By Laura Parker
It all started in 2019, which was a very tough year emotionally. Both of my parents died, nearly bookending the year: My father in February, and then my mother in October.
After that I decided it was time to retire and for us to buy a house and get away from renting.
Neither of us had owned a home before, even though we were well past that traditional first-time buyer age. And so the hunt began. We also had huge plans to start traveling a lot in 2020, including a trip to Barcelona, Spain, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and return to where we first met.
And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and completely derailed our travel plans. We thought it might do the same to a house hunt, but actually that wasn’t much of a problem at all.
We had been in a rental duplex in Euless and really liked the area, but were open to living just about anywhere. Growing up in Dallas I would’ve preferred to be there, but prices have gone through the roof!
After a fairly short search started in February 2020 we saw a house in May in Dalworthington Gardens, a suburb with a rich history east of Arlington and north of Interstate 20. Being a Dallas girl at heart, I stubbornly had no interest in Arlington, or anything that far west, but my mind was changed after seeing this little rural oasis in the middle of it all with so many trees everywhere.
Being near Arlington, we enjoy going to Dallas often, as well as exploring Fort Worth and other surrounding areas; something we didn’t really do before.
Dalworthington Gardens started as a subsistence homestead project during the Great Depression in 1934, suggested by Eleanor Roosevelt.
As it still maintains its homestead designation you can see homes with lots of acreage with livestock and small farms, mixed in with newer, much grander homes on smaller lots. In our neighborhood there’s a great mix of people, from older retirees who’ve been here for decades to younger families with small children.
Our house charmed us from the moment we saw it!
Built in 1978 it backs up to a home with acreage, partly pastures for horses, and partly wooded. The neighbors had horses when we moved in, but have since sold them and are now in the process of selling their land – hopefully to someone else with horses!
What also has completely charmed us is how neighborly everyone is.
People wave to each other while driving. A walk with the dog can take a while as conversations usually occur when coming across others. After we bought the house our next-door neighbors actually kept our lawn mowed until we could buy a mower, without us asking.
We were welcomed by other close neighbors to the sides and across the street, and occasionally have social time with them in the front yard of one of our homes – we call them “drinking circles.”
There’s a fun Christmas parade every year where the police, fire, and others – including Santa – drive down each street with sirens blaring. There are often community events such as concerts or movies in Dalworthington Gardens’ main park, less than a mile from our house.
Even though we’re just two miles from I-20, as well as being fairly close to major roads in south Arlington, we enjoy a lot of peace and quiet.
Besides the chickens, roosters, donkeys, and horses being raised in the community, there’s an abundance of wildlife around us. Besides large birds of prey and the usual amount of opossums, skunks, and rabbits, we have at least one pack of coyotes living in the wooded area behind our house. We love hearing them howl!
We feel very secluded in our private oasis, and have our own fantastic police and fire departments. The police routinely patrol every street and will even keep extra watch on your house when you’re away.
Since moving here, Anthony has joined DWG’s Planning and Zoning Commission and we’ve become friends with the mayor. This is nothing like what I would have expected in any of the neighborhoods in Dallas, or even had we stayed in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area.
We feel very much at home here in Dalworthington Gardens!
Laura Parker and Anthony Parker moved to Dalworthington Gardens in 2020. Anthony Parker is a part of the Dalworthington Gardens Planning and Zoning Commission.
Dalworthington Gardens
Total population: 2,390
Female: 53% | Male: 47%
Age
0-9: 5%
10-19: 13%
20-29: 12%
30-39: 5%
40-49: 6%
50-59: 21%
60-69: 22%
70-79: 10%
80 and older: 5%
Education
No degree: 3%
High school: 17%
Some college: 34%
Bachelor’s degree: 28%
Post-graduate: 18%
Race
White: 79% | Asian: 9% | Hispanic: 8% | Black: 3% | Two or more: 1%
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