Is Azle too close to Fort Worth? I know there's an outdoor shooting range there.

flashguy

All the cool kids like Fort Worth more than Dallas these days. As you know Grand Prairie is between the two.

My son lives in Ft. Worth, but more on the western side, as his office is in Weatherford, which is further west.

I don't know what your options would be on the Ft. Worth side and close-ish to GP.

I will observe that I think Ft. Worth is a better town. It has a smaller feel, and in some ways is still a cow town and secondarily an oil town. Dallas is much more generically big-city, whereas Ft. Worth still feels more like Texas felt 30 years ago. Dallas has always had the reputation of caring more than any other city in Texas about where you came from and "who" you are. Perhaps the 'burb towns are different, but that has long been the knock on Dallas.

quote:

Originally posted by spdski:

From your experience, is there a sharp cut off for traffic times? I was thinking I would work 7:30-4 or 7-3:30… hoping that’s early enough.

It all depends which way you are going. I'm a motor jock at one of the bigger departments here in the area and deal with this daily. I work a 6a-2p shift and suggest the earlier the commute, the better. Morning traffic tends to move from the outer rings, to the inner businesses. Coming from the affordable suburbs, to the cities where their work is located. Afternoon traffic is reversed. Rush hour here starts at 5am for us early shift workers.

Also consider which freeways you will be near. If you get stuck near a toll road, they own you for your whole existence in the D/FW area.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
All the cool kids like Fort Worth more than Dallas these days. As you know Grand Prairie is between the two.

My son lives in Ft. Worth, but more on the western side, as his office is in Weatherford, which is further west.

I don't know what your options would be on the Ft. Worth side and close-ish to GP.

I will observe that I think Ft. Worth is a better town. It has a smaller feel, and in some ways is still a cow town and secondarily an oil town. Dallas is much more generically big-city, whereas Ft. Worth still feels more like Texas felt 30 years ago. Dallas has always had the reputation of caring more than any other city in Texas about where you came from and "who" you are. Perhaps the 'burb towns are different, but that has long been the knock on Dallas.

I agree with your assessment. We live in Keller, which is on the edge of NE Fort Worth. Easy drive to down town FW, Cowtown (Stock Yards) an not too far from 7th avenue and the arts district. I think we did good when we chose this community some 20+ years ago. Won't fit everyone's liking. No acreage and a bit of congestion. But we like it a lot.

Thanks to all who posted with advice.

We just got back from our house-hunting trip. Sure did pick a great week... Anyway, we didn't find anything that checked ALL of the boxes, no surprise.

After driving for like 1,000 miles around the metroplex in four days, scoping areas and houses, the wife and I compromised on a nice home in the Waxahachie area. We put in an offer and made a deal. It's on a little over an acre just outside the city limits. It's a great house for our family's needs, within our budget, well built, and in really nice condition. The best commute of the places we had narrowed down to as well. We should be closing in late March, and moving in during the second week of April.

So, on to the more important questions. Things to do in the area? Good ranges in the Waxahachie area?

Congrats! You'll like that area. Not sure about ranges in that area but if you're into drag racing the Texas Motorplex is just down the road between Waxahachie and Ennis.

TDSA is over in Ferris and a decent range so long as it hasn’t rained recently. Lynn has been trying to bring it back above grade but any moisture and it’s a mess. This is where Colin Noir shoots many of his videos.

ETTS is just south of Waxahachie towards Maypearl. It’s a big deal with “operator” wanna be types that also enjoy shelling out the $ for membership there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice range, just spends and poser-ish.

Over on the west side of Midlothian on 287 is Texas Gun Range. Small, but I’ve admittedly never been as they prohibit concealed carry…?

I’m sure there are others over that way. I grew up south of Midlothian near 663 and 875. Back then we’d just go shoot in a field. Now when we’re back home I tend to go shoot on the west side of Fort Worth as there are several decent ranges over there.

Make sure to hit up Catfish Plantation there in Waxahachie or Rockett Cafe I’d you get the chance. If you can make sure to hit Czech Fest in Ennis, it’s always fun.

And just so you know, I hate you for having an H‑E‑B so close…

quote:

Originally posted by spdski:
Thanks to all who posted with advice.

We just got back from our house-hunting trip. Sure did pick a great week... Anyway, we didn't find anything that checked ALL of the boxes, no surprise.

After driving for like 1,000 miles around the metroplex in four days, scoping areas and houses, the wife and I compromised on a nice home in the Waxahachie area. We put in an offer and made a deal. It's on a little over an acre just outside the city limits. It's a great house for our family's needs, within our budget, well built, and in really nice condition. The best commute of the places we had narrowed down to as well. We should be closing in late March, and moving in during the second week of April.

So, on to the more important questions. Things to do in the area? Good ranges in the Waxahachie area?

As has been mentioned one of the largest outdoor ranges in the area Extreme Tactics and Training Solutions (ETTS) is located just east of Maypearl just to the west of you. If you like to shoot action pistol, Cross Timbers Action Shooting Association (CTASA) holds a monthly IDPA match and a monthly USPSA match at ETTS. I happen to be one of the Match Directors for the USPSA match. It is arguably one of the best outdoor action pistol matches in the metroplex. We had 72 shooters last weekend. If you are interested in either IDPA or USPSA look up CTASA.club for information including our indoor matches as well. They host a monthly multi-gun match there as well.