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Can we compare inner-city neighborhoods? Dallas, San Jose dont have an equivalent too the old school brick hoods in Columbus.(short north, german vill, king lincoln, olde town east, Victorian vill, Italian vill ect)
I have fam in both cities btw. Been to Dallas/Plano/Fort Worth metro a handfull of times. Downtown Dallas only twice.
I can say that I don't have any specific data about the neighborhoods in terms of safety, but from everything I have heard, it is safer than many similar neighborhoods in urban areas, though it is bordered by rough neighborhoods on it's east side.
The Short North in Columbus is another extremely cool area.
However I think direct comparisons would be difficult.
There are opinions, and then there are facts. In your opinion, having a high migration into the city is ideal. In many people's opinion, that doesn't necessarily make a difference, in fact many prefer having a sense of community. In an ideal world, a city would have both, but frankly, to each their own. I'll take Columbus and it's supposed lack of dynamism any day of the week. Also, how exactly does a city become cosmopolitan or global, or famous for tourism? Personally, I think Columbus boasts better "tourist attractions" than the other two cities, at least within the immediate city limits, but perhaps I'm wrong. Does Dallas or San Jose have a Science Center or Zoo that can match up with that of Columbus? Or anything for that matter? Frankly, I'd say that if you were talking to the average person on the street, the only tourist attraction they could tell you about is Dealey Plaza, so it's hardly a "global city" in that sense. Though it wouldn't surprise me that San Jose is better suited in this regard than Dallas, I'm also not positive about that either, as I'm not sure the city itself really had a golden age where cultural assets were claimed. Most of the major companies out there I hear about at least seem to be headquartered in suburbs (Mountain View, Cupertino, Palo Alto, etc.). However, I'm guessing many, many people are likely familiar with Jack Hanna, and in turn, the Columbus Zoo (at least those who pay attention to such things). Now, both of these two (at least I think?) have a public transit system), but I would say that Columbus is likely more European in terms of it's architecture than both SJ and Dallas, and likely more bike friendly than at least Dallas. Also, there really isn't an ethnic food option that can't be found within Columbus. I'm guessing that both cities wish they had the built environment of a place like North Market.
Columbus will never be Dallas or San Jose in terms of companies located there, GDP, and fame. And that's okay. Because quite frankly, bigger is not necessarily better. Just look at the cities in terms of amenities. The only one of the two I see as having a clear case over Columbus is SJ, and that is only because SJ is located closer to other really cool things (PCH, Sequoia Forests, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Etc.). Unless I had a great job opportunity in Dallas, I personally don't see the allure compared to CBus. But perhaps others can educate me (and don't say luxury shopping, because I know, and I personally could care less about that, especially since I could do most of that online if it was an issue).
Not necessarily. But having a world class Zoo, Science Center and Botanical Gardens, above average other museums and historical sites, manageable but yet vibrant, safe and walkable downtown and surrounding neighborhoods filled with excellent beaux arts architecture, and green/exercise spaces built in, having many ethnic options that look, feel and taste like they were just off the boat with Ellis Island, low traffic, an affordable cost of living, a state flagship university that is considered a public ivy, very nice suburbs that offer excellent schools, parks and amenities combined with a low cost of living, many have New England style town squares and offer local programs that allow a family to be entertained without , while not as many companies as Dallas, a decent number (Abercrombie & Fitch, AEP, The Limited/Other Wexner Corps., Wendy's, Nationwide Insurance, OSUMC, Cardinal Health, DSW, etc.) that would allow one to find gainful employment, a great location including close access to even more beautiful nature in the form of a Great Lake, Several Show Caves, Hocking Hills and the Allegheny Mountains all within a couple hours, and 7 CSA's of over 1 Million within a three hour drive, plus DC, Chicago and Toronto all about 6 hours or less, weather that at least I find preferable to Dallas, a higher percentage of residents with a college degree, and, yes, perhaps a more provincial population (though many have moved to Columbus), that creates more of an overall sense of community. Even as shopping goes, Columbus has a full Saks and Nordstrom Department, along with headquarter stores for some of their local shops, so that would probably satisfy 99% of the population's shopping needs (though many can't even afford those, and ironically enough, Dallas doesn't even have a Saks anymore as it recently closed).
I'm sure Dallas has many advantages in this battle, but frankly, I'm not sure that many of them (larger population/growing/more cosmopolitan(?)/bigger airport/more headquarters/better skyline/7 hours to Guadalupe Mtns./possible to access Western NP Splendor in a single day's drive/5 pro sports is especially nice) would be enough to entice me to prefer Dallas. San Jose on the other hand... I have to admit one drive on the PCH might be able to do the trick.
Edit: One other point for Dallas, having both In N Out and Shake Shack, likely one of the few cities to be able to do that.
Last edited by theurbanfiles; 08-11-2015 at 12:13 PM..
According to WalkScore, which may not be completely accurate, but can be used to give an idea, Downtown Dallas is the most walkable out of the three. However, Columbus has more highly walkable neighborhoods than either of the other two do (Columbus has 10 compared to San Jose and Dallas with 5 that have a walk score above 80).
Surprisingly in terms of transit (Columbus must have good buses), it ranks ahead of San Jose on that factor, and in around the same realm as Dallas.
Columbus is more bikeable than Dallas but less so than San Jose (not surprisingly).
Walkability aside, the likelihood exists that a much greater percentage of Columbus areas have a higher concentration of small unique businesses/interesting architecture than Dallas or San Jose. While San Jose and Dallas suburbs might hold more power, Dublin, Grove City, Worthington, Granville, Bexley, Powell, Gahanna, and Delaware all have unique small business oriented downtowns with great old housing stock and a New England charm.
Dallas has a beautiful, world class brand new science museum, The Perot Museum. It is a knockout (and I'm from Austin and we hate to like anything about Dallas) the museum is the middle of a wonderful, walkable arts district served by public transportation in the heart of the city.
Dallas also has a well regarded zoo, Ft. Worth has an excellent zoo too!
And shopping, step back! Dallas has North Park, for fifty years one of the very best high end shopping districts in the country (setting aside NYC) that goes far beyond Nordstrom's! And filled with fine art too. NorthPark Center | High Fashion & Luxury Shopping in Dallas
It is practically painful for me to praise Dallas this way but c'mon.
Dallas has a beautiful, world class brand new science museum, The Perot Museum. It is a knockout (and I'm from Austin and we hate to like anything about Dallas) the museum is the middle of a wonderful, walkable arts district served by public transportation in the heart of the city.
Dallas also has a well regarded zoo, Ft. Worth has an excellent zoo too!
And shopping, step back! Dallas has North Park, for fifty years one of the very best high end shopping districts in the country (setting aside NYC) that goes far beyond Nordstrom's! And filled with fine art too. NorthPark Center | High Fashion & Luxury Shopping in Dallas
It is practically painful for me to praise Dallas this way but c'mon.
I don't deny that the Perot Museum, as well as the two Dallas Zoos are quite good. However, looking at the numbers, Columbus can at least stand up very well to Dallas in this regard. Columbus Museum (IMO) has a natural advantage in terms of it's classical appearance, though the other side of it is impressive in an ultramodern way on the other end, and the views overlooking the Scioto River and skyline are gorgeous. It also has 320,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space compared to 180,000 for Dallas (though I know size isn't everything).
Arata Isozaki really dreamed big during this project to make something impactful, something that took some influences and resembles in someways the world renowned Miraikan Museum in Tokyo.
COSI also operates the largest outreach education program of any science museum in the United States and started the camp-in programs for youths at museums.
This also looked interesting: Adventure - Level Two challenge requires the decoding of three dissimilar languages to re-awaken the Spirits and locate a lost vault somewhere on the island. “Level two” takes between fifteen and twenty hours of work to complete, making it the only interactive immersive exhibit of its kind in the world.
Unlike Dallas' Museum, not that it makes it better or worse, but it is a separate entity from the Orton Geological Museum on Ohio State's Campus, which was established in a Gothic Building on campus in 1893.
As for the Columbus Zoo, the fact that it has Jack Hanna establishes quite a bit of cache in and of itself. It has over 800 species, more than any zoo in the world I believe besides Beijing and Berlin, and is more than double the size of the San Diego Zoo.
Regarding NorthPark Center, I had looked at that one and most of those stores, while very upscale in nature, with the exception of Neiman Marcus (which I believe is comparable or maybe not quite as high end as Saks) are also present in CBus. But, I'm far from an expert, so I'll trust your expertise, and the fact that Dallas does have some serious money (16 billionaires) on that.
Hypothetically, saying that Dallas' museums were on par with those in Columbus (which they may well be, I don't have a point of reference for comparison), I'm still just not sure I see something about Dallas that would be more attractive than Columbus, or at least in my case (Austin or Houston). But, perhaps others can educate me, since I think that's ultimately what this is all about!
Houston also has world class art museums, a fine zoo, lots of entertainment options and incredible diversity of restaurants, I personally prefer it to Dallas.
Austin is just the fourth or fifth largest city in the state, not really comparable, we are an over-grown town. 100-75 years ago when other places (Chicago, St. Louis, Columbus, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio) were channeling wealth into museums and zoos and botanical gardens, Austin was a tiny, segregated place dependent on state government and the university for jobs, neither one a growth engine.
Dallas is going to offer the most complete package of the three. Columbus is one of those places that nobody really knows anything about and I would argue is the biggest under the radar metro in the US.
Columbus is good at doing a lot of little things but nothing that is exceptional to make it stand out. Given it's location in the Midwest and Ohio it will continue to be under the radar for a long time.
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