may be moving to dallas, best lakes to live on
 

i may move my position to a new territory in northern texas dallas area. What lake would you live one, good schools, and 500k to 700k home budget (maybe more depending on taxes) thanks, moving from south carolina (boarder of charlotte)

I had a similar thread earlier in the year -
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=806492

You can buy a lot of house in Texas for that kind of scratch. So at 500-700K, you're lookin at $1,250-$1,750 a month just for property taxes right?

Unfortunately in the DFW area most lakes are owned by the CORE which means no docks or boat lifts. If you are more in the Ft Worth side of the city Eagle Mountain has great housing option but is a crap lake. On the Dallas side Lewisville is a decent lake with good home options but not permanent docks allowed. You can have a floating dock and keep you boat tied to it if you don't mind leaving it in the water.

We have a couple properties on Cedar Creek which is about 45 minutes SE of Dallas, but schools suck.

Honestly, probably your best and only bet is Ray Hubbard. Find a place in the Rockwall school district and you will get a real nice house on a big lake that allows docks and boat houses. Not my favorite lake, but for permanent living it is probably the only one in the area that offers everything.

DFW is a massive metro area. Do you know where you'll be located there (or does it matter)? I live in the Mid-Cities (area between Dallas and Ft Worth near DFW airport). We boat primarily on Lake Grapevine and Lake Worth. Here are the lakes I have experience with:
-Lake Grapevine is closest to us but is small, very crowded on weekends, and has no docks for the lake homes. But it's closest to us because both Grapevine/Colleyville ISD and Carroll ISD are fantastic school districts.
-Lake Worth does have lake homes with docks. It's relatively shallow and very small but it's always pretty empty. We never have a problem finding decent water even on summer weekends. But schools in the Lake Worth area are not at all desirable.
-Eagle Mountain is a decent lake but you have to be careful on it. It feeds from two different sources and as a result it's basically a very shallow lake attached to a normal lake. You can easily run aground if you're not paying attention. Homes do have docks and the schools are decent but not great. The boat ramps are expensive and it's no farther than Lake Worth so I don't go there often but I like the lake itself.
-Lake Lewisville is a decent sized lake and reminds me most of lakes around the Geogria/upstate South Carolina area (like Lanier or Hartwell) but I hate it because it's so crowded, even on weekdays. Someone else already pointed out the dock situation there. Lewisville ISD is a good school district. I'm not sure about what other ISDs that lake touches.

As far as general living in DFW (and Texas in general), be aware that there is no state income tax but property taxes will be MUCH higher than you're currently paying in South Carolina. Also be aware that schools are arranged into Independent School Districts (ISDs) whose borders do not usually align with city or county limits. For example, my Euless home feeds into Grapevine-Colleyville ISD instead of Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD even though it's within Euless city limits.

No one has mentioned the river as an option. That kind of money will buy you a super nice house on the Brazos which is the best riding in the area. I believe the lives on portion is in Cleburne but could be wrong and I don't have any idea about schools there. There are nice houses and docks with lifts, just have to pay attention to water levels as its been known to rise quick and take boats off the lifts. Should not be an issue if you live there permanently.

i can live anywhere i want, not an issue, sales rep so i would even think north could work

Several years back, I rode in a neighborhood called Princeton Lakes. Far NorthDallas metro.

Brazos River between Weatherford and Granbury. You won't find better water in the dfw area other than the Brazos near rio vista but there are no houses on that section of the river. The only downfall is the river can flood when there is heavy rain. Also it's probably an hour or hour and a half to dfw with no traffic.

What boats are on the "approved boats" list for that place?

The last time I asked it was 23ft and under. The only issue you will have out there are the schools and the lakes are only about 6ft deep you can wakeboard lake 1 and lake 2 the other 2 lakes are slalom lakes. The only thing that has kept me from buying a house out there are the schools.

It is or will soon be 21'. I would not recommend Princeton. I ski out there, it is not really big enough to wakeboard on.

I rode behind a malibu wakesetter for a competition. I was able to do 2 full passes with spins and inverts. That's going back and forth at a quicker pace than free riding. But you obviously can't really free ride due to length. No idea on schools. Congrats on the move/job! DFW is very big so you have lots of options. PS there are some very nice lakes in Southern Oklahoma that most would agree are worth a visit. Lake Murray and probably the best, Broken Bow!

If you want your main home on the lake the only real option you have in the immediate DFW area is Ray Hubbard. Honestly, most that must live in DFW area either rent a slip at one of the local Corp lake mentioned above or own a second lake home on a nearby lake that allow boathouses/piers. Those lakes include Cedar Creek, Richmond Chambers, Palestine, Possum Kingdom. Depending on where you live in the metromess, you can be at those lakes in an hour and half to two hours.

If you have true flexibility about where you live and want a home on the lake you might consider buying a place on one of those lake outside of Dallas. If I was going to do that I would strongly consider Lake Tyler just outside of Tyler, TX or Bullard, TX on Lake Palestine. Good schools (I think), two hours away from Dallas by car, and Tyler Pounds airport is served by AA if you fly for work.

Rockwall - Ray Hubbard, or Lewisville - Lake Dallas, hard to find private docks but they are available. Lake Arlington, and a few others in Ft Worth area.

Also have cable parks, 2 in North Dallas and Republic is opening in Ft. Worth