Keller (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: appointed, rent, eyeglasses)

[artcgal]

Originally Posted by LoriRN

Any insight on the homes in the Park Glen area? Builders - quality? I know they are a bit older than Woodland Springs, etc. but the homes "appear" to be of quality. A few weeks ago we checked out quite a few of them.....and are seriously looking into purchasing in that area. Any dirt on the area I should know about? If anyone has any info it would be greatly appreciated. I read what loves2read wrote about builders not being of the best quality and I got the impression that it was on the newer homes or was this just an assumption? Thanks

Park Glen is a VERY nice area of Fort Worth...close to lots of shoppping, good schools (Keller ISD), and other "amenities" such as plenty of restaurants, nail salons (several on every corner...lol), and dry cleaners. Okay...that is a joke with me and my husband. They no longer are building shopping centers...rather lifestyle centers...and, these lifestyle centers usually involve a new nail salon, donut shop and/or dry cleaner!

Okay...seriously...the homes in Park Glen were built by various builders. I would do a Google search for consumer complaints. We did this when we were deciding on a builder for our new home that is currently in the works.

As far as the dirt in Park Glen? It is a safe area...clean area....people take pride in their homes...again, pretty good school district...lots of families...again, good shopping...close to a lot of churches...also, kind of close to the railroad tracks...you have a YMCA in the neighborhood...Walmart and and a Walmart Neighborhood Market...close to HWY 377 (Denton Highway) with lots of traffic and shopping (Target, Linens and Things, Home Depot, Michaels, restaurants galore, etc).

[LoriRN]

Thanks for all the responses. Let me take this a step further.....does anyone know if there are more desirable areas of Park Glen? Its a HUGE area! When we went through it there were not any run down areas that we saw but, there were some areas that were a bit nicer than others. Any particular intersections or "neighborhoods" to look out for or to look closer into? Synopsis, your right, the home prices are very reasonable in that area, in fact my husband and I thought it was too good to be true, which led me to ask if there was any dirt we should know about in the area?! Thanks for any input!

[artcgal]

Originally Posted by 2happy

I am interested in Keller Tx as a place to relocate. I have heard about the explosive growth of the area, the traffic and the high property taxes. I actually visited there a few years ago and it was nice. What I did not like were the homes on very small lots and the fact that I did not see any natural food stores. Has this changed at all? Also, what is the school system really like? Are the Kellerisd schools rated well? I have one in 10th grade and one in 5th grade. Which school district is better- Central, Fossil Ridge or Keller? Another question I have concerns safety. Is this a safe area for families? I appreciate your response. Thanks in advance.

Central, Fossil Ridge and Keller are the three high schools in the same school district, Keller ISD. My daughter currently attends Fossil Ridge (she is in 10th grade), and it is a good school. Out of these three...Keller has higher standings at the "review" websites...but, the others are not far behind. Central is the newest high school in the district...I think they have only been open about two or three years now (it could be longer...but, time goes fast now that I am getting old...LOL). There are plans to build a fourth high school because the district is growing so rapidly. Fossil Ridge and Central are not far from each other distance-wise. You can see Central down the street from "The Ridge."

Right now the schedule is an "accelerated block" schedule...however, next year they are going to the traditional periods. This means more classes each day (right now my dd only has four classes a day).

I can't tell you much about the City of Keller...other than they always seem to have a controversy about their public library. We live in Fort Worth right outside of Keller...so, I feel comfortable telling you about the school district.

p.s. I could swear I answered you on this last time I visited...but, I guess somehow it never posted?

[artcgal]

Originally Posted by LoriRN

Thanks for all the responses. Let me take this a step further.....does anyone know if there are more desirable areas of Park Glen? Its a HUGE area! When we went through it there were not any run down areas that we saw but, there were some areas that were a bit nicer than others. Any particular intersections or "neighborhoods" to look out for or to look closer into? Synopsis, your right, the home prices are very reasonable in that area, in fact my husband and I thought it was too good to be true, which led me to ask if there was any dirt we should know about in the area?! Thanks for any input!

One thing you may want to consider is some areas of Park Glen are closer to the railroad tracks on HWY 377 (Denton Hwy). Also, the traffic on Basswood near 377 gets pretty busy. Last year they FINALLY opened up and widened North Tarrant Parkway all the way through to 35W...so, getting around that area is now MUCH easier.

Now...as far as which areas are nicer? I think all of Park Glen is nice! LOL! I would probably move "inward" away from Basswood and perhaps go off of one of the smaller roads like down the northern section of Park Vista. We read a lot of crime in the paper down Park Vista in Watauga (not Fort Worth) where there are some apartments that were built a couple of years ago (Section 8). This isn't Park Glen nor Fort Worth, but rather Watauga...but, it is the southern quarter off of Park Vista.

[LoriRN]

Again, thank you so much for your responses....I posted a question one time a few mo. ago & could hardly even get a response! I guess its better to hit a hot thread and pipe in! Artcgal, thanks for the info on the schools and areas. We didn't even bother going to Keller "proper" but we were extremely impressed with Fossil Ridge and Central. It's so scarey going to a new area blind, this website has been wonderful and especially people like you! Thanks again!

[loves2read]

FYI--Keller school board is really going thorugh some girations--cliques and board elections are making for some interesting reading in the paper and I am sure gossip at PTA meetings and in the school lunch rooms would be interseting to over-hear....things like this show a great weakness to me because you see people who look at schood district as THEIR district and not necessarily for the needs of the students first, then the teachers...

think Keller ISD could have some rocky spots ahead depending on what happens w/super after election...

[RES]

We had houses picked out that were in the low 200's, but they got snatched up. We went up this weekend and found a great house in Park Glen that is perfect for our family, and was about $40K less. It is pretty close to my husband's work, the schools are very close and look good, the neighborhood is attractive, and our church there is fantastic. I can't wait to close. The house is awesome for the money! The street is nice, the area is well kept, lots of families and the yard is a nice size too.

We did look at a house in the Villages of Woodland Springs, and if it had only had a gameroom upstairs, we would have bought it in a heartbeat. It is a great place for families. The price was not bad for the area and the community amenities.

And about HOA fees, we pay our HOA here in San Antonio $250/year (just went up from $200). I thought it was a lot, but not compared to Ft. Worth. We have tennis courts, a playground, jogging trails, a pavilion, pool with lifeguards, and a brand new clubhouse. Our new house will be about the same but only a park and jogging trails I think.

[shaxs]

RES, do you have any pictures of your Keller excursion? I want to relocate from San Diego and have focused on that area of DFW.

[loves2read]

RES--hopefully you will have Tri-County electric and get little bit of break on AC bills this summer---SA has regulated utilities and their residents usually pay more for water and electric than up here where TXU has taken every advantage of a weak legislature and review board to maxamize ITS profits over the needs of local service area...

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by shaxs

RES, do you have any pictures of your Keller excursion? I want to relocate from San Diego and have focused on that area of DFW.

You will miss the mountains, you will really miss access to ocean. Keller is flat, very very flat. Grade Schools are rock solid. San Diego too beautiful to ever consider leaving. If you buy a house, its real cheap but taxes will run you a ton. You can buy a house for 200,000 that will equil your SD house equil to 700,000. I moved out there, I thought I was on a housing developement on the moon. Very few trees, all the houses made of brick. No palm trees that I can remember (Im sure I might have missed one) If your from the midwest, you won't notice. But if your from Cali, stay there or, if your going to move to Texas move to Austin. Austin will feel a little more like home to you. If you like sports....you have lots of pro teams in the area. I am not trying to be a downer but, as a person who has lived where you live, Its going to be quite a culture shock. Chek it out first, and don't fly, you miss all the fun. The drive from SD to texas is awesome. I drove from WashingtonState (lots of trees) to SD (water/sun shine)then through AZ(sunshine/Nice desert) and NM. To Texas (mountains, followed by flatt farm land). I was immediatly assaulted by a horrible windy rainny/hail electrical storm that lasted for four hundred miles of driving. Welcome to Texas.