Why did the Texas cities zoom so far past Atlanta? (Decatur: sales, income)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by R1070

I keep seeing that the growth is due to Oil. Where in Dallas are these oil fields and oil operations?
Yes, Exxon has a corporate office, but that's it. Their operations are all down in Houston. I don't think Dallas has oil underneath it.

East Texas Oil Field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[R1070]

Originally Posted by aries4118

East Texas Oil Field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for that. DFW is West of that area. It does have natural gas underground, but Dallas has some of the most strict gas drilling limitations in the country, so I don't think they are relying on oil and gas to prosper.

Also, I'm seeing that Atlanta offers alot more than the Texas cities. I could see that in a Houston vs Atlanta thread, but Atlanta and Dallas have a lot of the same type of central urban neighborhoods and the Dallas area has more attractions overall and water recreation options. Just curious what Atlanta would offer more of.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by R1070

Thanks for that. DFW is West of that area. It does have natural gas underground, but Dallas has some of the most strict gas drilling limitations in the country, so I don't think they are relying on oil and gas to prosper.

...

But Dallas is very close and connected to the East Texas Oil Field. That is what matters.

[R1070]

If you compare the types of companies in the Dallas area to Houston and Atlanta they will align more with the types of companies in Atlanta.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by R1070

If you compare the types of companies in the Dallas area to Houston and Atlanta they will align more with the types of companies in Atlanta.

I agree....

Their purpose for existence are the same and both similar to Chicago. They are all inland transportation hubs that bring the same kind of competitive edges for certain industries. They are also a touch more... white collar.

However, I also think the US Oil boom (which was not small by any means) fed a bunch of support into Dallas' financial industry.

I also wouldn't argue that Dallas soley relies on Oil to prosper, but they relied on it to mitigate the recessionary effects that were seen nationwide and in some of the industries Dallas had.

Finance, communications, and wholesale trading got hit pretty hard. The oil business was a pretty big customer of the finance industry in an otherwise bad time. Other parts of the nation didn't have that added investment/financial activity.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

I agree....

Their purpose for existence are the same and both similar to Chicago. They are all inland transportation hubs that bring the same kind of competitive edges for certain industries. They are also a touch more... white collar.

However, I also think the US Oil boom (which was not small by any means) fed a bunch of support into Dallas' financial industry.

I also wouldn't argue that Dallas soley relies on Oil to prosper, but they relied on it to mitigate the recessionary effects that were seen nationwide and in some of the industries Dallas had.

Finance, communications, and wholesale trading got hit pretty hard. The oil business was a pretty big customer of the finance industry in an otherwise bad time. Other parts of the nation didn't have that added investment/financial activity.

I agree. And its not exclusively the HQ that offers those benefits. There are just naturally a higher number of gas and oil related businesses in the area than in other parts of the country.

When you do consider HQs of large companies, fossil fuel related businesses are well represented in the Dallas metro.

Exxon
Fluor - gas & Oil is one its major divisions
Energy Transfer Equity - natural gas
Atmos Energy - natural gas
Floweserve - maker of pumps, valves etc for gas, oil

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

I also wouldn't argue that Dallas soley relies on Oil to prosper, but they relied on it to mitigate the recessionary effects that were seen nationwide and in some of the industries Dallas had.

My brother-in-law once talked me into investing in a couple of oil wells out in Kilgore and they never made a nickel.

[ATLfromJAX]

It was the energy boom (including oil and natural gas) help mitigate the impact of the recession in Texas overall, helping cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston significantly.

But Texas could start lagging the US if there's any type of energy bust.

When I was graduating from Georgia Tech in the early 90's, Houston was severely lagging because of an energy bust.

Oil and energy are volatile industries. Who knows what could happen in 5 years.

[Staysean23]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

Georgia ain't exactly the land of milk and honey either.

Neither is all your beloved urban cities

[Atlanta_BD]

While there are many Fortune 500 companies here, could it be that Atlanta doesn't have any specific industry or natural resources to fuel its economy even during downturns?