Where parents and kids can coexist

DFW city named one of the country’s most family-friendly ’burbs

Fishing, Keller Town Hall Pond, Keller, Texas

Keller's many parks, trails, and outdoor activities make it attractive to families.

If you’re a mom or dad, you want your kids to be happy about where they’re living, of course. But you also want to live somewhere that’s both kid-friendly and parent-friendly, don’t you?

According to a new list from Realtor.com, the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Keller checks off both of those boxes. Realtor.com puts Keller at No. 4 among the top 10 affordable, kid-friendly suburbs “that city parents won’t hate.”

To come up with its “move-here-now list for America’s cool moms and dads,” Realtor.com considered the 10 largest metro areas in the country, including Dallas-Fort Worth, but skipped Houston in favor of “bellwether” locale San Francisco. Realtor.com then looked at ZIP codes outside the main city to find the best ’burb in each major metro.

Realtor.com weighed these eight factors:

Housing affordability
Percentage of kids living in each ZIP code
Availability of child care
Number of toy stores
School rankings
Per-capita number of restaurants, bars, and museums
Crime rates
Commute times

In lauding Keller, Realtor.com cites Keller’s description of itself as “the premier community in which to live, work, play, and invest by balancing big-city comforts with small-town charm.”

“Yeah, they're laying it on a bit thick, but the description is pretty accurate,” Realtor.com notes. “The family vibe starts with the region's unswerving emphasis on education: Twenty of its schools have been recognized by the Texas Education Agency, and 20 major universities are located within an hour of Keller.”

Realtor.com also emphasizes Keller’s proximity to attractions like Six Flags Over Texas and AT&T Stadium, both in Arlington; the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth; and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas.

But closer to home, Keller residents would be quick to cite its many parks and trails, vibrant public arts program, and well-attended activities — including Keller Summer Nights concert series, Holly Days holiday celebration, and Fishing for Fun at the Keller Town Hall — as further reasons to raise a family there.

Here is Realtor.com’s list of the 10 most affordable, family-friendly suburbs among major U.S. metro areas:

1. Edison, New Jersey (New York City)
2. Seal Beach, California (Los Angeles)
3. Plainfield, Illinois (Chicago)
4. Keller, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth)
5. Swedesboro, New Jersey (Philadelphia)
6. Chesapeake Beach, Maryland (Washington, D.C.)
7. Coral Springs, Florida (Miami)
8. Dacula, Georgia (Atlanta)
9. North Chelmsford, Massachusetts (Boston)
10. Walnut Creek, California (San Francisco)

rankings lists

E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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