Austin vs. Dallas (Houston, Greenville, Detroit: buying a house, buying, to live in)

[corruption]

My boyfriend and I were all set to make our way to Austin from Detroit. We want somewhere that's warm, has job opportunities, has lots of activities and still has the same "urban city feel" as Detroit. Austin has been labeled as the most liberal city in all of Texas, and that set well with us too. We did notice that there is only a 10% population of AA's though, and it's not that we just want to be surrounded by a bunch of people that look like us, but we really like diversity, and being "whited out" (for lack of a better term) doesn't really appeal to us. Now I've been on wiki and I see that Dallas is 45% black, which is more than white surprisingly. I also don't want to be in a perpetual "hood" with a bunch of crazy hoodlums either. I told a friend about our impending move, because she used to live in Texas, and she told me that Dallas would be better. Can anyone shed any light on this, what are the main differences between Austin and Dallas? (And no I don't care about the Dallas Cowboys or their cheerleaders before anyone posts that as a response...lol)

[love roses]

Besides sheer size, Dallas being a lot bigger, don't know. But I have lived in Houston for many years before I ended up here. Houston also has a large black/AA community and much of it isn't the "hood". There are lots of middle and upper class communities also. It's also a lot bigger than Austin, and maybe a little bigger than Dallas (not sure).

[corruption]

I just was wondering why I got 0 responses... I was starting to feel unliked...lmao

My friend also said that there was a huge frog and cricket problem in Austin at certain times of the year. Considering we're not buying a house, I was wondering what that entailed exactly? I mean, is it like the plague and frogs and crickets are just roaming the streets covering everything..?

[Memilees]

LMAO! That Frog/Cricket bit was the funniest thing I have ever read on here!

There are a TON of crickets for about 2 or 3 weeks out of the year. Its not like a plague or anything, but they normally hang out around gas stations, creeks, football stadiums, etc. Places with a lot of artificial light and/or water. Nothing you can't deal with.

As far as the AA population, I don't think that is something you need to be concerned about really. Race is really not an issue here, ever. I have plenty of AA friends, and I don't even think of them as AA unless they or somebody mentions it. (I am white). People of all races are pretty much accepted here with no problem.

Hmm..hope that helped, but who knows. I've lived here my whole life so I love to give advice.

[Memilees]

Oh yeah, and about the frogs...they really are only a problem if you have a dog/cat. Animals LOVE to play with frogs/toads and occasionally they can get hold of a toxic toad and become really sick. Most toads just cause foaming at the mouth though and really harmless otherwise. So if you don't have an outside pet, there is really nothing to worry about.

[artsyguy]

Dallas is a really good city.

[TexasHorseLady]

Every few years there are crickets - LOTS of crickets.

I didn't experience the frog problem and I've been in Austin and the area for about 40 years now. Maybe it's limited to a specific area? Oh, wait, once, back in 1970, one night I did see a huge migration of frogs across Lamar down to Shoal Creek a few blocks south of 29th Street. But that's the only time I've seen that, and it was for one night.

[Lakewooder]

We have a frog problem in Dallas, there aren't very many. I remember as a kid in the 60s seeing horn toads but they are just about gone now.

The most famous frogs 'from' Dallas were created by Bob Daddy-O Wade for the Tang-O nightclub on Lowest Greenville where they played in a little band on the roof. SUAD -- Shut Up and Dance was the theme..

They were eventually moved to Carl's Corner Truckstop between Dallas and Austin. Hey the place even burned once and has a Willie Nelson connection...see BobWade scroll to bottom of page.

[Moonlady]

I just don't think you can compare Dallas and Austin. Dallas is the 9th largest city in the US and then you throw Ft Worth into it and you have a huge metroplex. I used to travel there on business a lot and it seemed kind of empty for such a large town. But, traffic was better than in Austin, LOL. It's going to be a lot more diverse, as is Houston. I think you'll get biased answers from Austinites about Dallas - that's why we're here and not there - but you might get some good insight on the Dallas forum.

[TexasHorseLady]

True. I've lived in Dallas (and have family there) a couple of times, and have lived in Austin for about the last 40 years except for brief forays to Seattle and Dallas early on, but anything i have to say about Dallas is going to be based on the fact that I chose to move here from there and stayed.