Irving, Texas

As many people seek alternatives to big, dense, expensive cities the priority is often finding suburban locations that have a legitimate “downtown” presence. Craving a bigger home and better schools but also wanting a nightlife seems a legitimate desire. Irving is one of these perfect storm locations. It has 80 parks covering over 2,000 acres, and big homes and yards, to cover off the suburban criteria. Just as important though, it has a legitimate downtown area with enough restaurants, bars, boutique shopping and community gatherings to satisfy your social side. Being on the border of Dallas (and really close to Fort Worth) along the metro train line doesn’t hurt since every once in a while we can crave something more robust than our suburban/urban lifestyle. Irving’s got that as well.

Here's a local's pov on Irving:
Irving is a nice city. It is right in the center between Dallas and Fort Worth (which have more or less grown into each other). From all accounts, they have good schools and normal amounts of crime for a city of it’s size. There is a large area of Irving called “Las Colinas” which is a large business district where many tech firms (including Microsoft) have offices. Irving has all of the amenities of any large modern urban area. The housing is affordable compared with other major cities in the United States.

We hate to call a school system that is getting a B in most ratings systems a failure but you know, grade inflation. Considering the other amenities of Irving, and the competitiveness of surrounding suburban DFW school systems, this is a drawback for families considering Irving. The core public school system is improving but for those looking for A ratings in Irving look at the charter, parochial or independent options.

Here's a largely positive pov of a graduated student: The IISD is a good district to study in because as a student you get many opportunities to grow. Academically, the teachers that I’ve had throughout middle school and high school have all showed great interest in seeing me and the rest of my class succeed, therefore, they give their all to help us understand the contents of their class. Something that bothers me a little bit though, is that some of the students in these schools are very problematic and cause a lot of trouble for their classmates and sometimes teachers as well. Overall, my personal experience in the IISD schools has been visibly positive and I’m glad that I got to be a part of this community.

The kids would call Irving “chill” as compared to some of the fancier DFW suburbs. It has an active downtown scene but less of the highbrow shops and restaurants you find in Southlake, or Frisco, or either Dallas or Fort Worth. It does however have plenty of more casual dining, bars, and shops ideal for young professionals living downtown and families who just want somewhere fun to take the kiddos or more laid back for a date night.

It also has those 80 parks we talked about which means the lifestyle here includes tons of outdoor play. Running and biking trails, room for kids to run, throw a baseball (or really a football) or throw a ball to one of the dozens of dog-friendly parks. For the most part whatever you’re looking for: casual nights out, or weekends playing in the parks with kids + Rover, you’re going to find it.

If you want to get a sense of the lifestyle of locals check out the Irving calendar of events:
https://www.irvingtexas.com/events/