A Dynamic and Growing City
A Dynamic and Growing CityMy Dallas Story
Lisa (born & raised in Dallas) and Jimmy (born & raised in Houston) have lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Boston before deciding to call Dallas their home to raise their family.
“Dallas is a dynamic and growing city. We are highly diversified across industries and the
quality of life and people are fantastic. We also love to travel and love the fact that we can get almost anywhere in the world from DFW and Love Field.”
LIVING
We live in an area called Oak Lawn Heights – exactly in-between Uptown and Love Field airport. We love the diversity, eclectic nature of the neighborhood as well as the accessibility to everything there is to do in Dallas. The cost of living is good and there are plenty of schools to choose from. On any given weekend, there are a multitude of family-friendly and free events to partake in! Some of our favorite day-to-day activities include evening family walks around our surrounding neighborhood(s), attending cultural festivals (our favorites are the Greek & Thai Festivals), tailgating at SMU football games, concerts at Klyde Warren Park, and attending shows at the AT&T Performing Arts Center or Music Hall in Fair Park.
SCHOOLS
We (and by extension our kids) have experience with both private and public schools in Dallas. There truly is something for everyone here, and you don’t have to move to the suburbs to get a world-class education. Currently, 2 of our kids are in a Dallas ISD Choice school, which uses a personalized learning model and is modeled to be a 50/50 socio-economic mix. Our son attends a private pre-school that is associated with a church in the hip Design District. We’ve been very pleased with the affordability and selection of schools within Dallas.
CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT
We love North Park Center, Galleria and the Shops at Highland Park – all offer different types of programming depending on the season. Our favorite is Bookmarks, which is a Dallas Public Library located within North Park. They host all sorts of events and programs throughout the week.
In terms of restaurants, we are always trying new restaurants around the city and track Yelp and Eater closely for the newest concepts hitting Dallas! We enjoy anything from Mike’s Chicken on Maple to Ferris Wheelers BBQ / Rodeo Goat in the Design District. We love breakfast and coffee destinations as well and frequent San Martin’s in Uptown, Union Coffee in Oak Lawn and La La Land Kind Café off Lower Greenville. We also like Asian restaurants so often venture to Carrolton, Richardson or Plano for Chinese dumplings, Korean BBQ and Vietnamese Pho. The restaurant scene in Dallas is ever-changing and there is something for everyone.
Stay in Dallas – you will be close to arts, entertainment, work, etc. and your quality of life will be great! There are many school options and Dallas ISD is on the rise. Check out the many “pocket” neighborhoods that make up our city – each has a unique feel and flavor. Talk to people, but also do your own research to find what’s best for you and your family.
COMMUNITY
We are both heavily involved in several civic organizations and are actively engaged in our schools and local community. Currently, Lisa is the PTA President at PL PREP (our kid’s school) while Jimmy is Chair of the Friends of PL PREP Board. We have both gone through several leadership development programs including Leadership Dallas and Leadership ISD. We also have or currently hold Board seats at Against the Grain Productions, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Parent Advocates for DISD, Uptown Dallas Inc., AVANCE, Parkland Foundation, etc. If you are civic-minded, there are endless opportunities to engage throughout this great city.