63 North Texas towns ranked. Which came out on top? Which sank to the bottom? And where does your community fall on the list?
Parker remains best known as the home of Southfork Ranch, where the fictional Ewings of TV's Dallas feud over the family fortune. For locals this city is simply a piece of countryside—sometimes a rather large piece—not too far from malls and highways. Parker has been in our top 10 since we added it to the list of suburbs to survey in 2004. It debuted at No. 4, made it to No. 2 in 2006, slipped to No. 5 in 2008, and topped our list both in 2010 and this year. Many people who move here do so because they have horses or crave fresh air. Some are corporate executives who find mowing their own lawns cheaper than therapy. The town has many multiple-acre residences but most are on 1.5 to 2 acres. Parker benefits from the development of all the towns that surround it, meaning residents can look at long stretches of pastures, curved roads, ponds, and trees yet reach civilization lickety-split.