Someone help kill the naysayers doubts for me! (Houston, Dallas: apartment, houses)

[TX75007]

Two good friends of mine are Jewish and from NYC. One went to Stuy and both went to the same Ivy.

They moved here 15 years ago and now have 4 kids and two SUVs, and even shop at Costco and Wallyworld. One son plays varsity football. They were big city democrats but their views have changed a lot since 9/11, having kids, living in TX, and being with my other Jewish friends, all of whom served in the IDF.

They say they will never move back.

FWIW, my maternal grandfather was Ashkenazim. When his parents came to the US, they took a common Anglo name when they moved to the South. Ironically, he married my maternal grandmother, who was adopted, but her blood parents were Yaakels. Her adopted parents had the same surname which she assumed. Both were more Anglo than Jewish in outlook growing up. They were probably the only two Ashkenazim for hundreds of miles but they met and married. Small world. That makes me 1/2 jew, 1/4 scot, and 1/4 American Indian.

My point in all this is that TX is rapidly becoming one huge melting pot - and this area from OK down to Mexico over to LA and West to NM is extremely rich in many cultures, languages, and ethnic groups. And has been for a very, very long time - going all the way back to prehistory.

This makes TX unique in many respects.

[trc_everything]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

I look at places like the Dallas suburbs or even the Park Cities and I think of the movie Pleasantville. Everyone looks the same, drives the same cars, wears the same clothes. It's ostentatious. And the obsession with guns drives me crazy. And the fact that most of good restaurants are filled solely with Caucasians. And that most people vote Republican. And almost everyone goes to church. I think it's crazy that I have to drive to buy a carton of milk. And that no one delivers food.

Clearly, I have some adjusting to do if I'm going to live in Dallas...

Are these actual observations or thoughts based on pre-conceived notions/media brainwashing?

Have you ever reviewed the political/religous/ethnicity statistics here on CD for Dallas?

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

I look at places like the Dallas suburbs or even the Park Cities and I think of the movie Pleasantville. Everyone looks the same, drives the same cars, wears the same clothes. It's ostentatious. And the obsession with guns drives me crazy. And the fact that most of good restaurants are filled solely with Caucasians. And that most people vote Republican. And almost everyone goes to church. I think it's crazy that I have to drive to buy a carton of milk. And that no one delivers food.

Clearly, I have some adjusting to do if I'm going to live in Dallas...[/color]

And, clearly, you don't know Dallas as well as you think you do either. First off, I love New York (though not to live necessarily). But to say that everyone in Dallas is a gun-toting, church-going, status-obsessed Republican (not that there's anything wrong with that!) is not true. Yes, that's the stereotype that fuels shows like "GCB" but that doesn't make it true.

Without going into whether it's a good or bad thing, Dallas is now a "blue" city that's now majority-minority. Even Dallas County went for Obama by a fairly large margin in 2008.

2008 US Presidential Election Results by County - Texas - USATODAY.com

Granted, once you get outside of Dallas County and into the burbs and exurbs, it gets more conservative but that's true of most cities in America, even New York and LA. And I'm not saying there's not some elements of truth to the plastic stereotype in certain areas of town but I think you get a lot of that in most Sunbelt cities -- LA, South Florida, Phoenix, Atlanta -- where there seems to be a high priority put on outward appearances. But you can pretty easily avoid all of that nonsense if you want as there lots of people who don't care about that.

[Vacation101]

Originally Posted by trc_everything

Are these actual observations or thoughts based on pre-conceived notions/media brainwashing?

Have you ever reviewed the political/religous/ethnicity statistics here on CD for Dallas?

Actual observations based on admittedly small data points.

[Vacation101]

Originally Posted by TrueDat

And, clearly, you don't know Dallas as well as you think you do either. First off, I love New York (though not to live necessarily). But to say that everyone in Dallas is a gun-toting, church-going, status-obsessed Republican (not that there's anything wrong with that!) is not true. Yes, that's the stereotype that fuels shows like "GCB" but that doesn't make it true.

Without going into whether it's a good or bad thing, Dallas is now a "blue" city that's now majority-minority. Even Dallas County went for Obama by a fairly large margin in 2008.

2008 US Presidential Election Results by County - Texas - USATODAY.com

Granted, once you get outside of Dallas County and into the burbs and exurbs, it gets more conservative but that's true of most cities in America, even New York and LA. And I'm not saying there's not some elements of truth to the plastic stereotype in certain areas of town but I think you get a lot of that in most Sunbelt cities -- LA, South Florida, Phoenix, Atlanta -- where there seems to be a high priority put on outward appearances. But you can pretty easily avoid all of that nonsense if you want as there lots of people who don't care about that.

I never said I knew Dallas well. It's my first set of impressions based on a series of house hunting trips. Everyone I met had a gun. Were Christian. And Republican. Just my observation with a limited sample size. Hope I'm wrong but I don't think so... Unfortunately.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

I never said I knew Dallas well. It's my first set of impressions based on a series of house hunting trips. Everyone I met had a gun. Were Christian. And Republican. Just my observation with a limited sample size. Hope I'm wrong but I don't think so... Unfortunately.

You're wrong. Fortunately.

[stilldriveem]

Just come on down darling, everything will be fine! We'll be glad to have ya. Hope you get the job you want.

[Pontificator]

Saw the thread title and thought Lamar Odom was posting. Oops.

[Miss J 74]

Originally Posted by stilldriveem

Just come on down darling, everything will be fine! We'll be glad to have ya. Hope you get the job you want.

Thanks, I just need to start over and the thought of spending another year here in NY makes me want to scream.

[sls8]

I lived in Houston, Dallas, London and NYC. I loved NYC! It's spectacular! NY is the best city in the world. I would say Paris too! But then again, i'm lucky and have $$ to live pretty comfortably. I lived in Manhattan and it was like heaven for me.

Dallas is a good city for a family, but it simply isn't in NYCs level in status or excitement. I honestly felt depressed coming back to Dallas, yearning for the vibe, excitement, sophistication and grand architecture of NYC or Paris. I'm a native Texan too!

But I agree, for the average middle-class family, you will live a more comfortable lifestyle in Dallas than these big expensive NYC-London-Paris type metropolises. They can be difficult. But NYC has many really gorgeous suburbs that nothing in Dallas can compare to so (barring costs), a family could comfortably stay in the area and take advantage of the city.