Young Professionals and Dogs Moving to FW (Fort Worth, Bryan: apartment complex, lease)

[PhoebeRuns]

Hello All,

New here and hoping for some help!
My fiancé and I are relocating to Fort Worth in a few weeks. As per my contract, I am required to live within 40 miles of Fort Worth West. Hoping for some suggestions on places to live.
We aren't partial to apartment or house, but would like dog space if we go the apartment route. Willing to spend up to 1,500 a month. Some key things we are looking for:
-Safety: this is huge! Hoping for areas with lower rates of crime.
-Young Population: Hoping to be around other young people (we are coming from a town with a median age of 60).
-Walkable: We don't want to live in the city, but would love to be within walking distance of coffee houses, gyms, etc. More of a small town feel would be best for us.

Let me know if anything comes immediately to mind. Thank you!!

[bmlx]

Some places that I might consider:

For a small-town feel that is further away from Fort Worth, I might consider looking into Weatherford. That said, I don't think Weatherford would have the amenities you would want as a young professional couple, nor do I think there would be too much of a young population there.

The Kelton at Clearfork might be a good match for what you are looking for, although the two bedroom apartments would be above your budget (though there are one bedroom apartments that are within your budget there). The area is not quite "in the city" but does have a walkable urban feel, and the Kelton is pet-friendly. There are very few places in the Fort Worth area that meet the criteria you desire, as most of the area is quite suburban in character. If you want a "walkable" community you would probably need to be in the city, as places like West 7th, Fairmount/Magnolia, and Downtown Fort Worth definitely meet the other criteria you listed. That said, the Kelton is not a "small-town" feel per se as it is a adjacent to a walkable, upscale shopping-entertainment complex known as The Shops at Clearfork.

[Barefoot Daisy]

I second the West 7th area, primarily for its proximity to a great park for walking, dog play. I know a young couple who lives in one of the apartments near the park: they love it!

You might also check into the new apartments at the Waterside development. They back up to the Trinity Trail. Whole Foods, several restaurants, a little shopping and a great community gathering place. If I were looking into apartments, that's where I'd start!

[phillip :)]

Waterside is nice. Here is the website for the apartments there:
https://www.rivervuefortworth.com/floor-plans/

[PhoebeRuns]

Thank you all for the responses! We have done some searching and these suggestions were great starting points!

Around the Kelton, we have also looked at Marquis at Bell-aire Ranch, Marquis at Stonegate, and Overton trails. All look nice, but are definitely pricer than others we have seen. Is this because the location is very coveted? Is it as safe and upscale as it looks over in that area? I know TCU is right there so I wonder about college noise and safety.

This leads me to my next question-- we have been looking at the other side of the highway (west of Kelton) and have seen some cheaper things in the Ridgelea Hills area. (The rivervue apartments sparked this idea). Is it worth it to rent something bigger and cheaper in that area, or do you suggest sticking to Kelton area? For reference, we specifically looked at Ridglea Village Apartments.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

[tcualum]

Some areas around TCU are quite high end and coveted but some are overrun (especially the apartments) with college students. It's hard to really know unless you have feet on the ground and can visit in person.

[bmlx]

Originally Posted by tcualum

Some areas around TCU are quite high end and coveted but some are overrun (especially the apartments) with college students. It's hard to really know unless you have feet on the ground and can visit in person.

To back-up your statement, I've seen advertisements for the higher-end apartments, including the Kelton, in the TCU student-run media. Representatives with some of the higher-end complexes have also shown up at the off-campus housing fairs. So I have no doubt that you'll probably see *some* college students in the nicer complexes close to TCU. I've heard of issues with college students causing problems at some of the apartments in the Stonegate area in the past, as well as in the Park Hill area, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me if there were at least a few families with kids at Stonegate as well (so that the kids can go to Tanglewood Elementary).

And with regards to Ridglea Village, although the areas west of Bryant Irvin are quite nice, there is a downside in that it is immediately adjacent to (but not within) the lower-income Como neighborhood, which does have an elevated crime rate compared to the surrounding neighborhoods. You might find this an issue if you want to walk to some of the nearby shops and amenities, or if you want to step outside of the apartment complex to go for a run, but you should be comfortable as long as you stay west of Bryant Irvin. Como doesn't look as bad from the perspective of driving down Bryant Irvin, but Bryant Irvin represents a major socioeconomic divide and the more run down areas do start immediately to the east of Bryant Irvin. Horne Street, only three blocks to the east of where Ridglea Village is, has the definitive appearance of a run down area, with the associated problems (including issues with people loitering). Although I don't have the statistics, I believe the crime problem in the Como area has improved in recent years.

[mschrief]

Originally Posted by bmlx

Some places that I might consider:

For a small-town feel that is further away from Fort Worth, I might consider looking into Weatherford. That said, I don't think Weatherford would have the amenities you would want as a young professional couple, nor do I think there would be too much of a young population there.

The Kelton at Clearfork might be a good match for what you are looking for, although the two bedroom apartments would be above your budget (though there are one bedroom apartments that are within your budget there). The area is not quite "in the city" but does have a walkable urban feel, and the Kelton is pet-friendly. There are very few places in the Fort Worth area that meet the criteria you desire, as most of the area is quite suburban in character. If you want a "walkable" community you would probably need to be in the city, as places like West 7th, Fairmount/Magnolia, and Downtown Fort Worth definitely meet the other criteria you listed. That said, the Kelton is not a "small-town" feel per se as it is a adjacent to a walkable, upscale shopping-entertainment complex known as The Shops at Clearfork.

^^^
Agree. This is a great, new area for young people. Access to the Trinity Trail, Clearfork shops, Chisolm Trail Parkway zips you downtown when you want to go there.

7th is ok, just more noise.

[mschrief]

Originally Posted by PhoebeRuns

Thank you all for the responses! We have done some searching and these suggestions were great starting points!

Around the Kelton, we have also looked at Marquis at Bell-aire Ranch, Marquis at Stonegate, and Overton trails. All look nice, but are definitely pricer than others we have seen. Is this because the location is very coveted? Is it as safe and upscale as it looks over in that area? I know TCU is right there so I wonder about college noise and safety.

This leads me to my next question-- we have been looking at the other side of the highway (west of Kelton) and have seen some cheaper things in the Ridgelea Hills area. (The rivervue apartments sparked this idea). Is it worth it to rent something bigger and cheaper in that area, or do you suggest sticking to Kelton area? For reference, we specifically looked at Ridglea Village Apartments.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

I lived at the Marquis long ago. Be aware that you will be very near the BNSF railyard. I actually terminated my lease ($$$) early just to get away from the noise that begins around six pm and lasts ALL NIGHT.

You've been warned.