Inside Greensboro’s New Irving Park Neighborhood

Get to know Greensboro’s New Irving Park neighborhood through the eyes of two neighbors who boomeranged back to Greensboro-High Point, Alejandra Thompson de Jordan and Ryan Deal. From large lot sizes, accessibility to anywhere in Greensboro and green space for pups, kiddos and friends, New Irving Park is a perfect place to land.

Ryan and Alejandra also share a love for Greensboro’s diverse arts community. From theatre, dance, music and history, their creative spirits are fueled by the local arts scene.

Alejandra Thompson de Jordan is proud of her Southern roots. “Greensboro forever for me!” But like so many driven young people, she felt compelled to see what else was out there. She showed up in NYC with an impressive resume of educational experience. L’Oréal scooped her up quickly. She moved her way up inside the world-famous beauty brand, going from Assistant Marketing Manager to Assistant Vice President of Marketing in under eight years. Chanel was the next to recognize Alejandra’s talent. They immediately made her Director of Marketing. These great opportunities made the downsides she experienced living in NYC worth it–for a while.

In 2020, the COVID crisis led Alejandra to worry. When people were told not to come in to work, she knew the city would shut down. She ran that night to rent a car and drove her daughter straight to NC. What she thought would be a two-week escape turned into months and now a year.  Alejandra was glad to be close to family in these times of uncertainty, even more so now after having another baby during quarantine. On maternity leave in Greensboro, she has had the opportunity to take a serious look at the differences in family life between NYC and GSO. With all its excitement and opportunities, New York didn’t offer two major things needed to build the community Alejandra wanted: space and time.  In Greensboro, her work days are shorter, even as VP of Sales & Marketing for Thompson Traders, Inc. The cost of living and lower daycare price means she has expendable income for weekend getaways and lunches with friends. Large backyards mean grilling out for the whole family.

After attending UNC-Greensboro, Ryan Deal lived in Charlotte, NC before returning to Greensboro. He was 38 when he moved back to town. He enthusiastically said yes to the opportunity to return to Greensboro to lead a newly created office focusing on arts & culture within the City government. The move was made all the easier when his partner found a professional growth opportunity working in Human Resources for a national company’s Greensboro office. For them, Greensboro offers the perfect balance of a slower pace and far less traffic than they knew in Charlotte, an overall more affordable cost of living, and all the amenities (arts & culture, shopping, parks and greenways, restaurants, etc.) that make a place livable.

Learn more about all that Greensboro-High Point NC has to offer.