News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dallas-Fort Worth Is A Great Place To Live, But Austin Is The Best In The Country, Report Says

Five stories that have North Texas talking: D-FW named one of the best places to live in the U.S.; Ellen DeGeneres invites UT students to dress like Beyoncé; Willie Nelson postpones three shows; and more.

New rankings released Tuesday from U.S. News and World Report place Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 15 among the 100 best places to live in the country. The report, which measured the most populous metro areas, describes Dallas-Fort Worth as a catchall of Texas life, where you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of Dallas, the western flavor and friendliness of Fort Worth as well as small-town pleasures and suburban securities in the surrounding communities.

 

Besides the area’s anecdotal charms, Dallas-Fort Worth has the numbers to back up its spot on the list. Analysts determined the rankings by the city's quality of life, its job market, financial value, desirability and net migration — whether people are moving there or leaving. Here’s the methodology.

 

Dallas-Fort Worth earned an overall score of 7.1 out of 10 with a 6.5 in quality of life and 7.4 in value. Despite Dallas-Fort Worth's many positive attributes noted on the report, the state Capitol took the No. 1 spot out of all 100 places. It received an 7.8 overall rating on its scorecard. KUT gave several reasons — both weird and not-so weird — why Austin got top honors. [U.S. News and World Report]

  • "Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career."That was President Trump’s response to a North Texas sheriff at a White House meeting Tuesday. At a meeting with sheriffs around the country, Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson complained about a Texas senator who wanted to make it more difficult for law enforcement to get control of assets forfeited by drug traffickers, according to The Dallas Morning News. Eavenson didn’t identify the lawmaker and didn’t take Trump’s offer to “destroy” the senator literally. The Texas Tribune offers a few potential leads. [The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune]

  • Dallas County commissioners passed a “symbolic resolution” welcoming unauthorized immigrants in the city. The “Welcoming Communities” resolution, which isn’t legally binding, passed 4-1 on Tuesday. The Dallas Morning News reports: “[The resolution] calls for local law enforcement to ‘end nonessential collaborations’ with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Republican Commissioner Mike Cantrell voted against it, fearing the county could lose federal and state funding. Both Trump and Gov. Abbott have called for punishing cities that don’t fully cooperate with ICE. [The Dallas Morning News]

 

  • Ellen DeGeneres to UT-Austin students: Dress like Beyoncé for a chance to go to the Grammys. The comedian and television host tweeted the proposition Tuesday, telling students to meet at 3:30 p.m. at the Main Mall. They showed up by the hundreds. Many of those students might have had hours of mental preparation if they got the hint from DeGeneres earlier this week. Last week, she appeared via satellite at the Georgia Tech University campus to give away free Super Bowl tickets to two students dressed as kittens. In a tweet Monday, she mentioned that giveaway and said: “@UTAustin, I hope you’re free tomorrow.” See photos. [KERA News]

  • Don’t freak out, but Willie Nelson has postponed three California shows because of illness. Nelson will have to miss his three-night stint that had been scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, The Associated Press reports. Schock gave no details on Nelson's sickness, but she says he plans to be back on the road again for a Feb. 16 concert at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. It's the second time in recent weeks the 83-year-old country legend has missed shows because of sickness — he canceled two of his five shows in Las Vegas in late January because of a bad cold. [The Associated Press]