What’s So Great About Westlake?

The centerpiece of today’s Dallas Morning News cover is a feature on the town of Westlake, presumably prompted by Glenn Beck’s impending move there. The article begins:

Forget Highland Park or University Park. Forget Southlake. When it comes to having money or fame in North Texas, Westlake is the new place to be.

The piece ends with quotes from Westlake Mayor Laura Wheat, a former Highland Park resident who told the News she moved because she was looking to raise her children in a different place, a place where she has “room to breathe” and the opportunity to view sunsets and wildlife.

What do you think, Park Cities people? Anyone else itching to move west?

By Dan Koller Jul. 19, 2011 | 9:20 am | 16 Comments | Comments RSS
16 comments to "What's So Great About Westlake?"
  1. XT @ July 19, 2011 at 9:49 am
    No, but I get it. I think Westlake has some nice scenery, never that impressed with the houses (huge doesn’t equal nice). Entirely different than the Park Cities, apples and oranges. But better than Southlake in my opinion. Too far away if you work Downtown.

  2. rusty @ July 19, 2011 at 10:00 am
    Will Mayor Wheat still be happy when the wildlife starts to eat her flora and fauna?

  3. Charles @ July 19, 2011 at 10:25 am
    Anyone who has sat in one of our school’s carpool lines has seen plenty of wildlife in the PC.

  4. Gringo Bling @ July 19, 2011 at 10:50 am
    While the homes and lots are very nice, it’s still a tiny little suburb lacking amenities of a big city. And at roughly 25 miles to Dallas, that’s a pretty good haul for commuters.

  5. Beth @ July 19, 2011 at 11:50 am
    After reading the recent blogs about the rude HP police force, maybe they are just smaller and more customer friendly in the Westlake city government than in HP.

  6. kmom @ July 19, 2011 at 12:40 pm
    What XT said, it’s a suburb too far from the big city for my taste. That does indeed make it apples and oranges comparison wise. Our number one priority for living in Dallas was actually living in the inner city, our choices were to send the kids to HP or private school, we never considered any ‘burbs, no matter how fancy.

  7. Bluebird @ July 19, 2011 at 1:01 pm
    Charles~ I laughed out loud at your comment ~ so true :)

  8. Y-sap @ July 19, 2011 at 1:53 pm
    I’m betting that there are at least 10 UP homeowners willing to trade for houses in Westlake…like, right now.
    Since the slick new owners of El Fenix replaced the wonderful old sign (on NW Hwy) with that horribly tasteless and nuclear-level bright one, the houses along that block of Villanova glow a disturbing orange/blue/red after sundown.
    Another example of the Planoization of the Park Cities. Nice job, new El Fenix owners, really nice.

  9. XT @ July 19, 2011 at 3:22 pm
    El Fenix is not in the Park Cities. What are other examples of the Planoization of the Park Cities?

  10. whatever! @ July 19, 2011 at 8:13 pm
    I’m just grateful that Glenn Beck preferred Westlake to HP. I’d rather shoot myself than live way the heck out there, but I’d move out there in a heart beat if Glenn Beck moved into HP!

  11. dgirl @ July 19, 2011 at 8:26 pm
    Westlake is ok if you’re all about seclusion and don’t want to be part of a community. It’s also great if you don’t have to be in an office everyday. That’s why it appeals to the athletes, musicians, and other “famous-ish” folk who live there. They WANT to be left alone.

    The Park Cities main appeal IS the community togetherness. Families with and without school-aged children cheering at the Scots games on Friday night. Buying girl scout cookies and Highland Belles spaghetti supper tickets from your neighbors. Going to church with your kids classmates and your own former HPHS classmates at HPPC, PCBC, HPUMC, UPUMC, St Michael’s, etc. Supporting the restaurants your neighbors own in Snider Plaza or Highland Park Village. It’s block parties and the UP pool and the July 4th parade. Glen Beck and the Jonas Brothers don’t want to mess with “that community sh*t” and that’s why they live in seclusion at Vaquero.

  12. Cigar Daddy @ July 19, 2011 at 10:16 pm
    Manufactured, sterile, soul-less, distant suburb. Hope you like driving and traffic. .

  13. Avid Reader @ July 20, 2011 at 10:19 am
    @whatever!, I would bet pretty much everything I own that if GBeck had moved to HP, you would: A. Not move; and B. Still be incredibly over the top open-minded.

  14. kmom @ July 20, 2011 at 10:47 am
    Meh, I might not move because of Glenn Beck, but I’m passive/agressive enough to make sure my dog pooped in his yard regularly. Maybe that’s why he chose the isolated, gated suburb?

  15. RJ @ July 21, 2011 at 12:16 am
    Westlake in Lakewood is very nice and the site of Pam Ewing’s estate on “Dallas”. Are you telling me some suburb has copied the name? Is it west of a lake?

  16. Bria @ July 24, 2011 at 1:44 am
    Westlake has been around forever, but it’s so secluded it’s considered more of an area as opposed to an actual city. It’s gorgeous out there and just for fun you should take a drive through and see all the big houses. I think it’s more secluded for a reason. I’ve taken my kids to the park and wound up next to a couple of the Dallas Cowboys out with their families. Friends have run into the Jonas Brothers at the Southlake Town Center and i think it’s the closest they can get to normal considering the public nature of their professions. I hope Mr. Beck will love living here, we’re glad to have you!

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