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So I have applied for positions with both cities and really have no idea what the difference is. Considering that there is no Arlington forum I decided to post here, even though I was surprised to see Fort Worth as a separate forum. From what I know Fort Worth is to Dallas what Sparks is to Reno (where I currently live - basically two cities that pretty much mesh and you dont know where one starts and the other ends) But I have no idea. I have never visited the area, just driven through the tip of Texas.
I grew up in Northern CA 5 minutes from a beach that nobody ever went to because it was cold and foggy and rainy all the time. Then moved 6 hours east to Reno for 3 years, then moved to Myrtle Beach, SC which brings me to my next question, is the weather really horrible? Coming from a dry heat in the high desert to a humid heat of the south WAS a change... I do believe living across from the beach helped that, so is this area in Texas a lot like the south heat IM used to? very humid and awful, but not to die for heat? is there water around, lakes, ponds? I did read somewhere that there were but they were muddy and gross... how true is that? I also spent some time in the 112 degree heat of Vegas and my friends just because it's a "dry Heat" didn't make it more bearable... anyways curious about that, and about BUGS! I know all the horror stories of living in the south and their huge bugs and the first time I encountered a palmetto bug I about lost it... but there are ways to control those pests right? I won't miss the thought of alligators in the ponds or lakes in Texas, right? that must sound stupid, but I really don't know.
So can anyone tell me the major differences, pros and cons, etc. of these 2 cities, or anywhere in between? I will be turning 30 next year and still like to have a night life, although I do not stay up so late like I used to and enjoy being home in a cozy place more often than not.
I like to hear both positive and negative things, and I will certainly be visiting before I would make the decision to move, any kinds of things I should check out? some of my favorite cities range from Charleston SC and Savannah GA to places like Atlanta and San Francisco... I am pretty easily entertained.
Sorry for the long post, any information is appreciated!!
Bottom-line: if you're 30, single, and still enjoy nightlife, live in Dallas no matter what job you get.
Arlington is just a suburb (mostly working class, although there are some nice family-sized estate lots on the southern side of town) offering little nightlife other than chain restaurants and strip-mall sports bars. Arlington is now well-known for being the home of Jerry World (I mean, Cowboys Stadium). It also houses the Texas Rangers Ballpark as well as Six Flags Over Texas amusement park and a water amusement park on the same stretch of I-30 as Jerry World. It is also well known for being the largest town in the US (350,000 or so) with no public transportation system- not even a bus.
Dallas, on the other hand, is a Top 5-7ish US city that offers everything a city should:
Exciting nightlife- swanky bars & lounges, laid-back bars for having a glass of wine or beer, and seedy-looking hole-in-the-walls that are always packed, too. Look up Lee Harvey's, The Gingerman, Barcadia, Rattlesnake Bar @ The Ritz Carlton, Dragonfly @ Hotel Zaza, and Lotus to get a feel for nightlife options.
A huge arts district downtown - opera, symphony, theatre, and 3 major museums all within walking distance of one another, along with the performing arts magnet high school which offers lots of free or under $10 performances and art shows.
Wonderful chefs and restaurants- ranging from well-known "famous" chef restaurants like Nobu and Craft to local "star" chefs Kent Rathbun's Abacus and Dean Fearing's Fearings @ the Ritz Carlton. Also tons of affordable options too, like Dallas institution Campisi's Egyptian (nothing Egyptian about it, it's pizza & homemade pasta), bbq dives Big Al's and Mike Anderson's, yummy burgers at Maple & Motor, Tex-Mex institution Mia's, affordable but nice date night places like Coal Vines and The Porch, etc.
More entertainment options like live music (Major US tours come through American Airlines Center and Superpages.com outdoor arena near downtown; smaller idie acts come through House of Blues, Granada Theatre, the Palladium, etc.) and pro sports (Dallas Mavericks basketball and Dallas Stars hockey both play near downtown in the AAC). If you're an athlete, there are multiple intramural legues for young professionals in the Uptown area (just north of Downtown Dallas). The Katy Trail runs through Uptown and offers 8 miles of peaceful jogging/cycling paved trail through a very pretty neighborhood. White Rock Lake just northeast of downtown (10 minute drive) offers a 9 mile cycling/jogging loop. There are also several great public golf courses within a 10 minute drive of downtown and many other private ones.
Excellent shopping ranging from high-end luxury stores like Gucci and Neiman's to some of the nicest Super Targets you've ever seen!
And most importantly, a VIBRANT community of young professionals, many of whom live in the Uptown area (75204, just north of downtown running north to Fitzhugh Ave) and the Knox-Henderson Area (parts of 75205 and 75206, straddling US75).
From Uptown to Arlington is a 25-35 minute commute, mostly going against traffic since more people are coming into Downtown Dallas than going out of it.
If your job in Arlington is closer to Fort Worth, you may want to look into living in some of the great young professionals' neighborhoods in FW like near the Arts District/7th Street area. The FW board can help you out there and keep your commute to western Arlington in the 20-30 minute range.
Also you could live in the North Oak Cliff area and drive to Arlington - search Bishop Arts District. I live in East Dallas / Lakewood and while it's no Savannah or Charleston it is the historic lively part of Dallas. We have Henderson and Greenville Avenues for entertainment as well as the Lakewood Village and Deep Ellum.
The only thing people do in Arlington is drive, park at a stadium and drive out. If you move to DFW and don't move to Dallas, you will be kicking yourself. Don't move to Arlington, you'll be hating life.
I don't agree with the above post. While I would personally live in Dallas over Arlington because it fits me better, there is still plenty to do in both places. There are an abundance of young and single people in both places. The best thing to do, as always, is just come down and check the entire area out.
In my opinion, the biggest advantage to living in Arlington is that you're right in between Dallas and Fort Worth. I think one of the pros of living in North Texas is you have so many different areas, cities, and neighborhoods in which you can enjoy nightlife. Some people on this forum will deny it up and down, but Fort Worth has a more vibrant and exciting downtown scene. So while I like the city of Dallas overall better as a whole and live here, it's nice to drive out to Fort Worth and spend time out there too. Arlington offers the more convenient option for that.
Other than that, there's plenty to do in Arlington itself. It's home of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. There are many events that regularly take place at Cowboys stadium other than Cowboy games you might want to attend. Of course, this is a positive as well as a negative because it brings a lot of traffic to the area. Arlington has plenty of bars and restaurants. There's the fairly new Highlands Town Center which has several bars and restaurants. The Improv there hosts lots of nationally touring stand-up comedians.
Dallas of course is your most urban option if you live in downtown or uptown. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it because the local Dallas posters have already taken care of that. However, there are plenty of options.
As far as weather goes, it gets pretty hot and humid in the summers here. And by summer, I mean April to late October. You'll enjoy a week or two of autumn and spring and then it's cold the rest of the time.
Lakes are everywhere in the metroplex. Seriously. Close your eyes, spin around and throw a stick and you'll hit a lake. I don't think they're muddy and gross, but some are better than others. I don't think any are large enough to affect the weather.
One other clarification - Dallas and Ft.Worth are two big cities that happen to be geographically close to each other. They don't really blend into each other and each offer their own highlights with nightlife, arts, activities, etc.
There is no way to compare Arlington to Dallas. Nor can you compare Reno/Sparks to Dallas/Ft Worth. For starters:
1. Dallas is a major metropolitian city.
2. Arlington is an overgown suburb that sits between Dallas and FTW.
3. Ft Worth is a large city w/ a major downtown commercial district (Arlington does not have).
4. Reno/Sparks....... there are no large suburbs like Arlington or Grand Prarie seperating the two like these two large suburbs do Dallas and FTW.
Reno is smaller than many large suburbs of Dallas. The suburb of Dallas I live in is much larger than Reno.
Granted, having lived in Reno/Sparks, Arlington is going to fill huge to you. But do yourself a favor....... SKIP IT! Live in Dallas. My husband lived in Arlington for awhile during college. It is NOT that great. It is a very transient society in that area due to the income, two colleges and the entertainment area with the ballparks there. Arlington does have a problem w/ crime and gangs. Just goggle it and you will find plenty of evidence of such. Just move to Dallas and be in a much better area especially if you are young and single.
As for the weather....... the coast is going to be much more humid than an inland area which Dallas is. We do have humidity but nothing like along the coast and that includes the Atlantic Coast as well. Been to Myrtle Beach and if you can deal w/ that weather and that traffic then this will be nothing (the traffic there is awful - all those snowbirds ). Summers are not that bad And, NO! It is not cold the rest of the time either (like a previous poster is saying)..... Last week I was driving the convertible w/ the top down wearing short sleeves and my kids were wearing shorts to school. We can have some very nice mild warm weather in the winter here. I would not call in the 60's and 70's "cold". We can also have some very nice spring and fall days that are very enjoyable.
There is no way to compare Arlington to Dallas. Nor can you compare Reno/Sparks to Dallas/Ft Worth. For starters:
1. Dallas is a major metropolitian city.
2. Arlington is an overgown suburb that sits between Dallas and FTW.
3. Ft Worth is a large city w/ a major downtown commercial district (Arlington does not have).
4. Reno/Sparks....... there are no large suburbs like Arlington or Grand Prarie seperating the two like these two large suburbs do Dallas and FTW.
Reno is smaller than many large suburbs of Dallas. The suburb of Dallas I live in is much larger than Reno.
Granted, having lived in Reno/Sparks, Arlington is going to fill huge to you. But do yourself a favor....... SKIP IT! Live in Dallas. My husband lived in Arlington for awhile during college. It is NOT that great. It is a very transient society in that area due to the income, two colleges and the entertainment area with the ballparks there. Arlington does have a problem w/ crime and gangs. Just goggle it and you will find plenty of evidence of such. Just move to Dallas and be in a much better area especially if you are young and single.
As for the weather....... the coast is going to be much more humid than an inland area which Dallas is. We do have humidity but nothing like along the coast and that includes the Atlantic Coast as well. Been to Myrtle Beach and if you can deal w/ that weather and that traffic then this will be nothing (the traffic there is awful - all those snowbirds ). Summers are not that bad And, NO! It is not cold the rest of the time either (like a previous poster is saying)..... Last week I was driving the convertible w/ the top down wearing short sleeves and my kids were wearing shorts to school. We can have some very nice mild warm weather in the winter here. I would not call in the 60's and 70's "cold". We can also have some very nice spring and fall days that are very enjoyable.
You're kidding yourself if you believe Dallas has no crime or gangs compared to Arlington. In fact, Dallas had one of the worst crime rates in the country of ANY big city several years back.
Arlington is an overgrown suburb with nothing in the way of public transportation or downtown core. Arlington's downtown consists of a bunch of shady used car lots & tire changing places.
I would live in either Dallas or Fort Worth. Both are great cities albeit very different.
I would never live in Arlington. Even if I worked in Arlington, I would live in Grapevine or Fort Worth. Even by suburban standards, Arlington sucks.
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). Summers are not that bad And, NO! It is not cold the rest of the time either (like a previous poster is saying)..... Last week I was driving the convertible w/ the top down wearing short sleeves and my kids were wearing shorts to school. We can have some very nice mild warm weather in the winter here. I would not call in the 60's and 70's "cold". We can also have some very nice spring and fall days that are very enjoyable.
