Not sure if this is the best place to ask but worth a shot. I am entertaining a move that would lead me to Ft Worth. I am not all that familiar with the area but am interested in learning about small towns/schools west or southwest of Ft Worth that would not involve a terrible commute to downtown. I currently live in a town of > 20,000 that has a 4A school with geat academic ratings and athletics. Not knowing much about Ft Worth my only thoughts have been Aledo and Weatherford although I have not heard much of the school system in Weatherford. I sure would appreciate any advice!

Here are some of my favorites: Aledo, Weatherford, Godley, Burleson, Joshua, Glen Rose.

I love Glen Rose. That area is beautiful and it's a quaint little town. It's the furthest from Fort Worth on the list, but the new Chisolm Trail Parkway makes that commute much more reasonable. I got from Glen Rose to Downtown Fort Worth in 35 minutes a few months ago.

Godley is solid and a very tight knit community. Everyone I know involved in the school system loves it. There are some very nice places around Godley, but also some mobile homes mixed in.

Joshua schools have a good academic profile but their athletic teams are notoriously bad. They have state of the art athletic facilities.

Burleson is quickly growing and has had a 75% population increase since 2000. They opened a second high school in 2010 (Centennial). THe school system is solid.

Aledo is exploding. The new Walsh Ranch is expected to bring an additional 18,000 residences and almost 50,000 more people to that area. It will be interesting to see how the area/school district handles the growth, but I think long-term it will be a constantly desirable community.

Weatherford schools are good.

Brock also could be a good option, but is a bit further out.

I would be comfortable purchasing or living in any one of these communities.

Stephenville is a little farther out, but it's about the same sized place as where you are coming from. Also, Granbury is a pretty nice town and has a lake.

[This message has been edited by powerbiscuit (edited 7/30/2014 11:10p).]

Brock will be playing varsity football for the first time in school history this year. With a few of the developments in the area (sugartree and canyon west) i could see that district having a future much like aledo...going from a small 2a school to 4a, in the not so distant future.

Cleburne is only 25 miles from downtown FW but has been hard to get there. Now they have built or are building a freeway I believe. It is about the size it sounds like you are looking for. About 30k population.

Areas south and west of FTW are growing very fast. If you are looking to keep the small town feel I would go northwest. My boss has lived in Springtown for 30 years and loves it. It's about a 30 minute drive downtown.

Granbury has a lake but there is no water in it.

The black helicopter crowd has the reason:


http://www.empowertexans.com/economy/the-plot-to-drain-possum-kingdom-and-lake-granbury/



[This message has been edited by Aggie@state.gov (edited 8/1/2014 12:33p).]

Thanks for all of the replies.

How about a town such as Azle?

My wife grew up on the Walsh Ranch at Aledo and my in-laws are still there. I understand why it is getting developed, but sure hate to see it happen. Its a great ranch. Lots of good times spent there.

We have contemplated a move to Aledo.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.
-George S Patton

I'd personally put Azle with Joshua at the bottom of list. There are some nice properties in both, but both areas are dotted with sketchy mobile home parks and small acreage mobile home estates.

Muenster is northwest, but they have Fischers meat market. Word.

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Stephenville is a little farther out, but it's about the same sized place as where you are coming from. Also, Granbury is a pretty nice town and has a lake.

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A little further out? His commute would be near 150 miles each day RT.

Approximate 1 way mileage

Burleson - 16
Azle - 17
Aledo - 19
Joshua - 22
Springtown - 27
Weatherford - 30
Godley - 30
Brock - 41
Granbury - 42
Glen Rose - 55
Stephenville - 78

just my 2 cents on the place i have experience with... i would look north and not west unless you go way west


Burleson - 16 - ok but nothing great
Azle - 17
Aledo - 19
Joshua - 22 - crap hole with crap athletics
Springtown - 27
Weatherford - 30
Godley - 30 - very small vs your current location. i couldn't live there
Brock - 41
Granbury - 42
Glen Rose - 55
Stephenville - 78 - better of these choices but way too far for daily commute

Someone said Cleburne - terrible idea unless of course you are hi-spanic then it's a lovely little trailer park

Godley ISD extends to just south of Benbrook Lake. If you wanted a school district that small, you could live closer to FW. The new tollway makes it that much more attractive.

even without the lake.. .we love Granbury

we have kids in acton elementary and middle schools... great schools

they are about to build a $10m ymca next to the middle school... ground breaking in sept

the isd just did an $84 m bond.... more on the school system:

https://www.facebook.com/granburyisd/photos/pcb.10152467484763881/10152467482518881/?type=1&theater

but.... there are a lot of good places around south & west fort worth... do your homework!

Thanks for all of the responses. I don't want to commute more than 40 each way but wanted a broad range of thoughts so I didn't mention preferred commute distance.

Any thoughts on Saginaw? Three high schools, correct?

If you are going north, I'd look at Northwest ISD (Haslet/Fort Worth/Trophy Club/Roanoke) or Keller ISD (Fort Worth/Keller) over Saginaw.

What are you looking for? Suburban? Acreage? There are a lot of great places around, depending on what you are looking for.

Would really like to live in a one high school town where the city limits are easily distinguishable from the next town. Nothing more than a few acres with the house. Good school system with equal focus on academics and athletics. Don't mind up to 5A high school under the new classification system.

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Would really like to live in a one high school town where the city limits are easily distinguishable from the next town.

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That also cuts out Saginaw or Watauga, whichever one you mentioned. Also, cuts out Benbrook, the NWISD and Keller areas.

So you are looking at...

Burleson - 16 - kind of fits in the same category as above....abuts Crowley, Fort Worth, and northern Joshua

Someone else can help with the school districts as I'm not familiar with all of them

Azle - 17
- some sketchy areas
+ affordable, you can find a nice place on few acres

Aledo - 19
-not a significant amount of businesses nearby, probably have to go to Weatherford for groceries and fast foot, probably the most expensive on average
+the higher end of properties on the list, good athletics

Joshua - 22
- some sketchy areas, probably my last choice of areas listed
+?
Springtown - 27
- some sketchy areas
+ small town feel close to the city, affordable, you can find a nice place on few acres

Weatherford - 30
- some MH on acreage, but seems better cared for
+ lots of properties on acreage, booming small town, right on I-20



Godley - 30
-small area, rural, limited food, stores
+
Brock - 41
-small area, small school, but good at basketball, food, stores not close

Granbury - 42
+nice mix of residential and acreage properties, lots of old folks, lake (when it fills back up), Brazos River

Glen Rose - 55
I'm the least familiar with GR, been through it a few times and had a nice impression of it. A nuke plant is nearby and brings in lots of money

Stephenville - 78
-too far out
+nice little college town, similar to Canyon

If you would like to have stores nearby, Weatherford or Granbury might be your best bet. Aledo should grow and things should be coming soon, but the last time I was there, I didn't see many places to eat or shop.

If you are looking for something on a few acres, there are tons of them from Granbury to Weatherford, to Springtown, to Haslet. You can probably find something pretty nice (not huge) for $2-300K.

It really just depends on where you want to be.

I really appreciate your patience as I am in the very beginning stages of this process that might not even happen. I am guessing the commute on 35 is pretty brutal due to traffic. Thought about something south of Denton. Argyle?

Those are nice areas, but 35 is under construction...plus you said south and west, not north. The 35 construction will be going for a couple of years. The area is booming north of 820. I like the area quite a bit, but I'm biased.

Decatur up on 287 seems nice. Kind of a mid-point between Springtown and Weatherford as far as size and stuff to do.

Argyle isn't much of a town. More of a rural area with lots of nice properties on acreage. It will be an awesome area when if grows and has more food/shopping. Some really beautiful rural properties, and it's a pricey area.

Denton is ok. Lots of stuff grown up around it has other towns abutting it to the south and east, which is what you said you didn't want.

My step dad had a place in Itasca and commuted to Fort Worth. Exceptional schools but may be a bit far for you.

aledo - good athletics, not much business
weatherford - lots of business, 6a school
brock - 2a school, just west of weatherford on i20
alvarado - south of burleson on 35, 3a school small town feel
granbury - 30 minutes sw of fort worth, small time feel

if i was in your shoes, those are the places i would look at, in no particular order.

argyle - that commute will not be fun for awhile

We just went through what you are and we ended up in Aledo.

There is a grocery store and a few restaurants between Aledo and Willow Park.

Weatherford and west Fort Worth are about equidistant, depending on where in Aledo ISD you end up.

Looks like I need to focus on the Dallas area instead of Ft Worth. I might have to adjust and consider larger schools. Any thoughts on Smaller towns south of Dallas (town, school, etc) and the commute to downtown Dallas?

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Muenster is northwest, but they have Fischers meat market. Word

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Born and raised and current resident of Muenster. Pop. ~1500

Property values are high here because there is money here and everyone's house looks nice. You don't see un-mowed lawns or cars and other **** in the front lawns.
The public school is 2A under the new divisioning. My class size in '02 was 33 and they have stayed around the same size.
The Catholic school is a little smaller.
We have a hospital with an emergency room.
It's a good town all in all. Especially if you like drinking lots of beer.

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I am guessing the commute on 35 is pretty brutal due to traffic.

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Horrendous

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Looks like I need to focus on the Dallas area instead of Ft Worth. I might have to adjust and consider larger schools. Any thoughts on Smaller towns south of Dallas (town, school, etc) and the commute to downtown Dallas?

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midlothian

You just read my mind. What type of commute would I be looking at from Midlothian to downtown Dallas? Brutal?

30-40 minutes

Currently , I live in Brock, work in Downtown Fort Worth. Drive isn't too bad. I can hop on the interstate in less than 5 minutes and drive 35 miles to get to the office. Community is great, town is infrastructure is lacking. However, with my limited experience (oldest daughter in first grade), I believe it is the perfect place to have a kiddo grow up. You can find acreage (1 to 3) and its not super expensive. Lots of families moving west, so things don't stay on the market long. Brock HS, is in the middle of its first football season, and like most of their other sports, has seen success so far (one loss on the season). I'd say give it a serious look.

Bumping an old thread to see if thoughts are still the same on these towns, or if things have changed. We are considering the Fort Worth area. Would like to find a small town that is within an hour or so of Fort Worth.

Granbury and Glen Rose are probably still high on this list. Maybe Brock? What about the towns out towards PK like Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Graford, Graham, Jacksboro, etc.?