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You’ll have no lack of attractive living options. One area to consider is the northwest Dallas suburbs. Many of the sought after suburbs are located in this area. These include: Coppell, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Plano. This area has become very popular because of excellent schools, plentiful restaurants and shopping and a less dense population.

Most of the suburbs all Dallas offer these characteristics:

• High ownership of homes – Most people who live in the Northwest suburbs own their homes. This contirbutes to a higher standard of living for this area.

• Some of the best school districts in Texas are located in the Dallas Fort Worth area. You’ll experience peace of mind know that your kids are receiving the best education possible.

• Top notch colleges and universities are located throughout Dallas. If you are thinking about going back to school and starting your college education, you’ll have plenty of choices within a reasonable driving distance.

• You’ll find not problems locating apartments in Dallas. Scattered throughout Dallas are many upscale apartments that offering a wide variety of amenities.

• There are many desirable neighborhoods located in each suburb of Dallas. Every type of ambience is imaginable. You’ll find contemporary, colonial and gothic styles of neighborhoods.

• Restaurants, shopping malls, entertainment and parks are in abundance.

Many love to live in the suburbs because it’s less crowded. Families are able to spread out and enjoy the rural settings that many suburbs are able to offer. Getting to work is usually no problem because of the extensive freeway system. Dallas’ publica transportation agency (DART) has rapidly expanded making if easier to commute to work.

Below is a list of Dallas suburbs and a short description of each:

Addison – Addison has excellent restaurants and great entertainment centers. This is a city that vibrates with energy and fun.

Arlington – Arlington is the center of the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. It is the home of the Texas Rangers, Six Flags Over Texas and will the the home to the Dallas Cowboys.

Carrollton – Gently rolling hills, a combination of older and newer homes and a young population are characteristic of this community.

Coppell – Coppell is conveniently located close to the DFW International Airport and the Dallas Dowtown business district. Coppell is home to a 116-acre park system which includes two lakes and scenic hiking and biking trails.

Euless – Euless is know for it dedication to vision and growth. It is only of the fastest growing cities of the DFW metroplex.

Garland – Garland is Texas’ ninth largest city. It is located the North Eastern part of the Dallas metroplex. It is know for having excellent golf courses. Garland is located close to several recreational lakes.

Grapevine – Grapevine is named after the Mustand Grapes that grow in the area. Grapevine is home to the largest mall in North Texas. The Grapevine Lake affords the outdoor enthusiast with many outdoor activity options.

Irving – Irving is a significant business center for Dallas. It is home to Exxon-Mobile, Kimberly-Clark and Omni Hotels. Texas Stadium is located in Irving.

Lake Dallas – Lake Dallas is a small community located on the shores of Lewisville Lake. Lake Dallas has a small town charm with a revitalized downtown area.

Las Colinas – Las Colinas is a planned community and home to many Fortune 500 companies. Los Colinas is synonyms with luxury hotels, highrise office towers and private country clubs.

McKinney – Mckinney is an upscale community located north of Dallas.

Plano – In 2005, Plano was named the best place to lives in the Western United States by CNN’s Money magazine. Plano has excellent schools and is home to many top corporations.

Richardson – Know for its abundance of restaurants, malls and movie theaters, Richardson is an award winning city with top-rated schools.

The Colony – The Colony is an unique city, master-planned back in the early seventies.

One of the most distinctive animals of Florida is the alligator and if you are visiting Orlando, you can get close to these critters, learn more them and have a lot of fun by visiting Gatorland.

Gatorland is a 110 acre theme park and wildlife preserve. It started out as a small roadside exhibit in 1949 and has grown to a state of the art theme park which proudly calls itself “The alligator capital of the world.” Gatorland was founded by the late Owen Godwin and it is still a family-run business today.

The park of course features alligators but it is also home to other attractions as well including crocodiles, an aviary, a breeding marsh, a petting zoo, a nature walk, educational wildlife programs, a gift shop and the Gator Gully Splash Park.

Gatorland is not just one of the many theme parks in Orlando rather it is one of the pioneers of tourist attractions in Central Florida. Although it was officially founded in 1949, it really dates back to the 1930s when Godwin’s father built an alligator pit in his backyard and his mother sold alligator related trinkets to shoppers from the family’s store. After the war the park started in earnest with a 16 acre plot that has grown to the present 110 park.

There is also some serious science being done at Gatorland in addition to all the fun and entertainment. Gatorland is the only place worldwide where alligators have been artificially inseminated successfully. Captive alligators are normally troubled by disease, infertility and death as embryos, but Gatorland along with the University of Florida have developed new techniques for breeding alligators, incubating eggs and providing the kind of an environment where the alligators can thrive.

Alligators are not the only attraction here; their larger cousins the crocodiles also have a place of honor in the attraction called “Jungle Crocs of the World.” This two-acre display houses one of the world’s largest exhibits of giant crocodiles in captivity. The Jungle Crocs’ natural design allows the animals to grow more than 20 ft. long and weigh more than a ton. While one can rarely get to see crocodiles in the wild, this unprecedented exhibit features the word’s most ferocious predators bursting from the water and chasing their startled prey onto the land.

In addition to the gators and crocodiles, Gatorland is home to thousands of aquatic birds, birds nesting above the marsh. Alligators protect the nests from natural predators, like raccoons and opossums and Gatorland is one of the few places worldwide where visitors can watch, at close distances, endangered wading birds build nests and feed their young.

For the past ten years the park has actually become a 110 acre “classroom” with an expanded education program offering classes on crocodilians, wading birds, snakes and Florida swamplands.

Gatorland is one of the iconic, must-not-miss attractions of Orlando and a visit there makes a great half-day outing for the entire family