10 November 20 - 26, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Nextdoor Niceties These are the five friendliest neighbor- hoods in Dallas, according to data from the Nextdoor app. BY ALEC SPICER N extdoor, the community- minded app beloved by NIMBYS everywhere, has re- leased its 2025 list of the friendliest neighborhoods in Dallas. You might be wondering what exactly constitutes a friendly neighborhood in Dal- las. Perhaps a more suburban-leaning, fam- ily-oriented enclave? Well, Highland Park meets that criteria on paper, but we all know they aren’t making this list. Or maybe more newly gentrified, manicured areas like Bishop Arts District, which the New York Times recently lauded for its “picture post- card” surroundings. Again, you would be wrong. Nextdoor says its findings are based mostly on actual engagement between neighbors, but highlight things like diver- sity, parks and dog-friendliness as well. And because we live in a time where every- thing feels like its only getting more expen- sive, the ranking also features affordability scores. “When people are considering where to live in Dallas, they want to know more than just the statistics — they want to under- stand what it’s really like to be part of that community,” Kelsey Grady, head of com- munications at Nextdoor, said in a state- ment. “These rankings are rooted in real neighbor interactions, giving people a win- dow into where communities are truly thriving.” Nextdoor says its methodology for the friendliness scores is based on six factors: tone of posts (positive or negative); ful- filled requests between neighbors; posts expressing pride or dissatisfaction; num- ber of free items listed; welcome posts; and posts promoting or recommending lo- cal businesses. Our sympathies to whoever at Nextdoor had to sift through all of the Karens firing off “fireworks or gunshots?” posts at the sound of literally anything. Although Skillman Street made the of- ficial top five, fifth place was a five-way tie, as Central Oak Lawn (No. 6), Old East Dallas (No 7.), Galleria North Dallas (No. 8) and Parkwood Creek (No. 9) all scored an 86. Lake Highlands rounded out the top 10 with a friendliness score of 85, meanwhile. 4. Woods - Sugarberry This one literally sounds like a TV show’s version of a friendly, idyllic neighborhood, so the name alone checks out if you ask us. The southern Dallas neighborhood located near Interstate 20 and Belt Line Road earned marks for “clean, tree-lined” streets and overall family friendliness. Residents of Sugarberry list walking as one of their top interests on the app, which makes sense be- ing that this one is a little more suburban. 3. Buckner Terrace Tucked into one of the eastern most pockets of sprawling East Dallas, Buckner Terrace scored an 89 on friendliness and a 98 on af- fordability. Nextdoor says it’s a close-knit community (over 12,000 residents, though) and praises the neighborhood’s diversity and easy access to downtown. One of the neighborhood’s recent posts claimed to have seen a shirtless man sitting on someone’s mailbox, though, so maybe they’re a little too friendly around there. Interestingly, the Dal- las Cowboys made Buckner Terrace resi- dents’ list of top interests, so if you’re a fellow glutton for disappointment, start bookmarking on Zillow now. 2. White Rock East/Truett If you’re looking for very active neighbors, apparently East Dallas is where you’ll find them. This might be the least surprising en- try on the list, as anyone who lives near White Rock Lake refuses to miss an oppor- tunity to strike up a conversation about the fact that they can walk to it. Excellent eats like Goodfriend and the just-departed Be Home Soon (RIP) sit around the corner, so these residents have no excuse not to be friendly, really. Nextdoor’s ranking of this one emphasizes the quieter, residential en- ergy surrounding it. 1. South Winnetka Heights First place wasn’t close. South Winnetka Heights scored a perfect 100 on friendliness and an equally impressive 97 on affordabil- ity, according to Nextdoor math. Just east of Oak Cliff’s bustling Bishop Arts area, Win- netka Heights is its underrated neighbor. The app lauds this cozy quarter for its his- toric character while accurately underlining its balance of suburban life and access to big-city amenities. Being able to walk to the Texas Theatre, Bbbop and The Kessler? Shit, we’d be infectiously friendly too. ▼ FILM ALL ABOARD TRAIN DREAMS THE NEW EPIC FROM DALLAS DIRECTOR CLINT BENTLEY IS GENERATING OSCAR BUZZ, AND IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY. BY PRESTON BARTA “T here are passageways to the old world — strange trails, hidden paths. You turn a corner and sud- denly find yourself face-to-face with the great mystery, the foundation of all things.” This sentiment, spoken by narrator Will Patton, opens Dallas-based filmmaker Clint Bentley’s staggering new film, Train Dreams. It’s a thesis statement for a story that is at once a quiet portrait of a solitary man and a sweeping, poetic epic about the soul of America. The film, which Bentley co-wrote with his Fort Worth-born creative partner Greg Kwedar, is a profound meditation on a life lived, brimming with love, loss and the quiet beauty of a world in constant, churning change. It’s a serious awards contender, and it has roots right here in North Texas. Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved 2011 novella, Train Dreams chronicles the life of Robert Grainier (a career-best from lead ac- tor Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad worker in the Pacific Northwest during the early 20th century. Grainier, an orphan of unknown origin, is a man of quiet observation and hard labor. He finds love with Gladys (Felicity Jones), and together they build a cabin and a life by the Moyie River with their young daughter, Kate. But his work as an itinerant laborer, felling ancient trees and building bridges, pulls him away for long stretches, making him a visitor in his own home. When a dev- astating tragedy strikes, his world is frac- tured, leaving him to navigate the ensuing decades in a state of profound solitude, haunted by memories and searching for meaning in the remnants of his life. The story of a simple man might seem an unlikely subject for a film of such lyrical depth, but in Bentley’s hands, it becomes a universal examination of existence. It’s a film that feels like a Terrence Malick poem, with the longitudinal scope of Richard Lin- klater’s Boyhood and the heart-wrenching intimacy of Like Crazy (which also starred Felicity Jones). Bentley, who moved to Texas in his 20s, sees a direct line from the landscapes of his adopted home to the visual poetry of Train Dreams. “The sky feels so close to you in Texas,” Bentley tells the Observer. “It feels like you could reach up and touch the clouds. There’s something about that.” This sense of proximity to the heavens is palpable throughout the film. In one breath- taking shot, Grainier stands on the roof of his newly-built home, and the clouds behind him are so painterly that you feel as if you could walk right into them. “You couldn’t plan for something like that,” Bentley remarks. “They were just gor- geous that day.” This philosophy of capturing found mo- ments is central to the filmmaking of Bent- ley and Kwedar, the duo behind acclaimed films Jockey and last year’s Sing Sing. For Train Dreams, they took this approach to a new level, working with cinematographer Adolpho Veloso to create a visual language that mirrors Grainier’s internal state. They frequently use long lenses and slow zooms, pulling the viewer into the character’s emo- tional space with a sense of gentle absorp- tion. “We were just trying to find a way to al- ways serve the moment and serve the char- acter,” Bentley explains. He says he wanted to create something that was “striking to look at and eye candy for an audience,” but never in excess and always in service of the story. This balance is masterfully achieved. The moments of domestic bliss between Robert and Gladys are bathed in a soft, golden light as the camera lingers on their tender inter- actions — feeding chickens at sunset, shar- ing a quiet meal. Perhaps most impressively, though, is that the moments of devastation are just as beautiful. Moments like when Robert sits in a pile of ash where his home once stood, the sky behind him stark and un- forgiving. “It is also beautiful in its own way, even though it’s very, very different and terrible,” Bentley says. “We were trying to think about that with each scene.” The film is punctuated by surreal, dream- like sequences that visualize Grainier’s sub- conscious. To create the effect of a passing train light in the dead of night, Bentley’s crew used drones with large lights attached, flying them overhead. “I always knew that those would be little snippets and dream sequences,” the director says. “It really tests you as a filmmaker. Whether a shot is half a second or a three- minute [unbroken shot in a film], you put the same amount of effort into that shot either way. You’re like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know if this is worth what I’m putting the Alec Spicer Central Oak Lawn barely missed the top 5 friendliest neighborhoods in the city. ▼ Culture >> p12
