Irving, Texas

Crooked I

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The Area

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.

Downtown

Young Professionals

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

University Hills

Young Families

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

Las Colinas

Established Families

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