areas you have mentioned are VERY popular for people to move to. If you are trying to run from the "overly snobby/elite/aloof" type then I would try to avoid the areas you have mentioned. Do some research in the archives of the area papers (Dallas Morning News - dallasnews com & Ft Worth Star-Telegram) and see what stories have come up about these areas and their schools. For example I will tell you two recent stories. One is the steriods at one of these high schools and how the parent that found it out was treated. The other happened more recently and it involved the cheerleaders. Really sad that stuff like this happens to kids when they should be enjoying their time in high school instead of having parents that want the best or want their child included at all costs no matter how harmful it can be to their health and well being.

BTW, I heard this from someone the other day. One of the "star" football players at an area school around D/FW lived in the Southlake area and because he was not "the star" or a starter the parents moved to another affluent city. The kid was still not the "superstar" they thought he was so they moved again to a VERY small school/town so that he could be. Who cares about the education he is going to receive, is he the superstar football player.

[Western Dad]

Thanks for the input! Should I expand the search area to include North Richland Hills and Grapevine? Should I also consider other areas? I didn't want to get too far from TCU...

This may not just be a Texas phenomenon, but why does it seem that the certain selected suburban areas of most big cities that have the higher property values, thus higher property taxes, thus better schools, thus higher incomes, also tend to be the ones that have "bored white rich kids who drive BMW's and do drugs"???

This is not the kind of neighborhood we're seeking! Usually there are some "nice" areas in most metropolitan areas that are middle-to-upper-middle class, still have good schools, but not the excessive incomes/emphasis on external things (big house, big car, big boat, designer clothes, etc).

We'd much rather have good, solid, decent families that are more likely to go to church, strive to make a better life for their kids, emphasize college prep and avoid sex/drugs/alcohol in high school, and maintain good moral values (don't have to be a prude, just good parental supervision). If avoiding the "top tier" socio-economic strata is appropriate, then that's fine with us. Any further thoughts?

[cleopattrajones]

We are originally from Los Angeles area. Moved to Phoenix 12 years ago. Now it's turning into LA here so we want to move to a more family oriented area also. We found Burleson which is about 10 miles South of Ft. Worth. From what we saw during our trip there, everyone was very friendly, it's a clean city with a mixture of home values. From high to low and the neighborhoods in the less expensive areas were still clean and taken care of. At least we didn't see any that weren't. We went to church there and the congregation was very friendly to us, more so than other cities we've visited.
We're looking forward to moving there.
Does anyone have any input on Burleson for us?

[jcat614]

I am a native Texan, born and raised in Irving(suburb of Dallas). My personal opinion after reading your post is that you would want to avoid moving to Southlake. The taxes are extremely high and it would definitely be considered "top tier". I personally would recommend Grapevine. We have lived here for 14 years. Both of our sons graduated from GHS and we couldn't be more proud of them. Grapevine is land-locked by the lake and DFW airport and there is a revitalization going on in the older neighborhoods. There are also very nice newer neighborhoods so you get a good mix of old and new. One of the last subdivsions to be developed here is called Silver Lake very near the historical area. You can see it on the David Weekly website. We live in the historic area and love it here. You get the best of the old and new. Also, Southlake is literally down the road with great shopping and restaurants. The school district is GCISD which serves both Grapevine and Colleyville. You definitely get a "small town" feeling here even though we are right in the middle of Dallas/Ft Worth. Look at the website called www.ilovegrapevinetexas.com.
Good luck and welcome to Texas!

[Western Dad]

Thank you, jcat, for the suggestions! I will investigate Grapevine more fully. My only hesitation at first was the potential that it would be on the commute time, perhaps not being close enough to "either" Ft. Worth or Dallas?? (have to plan for future employment change possibilities).

[momof2dfw]

I would also recommend Grapevine if you wanted to stay in that area of the metroplex.

[jcat614]

I'm not sure where in either Ft Worth or Dallas you'll be working but I can tell you that Grapevine is about 25 minutes to either Dallas or FW downtown areas. We are right in the middle of the Metroplex about 10 minutes from DFW airport. We have excellent freeway access to Hwy 114, Hwy 121, Hwy 360, Hwy 26 and Hwy 635(which takes you to north Dallas). My husband works near downtown Dallas and it takes him about 25 to 30 minutes commute time. Grapevine has a lot of character that you won't find in the larger bedroom communities. We love the "hometown" feeling we get here. One more thing, there is a movie that was filmed in our neighborhood. It's just a little family movie called "Miracle Dogs Too" with Janine Turner and Leslie Ann Warren. I rented it mainly to see the town because I remembered when the film crews were here filming. Anyway, if you rent it you can see the downtown area along with the Botanical Gardens which were featured in the movie. The house in the movie is here in the historical district. I guess I am pretty "pro Grapevine" because we've always enjoyed living here and our sons loved growing up here as well. Colleyville in nice as well, but it doesn't seem quite as "hometown" like as Grapevine.

There is also a nice little area north of here called Argyle. It's very quiet out there but starting to grow. The land is very pretty and there are lots of homes on acreage with horses. It would be a closer commute to Ft Worth than Dallas. If we were to ever move out of the Grapevine area we would probably go toward Argyle because it seems quite peaceful there. I agree with you on Keller. It has a nice little downtown area but the neighborhoods are almost overwhelming with all the new homes and growth going on there. My mother in law lives in North Richland Hills and loves it there. I've heard good things about the schools and it has a good mix of new and old.

I forgot to mention to the person asking about Burleson that I am not very familiar with the areas south of the Metroplex, but I have heard that Burleson is a nice area. Granbury is a nice little town but would be a very long commute to Dallas but not quite as far to Ft Worth.

[NOTAM]

i would pick Argyle, Justin, Grandview or Joshua....i dont like the yuppified towns of Southlake, Trophy Club, Colleyville etc....might as well be anywhere in California...lots of transplants. lost its Texas culture.......