Relocating to Dallas area from NJ....help! (Newark: real estate market, houses)

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by DTXman34

And here's another poster in their "Frisco bubble" who never steps foot in Dallas or Fort Worth. Tons of events going on in those cities.

I think he meant you won't find a downtown in Frisco or Plano where there is always something going on.

I admittedly don't know that much about downtown Plano, but Frisco has a farmer's market, dozens of charity runs/5ks, and multiple family friend events downtown each year. There might not be something every weekend, but you can find things to do. For instance, Frisco StrEATS, community parades, Frisco Freedom Fest (4th of July), Merry Main Street (huge Christmas light display and ice skating), Easter egg hunts, trick or treating at Safety Town, Shawnee Trail Cowboy Day, etc.

[WorldKlas]

Heritage Elementary and Marcus High — serving Highland Village — are among the most highly rated schools in DFW. Some of Lewisville schools are top notch. Don’t be drawn into a further drive when you have excellent schools in a great commute to your husband’s job. Traffic is only getting worse all the time.

[Dawn341]

Great insight from everyone, thank you!!!

If anyone wants to chime in on another minor question I’ve been wondering about....

Texas wildlife.
We’ve encountered a surprising amount of wildlife in our NJ home. It’s become a joke because we live 10 mins from town but we’ve had lots of animal visitors. Deer walk around pretty much daily, one time a buck got his leg stuck in our fence! We had a fox family for a few weeks running around our yard in the mornings. Racoons, groundhogs, possum...they all make life interesting for our dog (and give me plenty of anxiety that she’s going to get attacked!).

I’ve been trying to envision the common creatures in TX. There are a few that are already giving me anxiety....such as...

Scorpions! What’s the deal with those little demons that my astrological sign is tied to? Do you see those on your property ever? Or like, in your shoe in a closet????
Alligators! I’ve read that they’re there, but not common. This is still enough for me to avoid all Texas bodies of water lol
Coyote! We have them in NJ but they are rare to see and definitely not in our specific town.
Snakes! If I ever come across a rattler’ I would pass out immediately.

How common are these critters and beasts? What other wildlife is out there?

[WorldKlas]

Moved to the DFW area in 1978. Have seen one coyote and a few bobcats. Don’t think there are scorpions in North Texas. Once I saw a bull snake at White Rock Lake. Never a rattler. Scorpions live in deserts.

[Capitalprophets]

Oh yeah Texas you'll run into rattle snakes on your front steps time to time. Just have to be careful at night if you don't have enough lighting when walking through the front door. They maybe found sitting on your car tire so just make sure you park away from grass and hayfields. Try to carry anti-venom with you at all times while you can, its helpful. You'll see armadillos and scorpions too. I almost ran into an alligator once crossing the street to Walmart but they are harmless if you keep your distance.

Originally Posted by Dawn341

Great insight from everyone, thank you!!!

If anyone wants to chime in on another minor question I’ve been wondering about....

Texas wildlife.
We’ve encountered a surprising amount of wildlife in our NJ home. It’s become a joke because we live 10 mins from town but we’ve had lots of animal visitors. Deer walk around pretty much daily, one time a buck got his leg stuck in our fence! We had a fox family for a few weeks running around our yard in the mornings. Racoons, groundhogs, possum...they all make life interesting for our dog (and give me plenty of anxiety that she’s going to get attacked!).

I’ve been trying to envision the common creatures in TX. There are a few that are already giving me anxiety....such as...

Scorpions! What’s the deal with those little demons that my astrological sign is tied to? Do you see those on your property ever? Or like, in your shoe in a closet????
Alligators! I’ve read that they’re there, but not common. This is still enough for me to avoid all Texas bodies of water lol
Coyote! We have them in NJ but they are rare to see and definitely not in our specific town.
Snakes! If I ever come across a rattler’ I would pass out immediately.

How common are these critters and beasts? What other wildlife is out there?

[Dawn341]

OMG really?? Are you being serious, because the other reply says they haven’t seen a rattle snake or scorpion in their 40 years in Dallas and you’ve only been there for 4 months and recommending anti-venom! Lol I hope you are kidding because that is SCARY!!

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by Dawn341

OMG really?? Are you being serious, because the other reply says they haven’t seen a rattle snake or scorpion in their 40 years in Dallas and you’ve only been there for 4 months and recommending anti-venom! Lol I hope you are kidding because that is SCARY!!

He's yanking your chain, because you are stereotyping Texas. This is a huge metropolitan area with some world class development, not the Texas of mythology.

This is the wildlife I've seen: 1 frog, lots of birds, lizards, and spiders. I've seen two snakes, one about 6 inches long, and one about a foot. (We had huge long snakes in North Carolina.) I have seen armadillos dead on the road.

That's not to say that you won't come across something like a rattlesnake, but they aren't typically going to show up on your doorstep in your typical suburban neighborhood. I hate snakes, and even I know they are more scared of us than we are of them.

If you really worried, don't buy a house with a pool, as pools usually attract critters. Also consider a professional pest management company to treat your yard and your home.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

Moved to the DFW area in 1978. Have seen one coyote and a few bobcats. Don’t think there are scorpions in North Texas. Once I saw a bull snake at White Rock Lake. Never a rattler. Scorpions live in deserts.

I've come across scorpions in Sulphur Springs TX (east of Dallas), for sure. Not yet in Dallas though.

[tuesday2]

We encountered scorpions when we lived in Austin, but I’ve never seen one in Dallas and I’ve lived her most of my life. Currently in Far North Dallas and we have a neighborhood bobcat, actually spotted in our backyard a couple of years ago, see attached pic. We also have a coyote who I’ve seen twice in the last month probably thanks to the pack of bunnies that live here also. It’s pretty rare to see either of them but they are around.

My sister lives in Plano and has had 3! bobcats in her backyard and also has bunnies.

You are more likely to come across raccoons, possum, or rats in the city though. Oh and Texas sized roaches and fire ants. We occasionally have to treat for ants, mostly after lots of rain or when it’s very dry.

It will depend upon your neighborhood and if you live near a creek or green belt. I’ve seen a couple of garter snakes over the years but no dangerous snakes.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Dawn341

OMG really?? Are you being serious, because the other reply says they haven’t seen a rattle snake or scorpion in their 40 years in Dallas and you’ve only been there for 4 months and recommending anti-venom! Lol I hope you are kidding because that is SCARY!!

Calm down. Texas is so big that you can fit 10 European countries inside. So just because there are scorpions somewhere in Texas does not mean you’re likely to ever come across them in the Dallas suburbs. It’s kind of like going to Albany and being disappointed in the lack of skyscrapers and culture because it’s “New York.”

We live in Dallas and this is the extent of the “dangerous” wildlife we see on the reg in our older, mature neighborhood:
-bunnies
-possums
-raccoons
-garden snakes
-squirrels
-ants
-lizards
-tons of birds from hawks to ducks to cardinals and blue jays

Occasionally, neighbors have seen coyotes and small foxes. I did see one bobcat in our current neighborhood and one roadrunner in our old neighborhood. The bobcat spooked me even though I was in the car.

No big snakes, certainly not rattlesnakes. Never seen a scorpion, alligator, or any other dangerous exotic animals outside the Dallas Zoo.

I don’t give it much thought, but I’d honestly be more worried about a neighbor having an aggressive dog breed loose in the neighborhood than finding a rattlesnake on my front porch.