Dallas vs Atlanta - Quality of life (Houston, Marietta: insurance, schools)

[dallas76]

I think as far as opportunity for AA both cities ae running about equal. I prefer Dallas also over Atlanta. That just because I virtually grew up there. Living in Souht Carolina with tons of family in the ATL. Then living there for an addtional 7 years. I just wanted a different place with basically the same opportunities.

Either city will be good for any AA. Sorry to be so middle of the road on the two cities. Houston cool too.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

St. Louis is also up there. Houston actually probably has a bigger black population than Dallas. I could be wrong, but it just seems like it.

It does. In both the city in the metro. In the city, Houston is probably closing in on 500,000 if they haven't passed it already. In the metro area, Houston is probably now over 900,000. Houston will probably be the next city in the US to have it's black population pass 1 million and that will happen within the next 5-10 years.

[tstar]

As a 20 something African American who has lived in both cities, I would reccommend Atlanta. If your younger and want to enjoy a diverse social life Atlanta will have it. In Dallas there seems to be more self segregation socially. You'll find a sprinkle of ethnicities in the Dallas social scene, but I have found that people are more aware of race. It was pretty surprising moving from Atlanta.
Other than that, the traffic is better for a reverse commute in Dallas. Atlanta is as everyone has said beautiful.
good luck with your choice

[SouthDallas40]

This thread is an excellent example of how to have a civil city vs. city discussion without it degenerating into acerbic name-calling.
Of course, one of the differences is that it didn't involve Houston.

[KewGee]

One thing about Atlanta is it doesn't stay unbearably hot all summer as is notorius for most part of Texas. I got an email this morning from a friend and he said it was chilly enough to use a blanket last night. He doesn't use his A/C, so he really sees the weather "like it is." They get a few cooler breaks; normally, Texas does not. It's hot from May to October.

[Texas Mack]

I like both cities quite a bit. I agree with those who say the thick forestation around the Atlanta area along with the hills and the lakes (even though Dallas has lakes as well) make the ATL a more attractive geographic locale but Dallas has some very well organized suburbs that give it a little more oomph in terms of the built environment.

MARTA is a stronger transit entity than DART but Dallas has a better overall system of freeways, IMO.

Culturally, both cities are mostly very similar, in that there's quite a bit of everything to do.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Cuz it's the hometown of Dr. King?

No, because it's the cornerstone city for Black Americans.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by SouthDallas40

This thread is an excellent example of how to have a civil city vs. city discussion without it degenerating into acerbic name-calling.
Of course, one of the differences is that it didn't involve Houston.

Well you should know that this thread has atleast three Houston people in it.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by KewGee

One thing about Atlanta is it doesn't stay unbearably hot all summer as is notorius for most part of Texas. I got an email this morning from a friend and he said it was chilly enough to use a blanket last night. He doesn't use his A/C, so he really sees the weather "like it is." They get a few cooler breaks; normally, Texas does not. It's hot from May to October.

It got to 85 degrees in Atlanta yesterday with a low of 70, and the highs have been in the 90's all week. Make no mistake about it. Atlanta gets very hot. Hence the nickname, "Hotlanta."

Your friend must be a reptile.

[karnival96]

I have to agree with the poster about this discussion being much more civil than the usual city vs city talk. I think that part of the reason for this is that in many ways the two cities are very similar. They are both regional economic powerhouses with very diverse and dynamic economies; both cities have managed to bypass the major racial conflict that plagued many southern cities in the middle of the 20th Century (there were issues in both cities, but there was no rioting, mob brutality, etc. to resolve them) and both are routinely plagued by a variety of criticism for having non-politically correct characteristics (business oriented, uncontrolled growth, sprawling, limited public transit, etc.) Both cities, by the way are considered among the top places for Black people to live for a variety of reasons (at least according to BET and Black Enterprise).