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.*

 Urban Suburbia (or Suburban Urbia?)

Best Part About Irving?

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.*

School System

Worst Part About Irving? 

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/

Lifestyle of Irving

Irving is a legitimate business center all on its own. It has an amazing mix of Tech (NEC, PDS, Excela, Celanese), Energy: (Exxon Mobil, NCH), Consumer Goods ( Kimberly-Clark, Michaels), Health (Christus, Medco) and tons of others. Irving residents work at these companies or commute to Dallas, or Fort Worth. Everything is close. 

Perhaps one of the features most underestimated for either those who travel for work, or newly remote workers who occasionally need to hit the road, Irving is a two-iron away from DFW airport. Ok, that would be a long two-iron, but seriously it is just minutes away and that makes all the difference in keeping families happy when they have to drop off or pick up a loved one who travels frequently. 


Workstyle of Irving

Irving feels like a dream location for newly remote workers who want a robust economy backing them up in case their work-from home-life changes. The housing prices are low, even by DFW standards, the city is wired up with fiber for hardcore wfh digital nomads and it has a robust social and outdoor scene if you get pulled away from home for a few minutes to grab a beer or play some pickleball or whatever the kids are doing these days. It also has a large percentage of homes, apartments and condos available for renting. Which means if you’re living here as a trial or are saving up for your first home while you grind, Irving is pretty perfect. 


Remote Economy

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**Irving** is smack dab in the middle of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, more commonly known as DFW Metroplex. In fact, it is located right in between Dallas and Fort Worth which would be convenient if you were just driving around in your own car. When you add on the fact it is on the DART light rail line which runs through Irving, and back and forth between Fort Worth and Dallas, it really becomes a plus. 

Many people think of DFW as a great big giant city (with 7.2 million people) with borders among the cities, suburbs and towns as largely irrelevant given the lack of natural borders from things like rivers or lakes. While there can be plenty of traffic in DFW for the most part the freeway system/turnpike gets everyone around in very short drives (or train rides) relative to most of the other large metroplexes. DFW is extremely new compared to the other big developed metroplexes and that means it is just more convenient. You’re 15-30 minutes into downtown Dallas or Fort Worth from a great majority of the suburbs which means if you choose to live that rolling lawn lifestyle it’s not far to hit the big cities. Most of the popular suburbs are directly north Dallas: Plano, McKinney, Frisco among others but there are also plenty in between the two cities: Irving, Arlington and Grand Prairie that draw a lot of attention as well. 

None of this means you have to live close to one of the big cities. The Metroplex is nearly 9,300 square miles, which means it is larger than the land areas of six U.S. states. If you want rural you can find it here. 


The Area

While most suburban cities confine the young professionals to downtown, Irving also has lots of apartment and rental options in downtown, Las Colinas and Valley Ranch. The Las Colinas option is nice given the Dallas Transit line (DART) has a stop there. While downtown pulls in the most youngsters due to the social options, you’ll find them sprinkled throughout the city. 
- Downtown / Heritage District 
- Las Colinas
- Valley Ranch


Young Professionals

Downtown

There are so many affordable options in Irving that young families can rent or buy their way into. Smaller ones like Townlake or bigger ones like the Hospital District, have low crime rates, reasonable prices, and enough commercial and recreational options to keep the little ones (and the big ones) happy.  If we were kicking off a tour of options we’d recommend starting with Townlake Li. If you’re looking to start in the city first, then look at the Heritage District. 
Townlake Li
- University Hills
- Hospital District
- Irving Heights


Young Families

University Hills

A lot of bigger or well-to-do families in Irving choose one of the master-planned communities to call home. Las Colinas and Valley Ranch are the two big ones and they are amazing if you want a “city” within a city. Jogging trails, their own schools, lakes, country clubs, hospitals, pretty much everything you can want from a suburban city are packed into these “neighborhoods”. There are also gated country club communities like Hackberry Creek that have big beautiful homes and of course the country club amenities but without the trappings of the master communities. 
- Las Colinas
- Valley Ranch
- Hackberry Creek


Established Families

Las Colinas

Irving

**What is it like to live in Irving, Texas?**

I don’t live in Irving, but for the last 18 years I have lived within 20 miles of Irving, and I am there all the time.

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.

Irving, like many of the cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area is really like a suburb city of Dallas and Fort Worth. If you live around here long enough, you will realize that this entire area is like one mega-city. Each city that makes up DFW has its own identity, but that identity is tied to the larger identity of “The Metroplex.”

**How is it like to live in Irving, Texas?**

I love living here. Been here almost 17 yrs and it is close to Dallas and Ft Worth. Where I live it is pretty quiet , except for planes flying over during the day. Have small amount of crime…but safe enough to walk around at 2 in the morning if you wanted to without worry. Irving is right in the center of not being far from Downtown Dallas and Downtown Ft. Worth. Depending on where you live it is close to DFW airport and about 15-20 minutes from Dallas Love Field Airport.

People complain about South Irving and saying that the crime there is worse than North Irving or Las Colinas. To me crime is crime and if the criminals are out they dont just choose South Irving. They aren't picky. Crime is everywhere and in every state. It is up to you to protect your car and home.

There are wonderful events that go on throughout the year here. Irving has many wonderful parks and public pools that you can go to. They have live concerts (outside and inside) at the Toyota Music Factory, which also has a bunch of restaurants around that area. There are plenty of things to do in Irving and if not you are close to other places to have fun!

I help with rehab for the Irving Fire Dept and help with the Police Dept on special events. And I can tell you that the first responders here are simply amazing. Hopefully you won't ever need them, but if you do it is good to know that they are the best I have seen and really are the nicest bunch of people.

I would recommend living here.

**Moving to the Irving area from Chicago. . . . Feeling like I'm moving to another planet.**

My family (wife and 2 kids) moved from the west coast to Texas. No game plan, no job lined up.

Upon arriving in TX, we stayed at a fairly cheap hotel/motel (think motel 6) and immediately began looking around town for a place. Found a few then got the idea to contact an apartment locator service. Met up with the apt locator, she took us around to a few places that met what we were looking for (2br to save on rent). Checked out different areas, asked a LOT of questions about general area info as well as potential for crime. Found an apartment that would take us if we put down a full months rent as a deposit. Don't regret it at all. Apartment was in a decent place, lots of blue collar workers. We also contacted health and human services and applied for SNAP benefits (food stamps) to help while i looked for a job.

Luckily, it all worked out. I wish you and your family all the best and let me be the first to welcome you to Texas!

**Moving to the Irving area from Chicago. . . . Feeling like I'm moving to another planet.**

I live in Valley Ranch, an area of Irving near 635 and MacArthur. It's a nice area, with plenty of apartments. It's safe, as far as I know - i go on walks late at night on the Valley Ranch Trails and have never encountered any trouble. Rent is reasonable, I think - i pay 1400 a month for a 2 bedroom, gated community, attached garage, huge kitchen, garden bathtubs, and an awesome maintenance crew.

As far as public transportation, it's definitely not as good as Chicago, but I have a friend who has lived here for a year without a car. There are plenty of bus stops in Valley Ranch, although they don't run very late.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me. I've been living in Irving for a little over a year, but I'm familiar with the area -my mom has lived here for 10 years.

Irving, Texas

Crooked I