Texas?

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axeman_g

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All,
I appear to be staring down the barrel, no pun intended, of a transfer to the Denton, Tx area. Office is in the SE area of Denton. I have questions? I would be excited to move so that is not a problem. I have two young boys so schools, entertainment and recreation are important.

Edit: I used to live in Ga, so this move is welcome for the culture change and the weather.

If there is anyone that lives in that area... where would you live, where are the goood schools, best neighborhoods, shopping etc etc.

Should I look as far a FT Worth? What other towns, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Cross Roads, etc etc are worth while?

Also to keep it gun related, I know Tx is not a totally free wheeling gun states along Vt. or Ak., but what can I expect gun wise, carry laws etc? How about shops, ranges and activities?
 
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I used to live in Dallas, and now live in Austin, so I can't speak to Denton specifically, but I think Denton is pretty nice. Fort Worth would be a little far to drive. As far as gun laws, coming from NJ, you'll think you died and went to heaven. CCW is relatively easy to obtain, just more expensive than many other states (around $300 for the class and application, fingerprints, etc). After that, you are good to go for 5 years. Can't carry in schools, courts, airports, sporting events, or anyplace posted with a specific sign. We have the castle doctrine. The biggest hole in our gun laws is the prohibition on open carry. Hopefully we'll get that soon. Make sure you join the TSRA when you get here so you can help fund the fight.
 
Look into Keller, TX. Schools are great and its only about a 15-20 minute drive to Denton. Great place for a family.
 
Denton is a great town, and right on the edge of all of the traffic. No way in hades I would live in Keller with that traffic. Some outlying areas will be nice. Krum, Aubrey, Ponder, etc...
 
I absolutely loved Dallas. I lived on the other side, so I can't tell you specifics for that. Gun laws are really lenient except for no Open Carry. Cost of living is a LOT lower than anywhere on either coast.

There are several good gun shops in Dallas, though much of that depends on what type of guns you are interested in. For military surplus, check out a shop called the 'Ammo Depot' east of dallas in a village called Caddo Mills. My suggestion is to explore all the various gun shops in town and find one that suits you. Most of them are high quality.

For the kids, I can't recommend going to the Dallas World Aquarium enough. The Dallas Zoo is neat, but the Dallas World Aquarium in downtown Dallas is amazing and definitely worth it. The biggest downside as a parent with kids is that Dallas mass transportation is pretty primitive and most places require some form of motor transport to reach. The Dallas metroplex is pretty sprawling, so you will need to be able to provide your kids with some sort of transportation on a regular basis.
 
Lived in Argyle. The nearest town south of Denton without being in Denton. Argyle is a great place to live as is Denton. Choose the south or North sides of Denton if you can. Lewisville and Kellar are suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth respectively. The Dallas/Fort Worth area is loaded with entertainment and things to do.
 
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Lots of great places to live in the DFW metro area. Keller, Lewisville, McKinney and South Lake would be some of the first spots I'd look. All of them used to have good school districts when lived in Dallas, and I haven't been gone all that long so I'd assume they are all still pretty good.

Like any major city, there are good and not so good areas, even in the better locations, so you just have to pick some locations and spend some time looking around. The traffic and immense population is something to consider though. If that's going to cause problems for you, you might need to look farther outside the metro area.

There are tons of things to do with, and for, your kids in the DFW area, so you should be good as far as that goes. The Dallas Aquarium is great. Unless the Dallas Zoo has made some big improvements, I'd scratch that destination in favor of the Ft. Worth Zoo personally, but I'll admit I haven't been to the Dallas zoo in many years. If you are into art, the Dallas Museum of Art is nice and the Kimbell and Amon Carter museums in Ft. Worth are also worth visiting. I can't even name all the major and minor league sports teams you could choose from, but I'll just say there are plenty! As far as recreation goes, pretty much whatever you are into, except snow skiing or mountain climbing, you shouldn't have any problem finding places to do whatever.
 
Denton is a wonderful place to live, about 100,000 so it's big enough to have what you need (still needs a decent gun shop) but small enough to get around. Two colleges so there is lot's to do; sports, concerts, etc. Good school system, major medical center.

Only 30 miles to Dallas if you crave traffic and crowds. :)

Come on down, you'll like it!
 
Having spent most of my life in the N Suburbs of Big D, we moved to the Denton area. That is where we will stay! Bad part is that the 3 closest ranges have closed in the past 4 or 5 years. Now travel of at least 30 miles for me to a good range, but worth the trip. Favorite calibers here are what ever you like.

Good gun shops are around too. Ammo is plentiful, and prices are fairly good (trying to keep this gun related!).
 
You will be within an hour of Cheaper Than Dirt and a monster Cabellas. Good move.
 
When we first moved to the area (2004), we lived in Corinth. It's north of Lake Lewisville and just south of Denton.

I work at DFW airport, and the drive got to me after a while. Moved to Lewisville/Flower Mound in '06 and my drive is a lot better now. Since they've widened the bridge across Lake Lewisville, it's not so bad now.

But if you are working in Denton, I'd stay north of the bridge and avoid all of that. Corinth, Copper Canyon, Argyle...something like that would be my choice. Lake Dallas or Denton if you pick the right parts.

PM me if I can help.
Best, Rich
 
Wow, New Jersey to Texas, hehe it'll probally take a year for the culture shock to wear off.:D
 
I live in Frisco, about 15 miles from Denton.

Nice little town.

Its a great place with some of the best schools around.

I actually lived in Georgia before Texas as well.
 
I live in North Dallas, an area called Lake Highlands. Denton is a nice little town, relatively safe for a family. The only drawback I can see are the schools. They are not bad, but not as good as McKinney, Frisco, or Allen. Plus, if you are used to the "city life" Denton may feel a bit small. If I were you, I would take a serious look at McKinney or Allen. I have quite a few college buddies who live in the Northern Suburbs, in fact I am the only one of my friends who actually lives in Dallas proper. Now you are going to have to commute some to Denton, but you'll be going against traffic if you're heading North. It could be worse.

In truth, I am not familiar with any ranges in Denton. My buddies who live North of me all drive down to a place called Targetmasters in Garland for indoor. Garland Public Shooting Range/Eagle Peak Range is a good outdoor. There is also Elm Fork Ranch over West of town that is also really nice for Trap/Skeet/Clays if you are into that. We used to go to The Bullet Trap in Plano (another nice city you may want to look at), which is nice but the range officers are a bit uptight. I think that they just have a bunch of inexperienced shooters to contend with. It is where I did my CHL class though.

Texas is a "Shall Issue" state so as long as you are not a Felon or you have Misdemeanor drug or violent crime convictions getting a carry permit is just a matter of paperwork. We also have a very lenient "Castle Doctrine" in TX. A couple years ago a guy shot 2 guys leaving his neighbor's house after robbing him and was not even indited.

I have been in TX for 15 years, I married a Dallas girl, but I have lived in Charleston, SC, Chicago, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay, FL and this is my favorite place so far. I think you will like it here.
 
All,
This is some great advice. I really appreciate the advice.

We lived in Atlanta for years and are looking to get back down south. I have no serious love for urban areas or congestion, my first goal will be to find the best schools in the area for my boys, then safety, then recreation and shopping. I forgot about CTD being down that way .... that is a big plus! Plus, gun stuff prices have got to be cheaper there then here in NJ.

By the way, NJ has not been that bad a place to live and shoot. I am in the southern part of the state, and I have noticed the father you get from NYC, their is a direct relation to the lower number of jerks you run into. Even Philly seems tame compared to North Jersey and NYC.
 
It's been almost 30 years since I lived in Arlington. On most days Denton was where you could see the brown smog cloud over the metroplex. Don't know what it's like now, I haven't been back. There were a number of people who lived in Denton and worked in the metroplex, but I never knew anyone doing the reverse. I would find something close to Denton, myself.

Gun laws have changed a lot. The now have CCW, a complete reversal of when I was there.
 
There is at least two big gun shows every month here.......also, there is a wimmin's college in Dention........chris3
 
When we moved here a few years ago we lived in Haslet, which is about 20 minutes SSW of Denton, just a mile or so south of the Texas Motor Speedway. Nice little town, alot of new developments, cheap to live in, but the commute to ANYTHING is a pain. If you have any detailed questions about Haslet PM me and I will share my thoughts privately.

Cabelas isnt far, Bass pro is just north of DFW airport, CTD, Winchester, a few other larger stores in the area, and as mentioned before, plenty of guns shows. There is a shooting range just north of the TX Motor Speedway that isnt too bad, 12.50 per person, not gun, was the going rate when I was there over a year ago. Elm Fork is a nice range on the north side of Dallas, Ive only been there once but overall it seemed ok.
 
Welcome!

I live in Keller. Skip it the schools are good but not for long. The school board is out of control spending millions on stuff we don't have to have like football stadiums. Now they are claiming poverty and a 16 million deficit to whit we can either accept a higher property tax (above the state allowed cap which they have already hit) or they will lay off 400 teachers and disband all sports, arts and music. Other than that, it's a great town!

That said, there are tons of very good communities in the DFW area. Tarrant county and the suburbs of Ft Worth are generally more laidback and traditional Dallas county and the suburbs of Dallas are generally more progressive.

You can get a CHL (concealed handgun license) and we recognize all others states licenses. Classes generally run about $125 and the license is $140 for five years. I am taking a CHL class on Feb 12 given by off duty Ft Worth PD using PD facilities so as you can tell the local LEOs support our right to carry.

Like most places each city and suburb tends to have its own subculture. What are your interests? Do you like the city or the country? Arts, music or sports. How close to the "action" do you want to be?
 
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