Prosperous Black Family Moving to Dallas (Plano, Carrollton: new home, construction, private schools)
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North Dallas in the Plano or Richardson School Districts or West Plano would be my recommendation. That will be near the Galleria. The DFW area is not racially segregated; its economically segregated and you just won’t find a high concentration of upper middle class AA families in any specific area. Desoto tends to be the most “Middle class” burb that has a high AA demographic, but its really too long a commute and is nothing special over any other burb.
Another suggestion that requires more commute is Irving in the gated communities in zip 75038.... however you’ll need to use private schools so not sure that makes sense. Irving zip code 75038 was voted the most diverse zip in the USA and has beautiful homes.
Last suggestion, and again more of a commute, is Lakewood which is a section of east Dallas near White Rock Lake. This is an area of great character within the city of Dallas. Dallas itself is a minority/majority city so your kids would be in Woodrow Wilson High School. It is considered a “school within a school” as far as academic achievement goes. It has a strong student body of high achieving middle/upper middle class students (est 25%) and the balance of the student body coming from families of lower economic status.
I recommend you first look into Lakewood and Lake Highlands in East Dallas. These communities surround White Rock Lake if you're into cycling or running. Lakewood is beautiful, but pricier than Lake Highlands. You can find a custom newer build or have one built for you in your budget in Lake Highlands and your drive to the galleria area will be 15 to 20 minutes. The schools are good and diverse. There isn't much on the market for you to look up, but it should get better in the spring. Try the 75238 zip code.
I have some very accomplished AA colleagues that live in the Frisco area and they love it. The homes are large, everything is new(er), and the schools are great. I don't know as much about that area, but it works for a lot of people.
As others have mentioned, you will find that the west Plano/Lewisville/Frisco/Prosper area (the area in the northwest of the Dallas metroplex) is currently attracting the greatest number of African Americans (and other minorities) in your economic bracket. There are also a few excellent predominantly black churches in that area.
Have read and heard quite positive news about Desoto!
It appears that the Dallas area is attracting more Black middle class families within the last few years.
Overall, Texas appears to be a favorable destination for Black middle class families and cities such as Houston and Dallas particularly are noted as having robust economic bases.
Austin is noted as well.
Basically, I would draw a 40 mile radius around the Dallas metro area and note the cities included within this radius, proximity to the airport, demographic change over the last 10 years, etc.
Even though DeSoto isn't the best match for the OP, its a nice community with great neighborhoods. I lived there for 16 years and I'm also product of DeSoto schools. The "Best Southwest" cities of Dallas County all have significant Black middle class populations. Cedar Hill and DeSoto have more upper middle-class/upscale areas than the others.
Thanks to all. This is great info! The comment about Dallas being economically segregated more than racially segregated helps explain some confusion I've had about some responses we've received. There are times when two posters will give completely opposite answers on the suitability of a neighborhood and I've thought, there are either a good percentage of professional black folks or there aren't. I am now understanding that, because there isn't a concentration of AA's in any one place, perception based on visibility may be driving the wide range of opinions that I'm getting.
The town I'm in currently has about 2% AA. We'd love to get to 10% plus in whatever neighborhood we choose; hopefully with a respectable number in the upper middle class bracket. Don't get me wrong, we recognize how blessed we are around income and don't expect to live in some all Black version of a rich snooty enclave. But we are realistic that given the way we vacation or the restaurants we might frequent, if we want to have friends join us, they probably need to be financially capable. Right now we engage in certain activities with black friends and other activities with white friends. It only reinforces for our kids that we're the only people of color that do certain things.
I am black professional, although I am single with no kids. I'm going to be completely honest with you on a couple points:
1. Dallas does have a large and rapidly growing black population on paper (including a lot of black professionals), but there is a lack of "cohesion," so to speak, that you will find in places like Atlanta, DC or Houston. Most of us have sort of blended into the local community and are scattered about the Metroplex. You won't really find a place like Prince George's County here, and the impact on the social scene from having institutions like HBCU campuses is also missing.
2. There are very few parts of the DFW Metroplex that offer the "character" I think you're looking for. McKinney and Denton would be the closest you get, but I'm not a fan of either city (I'll get to that in a second).
That being said, your budget will easily allow you and your family to live in any part of the DFW Metroplex. As far as the cities you mentioned specifically, I think they all have their strengths:
*Cedar Hill & Desoto - These cities are a part of a set of communities known as the "Best Southwest." These communities are seeing some decent growth, you'd have good access to the nicest park in DFW (Cedar Hill State Park) and they're the closest you're going to get to living in a visible middle class black community. However, I'm personally not a fan of them for a few reasons. One, the schools aren't the greatest. I know you said you're willing to consider private school, but the quality of the local public schools is still critical if you're concerned about your home maintaining its value and appreciating at a decent clip. Second, they're both far away from the nice restaurants and shopping. Cedar Hill does have a nice outdoor mall with a Dillard's called Hillside Village, but you have to go north of Dallas to find the more upscale stores and restaurants. Third, the commute from Cedar Hill or DeSoto to the Galleria would be pretty rough. I know you mentioned having a tolerance for up to a 50 minute drive, but the other thing to consider is that a significant amount of the professional jobs in DFW are even further north in Plano/Frisco and Addison. If you ever want to switch jobs, you would risk dealing with an even longer commute.
*Arlington - This city is a mixed bag. It puts you halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, if you want to easily drive into both cities for recreational activities. You would also be in close proximity to all of the tourist attractions such as the Football & Baseball stadiums and Six Flags. It's also pretty short drive to/from the airport. However, with it being an older suburb, some parts of the city are really run down and have a higher than average crime rate. The best part of Arlington would be the far southern portion that's adjacent to Mansfield (another nice, affluent community) and sits along Joe Pool Lake
*McKinney - As mentioned earlier, it has an awesome historic town square with the type of character you were mentioning. The schools are also very good. However, the reason I'm not a fan of McKinney is because it sits on the very northern edge of the Metroplex, and thus like Cedar Hill & DeSoto is kind of far from everything. It's a nice option if one works from home or works in Frisco / Plano, but if you want to go into the city often or for a commute to/from the Galleria, that drive can also get pretty rough. It very much has a far-flung bedroom community feel.
*Addison - I am biased, but Addison is really my favorite part of the Metroplex. It's literally in the center of everything. All of the shopping, restaurants, etc. I could want is just a short drive away. Also, because of its small borders, it does have more of a small town feel compared to Plano or Arlington. The Galleria would be a 15 minute commute away and Dallas Love Field would also be a short drive away. It may be a bit too generic suburbia for you as Belt Line Road, the main corridor in Addison, is lined with nothing but strip malls and office parks. However, while it does have a lot of chain restaurants, Addison is also known (at least pre-COVID) for having a semi-decent nightlife and bar scene for a suburb. There's a ton of funky little independent restaurants scattered throughout the town as well, and then it's also home to the Improv Comedy Club that comedians stop at when they come to town (it's like Dallas' Second City). It also has Addison Circle which hosts (again, pre-COVID) a ton of hugely popular festivals that attracts people from all other the DFW Metroplex, such as Kaboomtown and Oktoberfest. Because of the aforementioned reasons, Addison also has a decent sized professional class community. All of that said, Addison isn't perfect. The public schools aren't the greatest, and since it's been built out for a while, you're not going to find new construction homes (most of the housing stock is older and smaller). Not to mention, you have to be very careful about where you live in Addison because it has an extremely busy airport for charter & cargo planes, and portions of the city sit right in its flight path.
*Plano - I gotta tell you, Plano was a strong 2nd choice for me when I moved to Dallas. I really love all of the growth that's taking place at the "Legacy" development and around tonebriar Centre Mall on the NW side of the city along the Dallas North Tollway. It has rapidly morphed into a very nice edge city for people who want the taste of urban living without having to drive all the way down into Dallas proper. Plano is huge however and not all of the neighborhoods are created equal. West Plano Schools has some of the best public schools in the state, which again would be great for resale value. East Plano Schools are good too, but not as good as West Plano. The east side of Plano along Highway is older, more middle and a bit more "industrial," whereas the west side of Plano is more polished, more affluent and a bit more "white collar." In all honesty, the only 2 reasons I decided against Plano was because I wanted to be closer to Dallas proper and also because it's easier to get in/out of Addison without using Toll Roads (can't say the same for West Plano).
In any event, I hope my post helps. In my opinion, all of the cities would be fine choices, depending on what's more important to you. But one thing I will recommend though is to strongly consider living somewhere that will allow you to have a short commute. Right now, traffic is not normal due to COVID. Pre-COVID, it would take forever trying to drive across town because of how congested the roads would get.
Excellent post. I think Plano and Prosper are good options for the OP. Addison is a good option but with private schools.
Thanks to all. This is great info! The comment about Dallas being economically segregated more than racially segregated helps explain some confusion I've had about some responses we've received. There are times when two posters will give completely opposite answers on the suitability of a neighborhood and I've thought, there are either a good percentage of professional black folks or there aren't. I am now understanding that, because there isn't a concentration of AA's in any one place, perception based on visibility may be driving the wide range of opinions that I'm getting.
The town I'm in currently has about 2% AA. We'd love to get to 10% plus in whatever neighborhood we choose; hopefully with a respectable number in the upper middle class bracket. Don't get me wrong, we recognize how blessed we are around income and don't expect to live in some all Black version of a rich snooty enclave. But we are realistic that given the way we vacation or the restaurants we might frequent, if we want to have friends join us, they probably need to be financially capable. Right now we engage in certain activities with black friends and other activities with white friends. It only reinforces for our kids that we're the only people of color that do certain things.
I am white but based on observations,
Large population of middle class income black residents: Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Grand Prairie, Arlington.
Upper-middle class income & wealthy black residents tend to be spread out across the metroplex in places where upper-middle class families of all races live. I have worked on the Plano/Frisco border for almost 15 years and see many black and mixed-race/black families and professionals in that area. So you might not necessarily find a 10%+ black school / neighborbood, but you will easily find tons of schools and neighborhoods that are at least 1/3 non-white.
Depending on your commute tolerance, anywhere from Far North Dallas zoned to Plano or Richardson ISD up to Frisco/ Prosper could work for you. I hesitate to recommend anything too far west / east off the tollroad given your Galleria office location as Dallas is really set up for easy commutes running N/S not E/W. Lake Highlands would be one in-town recommendation worth exploring, or somewhere in 75220/75229 neighborhoods to the southwest of your office (but with private schools).
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