Contemplating moving to DFW area...three questions... (Houston, Dallas: 2014, hotels)

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by Hacker1234

Summers in Texas are not humid at all, unless a storm rolls in. Mostly a dry heat

Winters are very mild, but every now and then it gets really cold with snow and ice.

Yes don't listen to this. If you're coming from a warm Coastal Region, Dallas will not feel very humid. I remember moving back from Lubbock and the summers in Dallas felt so terrible because I had become accustomed to the dry weather. LA on the whole will be more humid than Dallas, but don't expect a drastic difference.

[Hacker1234]

There is a noticeable difference in the humidity when a storm rolls in. But when there is no storm I don't ever notice the humidity.

Now iv been to places where is it very humid and you can notice it as soon as you get off the plane.

I grew up in California, and I dont remember it being humid ever. Unless you count the fog.

[bencronin04]

That's probably because you're used to it. When I lived in Dallas growing up, I never really noticed. Moved to Lubbock for a few years than back, and man could I tell then.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by bencronin04

That's probably because you're used to it. When I lived in Dallas growing up, I never really noticed. Moved to Lubbock for a few years than back, and man could I tell then.

Yes but Lubbock is more or less high desert (+3,000 ft. and less than 20 inches of rain) I guess technically it's more like high semi-arid Southern Plains.

[Marv101]

I'd definitely agree that Phoenix is dry heat as opposed to what a large part of Texas experiences every summer, although I don't know if the humidity covers all of Texas as well as the entire Deep South (defined here as anywhere south and east of Memphis) every summer, or if the weather is drier in the western half of the state.


My first major vacation in 1974 included flying to San Antonio, Houston & Denver that July (I didn't know any better!!), and Denver's weather was very comfortable as opposed to the humidity I encountered in Texas, since it was breezy with modest humidity throughout my 4-5 night stay.

Denver would also be on my shortlist except for the fact that the COL there has exploded in recent years, and I'm not sure I could handle their winter weather.

[Lacajun76]

Where in LA are you coming from? Do you want the same neighborhood feel as you have there? I live near Addison and enjoy it. Lots of restaurants,bars, and retail in the area. I don't know about indie theatres, since, I never get out much anymore. Addison is close to major highways, both free and toll, and is 10-25 minutes from museums, downtown, Bishop Arts, Deep Ellum, White Rock Lake, DFW, Love Field.

Weather wise, there is more heat and humidity in Dallas than LA. The winters will be in the 30s to 50s with some days/weeks that can be really cold, but not bad overall.

[TrueDat]

I'm from LA and Dallas will feel hotter and more humid to you, especially if you're used to living on LA's west side and not in the Valley or the deserts. And the heat can last a longer time -- three summers ago we had 70 days of 100+ degrees in a row. That doesn't happen in LA. Still, Dallas isn't Phoenix where those types of heat streaks are a given every year. Some summers have far fewer 100-degree days. And don't forget the big thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, usually in the spring, and the couple of blasts of ice each winter -- things you don't have think much about in LA.

Also, one note on the arthouse theaters. Landmark, which operates the Inwood, has pretty much transitioned it into a mainstream theater (not counting the midnight movies on weekends). Right now it's showing 'The Judge' (mainstream) and 'The Book of Life' (mainstream) and 'The Skeleton Twins' (kinda arthouse).

The movies that are more off-the-beaten path are more likely to play the Angelikas (Dallas and Plano), The Texas (in Oak Cliff), the Magnolia, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Also, there are tons of film festivals here every year. The Lone Star Film Festival kicks off next week in Fort Worth. The Dallas International Film Festival and the USA Film Festival land in the spring. In between, there are smaller festivals like the Asian Film Festival of Dallas and Arab Film Festival Texas. If you can make it down to Austin, there's the massive South by Southwest film festival (spring), one of the top film fests in the country, and the Austin Film Festival (fall).

The Village is a good recommendation in terms of a place to live, at least when you first get there and getting your bearings. There are lots of newcomers who move to the Village. Granted, most of them may be a lot younger than you are but I can't imagine that will be a drawback. It's centrally located and close to the Angelika while the Magnolia is not too far away either.

[Marv101]

I live about 4 miles west of DTLA near the 'Miracle Mile', and really humid days are very rare here, even when the temperatures go over 90 or 100, definitely unlike Texas or Florida in the summer

Related question--is the humidity in DFW any worse or better than it is in either Houston or the Austin/San Antonio area?

Thunderstorms are a rarity here as well, and when they do arrive, they don't last very long at all.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Phoenix is a dry heat. Denver is a dry heat. Compared to those two places, Dallas is a sauna. It may not be quite as humid as the Gulf Coast or the Eastern Seaboard but it's still sultry. Hell, the Koppen Climate classification for Dallas is humid subtropical.

Relative humidity in DFW is regularly above 50% in the summer and the heat index is almost always higher than the ambient temperature. That's not dry.

Yea but Koppen takes continuous average relative humidity readings over the course of each year. It's way better to look at summer J-A morning and afternoon readings - most everyday Dallas is humid in the AM and much drier by noon and into the early evening, as are most cities in The US. Using this metric Dallas (82% AM and 44%PM) is drier than Madison, Nashville, Columbus, Syracuse, Lincoln, Lansing and about 100 other cities. Dallas has better dew point metrics than many other cities as well.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by TrueDat

I'm from LA and Dallas will feel hotter and more humid to you, especially if you're used to living on LA's west side and not in the Valley or the deserts. And the heat can last a longer time -- three summers ago we had 70 days of 100+ degrees in a row. That doesn't happen in LA. Still, Dallas isn't Phoenix where those types of heat streaks are a given every year. Some summers have far fewer 100-degree days. And don't forget the big thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, usually in the spring, and the couple of blasts of ice each winter -- things you don't have think much about in LA.

Also, one note on the arthouse theaters. Landmark, which operates the Inwood, has pretty much transitioned it into a mainstream theater (not counting the midnight movies on weekends). Right now it's showing 'The Judge' (mainstream) and 'The Book of Life' (mainstream) and 'The Skeleton Twins' (kinda arthouse).

The movies that are more off-the-beaten path are more likely to play the Angelikas (Dallas and Plano), The Texas (in Oak Cliff), the Magnolia, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Also, there are tons of film festivals here every year. The Lone Star Film Festival kicks off next week in Fort Worth. The Dallas International Film Festival and the USA Film Festival land in the spring. In between, there are smaller festivals like the Asian Film Festival of Dallas and Arab Film Festival Texas. If you can make it down to Austin, there's the massive South by Southwest film festival (spring), one of the top film fests in the country, and the Austin Film Festival (fall).

The Village is a good recommendation in terms of a place to live, at least when you first get there and getting your bearings. There are lots of newcomers who move to the Village. Granted, most of them may be a lot younger than you are but I can't imagine that will be a drawback. It's centrally located and close to the Angelika while the Magnolia is not too far away either.

To be precise in 2011 DFW recorded 71 days of 100 highs all year not 70 days in a row. The average number of 100 degree days is 18. I think we had 6 this year and at least a couple years we've had 0 100 degree days and 1 or 2 a good number of years.