Janet Nevil and her husband, Holly Nevil Jr., couldn’t find a Sunnyvale house to buy in 1995, so they settled down in an unconventional spot.
“We built our house here in a horse pasture,” she said. “My son was getting ready to start kindergarten, and we wanted to go to a place that had a good school. I was raised on a farm in the Ozarks, and I wanted to raise my son on a farm.”
Sunnyvale’s prime location — about 20 minutes east of downtown Dallas — and wide expanses of undeveloped land make it an increasingly popular destination for affluent homebuyers and contributed to its ranking as the best neighborhood for this demographic in the Garland-Mesquite area, according to an intensive data analysis by The Dallas Morning News.
“I think if you look at the history of Dallas, the momentum has been to go north,” said Dan Savage, Sunnyvale’s interim town manager. “Sunnyvale is to the east, and I just think people haven’t looked in this direction very hard. I think the ones that have are delighted with Sunnyvale. It’s basically a well kept secret.”
The News’ rankings were based on factors like safety, neighborhood maintenance and ease of commute, weighted according to the surveyed preferences of individuals making $85,000 per year or more in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
To qualify for this category, only neighborhoods with a median home value of $250,000 or more were considered. Price-sensitive factors like affordability, home-value appreciation, and quality of public schools did not factor into The News’ analysis.
The Nevils own Miller Brace Co., which specializes in making and fitting body braces. The commute between their office, located near Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and home is only 20 minutes, another reason they targeted Sunnyvale, Janet Nevil said.
Savage, whose interim term as town manager will soon expire, lives in Plano and commutes to Sunnyvale.
“If you work in downtown Dallas and you want more of a country lifestyle, we have larger-lot homes in Sunnyvale,” Savage said. “This is probably a place that would be as close to the downtown market as any [developing area] in the metroplex.”
Lance and Uma Youts recently moved to the area from Far North Dallas. While searching for a new home in which to raise their 7-year-old triplets, they had three things in mind: proximity to downtown Dallas, high-performing schools and a quality plot of land on which they could build their ideal home.
But because most of the developing areas near their old home would push them farther from Lance’s downtown office, where he works as a certified public accountant, the couple decided to build their new house in Sunnyvale.
“We wanted to have our own floor plan and gear it toward our own lifestyle,” Uma Youts said. “I just like the floor plan. When you have a bunch of kids running around, it’s very open and roomy.”
Residents like Kim Ingram, a member of the Sunnyvale ISD board of trustees, are quick to point out that the community is full of people of various income groups and is built around the school system.
Ingram, her husband Blake and their two children, now 21 and 18, moved to Sunnyvale in 1999, and found they could purchase an expansive 10-acre piece of land for a relatively affordable price. The Ingrams built their home around the land as much as their lifestyle.
“We were able to take advantage of the views and know exactly where the pond was and where the sun was going to hit the house and really plan for that,” she said. “I can sit in the breakfast nook and look out over the neighbor’s fishing pond and watch the sunrise and the sunset, and watch the changing seasons.”
For her, that country comfort is hard to beat.
“It’s really just a peaceful view.”
Neighborsgo reporter Daniel Houston can be reached at 214-977-8024. Data analysis by staff writer Daniel Lathrop.
The Sunnyvale Garden Club 