Round Rock Represents

Affordable Texas town wins title as America's No. 1 place to live

Round Rock was named the best affordable city to live in the entire U.S.

James Howard/Wikimedia Commons

Finding a great place to call home often is a compromise between affordability and fun — but in this Central Texas town, you can have both. According to new rankings from Livability, Round Rock is the No. 1 best affordable place to live in the country.

The website selected these cities based on the cost of living as well as the range of entertainment options. Round Rock is the only Lone Star locale to make the cut.

Round Rock is in the sweet spot for affordability, balancing "higher-than-average salaries and lower-than-average home prices." According to numbers pulled from the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living is almost 7 percent below the national average.

In addition to low property taxes and utility rates — which leave more money in residents' pockets — the local economy is bolstered by large companies such as Dell, TECO-Westinghouse and Dresser. In fact, the greater Austin-Round Rock area was recently deemed the No. 2 place in the U.S. for professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

But it's not just about the dollars and cents. Round Rock has really been raking in the accolades of late. In addition to Livability's shout-outs to the Round Rock Express and Flix Brewhouse, this Austin suburb boasts some great eateries; it's also a hotbed of romance.

Rounding out the top five on the Livability list are Dayton, Ohio (No.2); Lawton, Oklahoma (No. 3); Lansing, Michigan (No. 4); and Appleton, Wisconsin (No. 5).

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DART News

Dallas thoroughfare closed by DART Silver Line to reopen after a year

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A major thoroughfare in North Dallas will reopen after a year-long closure. According to a release, a portion of Hillcrest Road that was closed for continued construction of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line Regional Rail project will re-open Thursday, January 23, 2025, to commuters traveling through North Dallas.

The road was closed for 52 weeks. Let the traffic return!

DART and the City of Dallas agreed to close this 1/5-mile stretch of Hillcrest Road on January 25, 2024, as crews built a new section of roadway underneath a raised rail guideway for the Silver Line.

Hillcrest RoadThe closure was near the city of Richardson border and within Plano Independent School District attendance zonesDART

The closure was located near the city of Richardson border and within Plano Independent School District attendance zone, and included no access to Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way.

Hillcrest Road will open with one lane of traffic in each direction in the inside lanes before resuming to multiple lanes at McCallum to the north and Wester Way to the south. Medians will separate the open lanes with a strict 25-mph speed limit enforced.

When they made the closure a year ago, they predicted the reopening would take place on January 24, so they beat their target by a day. Huzzah.

With major construction primarily complete, DART will post digital road signs alerting drivers of any upcoming changes and will continue providing updates to nearby cities who may have commuters that frequent the area.

Pedestrians will have access to a designated temporary walkway on the eastside of the roadway barrier wall. The fully constructed sidewalk is expected to open in February.

The DART Silver Line is a 26-mile commuter rail that will cross seven North Texas cities (Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson, Plano) between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano, as wel as three counties (Collin, Dallas, Tarrant), with a goal of providing service across the northern portion of DART's service area, as well as access to DFW Airport. DART Silver Line revenue service is scheduled to begin in late 2025 to mid-2026.

traffic transportation