We are moving to the DFW area next year with a 3 year old and a 2 month old. The wife does not work and I am 90% remote with an occasional (maybe once a month) trip to Houston. Budget will be around $1m. We have no interest in living in Houston. Our families live near Benbrook & Lake Worth. We are looking for good schools and within 30 minutes of most things (HEB, Costco, restaurants) and 20-30 minutes from nice Montessori or private schools until the kids are old enough for public school. We have made a couple of trips and visited both superficially for a day or two, and both seem to have pros/cons.

We love the open space and more laid back vibe of Aledo with the only downside being it is a bit on the edge of the metroplex, it is ~15min to HEB, 20min to Weatherford, and 30min to DTFW so it is right on the limit of far we would want to travel for things. School rankings seem similar between Aledo ISD & Keller ISD but we have a family friend who is a teacher at a Keller ISD elementary school who is very vocal that Aledo schools are a step or two above Keller, I respect her opinion but I am not 100% convinced..

Keller seems to be much better located for amenities, <15min to any big box store you can imagine, similar distance to DTFW, and about equal distance to DT Dallas although the only thing we would ever go that way for would be an occasional AAC trip for basketball or hockey. But the traffic was noticeably worse and so I imagine some of those amenities would end up really being 20+ min away. Also the neighborhoods and houses, while nice, are pretty cookie cutter. It reminds me of a nice suburb with nothing too exciting about it.

Any feedback from people that actually live in either of these cities or children in the districts? I am not sure there is a wrong choice but would like some opinions from people with more than a day or two experience actually living there..

I moved from Keller to Aledo in the last year if you want to chat.

mosdefn14 said:

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Then I'm enjoying everything being within 10 minutes of me.

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This is the main idea. I've met a lot of folks with kids that moved in to FW proper from Aledo or Bella Ranch that got tired of it taking 20 minutes just to get back into civilization. I'm also happy to chat.

This is the real answer.

I love being away from all the BS that is in the city. Keller is so ridiculous now that it would take me 15 minutes to get 2 miles down the road. I'll take fast flowing highways over sitting all day every day.

Hey, you talking bout me?! Do we know each other?

We live in Aledo & go to Weatherford Christian School. We love it. Buy some land though. Aledo ISD politics is stupid.

We live in 76109 and moved here a few years ago. You can't beat the location and proximity to everything (including private schools - St. Andrew's & Nolan Catholic). However, staying with your original post, Aledo fits the eye better as for land and nature. Keller is much more congested. You may check out some new developments along CTP or Hwy 377. These are the next boom areas of Ft. Worth and investment here will definitely pay off.

Maybe?

Agreed on the Southlake/Colleyville/Keller/Grapevine area.
We live in Euless and spend most of our time over there since there's about everything one could want, and with a 1M budget you can get a really nice house in a great school district.
Hell, we rent right now and since our house is in the Colleyville Grapevine school district we pay a premium on rent even though it's a Euless address, and we don't even have kids yet.

Good problem to have here. No particular order but I'd look at these areas.I think you're going to win either way. Welcome to the area!

-Southlake/Grapevine/Colleyville area.
-Area SW of TCU, so Tanglewood and Overton Woods. Public schools good up to junior high.
-Aledo
-Ridglea Hills or the Country club area
-if Chisholm Trail Parkway development is of interest, I'd go south of McPherson or look at Tavolo Park. Might find a house in Mira Vista but doubt it as these are over a million. These are private schools all the way.

mosdefn14 said:

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Aledo schools are better than most, but the schools today (and in 5 years) aren't what earned the rankings and reputation you're attracted to.

Me, with that budget? I'm spending $500k-$600k in Ridglea Country Club Estates, leaving possibly $100k to remodel. With the $8k/ year I'm saving in property taxes vs a $1mm house in Aledo I'm paying for half of a Covenant or SCS tuition (all of it if you're mortgaging at 7%). But before that, I'm trying to get into Great Hearts or transfer into TWE or OPE.

Then I'm enjoying everything being within 10 minutes of me.

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This, and I would add areas in 76132 (Meadows West, Bellaire Park North, and Mont Del). We're in Bellaire Park and our son goes to SCS. Overton Woods, Tanglewood, River Hills, and Montrachet off 820/20 are nice too.

I wouldn't go further down CTP unless I went all the way to Godley/Joshua for some land. I work with a bunch of the developments along CTP/McPherson and it's all quick build homes and single-family rentals...

Aledo is far from some of the more modern conveniences. Its growing very quickly and they are putting houses on every piece of land. Keller is land locked and is a b to get in and out of. I would look at Southlake/Colleyville, I am biased, but we enjoy its proximity to both Dallas and FW and the schools are good. Its build out for the most part so the dollar doesnt go as far with a majority of retirees not wanting to leave.

Aledo really isn't that far from anything, unless you're deep in Aledo. If you're down off of FM5 or in the Anettas, then yeah, it is a haul. But if you're closer to 1187 it's not bad. Costco is 20 minutes for us; downtown FW is 23 minutes. Pretty much anywhere in FW is still going to be 10+ minutes to anywhere else. If you and your wife are both mostly at-home, traffic is a non-issue. 20 and 30 run smoothly other than rush hour and the occasional wreck on 20 between Hudson Oaks and Weatherford (which is daily...). But, I'd guess 114 and 121 are just as tedious.

Walsh Ranch could also be worth looking at, though you won't get land. But if you have kids, the amenities are nice, and it has proximity to 30 (but 20 East is a hassle to get to). Azle isn't half bad either. You're more likely to find land, but I don't know if it's close to anything you are interested in.

Southlake/Keller/Colleyville are all fine. I find that area is always very congested and there just isn't much "breathing room". Good luck.

Move to Keller......in 2 years you'll want to leave.


Move to Aledo......in 5 years you'll want to move further West!


Do not, and I repeat.....do not move to Keller.

It's really just personal preference. We are "inside the loop" kind of people and don't care for the burbs, but the burbs are perfectly fine for a lot of folks. Just ask yourself what your priorities and styles are and think through the best fit. There are a lot of politics in Southlake and Aledo, but there's a ton in 76109 as well. Convenience wins out for us.

With family in Lake Worth and Benbrook, skip Keller. That trip over will negate the benefits of living "near". But if you do continue to look at the Keller area, go to the northern side of town or look into northern North Richland Hills. You can still find a few lots that are a bit larger.

If you want some space you'll find it for that price in Aledo with dependable schools. The growth is going to continue being painful as the North/South corridors in that area are limited, then when you get to the highway, you're still not where you need to be. But, you will get rolling hills. While people love having a large lot with well water, make sure you have municipal or MUD water because that area's water table is not going to survive at the current level for much longer. Aledo will put you really close to your Benbrook kin, plus Southwest Christian, All Saints, Trinity Valley, and Country Day.

I'm near TCU with all these other Aggie neighbors I didn't know about. We have several friends who also bought into Aledo then moved to Fort Worth because they wanted the convenience. Its just a matter of taste though as we have a number of friends who love Aledo and when we go to their house and look out over the rolling hillside that'll someday be a neighborhood.....well, that's pretty nice too.

As someone who lives in Southlake, you'll get more bang for your buck with a $1m budget in Keller or Grapevine. Homes are still going fast around here and you can't find many deals. You'd wind up spending most on the home with little (if any) left for renovations. Grapevine still offers convenience and ease of access to the highways, shopping areas, etc.

That you Iceman?

Wrong area... Look at Prosper

Similar to this. After almost 20 years in Dallas, the last 15 years in the Lakewood area we left in 2021 and looked at Argyle and Colleyville. We decided on Colleyville because of my wife's commute to the Galleria area (which actually takes her less time than from East Dallas).

All this to say, I love Colleyville. I live on the west side, and can make it to all of the things in Southlake and Grapevine in 10-15 minutes, while Colleyville is basically a ghost town after 7 pm. Southlake is super nice, but was more than we were looking to spend unfortunately, and we also wanted a bigger lot.

Wife and I live in Keller and like it. Wouldn't argue that it's super exciting or unique, but plenty to do within a short drive and nice neighborhoods.

I have a lot more Aggie neighbors than I realized in 76109. I feel like I'm living in a sea of purple here. I agree with one of the above posters, I much prefer being in the middle of everything, my kids go to tanglewood and I can be anywhere I want to eat or do anything I want in under 10 minutes.

Sounds like us 76109 Ags need to meet up for a beer…

I have nothing to add to this Keller/Aledo debate, but shoutout to all you 76109ers. I've moved to the darkside post-college, been in Dallas or Dallas suburbs for 13+ years now, but I grew up in 76109 (ages 7-18, 7-22 if you count college years) and have nothing but fond memories of it, it's a wonderful area. I have a ton of friends I grew up with who still live there and my mom still lives there and we bring the kids over once or twice a month so we still get our fill.

I've been in 76109 for probably 15 years. Hard to move from that area!

Better include 76110 also