Beginning a Life Together in University Park
By Sarah Mitchell
Living on a quiet street behind Snider Plaza, Jeff and Lara Lisle were drawn to the neighborhood’s charm and convenience. “We were drawn to the house because of the neighborhood,” explained Lara. “We love our back yard and pool, and we also built a firepit in the backyard. It’s a great hangout spot, and we find we spend a lot of time out there. Our location within University Park is very convenient as well. We are able to walk to Snider Plaza for restaurants and shopping, and our location is near where we work.”
Jeff is originally from Stamford, Texas, and graduated from Texas Tech in 2011. He moved to Lubbock after graduation and began working for Vista Bank. In 2015, he made the move to Dallas to start the Dallas branch and is now the Senior Vice President of Lending. Lara, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, attended Penn State where she graduated in 2013 with a degree in Elementary Education. She moved to Dallas in 2016 and now has her masters in Gifted and Talented Education. She is currently the TAG teacher at Armstrong and is in her sixth year at the school. She has also taught everything from kindergarten through 5th grade.
The couple met through Jeff’s CEO at Vista Bank who was also the parent of one of Lara’s first grade students at Armstrong. Jeff and Lara married in January 2020 at the Park Cities Club in Dallas and had their honeymoon in St. Lucia. “That is still our favorite trip together,” said Jeff. “We hope to go back again soon!” Lara continued, “We love traveling and making new memories. The beach and the mountains are some of our favorite places.” Lara even surprised Jeff with a ski trip in March 2020 to Alta, Utah. This was her first time to ski and their first trip together since their honeymoon.
The vacation, however, did not go as planned. “We got to Utah, enjoyed one day of skiing, and management told us at dinner that the mountain was shutting down the next day,” shared Lara. “We moved our flights up to come home one day early before the world shut down. We got home safely, and the next day there was an earthquake in Utah. We were so thankful we made it home and didn’t get stuck there!”
The Lisles try to take as many trips as they can and recently visited Marco Island, Florida, over Thanksgiving to spend some time at the beach. They also spent Christmas in Pennsylvania with Lara’s family. Jeff’s favorite location is Red River, New Mexico, where he loves to ski in the winter. “My family has a house in the mountains, and we enjoy spending time there in the summer to enjoy the cooler weather and hike, in addition to our winter ski trips.”
Jeff and Lara also have some favorite local hangouts as well. They enjoy playing tennis at the courts near their home and riding bikes in their neighborhood or at White Rock Lake. “We love being near Snider Plaza and frequently walk to Foxtrot, Nektar, Bandito’s, and Dive,” they shared. Lara is passionate about fitness and nutrition and started a small business, EmbraceFit, in September 2020 where she records 30 minute at-home workout videos for busy women.
Jeff and Lara love living in Dallas and now consider this “home”. “Living in this community makes you feel like you are living in a small town and not the city of Dallas,” said Lara. “It’s fun to live near SMU and have the feel of a college town. We think Dallas will be a great place to raise a family with great opportunities. We’ve met some wonderful people here and love that this is where we met and started our life together.”