Colleyville, Aledo, or Southlake (Dallas, Fort Worth: cliquey, apartment complexes, how much) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Texasbound123 · 10-28-2022, 08:51 AM

I have 5 kids (kinder, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th grade). We are moving from Virginia to Texas. My husband will be working in Fort Worth. I am looking for a safe neighborhood with excellent schools. We are in a small district in VA with a lot of parent involvement, excellent teachers and a very strong community feel. I am looking to replicate that. My children are also very involved in sports (baseball, tennis, dance, volleyball and basketball.) I'd like a place that is not SO competitive that my children won't make the high school team if they have not been taking private lessons for years. We have narrowed our search down to Colleyville, Southlake and Aledo. Southlake seems rather competitive and cliquey? We like Aledo, but wonder if it is very rural. And I am not sure about the schools in Colleyville. If we live there, will we wish we had just moved to Southlake?

Thank you in advance for any advice - I really appreciate it.

ChristieP · 10-28-2022, 09:54 AM

Where in Fort Worth will your husband be working? It is a very large area with heavy traffic, and he won't want to be spending a lot of time in the car. If he is near Alliance or DFW Airport, Southlake or Colleyville will be a better commute. If he is in west Fort Worth near Lockheed, Aledo will be a better commute.

Yes, Southlake is extremely competitive in both academics and sports. It is a very large school district, and plays in the largest class of schools, so it will be a drastic change from a small district. There is a good sense of community, but it can be somewhat cliquey. I will caution you that there have been recent racial tensions in the district as well.

Colleyville is part of the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. https://www.gcisd.net/ It also is competitive, but not to the degree that Southlake is, and there is a good sense of community, too. Many people prefer Colleyville because it is quieter and some homes have acreage.

Aledo used to be rural, but it is quickly filling up with subdivisions. The area still has rural roots, though. I know the schools are very highly-regarded, but I am not as informed about them since we lived closer to the other areas.

tcualum · 10-29-2022, 07:39 AM

Aledo is growing rapidly and is overcrowded at some schools. They also have been in the news for racism issues. I have a friend whose kids are in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and they love it. There have been problems with Christian conservative groups trying to take over the Southlake and GCISD school boards. Even if you're Christian I would read up on what they're doing to see if you agree with it. All of the decent to good school districts in DFW are insanely competitive in all fields. Southlake is full of new money and your family will be judged by how you are willing to compete in terms of financial status symbols. There are also real problems with racism.

Of all of the 3, I'd choose GCISD. It really depends on where your husband will work though. Just Fort Worth is more than 355 square miles and the traffic can be hellacious.

TeamLynn · 10-29-2022, 08:26 AM

What price range of home do you want to be in?
What part of Ft. Worth will your husband work in.
Does he go to work every day?
Ft. Worth is huge....so commute can depend if he is working on North, West, East, or South side of the city.
Also all these 3 cities are very very different.
To me it would be unusual that most buyers would put all 3 in the same bucket for consideration.

While a lot of people consider them middle of the road schools, I think one place you might look is Trinity or Bell in HEB school district. The top kids I've met in those schools were pretty darn smart, competitive, and I felt like were going places. My takeaway with some of those kids was that it was kid driven vs parent desire. Not sure that makes it any different, but I was impressed.

PhinneyWalker · 10-29-2022, 09:27 AM

I do not have children, but of the three cities you named, all else being equal, I would choose Colleyville hands down. It is a great location and has a wonderfully comfortable ambience. Colleyville does not allow apartment complexes to be built in the city, either. Not sure about Southlake and Aledo on that score, but my personal feeling is that apartment complexes ruin a nice town. Even if they start out nice, they inevitably decline, and as they do, they bring in a myriad of social problems.

Of course your husband's office and his commute time will be of paramount importance. If he works closer to Dallas, I suggest you also look into Addison and Coppell. Of those two, I prefer Addison.

Aledo is nice enough, but it is so far out. If your husband had to come just to downtown Fort Worth each day, he would be facing 45-60 minute commute one way. Aledo is a better town to retire to in my opinion.

Texasbound123 · 10-29-2022, 09:15 PM

Thank you for all of your responses. They are very helpful. My husband will be working just west of downtown Fort Worth. Our budget is up to $1 million. From everything you have responded Colleyville sounds like the place for us. I do worry about the commute though. I will be in town in the next few weeks and plan to drive the exact commute my husband will be doing during peak rush hour times.

jbb303 · 10-30-2022, 07:47 AM

I've commuted from North Richland Hills for 3 years and did so from Bedford for 20 years before that (neighboring cities to Colleyville) to west of downtown Fort Worth and it isn't bad at all. 25-40 minutes depending on the time I leave and day of the week. Far northeast parts of Colleyville might be a little longer, but I wouldn't think it would be a deal breaker.

ChristieP · 10-30-2022, 06:55 PM

West of downtown means you need to look at Aledo. The commute from Colleyville to there will be be awful, and will have him in the car for over an hour each way. I commuted from Grapevine to the hospital district pre-Covid, and it was easily 30-45 minutes each way.

ChristieP · 10-30-2022, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhinneyWalker

I do not have children, but of the three cities you named, all else being equal, I would choose Colleyville hands down. It is a great location and has a wonderfully comfortable ambience. Colleyville does not allow apartment complexes to be built in the city, either. Not sure about Southlake and Aledo on that score, but my personal feeling is that apartment complexes ruin a nice town. Even if they start out nice, they inevitably decline, and as they do, they bring in a myriad of social problems.

Colleyville does have apartment complexes. Southlake does not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhinneyWalker

Of course your husband's office and his commute time will be of paramount importance. If he works closer to Dallas, I suggest you also look into Addison and Coppell. Of those two, I prefer Addison.

Both of those cities are in Dallas County, so commuting from there to his job in western Tarrant County will be absolutely horrible. Just no.

PhinneyWalker · 10-30-2022, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristieP

West of downtown means you need to look at Aledo. The commute from Colleyville to there will be be awful, and will have him in the car for over an hour each way. I commuted from Grapevine to the hospital district pre-Covid, and it was easily 30-45 minutes each way.

Aledo is very nice. It is semi-rural. Plenty of lovely, lovely properties there. Many people obviously have horses. I would not rule out Aledo, but I do not have children, and for me personally, Colleyville would be the place for me. Having said that, though, think about that long, long commute every day and how much nicer it would be to commute half that time and spend the extra time enjoying your children growing up. That only happens once in a lifetime. As for Southlake, yes it is nice, but there is nothing about Southlake that draws me personally. I would just as soon live in north Bedford than in Southlake.