Place to live between Dallas and Fort Worth (Arlington, Irving: renting, houses)

[JMo07]

My husband and I recently moved to Dallas. I work in downtown Dallas, and we are currently renting a house in the M Streets. My husband may be accepting a position in downtown Fort Worth. My question is where the best place to look to purchase a home is if he is working in downtown Fort Worth, and I am working in downtown Dallas. We would probably be trying to buy a 3-bedroom, and our budget is between 350k and 450k. We don't have any kids but would like to buy in a decent school district for resale purposes and the possibility of still living there when we do have school-age kids.

We have looked at Coppell and the northern part of Irving as well as the new subdivisions in Grand Prairie near Joe Pool lake (that are in Mansfield ISD). We would love to find a neighborhood with more character and older houses, but I don't know about any areas like that in the suburbs between Dallas and Fort Worth. We also would like to know if there are any nice areas that would fit our needs closer to I-30 since that would be the most direct route to both of our offices.

Any input or advice would be very appreciated!

[Lakewooder]

Yikes, you are in the best spot now..maybe hubby can take the TRE?

Only suggestion for character would be North Oak Cliff which would shave some time off his commute if he is driving. Of course you are already in an area of top schools (and gettting even better) right now - Oak Cliff is not known for that but I have always heard good things about Rosemont Elementary.

[txtoal]

If he is going to be working in FW and you in Dallas, I wouldn't recommend Coppell. I live in Coppell and drive to FW alot and it is a pain, especially during work hours/rush hour. I would say that something off of 30 would be your best bet because it would be "halfway" for the both of you but unfortunately I don't think you are going to be able to find houses with character but I may be wrong. If your husband doesn't care about a long commute, then the TRE could be an option but it takes well over an hour.

[Dallas native]

Your desire for character clashes with your desire for good schools, unfortunately. You're not going to find much, if any, character in the suburbs. So you have to determine what matters most to you. For character on I-30, you need look no further than Kessler Park. That area is about 2 miles west of Downtown Dallas which would be really easy for you and not too bad for your husband if he drives to Downtown FTW daily because Kessler is already west of the Dallas mixmaster. Prices begin around $300k and can approach $2m. You should definitely be able to find a nice 3BR with tons of character there for $350k - $450k. Most people around there who have kids do send them to private schools. The lack of quality public schools does not necessarily detract from the re-sale value of the area though. Sure, it would be better if they had great public schools, but Kessler Park has always been very appealing because of it's natural beauty, the quality and character of its housing and its convenient location to Downtown Dallas. Kessler Neighbors United

[ChristieP]

Uh, Grapevine is the oldest city in Tarrant County. It's actually older than Fort Worth! We have a BUNCH of historic homes here, as well as newer larger construction that would be in OP's price range. Both downtown Dallas and Fort Worth are about a 30-minute commute. https://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/

The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is very well-respected so there is no need to send kids to expensive private schools. Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District

I agree that Coppell to downtown FW would be an awful commute.

[Texan#1]

Try the Hospital District in Irving. Nice Ranch style homes on large tree-covered lots. You will be close to the TRE and you and your husband can both take the train to work (goes to downtown Dallas and Ft Worth). Travel or buy yourselves new cars with the money you'll be saving!!

[5stones]

As Christi pointed out...GRAPEVINE. good location for both, great schools AND has homes with character esp near downtown.

[Grainraiser]

Kessler Park would be perfect except for the schools. I think the elementary school (Rosemount) is fine but the middle and high schools would not cut the mustard. Folks who move to Kessler Park really don't consider the public schools other than the magnets. Hurst/Euless/Bedford might be a option but i'm not sure if they have homes in that price range. I suggest to take a look at Kessler Park for yourself. I think you will be impressed.

[Racole]

I like North Arlington. It is a great location if you work in FW or Dallas.

[Lakewooder]

However you would both be doomed to the misfortunes of freeways.