Grand Prairie, Texas

Plenty of people move to the Dallas area to escape high prices in Cali or New York or Chicago. When people move to the area and they want the cost even lower, Grand Prairie is a great option. Housing costs are low, rent or purchase, and while Dallas area prices have increased it remains low overall relative to both income and national averages.

One other advantage is its central location. It’s in tight near Dallas, sits in between Dallas and Fort Worth, and is only about 14 minutes from the DFW airport. You could hardly pick a more convenient place for hopping to the various city options in the area and you need to get out of dodge for work.

Here's a note from a local about what Grand Prairie is like:
It has a decent night life, there's some great bars in town, nothing too dance friendly or club like, aside from Madhatter's I guess. For live music, the place to go is Better Than Fred's, amazing food, the owner is great and he hires really great staff. As far as things to do, there's always things in the summer to do in Muskoseepi, it's a nice area to walk and just hang out in the grass.

This evaluation is based entirely on your point of view. In something called the Hipster Index: https://www.movehub.com/blog/the-hipster-index/ Grand Prairie ranks last in the U.S.(and nearly last in the world) for things that Hipsters like - vegan food choices, coffee shops, tattoo studios, vintage boutiques and record stores.

Now, many people might love the idea of a city missing any “cool” hipster hangouts. And that might be fair. On the other hand, many new home-hunters also say that they like good walk score commercial districts with boutique shopping, coffee shops and unique social energy that makes it an interesting place to live. Grand Prairie is a hard-core suburban city without that kind of vibe so if you’re looking for a tiny taste of Brooklyn in your suburb then steer clear of Grand Prairie.

Here's a summary of life in Grand Prairie from a local:
Depends on where you are coming from. I came from a large city and this place is wildly boring. If you're coming from a smaller place, this town has lots. There are a million kids here too. Food is expensive, the restaurants aren't anything to really write home about; any home chef could do better - youre just paying for the convenience really. There arent too many 'cool hang outs' unless you like the bar. Community centers offer lots for kids bit not much for adult things.

Without question Grand Prairie is suburban central. Many neighborhoods are filled with parks and tree-lined streets and big or modest homes. You can also live near Joe Pool Lake (or drive there in a few minutes) and enjoy the intense Texas lake recreation culture. There isn’t much of a downtown Grand Prairie scene but there are a couple interesting entertainment options. The Verizon Theater hosts major concerts, comedy shows and festivals and the much smaller Uptown Theater on Main Street is host to smaller music and theater events. On the regular, if people go out they generally head into Dallas. It’s only 15 minutes away (when no traffic) so expect to head into the big city if you’re looking to head out for the night. People who live here either are looking for an inexpensive option to be near Dallas, or they are raising a family and enjoy the affordable housing and suburban experience.

If you want to see what people do in Grand Prairie check out the calendar of events: https://www.gptx.org/Community-Calendar