Fort Worth City or Suburb?? (North Richland Hills, Grapevine: fit in, transplants, houses)

[4Sale]

I am looking for a quiet, affluent multicultural neighborhood with a good school district. My kids are bi-racial so diversity is important to my husband and I. We currently live in an upscale estate neighborhood in Indiana. We require a swimming pool, walking trails, ponds, parks and love trees. My hubby would love to build but as long as it is a safe progressive beautiful area we would look at a re-sell. We are a military family and this looks like his last transfer. We are looking for a area near a lake if possible but near Fort Worth because this is where he is going to be assigned. Please note...we are looking for areas that we can walk the pups at night and go a mile east, north, west and south and not be subjected to any alleys or uncleanliness. Please let me know if this exists and what the name of the subdivisions are. A good multicultural, christian school would be helpful too.

Thanks.

[ChristieP]

Do you want public schools or private/Christian schools? Your post says both...?

NAS JRB is on the northwest side of Fort Worth, so you don't want hubby to have to commute a long way each day. Look in the Aledo area. This isn't horribly far from the base, but it is also affluent and has nice subdivisions. This area is still being built up, so you can build your own house.

[4Sale]

We are looking at an Adventist school, possibly the Burleson Adventist school. This is a christian school. However my kids are still preschool age and this is why living in a good school district is important. We are hoping when they are in high school to put them in public school at that time.

[loves2read]

you don't mention money---
some people think taxes here are high--it depends on what you are used to paying I guess

you might be surprised to find that the recession has not impacted some areas of housing here as much as it has other parts of US
while some areas are seeing houses drag on the market I don't think Aledo was overbuilt like Colleyville and Southlake on east side of FTW and since many homes are on larger lots their prices might have held pretty steady
you should find an MLS site that works for the west side of FTW
I don't know one off-hand---

this area especially in more expensive subdivisions is not that multi-cultural from what I have seen so that may be the most difficult part of your want-list to find
there are some Hispanics and AA but main demographic is white

Aledo--especially the southern section--is close to the adventist network around Joshua/Burleson
there are subdivisions that have acre lots and there are places where you can buy land and just build a home w/o being in a neighborhood
be aware that some areas there have trouble with water supply--if you buy in subdivision make sure that you know where your water is coming from--where your fire dept/police/EMT service comes from
some of the addresses SAY Aledo or whatever but it is really UNENCORPORATED land which means that it is under county--not city--supervision/taxes...taxes are lower but services are more haphazard as well

it is not a bad commute to the base from Aledo off I 20 or from southern part (but that would take longer because there is no freeway close)

and while the retail/commercial entertainment sectors that way are not as developed as in FTW or the suburbs east of FTW it is not that bad a drive into Hulen Mall area

the west side of FTW around White Settlement has strip malls with stores like Target and Old Navy but Ridgemar Mall is not that great and the area is more blue collar than upscale

there are couple of nice developments around Eagle Mtn Lake NW of the base--but if you are close to the lake it is not an easy commute back into freeway and then to base
you might conside something around Azle to be close to the Lake but that would be further from the Adventist grouping in Joshua/Alvarado

Benbrook Reservoir is east of Hwy 377 in the that area--most developments there are smaller lots I think but there could be something with more space like you are looking for---it is a search area

check the map and see what towns are in the area
then do search here for those names and see what comes up
lots of info posted over the past few years about the west side

[The Texan]

I think Southlake looks like your best bet.

It sounds like you want a clean, upscale, affluent community, and Southlake is no doubt all of those and so much more. It is one of the richest areas in DFW and is really a great place. The public schools are excellent, all the way up to high school - not to mention having a great football team. :]

[LovesFortWorth1]

I agree...Southlake/Colleyville/Grapevine and parts of Keller fit most of the criteria for areas you have lined out (close to a lake, trees, strong public schools, etc.). Not sure how those areas fit into your budget, but all can be pricier than on the average home than other areas of town. Of these 3 burbs, Keller has the widest range of home prices.

As far as Christian schools...Covenant Christian Academy in Colleyville is terrific, as is Bethesda (in Richland Hills I believe) and Lake Country Christian Academy. There are others, but those are the first 3 that come to mind.

I hope you enjoy Fort Worth as much as we do. We are also transplants and have come to love the many facets of this city (from being known as the cowtown to having some of the best cultural venues in the country...lots of free things to do). I subscribe to frugalinfortworth.wordpress.com for fun/cheap things to do around town as well as savings on eating out/shopping.

Welcome to Fort Worth!

[caydriver]

Eagle Mountain Lake.

[second_pancake]

I find it interesting that Southlake has been suggested given the fact that you asked for "diversity" and mentioned that you have a bi-racial family. Not a whole lot of diversity in Southlake. In fact, while it is highly affluent, you will find close-knit almost cliqueish groups and rarely will your children be a part of any 'culturally diverse' groups unless it is part of core cirriculum at the schools. Don't get me wrong, the new town center is great and the houses and neighborhoods are gorgeous, but it's a bit on the uppity side.

You didn't mention if you were looking for a new neighborhood or historic. You mentioned Ft. Worth so I suggest you take a look at Park Hill, Berkley, Mistletoe Heights, and University Place, just outside of the downtown area. Trinity Park is nearby which offers extensive recreation opportunities right along the river. In each of those areas, there are small shopping/dining areas within walking distance, and the homes in these areas while old/historic, are absolutely breaktaking. I'm not promising you won't have to drive through some dodgy areas to get where you want to go from time-to-time, but as far as walkability, beauty, and the feeling of community, this area of Ft. Worth can't be beat. It's all relatively close to Benbrook Resovoir and Eagle Mountain Lake (short drives away).

Paschal is the highschool for this area. Don't know the rating, but have heard it is a great school.

Also, shopping nearby includes Montgomery Plaza (One Montgomery Plaza, Forth Worth, Texas) which includes a SuperTarget as well as a soon-to-come J.Crew and other like retail.

Hope that doesn't make your search even more confusing;-) I'm a transplant from Jacksonville, FL (Avondale/San Marco area) and have extensively reseached all areas within the metroplex trying to find the right fit. I lived in North Richland Hills for 6 months and Grapevine/Southlake for a year and the only place that has felt right and had everything I want is Ft. Worth.