What is Lake Tawakoni like? (Dallas, Garland: crime, mobile home, buyers)

[akwart]

I'm looking to buy a cottage in the Dallas area. I've never been there so I'm curious to find out what people think of Lake Tawakoni. Any information about the lake or the area would be greatly appreciated.

[fratermus]

I think it would be a nice place for a cottage.

Unscientific perception follows: Tawakoni is a small semirural burg near the lake of the same name. You are far out enough from dallas to see cows, and people tend to pull off to the shoulder to let you pass. People fish and boat on Tawakoni but it's not nutso like some of the other lakes. Expect to see people in overalls, and eat in the little burger joints and get beer from "ray's coldest beverage on the lake", if it's still there. Back in the 70s the folks "next door" to us owned the It'll Do minimart up the road from Ray's.

Do not speed faster or drive drunker than the locals. In small towns like that the drivers-through can pay much of the local budget...

[ChristieP]

Fratermus is pretty much correct about Tawakoni. My folks live not far from there, and we occasionally go out near the lake to eat dinner, etc. Some of the towns on or near the lake are Wills Point, West Tawakoni, and Quinlan. I know that Quinlan now has a very decent Brookshire's grocery store and a brand-new Post office, both of which my Mom loves!

[momof2dfw]

We have a place on Tawakoni. It is known for being an excellent fishing lake. I love riding on Tawakoni be it boat or SeaDoo as it is not as crowded as most other lakes (I am not a fishing kinda person ). The lake itself has many coves and a large open body of water that does have an underground forest (don't go zippin cross the lake w/o knowing WHERE these forests are and the sandbars). Some coves are drier than others as Tawakoni is not a constant level lake as the City of Dallas which owns Lake Ray Hubbard pull water out of it via a HUGE new pipeline to keep LRH a constant level for their power plant. In the last 18 years only twice have we had water so low that we could not use our own boat ramp. This past summer was one such and the water level before the rains came was VERY LOW!!! The edge of the water was a good 30' from the end of our pier. Only one boat ramp remained open during the worst time. Boat ramps are not all over the place either on Tawakoni. There is one nice public ramp on the east side of the Two Mile Bridge going into East Tawakoni.

Towns nearby and around Lake Tawakoni: Quinlan, Wills Point, West Tawakoni, East Tawakoni, Point, Lone Oak, Emory. Quinlan has a VERY NICE Brookshires that I do hope does not close down since the new SuperWalmart opened. Also in Quinlan you will find Sonic, Dairy Queen, McDonalds (new), a couple of churches, a bank, gas stations, Dollar General, Luigi's Italian (same as the one in Rockwall), a burger and wing place and a few other restaurants. West Tawakoni is home to Margie's grocery store, several gas stations along w/ a harvest of beer/wine/liquor stores, several clubs and one small baptist church (more beer stores than churches). East Tawakoni is home to the Tawakoni Grocery store, TJ's for gas, beer/wine/liquor and did have Big Daddy's but it closed (someone is reopening the place). Emory is a decent little town but not right ON the lake but on up the road. Here you will find more shopping available along w/ restaurants. Millers Grove is home to a killer catfish restaurant that is only open for dinner on Friday and Saturday.

Homes on and around the lake are a true range of class. You will see the smallest lean-to shack half falling down that you believe is deserted but someone is still living there. Abandoned old mobile homes are also to be found. Then you will find well kept older homes mixed in w/ the bunch. In several areas you will find communities that have restrictions and this is where the nicer brick homes will be found. Nothing huge and fancy but simple modest homes. A lot of the people actually live here full time so you won't find a lot of heavy traffic in and around the area on weekends or out on the lake. Most people that go for the day are down there w/ friends at their place. There are a few places to camp out on the lake w/ one being next to 276 next to the public boat ramp in East Tawakoni. Thousand Trails is a membership only campground organization w/ locations all over and they have a nice spot on the lake. Thousand Trails puts on concerts and a fireworks show for the 4th of July that is open to the public.

Oh yeah, don't speed thru this area.

[average_joe]

One of my co-workers at TI lives out there and according to him there is a lot of meth use out there. One of his sons was heavily involved in the manufacturing of it and is now in jail because of it. Another co-worker used to live out there and ended up moving to Garland to get away from all of the crime in and around the area. Just fyi...
Joe

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by average_joe

One of my co-workers at TI lives out there and according to him there is a lot of meth use out there. One of his sons was heavily involved in the manufacturing of it and is now in jail because of it. Another co-worker used to live out there and ended up moving to Garland to get away from all of the crime in and around the area. Just fyi...
Joe

No matter where in the country you go if your out "in the country" your going to find meth heads. They are even in the cities too but I'd be far from saying they are everywhere out there. I would not raise a family out there but having a lake house or to retire out there are totally different. We have not had any problem w/ crime minus the knuckleheads that one year were shooting off their fireworks in the street right in front of our house. Otherwise it has been pretty quiet and the neighbors all look out for each other.

[ChristieP]

Unfortunately, meth is fairly common in most rural areas of Texas. The good thing is that the restrictions on purchasing bulk amounts of drugs containing pseudoephedrine has driven more of the production south to Mexico...

[average_joe]

I agree. I would definitely not want to raise my family out there, but it is nice to go there and get away from it all for a little while.

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

No matter where in the country you go if your out "in the country" your going to find meth heads. They are even in the cities too but I'd be far from saying they are everywhere out there. I would not raise a family out there but having a lake house or to retire out there are totally different. We have not had any problem w/ crime minus the knuckleheads that one year were shooting off their fireworks in the street right in front of our house. Otherwise it has been pretty quiet and the neighbors all look out for each other.

[kittytoes2006]

I agree with the other poster, there are dope heads everywhere. I live in the Canton, Texas area and thanks to our sheriff, these dope manufacturers/dealers/doers, are getting locked up at an astounding rate. The rural areas are the best to live in and I say that with 100% NO RESERVATION. The schools are better with actual dress codes and conduct codes which are enforced, the home prices are lower (for now), and the fact that Dallas is moving east at an alarming rate is appealing to prospective home buyers. You can get a little tract home any time. Come to the country and get a little bit of land and a nice home. Raise your kids in a community that still has morals. Don't worry so much about the drug issue. It is everywhere, but I guarantee you, if they get caught in Van Zandt County it will be "too wet to plow".

[akwart]

Does anybody swim in Lake Tawakoni? I heard there were a few gators in the area.