The folks at D Magazine resurrected the specter of J.R. Ewing-stereotype with its recently released ranking of Dallas suburbs.
Parker, Texas, home to Southfork Ranch, came out on top of the list, which compares the relative quality of life in 62 regional ‘burbs and one major city. For the sake of comparison, the D Mag’ers included Dallas on the list of its own suburbs, which is kind of like a municipal out-of-body experience. Dallas ranked a figurative 54th. Fort Worth was not included.
The ranking methodology zeroed in on four categories — safety (crime stats), education (SAT and TAKS scores), housing values (North Texas Real Estate Information Systems), and ambiance (air quality and subjectivity).
University Park dropped from No. 1 down to 7, which just proves the place is going to seed. Garland, the only other place on the list I’ve lived in the past 20 years, came in at No. 45 with a bullet because In-N-Out Burger is opening a shop there, and yeah, cheeseburgers do wonders for civic pride as long as they hold the pickles.
The rest of the Top 10, in descending order, was Highland Village, Colleyville, Southlake, Prosper, Highland Park, the aforementioned University Park, Flower Mound, and Murphy (which, I did not know until about 12 seconds ago — OK, 49 seconds, I’m a slow typer — is located between Plano and Wylie), and Allen.
Balch Springs topped the bottom five dwellers, followed by Seagoville, Hutchins, Wilmer, and Cockrell Hill, so consider yourself lucky, I guess, if you don’t live in one of those towns.
I know I do.
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. About the only city that might lure him away from East Dallas would be New Orleans.
