8. Flower Mound

What they say: Flower Mound draws a similar homebuyer as Highland Village but one more enamored with an easy commute than a lovely view of the lake. Flower Mound is closer to the airport, closer to Las Colinas. The town’s primary retail area is Parker Square, which is full of independent shops and restaurants—a rarity in suburbia. A Jewish resident says she’d like to see more religious diversity, noting the Christian pre-football prayer and constant Christmas wishes at the local stores. “I couldn’t find a bar mitzvah card one time at the local drugstore, and you have to drive to Dallas to find a kosher grocery store,” she says. Homes start at $150,000 and go up to several million, with the average at about $350,000. Houses within the Tour 18 golf course gated community are upwards of $2 million.

What we say: Residents recently voted in a new mayor and Town Council members, frustrated over disagreements about  gas drilling in the area. Flower Mound will take a Southlake-size step forward in community when its River Walk at Central Park is done (it’s been on hold for almost two years because of a developer bankruptcy and the economy). Billed as the city’s “21st century downtown,” the 158-acre development will have retail, residential, and office space. Regardless of whatever development comes to Flower Mound, however, almost 13 acres of the town’s original mound of wildflowers and native grasses remain protected by the Mound Foundation, an appreciated nod to the town’s heritage.