Thankfully, a wide variety of quality childcare resources are in place near homes in Southlake TX, including several Montessori schools, between here and major employers around the DFW airport.  North Texas real estate includes more than 200 childcare facilities.  Many are nonprofit, church and community sponsored centers.  There are private centers and company-sponsored childcare facilities. 

As the providers differ, so do the needs of parents and children.  Some parents are looking for a larger facility with state-of-the-art equipment; others want a home-based operation.  Many facilities now accommodate very young newborns and others begin at age 3 or 4.  Many working parents need to find a provider that offers afterschool care, part-time care, or weekend care.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services recommends following a step-by-step path to choosing the right childcare for your children.  First of all, create a list of possible licensed providers.  Much of the pertinent information you need can be found in the facilities’ history of inspections online.

Narrow down the list and make appointments to visit each one for an initial tour.  The next step is to casually drop in on your favorites during a second visit when you are not expected to observe how safe and healthy the environment actually is from the parents’ vantage point.  Are there ponds, pools, or water features that could lure a small child into danger?  How does the facility ensure the safety of the children?

Children all adjust differently to moving from familiar surroundings to new ones.  Once you decide on a facility, speak with your child about the exciting new adventure at school and the new friends waiting to meet him.  It is best to stay in the classroom for a time each day until you are sure that your child is happy and secure in his or her new school.  Listen to your child’s concerns and encourage any accomplishments that are shared with you.

It is important to stay involved with your child’s caregivers.  If they are too busy at drop-off and pick-up times, make special appointments to discuss any concerns.

Other exciting types of outings in the Metroplex revolve around favorite sports teams.  Every major sports league is represented some time during the year.  And the parks and yards of schools and homes in Southlake turn into practice fields for even the youngest citizens striving to emulate their heroes.

More subdued but easily more interesting for many resident of real estate in Southlake are the wonderful museums and galleries.  International tourists seek out Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum.  Both adults and children will readily jump in the car for a trip to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, especially when they know that the trip will mean stopping at one of Fort Worth’s great restaurants.

Club hoppers can start out at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth for a bit of country jiving or elsewhere.  Sundance Square features a great variety of stops to be sampled by residents and visitors alike with a refueling stop for some of Joe T. Garcia’s famous Mexican food and margaritas.

In the Big D, eating out is a pastime and chefs oblige with an award-winning array of options.  The Mansion on Turtle Creek Restaurant in Oak Lawn is a must before heading out to enjoy the nightlife at a Deep Ellum or West End night spots. 
During the daytime, the Kennedy Memorial and the West End Historic district offer interesting stories from previous decades and centuries. 

Water parks and amusement parks, recreation facilities and leagues, clubs, organizations, and volunteering are a few more ways that residents keep active and experience a wonderful quality of life. 

For more information about age-appropriate activities, ask neighbors, look online, and look for coming events in the newspaper.  Some are free and others offer coupons.  Keep an open eye and your family and guests will thrive in this beautiful area.

Contact Dave Warden at dave@davewarden.net or call (817) 706-3291 for excellent service and information when relocating to the area. 

If you are planning to buy an existing home, there are some things you should look at to estimate your potential energy costs.  It is always good to ask the current homeowner if they have records of their previous utility bills.  If they have a larger family, chances are their bills will be higher than those of a smaller family.  You should inquire about the age of the heating and air conditioning units and any service or regular maintenance that has been performed on these units.  You should also ask about the age of the water heater.  Newer models are usually smaller and are more efficient.

Not only are older heating and cooling systems a drain on energy and potentially harmful to the environment, having landscaping that is not native to the area you live can be costly to maintain, especially during the hot summer months when there are frequent water shortages and restrictions.  Planting shrubs and other landscaping that is native to your area is easier to maintain and uses less natural resources. 

Many new home builders are installing energy efficient windows and appliances.  If you are buying an older home, many times the home seller has replaced their older windows with new double paned glass.   Finding an existing home with new windows is a valuable find, since paying to replace older windows can be quite costly.  If the home does have older windows, check the seal around the window to see if there are air leaks.  Simply sealing these leaks around windows and doors can help you save energy.  Many people today are applying a radiant barrier inside their attic to help hold heat in during winter months and air conditioning in during summer months.  This is just a special type of paint that is applied to the ceiling of the attic. 

Any efforts that a homeowner makes to make his home more environmentally friendly, although costly at first, have the potential to save money over time and are helpful in protecting our environment. 

 

The average cost for a new home in Lewisville is still an affordable $226,000, however, in this area just northeast of more expensive Flower Mound homes and across Grapevine Lake from our real estate office in Southlake.

Once a vacation destination for professionals from the big cities, Lewisville real estate is best known for its proximity to the 23,000-acre lake.  Lake Lewisville brings over 6 million visitors a year out on the reservoir to sail, ski, and fish as well as to enjoy lakeside attractions at the Eagle Point entertainment complex during the summer months.  The lake’s three marinas port some of the region’s largest yachts, both motored and under sail, that set out to explore the 103 miles of shoreline.  An active fleet of catamarans—some driven by the nation’s hottest racers—at times beach at Hobie Point.  And then there are the sailboarders who congregate at Sailboard Point in Lake Lewisville Park.

Numerous boat ramps, a swimming beach and fishing barge make it easy for families to cool off in the summer at a time when life revolves around activities at the lake.  On dry land, the plentiful nature areas, picnic facilities, overnight campsites buzz with recreational enthusiasts.

Performances by the Lake Lewisville Symphony, the Lake Cities Ballet, the Lake Cities Community Chorus, the Visual Arts League, and the Greater Lewisville Community Theatre bring distinctive cultural options to the visitors and residents as well.  In fact, the facilities available for travelers and tourists are impressive.  There are also 1,200 hotel rooms, excellent restaurants, and night life activities.

With a look into the future, homes in this area will continue to appreciate along with the amenities. 

For information about homes near the lakes in this area, contact Dave Warden at (817) 706-3291.

The average new home cost in Highland Village is $250,000.  The largest subdivision, the master-planned community of Highland Shores started in 1985 on the south shore of Lake Lewisville.  Expected to feature over 1,500 houses when build-out is complete, Highland Shores homes are set on generous lots and may sell for $200,000 to $1 million.  The community features a clubhouse, community swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, greenbelts, jogging and bike paths, children’s playgrounds, and an effective homeowners association.

The community incorporated in 1963 after approximately 100 lakeside owners of vacation homes decided to live fulltime in their retreat setting.  Most were professionals from Dallas.  The Village is still an ideal place for workers from the Metroplex to escape to a peaceful natural environment.  The central location and community activities attract numerous young families to the town.

The resort-like setting boasts top-quality public schools from the Lewisville and Lake Dallas School Districts.  There are over 4,000 students in three elementary and one middle school.  Within 30 miles are University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University, Northlake, and Brookhaven community colleges, University of Dallas, Collin County Community College, and North Central Texas College.

Every year the Lion’s Club Balloonfest and Fair during August attracts about 50,000 to marvel at the fifty colorful hot-air balloons bouncing about in the sky.  One the ground, a festival, entertainment, food, and carnival attractions bring out people of all ages.  A media flight, balloon races, and two balloon glows are held at dusk during the 3-day event.

For information on this or similar communities in the area, contact Dave Warden at (817) 329-5656 or e-mail dave@davewarden.net. 

Not too far away, practice facilities await your warm-up strokes.  The Golden Bear Golf Center in Carrollton is the top-rate teaching and practice facility in the area as recognized by Avid golfer Magazine.  In Lewisville, the Hank Haney Golf facility offers instruction and a quick nine holes.  Scoot over to Richardson for the Practice Tee or to Forth Worth to the Leonard Golf Center for great practice and primo instruction.

For public golf, Carrollton’s two 18-hole courses are a “thumbs up.”  Lewisville’s Lake Park Golf Course, Plano’s Pecan Hollow, Richardson’s Sherrill Park, and Arlington’s Chester A. Ditto Municipal are wonderful starters.  Golfers find daily specials and discounts at many Fort Worth courses and reasonable prices all of the time.  Some are less formal, although others hold to country club standards.

Golfers wanting a flexible lifestyle enjoy skipping around DFW to over 30 daily fee courses.  Without sacrificing service, these fine daily fee tracks offer fair but lengthy and challenging options.  Grapevine’s Cowboys Golf Club is the only NFL-themed course in the United States.  The Fossil Creek Golf Club in Fort Worth is away from the hustle and bustle.  The Tribute features replica holes from Scotland; Tour 18 in Flower Mound features replica holes from all over the nation.  The word from our golfer friends is that the daily fee courses call them back repeatedly.

Some of the finest and most opulent private golf courses in the country grace the DFW area.  From Gleneagles Country Club in Plano to the cornerstone Dallas National Golf Club, the private golf communities combine history and tradition with each of their own unique qualities.  Besides beautiful and challenging golf courses, the country club communities lend a sense of belonging and camaraderie to life in a large Metroplex. 

The golf courses throughout the region add natural environments to suburban living.  For information about homes in country clubs or near golf courses, contact Dave Warden at (817) 706-3291.