Hey all,
Moving back to DFW after 10 years in Pennsylvania. Right now the leading candidate for a house is in the northern part of Crowley, right off Columbus Trail. Don't really know much about Crowley, but the wife has a friend or two that say it's not bad. Wanted to check here to see if any Ags live in the area and if they would recommend it or not.

I grew up (outside of) Crowley. Siblings taught in the district until recently. My advice would be to visit the grocery stores closest to where you're thinking about buying before putting an offer in on a house zoned Crowley ISD. That will give you a good feel for the neighborhood culture. Also visit the neighborhood during work hours and also on the weekends to get a feel for the comings and goings of the neighborhood.

Taking the Tollway to central Fort Worth every day adds up quickly. Crowley schools are near unusable.

Going south (Burleson or Joshua), west (Benbrook or further) or slightly north to get into Fort Worth ISD (where you at least have school choice if not private) would be higher on my list.

I live in Godley and we have lots of folks moving here from Crowley, including my next door neighbors.

Crowley isn't ideal for lots of folks but I don't know your situation. I agree to check out grocery stores and local places you intend to utilize before you move there

Contact me for a free tour of Godley. My wife has lived here for generations. I am NOT a realtor but we shopped all the neighborhoods before moving in '21 so we know me where to look

The problem is that we're currently 1500 miles away, so I can't really look at the neighborhood right now. We saw this house on my "house-hunting trip" about a month ago and it was really the only one we liked that we could afford, but it went under contract until this week when the buyer's financing fell through. Didn't really have time to drive around the neighborhood more, though we have been repeatedly told it's "diverse".

Regarding the schools, there are charter schools in the area, are those not any good?

And Godley is waaaay too far. That'd be at least an hour commute, if not more. Crowley is pushing things as it is at ~40 min.

Some of the charter schools are great, some are less than great. The one we attend (& love) had over 300 kids apply for 120 kindergarten spots last year (lottery), so definitely not a guarantee.

If Crowley is a 40 minute commute, it doesn't sound like downtown is where work is, so maybe some different questions would get the board to give good ideas of other pockets in the metroplex to consider. I don't know a lot, but I do know I'm not buying in a Crowley subdivision to commute 40 minutes each way to work.
- Where is work?
- Are kids in the picture? How old?
- Is private school an option?
- Where are family/friends, if being close is of high importance?

Yowza...they just determine acceptance by lottery? Are all of them like that?

Yeah, we've looked all over. We can find houses that work, but in general they have broom closets for back yards.

-Work is in Hurst
- We have a rambunctious 2 year old, probably going to have more
- Private might be an option, but the house financials will have a significant impact on that (how hard to do I have to go to get a house)
- My family is up in Cooke County, her mom is in Shreveport, but she's got her two closest friends in the northern Ft. Worth area (one's in Keller, not sure on the other)

We've been trying to get in the Keller area, but just haven't had any luck yet. Seen a couple in Saginaw (near Boswell HS) that were pretty good, but the yards just sucked.

If I wanted to be in the northern half of DFW and worked in Hurst, I'd look in the pocket of Euless that is zoned for Grapevine Colleyville ISD. Convenient to major highways and is cheaper than a Grapevine/Colleyville mailing address.

GCISD $400k

I might also look in North Arlington (zip 76006, just south of Viridian around River Legacy). The elementary schools are usable right now and a very convenient part of town.

80% of the houses in that search were already contingent/pending. That's what we've been up against.

We've been told to avoid Arlington altogether due to crime issues, so we haven't even been trying over there.

Look in Kennedale (76060) or southwest Arlington (76016).

If North Arlington isn't doable, no way you're going to like Crowley. I have family in both areas.

And Southwest Arlington (Martin zone) is in a different universe than Crowley.

General Maximus. I served with you at Vindobana… and I serve you still by currently living in Crowley…

All seriousness, I'm off McPherson and Chisholm trail. I live in the neighborhood directly east from the Studio Movie Grill. Nice neighbors. Lots of people living way below their means and enjoying a less than 5 year old house that is 1900-2600 SF.

If you're going to Crowley, I'd pick this area. HEB will be built in 18-24 months at the interchange. The downside is this particular area will get heavily crowded in 5-10 years, and they are not building the nicest of houses if you get a chance to drive around the area. Tons of apartments and rental homes with little land along with bare minimum bad looking homes. Where I am will be the "nicest" of the area I'm guessing but it's nothing fancy.

South Fort Worth along Chisholm Trail Parkway - Tavolo Park off west side of Altamesa and CTP would be your best bet. Nicer homes/community and a few miles closer to civilization. We were going to get a new build here but we saved $150k moving down to McPherson along with a massive delay in new build at the time.

If you want more information, I can share my email and get in touch.

I'd recommend Quail Ridge if private school (SCS or TVS) is in the cards.

Why not Hurst itself? The midcities is a nice area and Hurst is on the cheaper side for that part of DFW. My parents live in North Hurst near Birdville HS and there are some fine neighborhoods over there.

H-E-B ISD Two International Baccalaureate schools.
Hurst/ Beford area. Euless, meh.
Trinity High graduate a long time ago, before IB.

I've looked and there's nothing that matches what we're looking for in our price range.

Move to Aledo

Have you looked at Burleson?

We're just south in Burleson. This entire area is growing and western Crowley shooting up thanks to Chisholm trail. When we moved over here, Crowley was a non-starter because of the schools. I don't think BISD is great either but, it's rated higher than Crowley.

given your situation, i'd definitely give renting serious consideration.

I live in Burleson now. My parents live in Bedford.
It's a long haul- 45 minutes- to Hurst and that's in no-traffic.
If the job in Hurst, better go north. Colleyville, Keller, Grapevine, etc.