Segregation problem in Dallas or not??? (Fort Worth, Arlington: middle-class, neighborhoods, school districts)

[intense]

Lookin to relocate from the midwest. Lots of segregation here! Just want to know is that an issue in Dallas??? Interested on a nice neighborhood with friendly people who will except a loving AA family with kids. Has to have good schools and diversity is a MUST!! Any suggestions????? Please respond!!

[Metro Matt]

I highly recommend looking into the newly booming middle class southern suburbs of Dallas like Cedar Hill, Desoto, & Lancaster. They all have significantly large AA populations, but other races as well. The far northern areas of Plano, Frisco, Mckinney, etc. might be a little too white bread for you if diversity is an issue.

Arlington is probably the most diverse of all the Metroplex cities & South Arlington near I-20 & 360 is growing a lot.

[CMDallas]

There tons of Largely African American areas, Maybe Desoto? or the surrounding areas?
I don't think there many overwhelmingly African American schools (IE:60% and up) but there plenty of good schools with sizable African populations.
There is a large AA population in Dallas, many Conservative christian types as well as many who are less so.
North Dallas (Plano, McKinney, etc) are strongly white and Asian. Some suburbs like Irving, Carrollton and Richardson may be more suitable as they both have sizable African American communities (with 10% in Irving and 6% in Richardson and Carrollton)
Dallas Dallas may not be a bad idea if you move to the right area...

[MaryS80]

To a degree people choose the segregate themselves, but that's anywhere. It's just a natural human reaction.

[intense]

Originally Posted by MaryS80

To a degree people choose the segregate themselves, but that's anywhere. It's just a natural human reaction.

Somewhat true, however, discrimination is alive and active.....can place a big part in moderate day segregation!!!

[intense]

Originally Posted by CMDallas

There tons of Largely African American areas, Maybe Desoto? or the surrounding areas?
I don't think there many overwhelmingly African American schools (IE:60% and up) but there plenty of good schools with sizable African populations.
There is a large AA population in Dallas, many Conservative christian types as well as many who are less so.
North Dallas (Plano, McKinney, etc) are strongly white and Asian. Some suburbs like Irving, Carrollton and Richardson may be more suitable as they both have sizable African American communities (with 10% in Irving and 6% in Richardson and Carrollton)
Dallas Dallas may not be a bad idea if you move to the right area...

Are these good neighborhoods?? Also which ones would you say is more kid friendly?? And are you fimiliar with Oak cliff, Garland and Mesquite??? How are these neighborhoods and are they well diverse?

[Grainraiser]

The only truly segregated places in the DFW area are Highland Park/University Park (very wealthy) or truly rural areas in the far outskirts of DFW. The larger percentage of AA will be in the southern sector (Desoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster). Mesquite & Garland will a good percentage of AA. The Northern burbs have plenty of AA but on average they will be less than the areas listed. I live in Mesquite and the make up is about 50% white, 30% AA and 20% hispanics. I would be pretty hard to find a neighborhood that does not have a decent population of AA in the DFW area. There really is a good melting pot here.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

I would be pretty hard to find a neighborhood that does not have a decent population of AA in the DFW area. There really is a good melting pot here.

I can think of several that don't right off the top of my head...

1. Frisco
2. Plano
3. Allen
4. Mckinney
5. The Colony
6. Coppell

D/FW is more segregated than most people want to believe.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by intense

Lookin to relocate from the midwest. Lots of segregation here! Just want to know is that an issue in Dallas??? Interested on a nice neighborhood with friendly people who will except a loving AA family with kids. Has to have good schools and diversity is a MUST!! Any suggestions????? Please respond!!

African Americans make up around 14% of the population in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

According to 2000 Census data, which may a bit outdated but is still the most reliable source, the following cities have the largest percentages of African-American residents in our area:

Major Cities
25.9% Dallas
20.3% Fort Worth

Large Suburban Cities
13.7% Arlington
13.5% Grand Prairie
13.3% Mesquite
11.9% Garland

Southern Suburbs of Dallas
53.0% Lancaster
45.5% DeSoto
33.6% Cedar Hill
25.1% Glenn Heights
24.8% Duncanville

Suburbs of Fort Worth
57.1% Forest Hill
27.7% Everman

Others
37.3% Hutchins (small town in southeastern Dallas County)
32.2% Terrell (Fast growing city on the eastern fringe of the Metroplex; Largest city in Kaufman County)
23.4% Wilmer (small town in southeastern Dallas County)
22.4% Ferris (small town located on the Ellis/Dallas County border)
18.5% Balch Springs (Inner-ring suburb surrounded by the cities of Mesquite and Dallas)
17.1% Waxahachie (Fast growing city on the southern fringe of the Metroplex; Ellis County Seat)

As others have said previously, just about all of the larger cities (population 100,000+) and most of the mid-sized suburbs (population 25,000 – 100,000) are diverse overall, even when the African American population is proportionally smaller than in the cities listed above. The same goes for schools. Only three school districts in the entire area are majority African American. They are Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Lancaster. While some school districts as a whole perform better than others, no school district in the immediate Dallas-Fort Worth area is currently rated "Academically Unacceptable" and all have at least a few good campuses. It is simply a matter of finding them.

I think that economic factors more than race play a role in where a person chooses to live. If you look at some of the most affluent communities in our area and compare the current demographics with those from 20 or 30 years ago, you are less likely to see a significant change in the demographic makeup of the area. Cities that have large middle-class populations and a wider range of economic groups are usually the ones that have experienced the most significant changes over the years. As in other parts of the country, "newer" suburbs located further away from the central city tend to be less diverse than those closer in.

Being a large metropolitan area of over six million residents, there is a lot of interaction between people of different races and cultures on a daily/regular basis. You and your family shouldn't have a problem finding a comfortable place to live here.

[KantLockeMeIn]

Everyone is focusing on areas with a higher number of african americans... but the poster asked about diversity in general. Take Garland for instance... does it matter that it has 11.9% african americans, or does it matter that it has:

65.3% european americans
11.9% african americans
7.4% asian americans
12% other race
2.9% two or more races

and out of all of those, 25.6% hispanic background.

So I guess the question is... do you want diversity, or do you want an area with a large concentration of people of your race? Most responders on here have assumed the latter, which to me isn't always synonymous with diversity.