Not kidding around

This Dallas suburb is tops in Texas for raising a family

Plano is an ideal place to raise a family.

Plano is regularly applauded for an array of positive attributes, such as its livability, safety, and robust job market. And the city now is garnering praise as one of the best American cities to raise a family. It's been here before.

A new ranking from personal finance website WalletHub puts Plano at No. 6 among the best places in the U.S. to raise a family. On WalletHub’s 2017 list, Plano appeared at No. 3. Despite the slight drop from 2017 to 2018, Plano remains WalletHub’s top pick in Texas for family-friendly cities.

“We think what makes Plano a great place to raise a family are all of the same reasons it’s a great place to live and work,” Plano City Manager Bruce Glasscock says. “We have a low crime rate, the lowest taxes in the region, and offer unparalleled parks and libraries that are visited more than 5.9 million times each year.”

In reviewing data for 182 U.S. cities, WalletHub looked at 46 key metrics, ranging from housing affordability to school quality. Overall, Plano ranked No. 2 for the bucket of data regarding socioeconomics, No. 4 in the health and safety category, and No. 5 in the affordability category.

Among the state’s four major metro areas, no other city broke into WalletHub’s top 20.

The closest to Plano was Austin, at No. 33. It was followed by Grand Prairie (No. 55), Fort Worth (No. 83), Arlington (No. 97), Garland (No. 112), Irving (No. 118), San Antonio (No. 125), Dallas (No. 143), and Houston (No. 150).

Nationally, the top five were Overland Park, Kansas; Irvine, California; Fremont, California; South Burlington, Vermont; and Bismarck, North Dakota.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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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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