Is it better to buy in Mueller or Crestview for a family with young kids?

I have helped four families buy in Mueller in the last year. The parks and the walkable town center are the draw, but at $650K you are mostly looking at townhomes or smaller rowhouses there. In Crestview the same budget usually gets a 1950s ranch on a bigger lot, often needing $30K to $60K of updates. My clients with toddlers who wanted a yard picked Crestview; the ones who wanted to walk to a playground every morning picked Mueller.

Both are great, but check the elementary school boundaries before you fall in love with a house. Last spring I had buyers lose a Crestview house to 9 offers; Mueller listings were sitting about 21 days. If you can wait for a ranch to come up, Crestview gives you more space for the money.