Grand Prairie

With a Spanish name translating to "view of the lakes," Mira Lagos certainly lives up to its moniker. Waterside living is one of the top draws to Mira Lagos, encased by the nearly 7,500-acre Joe Pool Lake on the southside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Containing an abundance of homes and nifty amenities on the lake's peninsula, locals enjoy a quiet suburban atmosphere with nature in their backyard while still being a less-than-30-minute drive from both downtown Dallas and Fort Worth. Mira Lagos primarily features larger New Traditional and ranch-style homes with Tudor and Queen Anne elements in master-planned subdivisions, though townhouses can be found in the Grenadier community. Apartment hunters can also rent at Evolv or Mansions of Mansfield, offering one-bedroom units for around $1,500 per month. Most homes price between $300,000 and $600,000, but larger estates with ample square footage can sell for more than $1 million. Served by the Mansfield Independent School District, Mira Lagos residents have access to some of the best schools in the DFW Metroplex. Kids from prekindergarten through Grade 4 may go to Cora Spencer Elementary School before advancing to Mary Lillard Intermediate School for Grades 5 and 6. Danny Jones Middle School, serving 7th and 8th graders, shares a campus with the intermediate school. Meanwhile, teens attend Mansfield Lake Ridge High School, which offers a wide range of extracurricular clubs and organizations from National Honor Society to a ceramics club. Each school earns overall grades of A from Niche. Outdoor recreation is key for many of Mira Lagos' residents. Locals can camp, hike and swim while taking in scenic lake views at Loyd Park, but that's not the neighborhood's biggest draw. "I think it's Hawaiian Falls Water Park," says local Realtor Becky Hearne of Re/Max Pinnacle Group Realtors, who has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate. According to Hearne, golf is another major pastime in Mira Lagos. Mansfield National Golf Club is one of the area's top destinations for weekend tee times since its opening in 2000. Meanwhile, Little Leaguers round the bases at Mansfield Complex for Sports. Mira Lagos isn't known as a haven for foodies, though there are some local favorites contained within the neighborhood on East Broad Street. Jakes is a regional chain serving burgers and cocktails to the Metroplex since 1985, while 360 Brunch House is the place to go for mimosas and all-day breakfast. Four Sisters, opened in 2018, is another top spot known for its Vietnamese fare. To make a home-cooked meal, residents often gather ingredients from the nearby Kroger or its adjacent Market Street just west of Highway 360. More shopping options can be found at Mansfield Town Center or Mansfield Towne Crossing, which contain numerous big-box retailers. Locals can get around Mira Lagos on foot with a network of paved walking paths meandering throughout the neighborhood, but with such easy access to major roads and highways, many resident choose to get around by car. Highway 360, which feeds directly into Arlington, serves as Mira Lagos' western border, while those commuting to Fort Worth can get downtown within 30 minutes by heading west on Heritage Parkway and merging onto Route 287. Public transportation is virtually nonexistent, though, so locals will need vehicle access for longer trips.

A suburban neighborhood in Grand Prairie, the ninth-largest city in DFW and 17th-largest in Texas, Arcadia Park is conveniently located along Interstate 30, about 10 miles west of Dallas and 30 miles east of Fort Worth. The area attracts families, primarily 30-something, dual-income renters and homeowners, and its residents from families who’ve been there for generations welcome newcomers with open arms. Arcadia Park’s packed with employment opportunities at its many warehouses and distribution centers for companies like Amazon, Taylor Farms and Petco. “It’s a great place to grow,” says local Realtor Adam Olivas, who’s sold homes in DFW for two years. “It’s a good, strong community and definitely a great place to raise a family. I’ve met a lot of great families in that area, and they love it. A lot of people move down there and will probably never leave.” “I’d say convenience is the number one thing that attracts buyers to Grand Prairie,” Olivas says. “You’re pretty much near anywhere you have to be. You can get to Arlington, Fort Worth or Dallas in 15 or 30 minutes, depending on traffic.” Grand Prairie has an on-demand, shared transportation service called Via Grand Prairie, as well as a transit system called Grand Connection for residents at least 60 years old or those with a mental or physical disability. The closest hospital is Methodist Dallas Medical Center, seven miles away, and the closest airport is Love Field, nine miles away. Family-owned Mexican restaurants abound in Arcadia Park, with traditional sit-down options like Carmen’s, tacos for dine-in or to-go at Tacos El Regio or Mexican food with a seafood spin at Mariscos La Marea. Residents can grab a snack or sweet treat at El Antojo Fruteria or ice cream or shaved ice at Rainbow Snow. The neighborhood is also home to a variety of fast-food options and chains like Golden Corral, Whataburger and Chick-fil-A. For groceries, residents shop at Walmart or Supermercado Monterrey, and they get their retail shopping done at Lowe’s, Ross and Dollar Tree. To shop from local artisans and vendors, they head to Super Fiesta Bazaar, an indoor flea market with over 100 stalls, and the outdoor Flea Market Trade Fair, which sets up on Saturdays and Sundays. The Trinity River Mountain Creek Preserve is the neighborhood’s most expansive park, located on 52 acres of the Trinity River basin. Residents come here for walks or jogs, to play with their dogs or ride horses. They also enjoy water activities like fishing and canoeing. The neighborhood’s eponymous Arcadia Park is a popular spot for family barbecues, or residents can head just south of the neighborhood to Mi Familia Park, a waterfront green space with a picnic pavilion overlooking Mountain Creek Lake. The neighborhood is also home to Sunset Fields, an outdoor soccer facility that’s one of few FIFA-approved fields in North Texas. Arcadia Park has small, single-family bungalows on well-sized lots, sometimes spotted with sprawling oak trees. Though many homes have fenced-in front yards, they often have front porches big enough for small patio furniture so residents can hang out outside and say hi to their neighbors who pass by. Houses here are older and architecturally simple, often built in the 1940s and ‘50s with white vinyl or stone siding. In Arcadia Heights, buyers can find homes for much lower prices than in many other parts of DFW, and the market moves quickly, with homes selling after an average of four days on the market. “The market in Grand Prairie is steadier than in other parts of Dallas,” Olivas says. “Some sellers try to take a reach, but they realize they have to cut down very quickly because the Grand Prairie market is very aggressive.” Prices fall between $175,000 and $350,000, and the median overall price in the neighborhood is about $240,000. The Grand Prairie Independent School District offers open enrollment, allowing students to apply to any school in the district, including traditional schools and those with specialized programs. Some of the neighborhood’s closest schools are Garcia Elementary, Fannin Middle and Grand Prairie High School, all of which received C-pluses on Niche. Some of the district’s top schools include Grand Prairie School for the Highly Gifted, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy and Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute, all of which received As on Niche, and Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy was named the sixth-best high school for the arts in Texas by Niche in 2024. Parents can also enroll their children in nearby private schools like the A-rated Mount St. Michael Catholic School and Santa Clara of Assisi Catholic Academy, which has not been rated. Yello Belly Drag Strip has open racing hours on Thursdays and Sundays and special events on Fridays and Saturdays. For those who’d prefer a quieter way to connect with their community, the Arcadia Park Branch Library offers ongoing programming like yoga and meditation classes, toddler story times and a senior coffee club. Grand Prairie’s landfill is located in the neighborhood, as well as the Trinity River Authority’s Regional Wastewater System, which improves the water quality of the Trinity River and provides clean water for residents of the Trinity River basin. Some residents report that it affects the smell of the neighborhood, though others don’t seem to mind. Residents can use the odor reporting form on TRA’s website to identify any odors detected outside the facility’s borders.

A master-planned community, Westchester sits at the southern edge of Grand Prairie, Texas, along the shores of Joe Pool Lake. Sandwiched between Fort Worth, Irving and Dallas, proximity to amenities and the entire metroplex is an attractive part of Westchester’s appeal. "It's a perfect location if you want to go to Downtown Fort Worth or Downtown Dallas; it's super accessible," says Tanika Donnell, Broker and Owner of TDRealty, serving the area for over 10 years. "You have all the amenities you would want in a big city, and it's growing." Twenty miles outside Dallas, the community is also 7 miles from Historic Downtown Grand Prairie and 9 miles north of the quaint Main Street charm of Downtown Cedar Hill. Beyond urban conveniences, Westchester is surrounded by outdoor recreation, top-ranked schools and is home to the city’s largest homeowners’ association that ensures the community stays tight-knit. “That's one of the best characteristics of this area,” says Donnell. “They're big on families and education, and that's drawing a lot of retailers and companies." The quiet, tree-lined community has 17 subdivisions enclosed by green spaces and cradled by a lake. Westchester is filled with ranch-style houses, traditional brick two-story homes and custom-built Craftsman-style homes. Most were built in the early 1990s. Prices range from the high-$200,000s for an 1,800-square-foot three-bedroom to the high-$600,000s for a 3,400-square-foot five-bedroom. "Compared to the northern side of town— Capel, Carrollton, Lewisville, Frisco, all of those areas — you can get a little bit more for your money,” says Donnell. “You get larger lot sizes, and your price per square foot isn't as high.” Most properties have rear garaging parking or front-facing multi-car garages and spacious paved driveways for boats or other toys. Higher-priced homes have in-ground pools, pergolas and large backyard entertaining spaces. Lot sizes are large, most averaging around 10,000 or 11,000 square feet, but some stretch over a half acre. All residents are within walking and biking distance of multiple parks, schools, convenience and grocery stores. The housing market in Westchester is relatively competitive, with many homes being sold within four to five weeks. Westchester Homeowner’s Association, which oversees maintenance and other community upkeep, is the largest of the 61 HOAs in Grand Prairie, with over 2,300 homes. Dues are voluntary. Community enhancements are also handled by the Westchester Public Improvement District (PID), a public-private partnership with the city council to maintain and upgrade public lands and areas. The gated Mariposa at Westchester is a 55-plus subdivision within the community. It features 93 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with a pool, clubhouse, a rose garden, a pet spa and a pavilion. Prices range from $544 to $2,400 a month. The 20-acre Friendship Park is at the heart of Westchester and has basketball and tennis courts, a playground, a pond and shaded walking paths. One street west, Parkhill Park features soccer and football fields and 26 acres of picnic space. Freedom Park is a few blocks west and includes baseball and softball fields and pavilions to rent. On the eastern side of Westchester, Mountain Creek Soccer Complex stretches 116 acres and sits on the western edge of Mountain Creek Lake, boasting over six lit fields. Prairie Lakes Golf Course sits directly above the soccer complex on the lake. The public venue offers 18-hole and 9-hole courses and the largest practice area in Texas. Less than 2 miles north, Fish Creek – Dallas County Nature Preserve provides 37 acres of heavily wooded forest to explore and several multi-use trails. Westchester hugs the northern shore of Joe Pool Lake, a popular boating spot and place to catch largemouth bass and catfish. Cedar Hill State Park is 5 miles from the community and sits on the lake’s southern shore. The 1,800-acre park provides swimming, 350 campsites and 45 miles of hiking and cycling trails. Its DORBA Trail spans 1,200 acres and is one of the top mountain biking trails in the state. Cedar Mountain and Cedar Hill Park Reserve trails are two other popular routes that weave through the Dallas County Nature Preserve. On the northern shores of Joe Pool Lake, Lynn Creek Park covers nearly 800 acres and includes a sandy swimming beach, boat ramps and a volleyball court. The park is also a holiday favorite for “Prairie Lights,” a 2-mile-long display with 4 million lights and 500 decorations illuminating the night sky. "When you go through it, it's just a forest full of Christmas lights, so it's a big draw for families," Donnell says. Grand Prairie Independent School District serves the area, which is ranked the 10th-best district in Dallas County. It’s also the city’s top employer. Students can attend Mike Moseley Elementary, which has an A-minus rating and offers regular planetarium community nights, followed by the B-plus Ronald Reagan Middle. Kids can finish their education at the B-rated South Grand Prairie High School, which has a coding club and wrestling and soccer teams. Westchester also has the John Nance Garner Fine Arts Academy, an A-minus-rated school with a curriculum focusing on dance, music, theatre and visual arts. Most shopping and dining options are along Highway 360 and Interstate 20. Pizzaiolo’s Pizzas and Pasta is a popular small local chain known for its New York-style slices and cheesesteaks. Tom Thumb and CVS are also in this strip mall. Ton’s Mongolian Grill BBQ is a favorite for all-you-can-eat stir-fries and soups. The Finch is a restaurant for a more upscale meal, where locals rave about its oysters, steak frites and espresso martinis. For a sweet treat, Andy’s Frozen Custard serves up sundaes, milkshakes and other frozen treats in various flavors. Walmart is off 1-20 for essentials, and EpicCentral and Epic West Towne Crossing are 4 miles north for more shopping and dining options. Grand Prairie Premium Outlets is 3 miles in the other direction and features a diverse array of retail shops and boutiques. Historic Downtown Grand Prairie is 7 miles south for a quaint mom-and-pop shopping experience. Established in 1987, Westchester HOA oversees maintenance, landscaping and community events. The group hosts an annual Christmas party, yard of the month contests, holiday lights contests, a spring festival and a yearly block party. The community has no public transit, but Interstate 20 runs along Westchester’s northern edge, connecting to State Highway 161 and Texas 360 Toll Road. These routes provide access to the rest of the area. Historic Downtown Grand Prairie is 7 miles north, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is 16 miles away and Dallas is a 20-mile drive. Medical City ER Grand Prairie is the closest hospital, 3 miles away, and the closest major medical facility is Medical City Arlington, an 8-mile drive.