Moving to Dallas-Ft Worth?- My review!! (Houston, Fort Worth: crimes, schools)

[scyogi]

Originally Posted by subslug

This part certainly shouldn't offend anyone...... Don't worry though, in your opinion Blacks and Hispanics probably can't read this anyway.

That made me laugh! I can't believe he/she actually wrote that in his post!

[Drew610]

Note that he missed Uptown, West Village, M-Streets, Bishop Arts - all areas that might be considered more walkable

[hdb]

I lived in Plano for many years and then in Richardson for many years. It kills me to say it, but I actually did like Plano better. There's soul everywhere, even in the suburbs. You just have to meet the right people.

Also, I don't think you can judge the wealth of a place by the number of check cashing centers. That simply means that low income housing exists in the area, unlike a place like San Francisco where even middle class cops and teachers are completely priced out. Personally, I prefer living around people from all walks of life.

No city built up primarily post-WWII is very walkable and rebuilding the infrastructure to make them moreso would be prohibitively expensive. Chicago and NYC are walkable cities. Dallas is designed for cars. I don't see an easy way to change that.

[aceplace]

Lukeache, glad you finally made it over here. My opinion on some of your comments...

Downtown Dallas is dead at night in the same way that downtown San Francisco is dead at night. The large financial district closes down and the nightlife shifts to entertainment districts on the periphery. In San Francisco's case, that would be North Beach, the hotels and restaurants on Post and Geary, and South of Market. In Dallas' case, that would be West End/Victory, Lower McKinney, West Village, Deep Ellum, and the up-and-coming Cedars. Fort Worth has an almost nonexistent financial district, and its downtown is almost entirely entertainment, so you have the illusion that its entire downtown is active. In fact, Dallas' Uptown/West Village corridor is much larger and much more active than DTFW.

The TRE line to DTFW will get faster as the years go by and the trackage improves, but DTFW will still be on the periphery of things. DT Dallas is central to the rail transport system, and you guessed correctly that using rail you will be able to travel to and enjoy many entertainment districts without using a car... not only Mock Station, but also the West Village, the upcoming Park Lane Place, the Cedars, Galatyn Park and the Eisemann theatre, Victory, the West End, and soon, Fair Park, Exposition Park and Deep Ellum.

Central Dallas has the largest urban center in the South Central USA. By that I mean that it has about 3 square miles of dense, walkable highrise and midrise urban landscape, all the way from the Lower downtown area, through Victory, through Uptown, and all the way to West Village and Oak Lawn. All through this area you are always in sight of, or under, high rise buildings. The building density is similar to cities such as San Francisco or Boston, although the area is smaller than those cities. Beyond this urban zone, or its extension along US75, the land usage is low-density suburban. There are, however, isolated areas beyond the urban core that have a walkable urban density, places such as Preston Center, Addison Circle, Legacy Town Center, Southlake Town Center, etc.

Other than the 3 square miles, the metro area is at a suburban level of density and automobile orientation. Basically, that is what the vast majority of people in America want. Especially after a couple has their first child. Most metros in the USA have an urban core surrounded by car-oriented suburbs for this very reason. You don't walk around suburban Boston or suburban San Francisco, you drive.

You got into town during an abnormally cool and humid summer. Normally, the mornings are 70ish and humid, and the afternoons are hot and dry. The evenings are more modserate, and people flock to outdoor restaurant areas to enjoy the ambience (and smoke?). The weather moderates during October through early December, and winter is mostly late December through January. February through April, or early May, is quite pleasant, and the weather begins to warm in late May.

Because if its enormous population, metro Dallas-Ft Worth can offer a greater diversity of entertainment, work opportunity and other human activity than smaller metros such as Phoenix, Denver, or your own Minneapolis. For example, this weekend metro Dallas hosted about 20 independent or foreign films, in addition to the Hollywood product. This week's film festival was on the subject of the Holocaust. It has several symphony orchestras, the smaller ones specializing in musical niches in groups such as the Turtle Creek Chorale, the Dallas Wind Symphony or the Orchestra of New Spain. The metro has a dozen art museums, many more community art centers extensive sports teams, not just the big 4 sports, a concert hall district that will be comparable to Lincoln Center in NYC, things like that. If it takes a dozen people to mount the critical mass to make something happen, metro DFW will be able to assemble that dozen people for many more activities and interests than a metro half its size.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Ft Worth: ...One problem with Ft Worth is that there are a lot of parts of this city that are rundown and very poor. I had a chance to visit the SW quadrant of this city and indeed it is very poor and rundown, I would not live in those neighborhoods off of Mc Cart Ave, not even for free, it is a very poor part of town and I would assume mostly Black and Hispanic?

A lot of FW is "rundown and very poor"?! Huh? You drove down McCart and, therefore, think the ENTIRE southwest part of the city is "very poor and rundown"? Talk about generalizing. And the assumption that, because of what you saw, it must be full of blacks and hispanics? Unbelievable.

Yep, the SW part of Fort Worth is so tragically poverty-ridden...that's why most of the finest neighborhoods, country clubs, private schools, high-end shopping and luxury car dealers are on the southwest side of town. Uh huh, that's it.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Improvements: I can say that that Dallas is really trying to improve its image.

Exactly what image is it we're trying to improve?

[unexpected]

Hah, first off, I went driving today, and I couldn't find a single check-cashing place West of Preston in Plano. I'm curious as to where you found one, because it's actually driving me crazy!

Frisco is a newer version of Plano which is a newer version of Richardson, which is a newer version of Garland/Mesquite. There's not really a character to any of the suburbs, it's basically a function of how old you were when you moved to the D/FW area and how wealthy you were when you came.

Also, FYI, there is a wal-mart in Highland Park. There are also Wal-Marts in Connecticut, and even one in White Plains, NY. I'm not quite sure your Wal-Mart theory holds true.

Let's see, Highland Park has a Whole Foods...Plano has that too. Okay, what about Central Market? Oh wait, Plano has the only other one in the North Dallas region.

I think Dallas has to way to go as a big city, but I think you're trying to make dallas into something it's not. Dallas will never be new york or chicago- those cities were established cities that existed long before cars. Dallas really grew after cars, and exploded in the 1950's heyday of cars, hence we have something called roads. When you have a lot of roads, you tend not to have very good public transportation systems and un-walkable cities. See Houston and Los Angeles for other examples of this phenomena

What I see Dallas trying to do now is build walkable enclaves in Uptown, the W, etc. We're never going to have a subway system. Dart is lame simply because not that very many people ride it. In New York, you ride subway tunnels that have existed since WWI. People's lives depend on that system working, which is why it's such a good infrastructure.

In Dallas, we've had light rail since 1995. So you can't compare the two.

I'm glad you liked the airport. Airport Trivia: D/FW airport is the size of the entire island of Manhattan.

Welcome to Texas.

[lukeache]

Hah, first off, I went driving today, and I couldn't find a single check-cashing place West of Preston in Plano. I'm curious as to where you found one, because it's actually driving me crazy!

Well, I saw pawn shops and cash checking places across from Collin Creek Mall-East of 75-K Ave and 15th Street area. Now, I understand that the area must be the poor part of Plano, it is Plano however and I noticed how people tend to make the distinction between West Plano and East Plano. Maybe, it is time to write to the mayor of Plano and separate Plano into East and West, so that you can maintain your upscale status and not worry about the "not so upscale" parts of East Plano.

[m00se]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Well, I saw pawn shops and cash checking places across from Collin Creek Mall-East of 75-K Ave and 15th Street area. Now, I understand that the area must be the poor part of Plano, it is Plano however and I noticed how people tend to make the distinction between West Plano and East Plano. Maybe, it is time to write to the mayor of Plano and separate Plano into East and West, so that you can maintain your upscale status and not worry about the "not so upscale" parts of East Plano.

Lukeache, even the rich areas need a service oriented infrastructure to support it. That infrastructure has to hire the lowly peons, who by the way are glad to work for a honest living. Those peons also deserve a place to cash their checks, etc. if for whatever reason they have no bank accounts. Should they not be able to do so? There is room enough for all levels here, and I am not perturbed by seeing a check cashing business in a strip mall. Just because I don't have need for one doesn't mean someone else doesn't. I supported your posting your very limited experience during your visit but your follow up postings is sounding like you are saying no one below your means should be anywhere near your neighborhood or have the right to do business anywhere near you. Even the "lawn boy" deserve to live. Believe it or not Lukeache, life could suddenly take you for a ride where that check cashing store and pawn shop become a place for your custom. It's not like they've placed a liquor store down the block.

[socketz]

Plano is pretty large (population 270k). It's hard to paint the place with one brush. I've lived here for a year and I couldn't tell you where a check cashing place is or a trailer park.

I still think it's odd how people here continue to create these broad genralizations: All of Plano schools are not excellent, all of Dallas is not over run with crime, all of Mckinney is not over run with foreclosures.

All of these areas are subdivided into multiple sub-communities all with their own characteristics, housing, schools, crime stats, etc.