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Old 04-09-2009, 08:24 PM
 
72,816 posts, read 62,121,069 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danbo1957 View Post
Dallas is the gateway to Hell.
Please explain why you think that is so.
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Old 04-10-2009, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Broomfield, CO
1,445 posts, read 3,253,410 times
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Let me give you my opinion on this. I think it is very hard to compare the two cities because of the difference in their size. Dallas is a huge, cosmopolitian city that is recognized worldwide for business, technology, and world class shopping. It is among the most sprawling metropolitian areas in the world now topping 6 million residents. It has a fabulous infastructure with one of the busiest airports in the world, a good (growing) light rail system, and a great freeway system which is constantly being upgraded and updated to keep up with demand (hence the planned 1 billion dollar PLUS upgrades to 635)

The shopping is fabulous and plentiful everywhere you go, the northern suburbs are clean and very efficient. Roads are well thought out and very functional in nearly ALL suburbs.

It really depends on what you are looking for. Dallas has pretty much something for everyone.

Austin, on the other hand, is quite a different story. It will always be number 4 in many aspects in the state of Texas (Behind Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio). It has among the worst infastructures of any compariblity sized city in the country. It is the most congested medium size city in the country. Most of the housing in the desirable parts of Austin are out of reach for the average middle income family, thus sending them out into the faceless suburbs. Lets see, what else?

Austin has NO zoo, aquairium, theme parks, professional sports teams, decent transit system, limited if any shopping (the domain is a shopping area exclusively for the rich). Two malls in the entire metropoliatian area (i hear Highland Mall will be closing in the not too distant future). Also, not to mention the tiny little "austin feel" airport. OR the airport with "no planes" as my son refers to it.

However, Austin is overall a clean nice city with very little to offer it's residents. Its been my experience that pretty much ANY kind of entertainment or shopping must be done by driving a couple of hours to SA, dallas, or Houston.

I would say Dallas is your best bet for an overall great experience. It truly has something for everyone. If you hate big sprawling places, and don't mind having to leave town to do much of anything, then Austin is certainly a good choice!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobert View Post
My family and I are considering relocating to Texas in the next year or so if my company continues layoffs and my job is cut. We are considering Dallas and Austin because there seem to be a lot of software development jobs there - according to Indeed.com. I have done some research myself already about both areas but I wanted to get some input from locals about why they think one city is a better place to live than the other.

Now I know the definition of "better" depends on who you are. Some people might say Austin is better because it is a bit warmer. Some might say Dallas is better because it is a little cooler - just a hypothetical example.

So just tell my why YOU think one is better than the other. Give me all the dirt you can. Be honest and don't hold back anything.

Thanks very much
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Old 04-10-2009, 08:19 AM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,014,386 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mobert View Post
I'm sorry folks. These are exactly the responses I was trying to avoid when I said "..So just tell my why YOU think one is better than the other". So let me restate to be clear. Tell me things about Austin that YOU like and that YOU think make Austin a better place for you to live than Dallas. Hope that makes sense. If not please tell me so. Thanks again
Actually, Austin is becoming more and more like Dallas each year...more traffic, higher buildings, more crime.....soon it might be just a smaller version of the same....add all the franchising and loss of local stores in Austin, and you have it all...
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Old 04-10-2009, 08:55 AM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,014,386 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte View Post
I think you will run into bad traffic in both cities. As for feeling as you were in the minority, I am not trying to sound rude, I am just stating a fact. If you feel like a minority in Austin, you will feel that way even more so in Dallas. Demographically, Austin is 60% white. Dallas is about 34% white. I was just pointing that out for honesty.
As for "Keep Austin Weird", that is code for keeping Austin lbreal and unique because Austin is unique in the sense that the feel of the city has more in common with a place such as Berkeley or Madison,Wi than many Texas cities. it's Texan to a different beat. Music in Austin has often been dubbed "rebel country" .
Austin USED to be more liberal, but becomes far more conservative the larger it gets......more sprawl and exurbs, more families that move in the outskirts, more conservative......actually a very small central part of the city is liberal.....those cities you mention are almost entirely liberal, though a tad smaller....most liberal cities are liberal pretty much throughout the entire area.....Austin's really drops off even when you get to the outlying parts of the city itself........just look at the fast-food and shopping opportunites in the burbs.......hardly the Wheatfield co-opy feel you get in the central city.......

Its a great misnomer that Austin is a liberal metro in a uniform sense......
more like a donut.....best way I can come up with....with the liberal in the middle where the jelly usually goes...
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Old 04-10-2009, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 31,008,778 times
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I like Austin better because:

1. it doesn't have any pro sports, which means no absurd public funding to pay for Jerry Jones' new stadium.

2. although not beautiful in a Colorado mountain kind of way, Austin's hills are prettier than Dallas' hills.

3. Austin is smaller

4. Austin has better live music

5. Austin has fewer fat people

6. Austin has much lower crime

7. Austin's ego, as big as it is, is less irritating than Dallas' arrogance and attitude.

8. Way more people wearing jeans and shorts on a daily basis, including their high paying tech jobs


Austin traffic can be awful, but choosing your location can help immensely.

Fewer direct flights out of Austin, but man the airport is nicer.

Austin unfortunately is painted burnt orange everywhere and it can be sickening at times. And the UT athletic department may someday rival the Cowboys with its size and arrogance. But at least it fuels lots of interesting amateur athletes like swimmers, runners, and soccer players.
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Old 04-10-2009, 09:25 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 31,008,778 times
Reputation: 9270
Quote:
However, Austin is overall a clean nice city with very little to offer it's residents. Its been my experience that pretty much ANY kind of entertainment or shopping must be done by driving a couple of hours to SA, dallas, or Houston.
What on earth are you talking about? What do you want to shop for that you can't find in Austin? Whole Foods might be the best food store in the country. Waterloo Records is an outstanding place to buy recorded music.

ANY (you said ANY) entertainment? Is Austin City Limits music festival not entertainment? Is the Alama Drafthouse not entertainment? Is multiple street festivals per year not entertainment? College sports? Minor league baseball?

We don't have theme parks. I'm glad. But I know they're not far away. And the fact they take two hours to get to makes it an adventure for us.
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Old 04-10-2009, 09:25 AM
 
72,816 posts, read 62,121,069 times
Reputation: 21770
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano View Post
I like Austin better because:

1. it doesn't have any pro sports, which means no absurd public funding to pay for Jerry Jones' new stadium.

2. although not beautiful in a Colorado mountain kind of way, Austin's hills are prettier than Dallas' hills.

3. Austin is smaller

4. Austin has better live music

5. Austin has fewer fat people

6. Austin has much lower crime

7. Austin's ego, as big as it is, is less irritating than Dallas' arrogance and attitude.

8. Way more people wearing jeans and shorts on a daily basis, including their high paying tech jobs


Austin traffic can be awful, but choosing your location can help immensely.

Fewer direct flights out of Austin, but man the airport is nicer.

Austin unfortunately is painted burnt orange everywhere and it can be sickening at times. And the UT athletic department may someday rival the Cowboys with its size and arrogance. But at least it fuels lots of interesting amateur athletes like swimmers, runners, and soccer players.
I would like to watch pro-sports, particularly baseball.

Live music is one thing that makes Austin unique. With that in mind, I hope there is something for me in Austin when it comes to music.

I can agree about the burnt orange. I am not big on college sports.
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Old 04-10-2009, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,014,386 times
Reputation: 707
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano View Post
What on earth are you talking about? What do you want to shop for that you can't find in Austin? Whole Foods might be the best food store in the country. Waterloo Records is an outstanding place to buy recorded music.

ANY (you said ANY) entertainment? Is Austin City Limits music festival not entertainment? Is the Alama Drafthouse not entertainment? Is multiple street festivals per year not entertainment? College sports? Minor league baseball?

We don't have theme parks. I'm glad. But I know they're not far away. And the fact they take two hours to get to makes it an adventure for us.
I think people mean that the "entertainment" is SPREAD throughout through the metro, and that there is not a major DT shopping district. Shopping in Austin is spread out, and retail mall/big box/freeway frontage road orientated........

Except for 6th st., things to do could be just about anywhere, though UT is another major loci......again, its just that the lack of a centralized cultural complex/shopping complex....along with the typical large amenities such as museums, parks, amusement parks, large arenas, and such, confuse people who aren't used to searching for entertainment, like a floating crap game......each week it indeed could be in a different place, and usually is.........though those that read up on whats happening in the Chron and Austin360 can obviously always find something happening..
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Old 04-10-2009, 09:57 AM
 
Location: Central TX
2,335 posts, read 4,124,713 times
Reputation: 2811
Some of my favorite bands are playing in Austin this month. I'm going to see comedian Greg Giraldo in a few weeks. There's plenty to do here.

As for sports, the average price of a ticket to a Yankee game has gone from $41.40 last year to $72.97 with their new stadium, a 76.3% increase according to bizofbaseball.com. Having spent countless thousands of dollars on season tickets in the past (not on the Yanks) I can say that I'm done with pro sports and their greedy millionaire owners for the most part. We are however, getting a pro (minor league) hockey team here. I can't wait. I'll go to a few games if the price is right.

Back to the thread, Dallas is a nice place (my brother lives there) but I chose not to live there myself. It reminds me too much of where I grew up on Long Island (the materialism and nutty drivers). Not to mention the big hair and nails
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Old 04-10-2009, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 31,008,778 times
Reputation: 9270
Cardiff - I agree with you about pro sports. I cannot fathom paying $75 for tickets. When I lived in Houston I used to watch the Astros occasionally - but tickets then (a long time ago) were well under $20 for box seats. Football tickets were far worse.

When I lived in the Wash DC area as a kid we watched the Washington Senators (!) from the outfield seats for $5 or so. But you couldn't get a Redskins ticket at all.

Watching these games on TV is just fine for me now.

And I find public funding and taxes to pay for the stadiums and arenas simply absurd (and a fraud for taxpayers).

Tickets to the Round Rock Express can be bought for $6!
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