So, just how beautiful is Dallas, Texas? (Houston, Austin: maintenance, where to live)

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

I disagree with you on this.

Not all lower income neighborhoods have nice parks or creeks, but they are out there.

Wynnewood and Elmwood in North Oak Cliff have some wonderful creeks and trees.
The Cedars, south of downtown, has Old City Park nearby.
The area around Samuell Grand Park is not affluent, but the park is beautiful.
Bachman Lake is not in an affluent part of Dallas.
Reverchon Park, Cole Park, Garrett Park, Tietze Park, Kiest Park, and Greiner Park are among the neighborhood parks that are not in affluent areas of Dallas.

There are many tree lined streets all over the city, not just in affluent areas, that are just pretty. Not drop-dead gorgeous, but they are delightful enough to feed my soul.

I find it sad that either some of you haven't seen the beauty around you or that you can't see the beauty. A woman can be beautiful without being Angelina Jolie. A building can be beautiful without being the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower. A city can be beautiful without being London or Honolulu or Tokyo.

Um....Tietze is in an affluent area.

Bachman Lake is not pretty.

My point stands that affluent areas are much more lush and landscaped and have prettier parks than less affluent areas. A quick and simple drive through Dallas's ghettos will confirm that for you.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Um....Tietze is in an affluent area.

Bachman Lake is not pretty.

My point stands that affluent areas are much more lush and landscaped and have prettier parks than less affluent areas. A quick and simple drive through Dallas's ghettos will confirm that for you.

Tietze wasn't built in an affluent area. I lived in a duplex blocks from Tietze 30 years ago and I sure couldn't afford an affluent place. Nor could the men in the adult literacy class that I taught at the church there.

Bachman Lake is pretty compared to drainage ditches in those ghettos you are talking about. I also lived on the east and west sides of Love Field when my father worked for American. That lake was prettier than our backyards.

I admit, I see beauty all around me. I am truly am sorry that you can only see big and/or expensive as pretty.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

Tietze wasn't built in an affluent area. I lived in a duplex blocks from Tietze 30 years ago and I sure couldn't afford an affluent place. Nor could the men in the adult literacy class that I taught at the church there.

I used to play adult league sports at Tietze, a couple of years ago. Looked affluent to me. That whole area did. The real estate there is certainly out of my price range unless I want to pay almost $400k for a fixer upper or teardown. My own house in that neighborhood would probably be over $500k.

Bachman Lake is pretty compared to drainage ditches in those ghettos you are talking about. I also lived on the east and west sides of Love Field when my father worked for American. That lake was prettier than our backyards.

That's damning it with faint praise. It doesn't help that the area around it is straight-up ghetto.

I admit, I see beauty all around me. I am truly am sorry that you can only see big and/or expensive as pretty.

That isn't what I said at all. Please go back and re-read my post. I prefer natural beauty to Dallas's lipstick-on-a-pig beauty. Sure, some parks and landscapes are very pretty...but they are all fake, and most are high-maintenance. They must be created because Dallas's own landscape is so flat and dull, and the city itself is ugly.

Feel free to disagree. Doesn't matter to me either way; we're all entitled to our opinions.

[Lakewooder]

I was at Samuell Grand/Tenison recently and I had forgotten how beautiful it can be - it's hilly, has many natural trees/small creeks and borders White Rock Creek. There is a wide view hilltop view out to the south and east. When we were teenagers we would go to a certain parking lot where we could view July 4th fireworks to the south (Fair Park) and to the west (Lakewood Country Club). If we got a good snowfall we would take skis to the golf courses - much less crowded than Flag Pole Hill.

Fair Park is another example of a beautiful park in a poorer area. I attended a wedding at the garden center there recently and the school prom was held at the Hall of State. Both were gorgeous venues. The view of downtown at the end of the Esplanade from the steps of the Hall of State is one of my favorites.

Yes Teitze is quite affluent now, but was not considered so back in the 70s and 80s and certainly before. There are quite a number of improvements at the park since the area became more affluent but it was a nice park prior to that with a fantastic rock pavillion.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I was at Samuell Grand/Tenison recently and I had forgotten how beautiful it can be - it's hilly, has many natural trees/small creeks and borders White Rock Creek. There is a wide view hilltop view out to the south and east. When we were teenagers we would go to a certain parking lot where we could view July 4th fireworks to the south (Fair Park) and to the west (Lakewood Country Club).

Fair Park is another example of a beautiful park in a poorer area. I attended a wedding at the o garden center there recently and the school prom was held at the Hall of State. Both were gorgeous venues. The view of downtown at the end of the Esplanade from the steps of the Hall of State is one of my favorites.

Yes Teitze is quite affluent now, but was not considered so back in the 70s and 80s and certainly before. There are quite a number of improvements at the park since the area became more affluent but it was a nice park prior to that.

This isn't the 70s-80s though. It's 2013, and the area is now affluent.

As for Tietze...the park could be maintained better than it currently is. When I played there, the poor condition of the fields led to injuries. You also had to slather yourself in DEET to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes. The parking lot was full of broken glass.

I don't think Dallas spends enough on its parks, but that's another discussion for another thread!

[Lakewooder]

Well there are still people I am sure you would consider 'ghetto' playing pick-up basketball games there...oftentimes next to apparent yuppies playing tennis and young professionals playing kickball. That's what I love about East Dallas.


Tietze Park History - FRIENDS OF TIETZE PARK FOUNDATION - this is a bit dated, the discussed Phase 2 has been finished: Phase 2 Plan - FRIENDS OF TIETZE PARK FOUNDATION

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Well there are still people I am sure you would consider 'ghetto' playing pick-up basketball games there...oftentimes next to apparent yuppies playing tennis and young professionals playing kickball. That's what I love about East Dallas.

Don't pick a fight with me by accusing me of being racist because I am criticizing the conditions of a park where I have seen people so seriously injured that they had to be taken away in an ambulance.

Do.
Not.
Go.
There.



I just lost a lot of respect for you.

I played just as often at Moss near Five Points; the condition of that park was far better; the parking sucked but most of us parked across the street at Conrad High. Note that I didn't criticize that park specifically, despite it being much closer to the ghetto than Tietze.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Well there are still people I am sure you would consider 'ghetto' playing pick-up basketball games there...oftentimes next to apparent yuppies playing tennis and young professionals playing kickball. That's what I love about East Dallas.


Tietze Park History - FRIENDS OF TIETZE PARK FOUNDATION - this is a bit dated, the discussed Phase 2 has been finished: Phase 2 Plan - FRIENDS OF TIETZE PARK FOUNDATION

Im sorry, but youre full of it. You stereotype people who live in the suburbs into a certain mindset and then get all pompus when someone doesnt think like you do. Who is the one being closed minded?

[Lakewooder]

Sorry I went out of bounds there, I apologize. I guess I got a little irritated - Geek has some strong opinions which rubbed me the wrong way. I was going to edit since I was a little hot-headed and I came back to my computer and I had not done so. I should not have used that word..I was trying to describe the eclectic nature of the area. Let us just say there are some people who are not affluent who use that park. In the neighborhood adjoining there are some longtime residents who are not well off and some who rent in small aparments and duplexes nearby...I think you can say there are affluent residents in the area with all the new home construction plus those who live on the M-Streets but there are still quite a few others who are not. So not completely affluent...

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Sorry I went out of bounds there, I apologize. I guess I got a little irritated - Geek has some strong opinions which rubbed me the wrong way. I was going to edit since I was a little hot-headed and I came back to my computer and I had not done so. I should not have used that word..I was trying to describe the eclectic nature of the area. Let us just say there are some people who are not affluent who use that park. In the neighborhood adjoining there are some longtime residents who are not well off and some who rent in small aparments and duplexes nearby...I think you can say there are affluent residents in the area with all the new home construction plus those who live on the M-Streets but there are still quite a few others who are not. So not completely affluent...

C'mon people - you've all been on this board long enough that LW's job is to be the lofty-urban centric! It's supposed to be all in good fun. Jeez, cantcha take a joke?

Perhaps all that fresh suburban air is affecting your brains!