Walkable areas, culture, and pretentiousness

[JoeSiczpak]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

So you're going to disrespect the rest of us by trying to game the system. No one likes jury duty but some of us do understand civic responsibility.

BUSTED Pious Prius.

[turnitupthatsmyjam]

My husband and I moved from Austin to Dallas in February. Like you, we were TERRIFIED of moving to Dallas, yet somehow intrigued enough to keep asking questions.

It's definitely a different vibe than we are used to. But guess what? In some ways it's better!

Dallas is a very DIVERSE city, so it isn't aggressively progressive in the Prius/NPR/performance clothing way that many traditionally progressive cities are. But you will see progressive bumper stickers on the back of hybrids. You will find bike riders and artists and bohemian people around. Mostly at Half Price books and Central Market, but they are around.

I love standing in line at the grocery store next to people of all shades and backgrounds. People in Dallas proper are VERY laid back. The nice thing about it is when you do meet people of a similar vein, it means more, because we are a bit of a minority. Not so much a minority that it's lonely though. There is a difference. As an educated white person with a lot of privilege in my life I view it as a growth opportunity.


The hardest transition for us has been the religious element. We are not remotely religious and Austin is full of infidels. Dallas not so much. But Dallas is Christian in a big city way, not a small town way. For example, people in Dallas will casually mention praying for you, but they don't tend to care about homosexuality. It was odd at first but I've gotten used to it and it's just people being nice. We may join the UU church here because since church culture is more prominent here, we feel like that might be the missing link to find community.

Neighborhoods to look at: Lake Highlands, Casa Linda, Lakewood, Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts, Kessler Park, & Winnetka Heights.


Best of luck to you in your search! I hope you find your tribe, wherever you land.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by turnitupthatsmyjam

My husband and I moved from Austin to Dallas in February. Like you, we were TERRIFIED of moving to Dallas, yet somehow intrigued enough to keep asking questions.

It's definitely a different vibe than we are used to. But guess what? In some ways it's better!

Dallas is a very DIVERSE city, so it isn't aggressively progressive in the Prius/NPR/performance clothing way that many traditionally progressive cities are. But you will see progressive bumper stickers on the back of hybrids. You will find bike riders and artists and bohemian people around. Mostly at Half Price books and Central Market, but they are around.

I love standing in line at the grocery store next to people of all shades and backgrounds. People in Dallas proper are VERY laid back. The nice thing about it is when you do meet people of a similar vein, it means more, because we are a bit of a minority. Not so much a minority that it's lonely though. There is a difference. As an educated white person with a lot of privilege in my life I view it as a growth opportunity.


The hardest transition for us has been the religious element. We are not remotely religious and Austin is full of infidels. Dallas not so much. But Dallas is Christian in a big city way, not a small town way. For example, people in Dallas will casually mention praying for you, but they don't tend to care about homosexuality. It was odd at first but I've gotten used to it and it's just people being nice. We may join the UU church here because since church culture is more prominent here, we feel like that might be the missing link to find community.

Neighborhoods to look at: Lake Highlands, Casa Linda, Lakewood, Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts, Kessler Park, & Winnetka Heights.


Best of luck to you in your search! I hope you find your tribe, wherever you land.

If you're talking about the UU church in Highland Park, I know a couple of people who go there. I went with them one time. Most of the people at that service seemed like affluent aging white hippies. It wasn't very diverse, but I think that had more to do with its location than anything else. The place was plastered with posters for progressive causes.

UU is basically church for people who don't like religion.

[J800]

I constantly see comments claiming Dallas is a "diverse" city, and I have to respectfully disagree.

While Dallas may be diverse on paper, you will not see many "real" hipsters/artsy types in Uptown, and definitely not many minorities.

This subject is often swept under the table.

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by J800

I constantly see comments claiming Dallas is a "diverse" city, and I have to respectfully disagree.

While Dallas may be diverse on paper, you will not see many "real" hipsters/artsy types in Uptown, and definitely not many minorities.

This subject is often swept under the table.

I was not aware that Uptown (which is relatively tiny) was a measuring stick for diversity in a city with over a million people. However, I would point out that uptown is adjacent to Oak Lawn which is loaded with gay minorities. Yesterday I was at a restaurant in Oaklawn (off of Lemon) and the place was packed with gay couples/groups of all nationalities. I was kinda proud of our fine city. (and I love good people watching).

[barnabasc]

Lakewood likes to pride itself on being unpretentious, but there are some newer people who seem a bit so. The good news is they usually leave for the more pretentious areas after giving it a try in East Dallas I think Lakewood would be a good candidate for your quest.

[photostoresheila]

Originally Posted by J800

I constantly see comments claiming Dallas is a "diverse" city, and I have to respectfully disagree.

While Dallas may be diverse on paper, you will not see many "real" hipsters/artsy types in Uptown, and definitely not many minorities.

This subject is often swept under the table.

Hmmm, was out walking my dog yesterday evening and saw at least 3 or 4 African-American couples walking about, a Hispanic family eating outside of one of the restaurants on McKinney and two 60+ couples leaving Albertsons. In fact after I finished walking my dog, I popped back out again to Albertsons and in line in front of me was a middle-aged Asian couple and when I walked out there was a Hispanic couple with two young kids waiting their turn for the RedBox. I notice these things because I was warned when I moved here that Uptown was all white twenty-somethings but I've been surprised at the diversity I've encountered here.

[kidicarus89]

Originally Posted by J800

I constantly see comments claiming Dallas is a "diverse" city, and I have to respectfully disagree.

While Dallas may be diverse on paper, you will not see many "real" hipsters/artsy types in Uptown, and definitely not many minorities.

This subject is often swept under the table.

Hmm, I would say that culturally Uptown is very homogenous - mostly white collar, single/without kids, late 20s to early 40s conservative looking types, but ethnically there was tons of diversity when I'd hang out around West Village and the surrounding area.

[Leopard3]

Houston Heights actually sounds like a perfect fit for you!