City neighborhood questions (Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth: apartments, crime, houses)

[RES]

We are moving to Fort Worth from San Antonio as soon as school is out. Could anyone give me info on the following East Forth Worth neighborhoods:

Woodhaven Country club estates
Meadowbrook Hills
Oakland Park Heights
S. Hemphill Heights (other side of town)
Fairmount Historic district (other side of town)

are they safe? What is the crime like? I see most of the schools are only rated a 2 or a 3 out of 10, 10 being the best. There is a private school nearby that we might consider on Randolph Mills Rd. We have 4 kids ages 10-15 months. These neighborhoods are very close to my husband's work and the houses look fantastic.

Also, what about Harbour Point Addition?

I am so excited, I've heard so many great things about Fort Worth!!!

[loves2read]

FYI--San Antonio's electric rate is MUCH cheaper than that in the FTW area--San Antonio did not de-regulate and this area did--even though people are supposed to be better off because they have a "choice" in whom they use to provide electrical service--the choice is among providers with high rates, compared to other regulated cities in TX and other states...

If your husband is working by Gateway Park area--how long is he willing to travel for commute--my husband's drive is from Bedford into downtown on Airport Frwy, passing Gateway, and it takes him about 20-25 min on a good day...think most people would choose to drive into work and not live very close...

Think street you mentioned is RANDOLL MILL Rd--and don't know which school you referred to...

did MLS and did not see any homes in Fairmont listed (not to say there aren't any)--personally, not familiar with that area but would think any restored homes would be fairly expensive per sq ft valuation--

not sure that it is area that lends itself to families with young children--maybe just upwardly mobile couples??? The elementary school apparently is Daggett which has pretty good rep and Paschal for hs which used to be THE high school in FTW--and think it is still pretty good but most people who lived in older nicer neighborhoods in that zone send their kids to FTW Country Day or another private school...

IMO--would not recommend SE part of FTW--aging area--little new commercial infrastructure going in--which usually means blighted area

Regarding Woodhaven Country Club area, do know that in past people playing golf on Woodhaven Country Club course have been robbed from their golf carts -- that part of FTW has some nice older neighborhoods w/lovely trees but think there are problems there...one of more expensive areas there has gated, manned security entrance and another newer development has gated entrance as well...


some problem w/flooding in certain areas around Trinity River...

regarding Eastern Hills HS--not the best scores/rep since it has lower socioeconomic/ethnic student composition which makes difficult environment which is probably true of the elementary and junior highs as well...

-do know that after Katrina victims were relocated, many people were housed in that part of FTW because of needing public transportation and the availability of HUD housing and rent-assisted apartments in the area....Eastern Hills really had some problems with students from New Orleans area being troublemakers on their campus--not that it is pristine location to start with since there are gangs and other problems--but at least those were known quantities...several students were taken to jail because of having guns on campus and there was heightened level of threat --teachers and admin were very upset that they were not forewarned of the problem dropped in their laps---
(think to certain extent that happened in couple of the Arlington ISD and Dallas area schools as well...and TEA was going to give exemption of sorts to schools w/large number of students from LA that might affect test scores)....but that may not be problem for the next school year...

don't know anything about Harbour Point--not even where it is located--if you could give a little info about where the subdivision are--we can give general info about that area...

[RES]

Thanks for the detailed information. That is the kind of stuff I need to know. I wish I could get up there soon and check it out for myself. You can only research so much online! I heard that the utilities were about 3% more, but it sounds like they are even higher? In SA, we have a one story 1900 sq ft home with 10' ceilings, about 21 years old with the original AC and the highest bill ever was about $225 in the summer...the lows are about $80 and in the summer around $175. So I will take that into consideration when looking at # of square feet in our next home, as well as # of stories.

Harbour Point is right near Eagle Mountain Lake and Eagle Mountain elementary. It seems to be a nice area, the elementary school is a 7 out of 10 and recognized. I am just so tired of cookie cutter homes in suburbs though, with houses packed together, and a big box house plopped right in the middle of a tiny, treeless piece of land.

This private school looks good: http://www.tcseagles.org/ Temple Christian School. It is near the neighborhoods I mentioned above, on Randol Mill Rd. But if people are getting robbed from their golf carts, well then, maybe not. Not liking the guns in school thing. Our oldest son is unfortunately drawn to the wrong crowd as it is, and we are working on that with him.

Fairmount has 2 homes in our price range (up to $250K) and Dagget looks like a great school, if we did find a good home you say the neighborhood is pretty safe and OK for a family? I do prefer diversity but want to make sure their aren't gangs and such on the streets at night.

I would really love an old historic type farmhouse on about 1/2 to 1 acre not too far out with a good school. Maybe I need to focus on finding that. My Dad has one near Pittsburgh, an old barn and everything...I love it.

[loves2read]

about the Fairmount area--have no clue except it is older neighborhood inside the Loop (inner city)--it could be relatively safe or not so good--I would check to see if the HOA/historical assoc has a web site and check it out--many historical areas like Ryan Place do have their web site with information about their area

call the FTW police department and ask for information on crimes in that area...

the school district is not going to tell you any problems if you ask someone directly but you can check the web sites for each school and see if it mentions a DARE officer or security presence...if you can find an email for the PTA, that might be worth trying...

Personally, I think your dream for finding an historic farmhouse on half acre+ is probably going to stay a dream---especially if you want to be close commute to your husband's job site and under 300,000...

Farmhouses belong in the country---towns like Burleson---Glen Rose--Aledo--Weatherford--maybe Bridgeport (northeast of DFW) Ponder or Decatur (n toward Denton), or Waxahatchie area (SE of FTW about an hour) are the types of places that would have "farmhouses"....not very many even in that style in Metroplex...

you can check MLS for houses w/acre or so of land--they are available throughout the Metroplex in variety of prices and locations--but that is not to say they all desireable or affordable...

Driving from Eagle Mtl Lake to the Gateway Park area would take about 45 min to an hour I would think, depending on traffic and exactly when/where you start from...

As I have posted before....anyone buying in areas outside a city water system PLEASE check on water delivery system before deciding on home--different areas (even in smaller cities like Haslet/ Keller /Colleyville /Aledo / Burleson/ etc.) receive water from different sources--have different prices--and different problems today and in future...
there was radio program yesterday on KERA, the public radio station in Dallas, about viability of ground/underground water systems in TX--future looks pretty bleak and govt is not really doing tough love planning to get mindset of people or their pocketbooks ready for what will happen in next 10 years (or sooner depending on changes we face)...

[RES]

Wow, great info on the water also. I think the historic house will not be for us to live in, but when I open my photography studio, I will look for a small one in Fairmount or Ryan Place. Best of both worlds!

We are now looking in Benbrook, Hurst, and Beford. Colleyville looks nice but we are only selling one house here (MIL living in the other and doesn't want to move) so that decreases our selling power. I definitely want an older home with character. We see some cute tudors that look perfect. We will be driving up the 27-29th to look at homes, so I'm really trying to narrow it down.