Location for Single Dad (Fort Worth, Arlington: rental, condos, homes)

[bigpapp]

So I'm looking for a good location in Fort Worth near the city with good schools for myself and my 11 year old boy. I'm currently in Keller but I work in the medical district so looking to get a little closer in. I will be renting and not looking for anything large however want to be in a kid friendly area. I found some great rental condos and homes in and around the area however just don't know enough about the various neighborhoods.

Some of the areas I have found homes for rent are n Arlington Heights and Mistletoe Heights which is right near my office. I like to older, more established areas. So are these areas good for kids, meaning will he have the ability to hop on his bike and mingle with other kids in these areas? Also it looks like it feeds into Paschal which has a pretty low ranking fro what I can see online however that's always hit or miss.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[ChristieP]

Arlington Heights is fine, but be careful as its really close to Como which is NOT nice. It also most likely doesn't feed into Paschal HS, but to Arlington Heights HS.

Mistletoe Heights is neat with all of the historic homes. Again, though, double check the schools.

The neighborhoods where you really want to be are just south of TCU. Bluebonnet Circle, South Hills and Tanglewood are the best, and they all feed into Paschal.

[RMFW]

Just an FYI. Don't get discouraged by some of the rankings you see online for Paschal. It's one of the better high schools in North Texas and, believe it or not, sends more kids to the Ivies than the private schools in North Texas. The catch is that's basically a school within a school. If your son is in the AP program, he will be in very good shape there. But if not, there are probably other places worth looking at.

[bigpapp]

Originally Posted by RMFW

Just an FYI. Don't get discouraged by some of the rankings you see online for Paschal. It's one of the better high schools in North Texas and, believe it or not, sends more kids to the Ivies than the private schools in North Texas. The catch is that's basically a school within a school. If your son is in the AP program, he will be in very good shape there. But if not, there are probably other places worth looking at.

How does that work exactly in terms of getting into the AP program?

[FTWRunner]

Don't know how old your kid is, but Elems to look at are Tanglewood, Lily B Clayton and Westcliff. Also Daggot Montessori and Alice Carlson Applied Learning, though the last two schools are done on a lottery, but I've had friends who have gotten in.

Paschal is a great high school and McLean Middle (6th grd campus and the actual middle school campus) are actually very good despite what you'll read on these boards. I plan on sending my kids there and I have many friends who kids go there and they have been very impressed. As far as AP goes, as long as your kid is interested in doing well and challenging himself he'll be fine, basically the concern is the school focused on providing the resources for motivated kids to excell and they very much are, lots of involved parents.

The area around Arlington Heights, Tanglewood, Overton Park, Berkely Place, Blue Bonnet Hills, Westcliff, etc is great. Close to the medical district, downtown, cultural district, zoo, the trails, we love it.

Lots of kids in the area, though be aware that the neighborhoods are turning over so some streets may have tons of kids and others not so much, but there are def kids in the area, lots of families.

Good luck! Also lots of homes that are for rent in these neighbohoods are not listed, just signs in the yard, words of mouth type of thing. Maybe a local agent might be helpful?