Must ask, don't mean to offend (Dallas, Fort Worth: fit in, houses, neighborhoods)

[whois_it]

I know this can be an awkward topic in todays climate, but we are planning to visit some places this summer to relocate and the Dallas area has been on our radar for the last couple years.



**I'm not looking to argue, debate, or offend.**



How are things racially in Texas for a black family? We are a black family and from a pretty diverse city currently in the midwest but there can still be some racial tension. The more liberal people I know always comment that Texas might not be good for us, and I can't help but think it maybe because of racial issues, but then again none of them have been in Texas as far as I know.

I would love for my kids to be around more diversity and children who are used to seeing other races. Were planning to move to a suburb of Dallas -possibly HEB area.



Tell me everything! If you're not comfortable here, please DM me!

[Cd225]

One thing to understand before I comment on race relations is that you're in the Ft. Worth forum noting that you are considering relocating to the Dallas area. The two cities are close together in distance, but they maintain different cultures. Their respective suburbs are different from the northern Dallas suburbs, to the southern, to the Mid-Cities, etc. There's no one answer that fits the DFW area. There are expanses of white neighborhoods, black neighborhoods, Hispanic neighborhoods, and a few large Asian neighborhoods.

I think race relations in DFW are pretty good, but we tend to live in our separate neighborhoods to a large extent. One could say there is institutional racism in DFW, but it's uncommon to see individual racism among people in public. We have black leaders in city governments, so I think that's a good indicator. Many high schools have a fairly balanced racial make-up. Look at Euless Trinity, for example - It's in the ballpark of 30% white, 30% Hispanic, 20% African-American, and 10% Asian. I personally tend to think of Arlington and Mansfield in a discussion like this, but in this forum HEB seems more popular.

This kind of racial make-up shows up in mid-sized Texas cities away from DFW, too. Tyler is one such example. Some have more black vs. white issues than others. I think it depends on whether they have a history dating back to segregation.

[tcualum]

DFW is huge to the point where most people who relocate here can't imagine how big it is. Just DFW airport is larger than the island of Manhattan and it can easily take two hours to go from one end of the metroplex to the other. Conditions such as race relations vary greatly. My family is biracial (Asian Indian and white) so diversity is important to us. We've lived in neighborhoods where my husband stuck out like a sore thumb because everyone else was white and we've lived in neighborhoods that looked like the United Nations. Our current neighborhood is brand new and it's majority black.

[whois_it]

Originally Posted by Cd225

One thing to understand before I comment on race relations is that you're in the Ft. Worth forum noting that you are considering relocating to the Dallas area. The two cities are close together in distance, but they maintain different cultures. Their respective suburbs are different from the northern Dallas suburbs, to the southern, to the Mid-Cities, etc. There's no one answer that fits the DFW area. There are expanses of white neighborhoods, black neighborhoods, Hispanic neighborhoods, and a few large Asian neighborhoods.

I think race relations in DFW are pretty good, but we tend to live in our separate neighborhoods to a large extent. One could say there is institutional racism in DFW, but it's uncommon to see individual racism among people in public. We have black leaders in city governments, so I think that's a good indicator. Many high schools have a fairly balanced racial make-up. Look at Euless Trinity, for example - It's in the ballpark of 30% white, 30% Hispanic, 20% African-American, and 10% Asian. I personally tend to think of Arlington and Mansfield in a discussion like this, but in this forum HEB seems more popular.

This kind of racial make-up shows up in mid-sized Texas cities away from DFW, too. Tyler is one such example. Some have more black vs. white issues than others. I think it depends on whether they have a history dating back to segregation.

My mistake! I've been clicking around so much I posted in the wrong area.



Thank you for your input, it's very helpful.

[Exult.Q36]

I am black and I can attest to you and your family that you will be just fine in the HEB area. It’s a very diverse area and you will not have trouble finding other African Americans in the area.

[mschrief]

I live in a diverse neighborhood north of Hwy 820 and everyone seems to get along just fine.

[TeamLynn]

I'm not black so will not pretend to know how you will fit in or how comfortable you will feel or not feel. I do think there are crazy people everywhere and of all religions, shapes, sizes, races, and colors.
HEB to me should be as good of a place as any. You'll here school officials say something like 80 different languages spoken in the system, so that sounds pretty diverse to me. I like the way the Tongan/South Pacific Islander kids have taught the others the "Haka" dance to do before the football games. You can see this on youtube.
I'm sure there are kids of all levels in the school systems, and probably here on city-data you'll hear some people say the schools are not the best in DFW.
However I've met plenty of pretty sharp kids that went to school in the system. One I remember graduated about 5 years ago. Parents originally from Africa. He got full ride to Harvard on academic scholarship....so that's impressive for me.
It proves it can be done. Met his mom and not sure how great her English was...probably better than my French for sure.

[Barefoot Daisy]

I second HEB and the mid-cities area including North Richland Hills. I live in an "older" development, built in the mid-80s. Our neighborhood is very diverse, from ethnicity to age, family makeup and income. It's a peaceful, friendly place.

[lagreeneyes03]

Absolutely Second HEB. I'm a product of Trinity HS and it's one of the most diverse in the area, and kids seem to come out of there well rounded, with a real knowledge of the world around them. It has a great honors/gifted and talented program. You'll find nice houses with larger yards, not the postage stamp size, but actual YARDS that you can enjoy activities in. Everything you'd need is right there, and it's convenient to both Dallas and Fort Worth.

[Dangerous Dave]

I'd be more concerned about scoping out areas closer to where you'll be working and seeing if you can live with the commute. Also, if you're looking to get into better weather, just know that it can get cold here, and in the neighborhoods with a lot of trees, there's almost as much upkeep as there is dealing with snow in some other areas of the country. Don't go tossing your jackets out just yet.

As to your original query, you won't have an issue at all. Most people... regardless of your skin color and theirs, will be relieved to hear you're not from California.