Dallas vs. Houston (San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth: to buy, college, allergy)

[GoPadge]

Last year Houston population gains were close to 30K more than ATL's and 10K more than Metroplex. From http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ost700893.html

Your number for Dallas was a bit off, but Houston's growth was higher. I did question you source since the trend I found favored Dallas. (But it was admittedly for 1990 - 2000.)

I got my stats from here http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...b07-51tbl2.pdf (broken link) , and i was talking about changes from 2000-2006, From http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ost742919.html

You changed tactics from last year to this decade so far. But you did provide a link to data.

it looks like your stat of N. Texas adding more than 240k more that Houston is based on REGIONAL numbers rather than metro areas. From http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ost742929.html

You, rightfully, challenged the data I mentioned showing Dallas leading Houston for the 1990 - 2000 period, since the geographically area for Dallas was different from the US Census Metro Statistical Area (MSA). I calculated the population for the counties that were not listed in the Dallas and Houston MSA's. There were ~9,000 more people in Dallas than in Houston that were included in the first set of statistics I posted. I'll add that I didn't calculate the 1990 population figures to provide a hard count of the population growth for Dallas and Houston. But even with every person in the additional counties being counted as growth in the NCTCOG data that aren't in the Dallas MSA, Dallas would still have a larger net gain over Houston.

check the stats, lets see if im talking out of my butt, lol. From http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ost742959.html

I did. You were correct for last year, though trend wise, you would be wrong going back to at least 1990.

you got too much time, lol, I dont know if you were trying to prove me wrong? From http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ost755075.html

You offered the challenge.

Originally Posted by NewYorkcapitaloftheworld

You can have the 15 or so thousands more people that dallas gained over the past six years, but you know that trend can change, if it actually matters. 300k or 400k more people that Dallas has does not make a difference at all. You got to remember that six million people yall have is spread over 3 very large cities, while in Houston the 5.6 million we have is spread over and around ONE city. First of all Houston is a coastal city which alone puts it way ahead of DFW. The most important cities in the world are coastal cities or are linked to the ocean in some way, New York, LA, Chicago(Great Lakes, access to ocean), London, Tokyo, Sydney ...etc. Dallas people always like to talk about their airport and how much busier it is, well Houston HAS A PORT! 6th largest in the world! The foreign cars you drive in dallas come from Houston. For some reason Dallas people love to brag about the population advantage, when they them selves know its not really important. Dallas is important in IT, but houston is the capital of an entire industry! energy capital of the world. I'm sorry I had to rant, but I just get annoyed when people have to put numbers in EXCEL and post em just to prove Dallas is slightly bigger, lol, i just dont understand it.

Certainly trends can change. But for the past 15 years Dallas has been gaining more people than Houston. Houston and Dallas received boosts in population from Katrina evacuees. I don't know how those numbers play into these population figures.

I'm not sure it's relevant, or helps your argument, that Houston is a port city. Yes, there is a lot of trade through port cities. (That's just the results of physics. If air supported as much weight as water, being near the coast wouldn't matter.) You are somewhat off in that my foreign cars didn't come from Houston, but instead came through it. (Well my VW was made in Mexico, so I guess it could have been trucked up, but I see you point.) If being a port city is so important, and Houston has one of the busiest ports in the world. Then how is it better for Houston, when Dallas doesn't have a port, is bigger, and is growing faster? I mean, if having a port is such a plus, than to accurately compare the cities shouldn't we calculate the impact the port has and subtract that population from Houston? But wouldn't that make Dallas look better? It seems that by you statement that one of the reasons that Houston has grown to it's current size is because of the port. So if Dallas doesn't have a port to boost the economy, what's the draw?

I really don't care about the argument over which is better. My job is here. I'm not leaving Dallas for Houston. My only concern is accuracy in information. You made a claim, I challenged it, you were right for the time frame mentioned that Houston's growth was greater than Dallas'. Long term, however, the data supports Dallas has having the greater growth.

By the way for those of you looking at coastal cities vs landlocked cities, check out this link. http://www.citypopulation.de/World.html

[Lakewooder]

We may fight on our Dallas board, but nobody can beat GoPadge on his statistics!

Plus I lived in Houston and never really liked it...;(

[DivaHouston]

TRUTH ABOUT DALLAS, I KNOW PERSONALLY, LIVED IN BOTH CITIES....

Dallas really does not have all that much to offer. The downtown area is great to look at from a distance, but nothing to do once you get in the city. Traffic is a bear. How many different types of restaurants can you come up with? The city should really work on its cultural scene. The museums are placed in a dying area of town called Fair Park. Not a safe place at all.

Nothing is centrally located, you must drive for 30-45 minutes between attractions or activities. While it's all fine and dandy that Dallas has a mega-mall every mile, what else is there to do??? The zoo is drab and placed in the worse part of town, down town itself is a ghost town, the West End is a bore, etc...

The city should truly focus on cleaning up its image, revitalize down town, let go of the shopping mall idea, structure its city government and centrally locate the major events and attractions. Truly sad to say that Dallas does not have any plans on doing any of the previous, but they will build a new mega-mall for you tomorrow!!!

HOUSTON......

Everything in Houston is centrally located, whereas Dallas is not.

It's literally like an LA or NYC no exaggeration. There is always something to do. Always! Lots of events hosted. Mostly all areas are diverse. Inside 610 Loop is very upscale (Galleria, River Oaks, Rice University, West University, Memorial Park) and is the heart of the city.

Inside Loop 610 area (central part of city):

1. Lots of Hospitals (World famous)
2. Houston Zoo
3. Science Museum
4. Houston Art Museum
5. Childrens' Museum
6. Rice University (very beautiful area)
7. The Womens Hospital
8. The Reliant Stadium (Rodeo, Concerts, Monster Truck Rallys, etc....held there)
9. Astro-dome
10. Downtown is about 5-10 minutes away
11. River Oaks (very affluent area, mansion homes, lots of restaurants)
12. Rice Village (lots of cool shopping, hangouts)
13. Galleria Mall (has a huge Indoor Ice Rink & famous name brand stores) is about 15-20 minutes away from Med. Center
14. Lot's of historical Churches in the area down Fannin.
15. Lot's of traffic
16. Also home of the historical Warwick Hotel.
17. Lot's of construction going on over in the Medical Center now on the streets....(causes alot of delays and confusion getting to your destination)
18. Home of the Light Rail (Train that stretches through that particular part of Houston into Downtown.)
19. Medical Center is about 30 minutes away from both airports;
20. Uptown Park (shopping upscale across from Galleria)
21. Highland Village (upscale shopping)
22. Toyota Center (home to Houston Rockets, downtown, IH 59 N)
23. Minute Maid Park (beautiful, downtown location, Houston Astros)
24. West University (affluent neighborhood, across from Rice area)
25. Midtown (trendy, shops and boutiques)
26. Montrose (artsy vibe, young crowd)
YOU GET ALL OF THIS IN THE HEART OF THE CITY, NOT WAY OUT IN THE BURBS FAR FROM THE CITY LIKE DALLAS....WHICH DON'T HAVE HALF OF THESE.

Affluent Burb Neighborhoods:::::River Oaks (oldest), Champions, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Friendswood, ClearLake

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by DivaHouston

20. Uptown Park (shopping upscale across from Galleria)
21. Highland Village (upscale shopping)

Well now, we do have to keep it honest. Uptown Park is really nice (Highland Park is hideous) but not exactly higher end upscale (with exception of maybe the Tootsies). For higher end shopping in Houston you're going to have to go to the Galleria unfortunately. Hopefully, one day that won't be true.

[momof2dfw]

Well I hate to let you know that Dallas DOES indeed have plenty of those very attractions INSIDE the loop.

1. Lots of Hospitals (World famous)
Dallas has plenty of famous hospitals too. Our Childrens Medical is voted one of the top in the nation. Parkland named one of the top trauma hosptials in the nation. And plenty more.
2. Houston Zoo Dallas Zoo
3. Science MuseumWe have Science Museum, maybe you missed it. We also have a Womens' Museum and an African-American Museum.
4. Houston Art Museum Dallas Museum of Art
5. Childrens' Museum Yep, that too over at Fair Park. Several museums in one area. FYI, it is NOT dying nor is it "dangerous" to go to Fair Park. Oh yes, it is SOOOO dangerous that every school day 100's of kids in the suburbs are loaded up on buses and taken there to see the museums, lol.
6. Rice University (very beautiful area) Southern Methodist Univ.
7. The Womens Hospital We do have the Margot Perot Hospital at Presby Dallas.
8. The Reliant Stadium (Rodeo, Concerts, Monster Truck Rallys, etc....held there) Reunion Arena - still has a few concerts and other events like Monster Truck Pulls. Smirnoff Music Centre - outdoor ampitheater that has many big name concerts. American Airlines Center - home of the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars and hosts of many concerts.
9. Astro-dome What goes on there now?
10. Downtown is about 5-10 minutes away ? From where?
11. River Oaks (very affluent area, mansion homes, lots of restaurants)The Park Cities: Highland Park and University Park
12. Rice Village (lots of cool shopping, hangouts) Snider Plaza, Preston Center, Victory Park Plaza, McKinney Ave, Knox-Henderson, gosh so many
13. Galleria Mall (has a huge Indoor Ice Rink & famous name brand stores) is about 15-20 minutes away from Med. Center Galleria Mall w/an indoor ice rink, Nordstrom's, and other high end retailers and coming soon a American Girl store. Five minutes from Medical City Dallas and Childrens Medical and 15 from many other top hospitals.
14. Lot's of historical Churches in the area down Fannin. First Baptist Dallas and many others. One very old historic church was recently moved to a new location in order to preserve it.
15. Lot's of trafficHouston does have us beat there as their traffic is a LOT more than ours.
16. Also home of the historical Warwick Hotel.The Mansion
17. Lot's of construction going on over in the Medical Center now on the streets....(causes alot of delays and confusion getting to your destination)
18. Home of the Light Rail (Train that stretches through that particular part of Houston into Downtown.)The area around Parkland, Southwest Medical Center, Zale Liphsy Hospital, Scottish Rite and St Paul has a lot of construction going on right now. But we have a light rail that goes from downtown to points all across Dallas to many of the suburbs.
19. Medical Center is about 30 minutes away from both airports;Ours is about 10 minutes in heavy traffic from Love Field and 20 from DFW.
20. Uptown Park (shopping upscale across from Galleria)Sakowitz Village - a few blocks from the Galleria
21. Highland Village (upscale shopping)Highland Park Village
22. Toyota Center (home to Houston Rockets, downtown, IH 59 N)American Airlines Center - home of the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars. Oh yeah, we have an NHL team. downtown in the new Victory Park area and next to the new W Hotel and residences and home of the Ghost Bar.
23. Minute Maid Park (beautiful, downtown location, Houston Astros)So the Rangers play in Arlington, woo-hoo, 15-20 minutes away from downtown.
24. West University (affluent neighborhood, across from Rice area)Park Cites and Turtle Creek
25. Midtown (trendy, shops and boutiques)Uptown
26. Montrose (artsy vibe, young crowd)McKinney Ave, Uptown, Knox-Henderson, Lower Greenville
27. The Dallas Arboretum on the shores of White Rock Lake. Beautiful grounds w/ the DeGolyer Mansion.
28. Dallas World Aquarium. Kids LOVE going here and seeing soooo many different animals. The closest thing to it near Houston is in Galveston at Moody Gardens. Here it is in the West End district downtown.
29. Dallas Stars Ice Hockey team. Major league hockey team that has one the Stanley Cup. Dallas also hosted the NHL All-Star Game this past season.

YOU GET ALL OF THIS IN THE HEART OF THE CITY, NOT WAY OUT IN THE BURBS FAR FROM THE CITY LIKE DALLAS....WHICH DON'T HAVE HALF OF THESE.
Hmmm, ALL of these except the Rangers are INSIDE the City Limits of DALLAS with most being inside the LBJ loop.

Affluent Burb Neighborhoods:::::River Oaks (oldest), Champions, The
Woodlands, Kingwood, Friendswood, ClearLake
Highland Park, University Park, Turtle Creek, Lakewood, White Rock Lake, Buffalo Creek, The Shores, Southlake, Firewheel, Preston Hollow, Preston Trails, Willow Bend, Glen Eagles and many more.

Geez, can we not drop this. BOTH cities have perks and some great advantages. They are both alike in MANY areas that appeal to everyone. Why does one have to reign supreme over the other? I've never in my life seen so much petty bs over something like this. As a matter of fact whenever anyone has the polls about which city would you pick if Dallas or Ft Worth are not on there and Houston is, I'll take Houston anyday over a city in any other state. Some like living in the Houston area better some don't, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!!! Thank goodness.

[Lakewooder]

I see you also have ' a lot ' of excess apostrophes down there...

[mpope409]

Don't think I ever mentioned this, but if there's one thing that I like more about Dallas, it's their cooler air in the winter (snow sometimes)...(snow that sticks). Maybe that's just because I was born up north in the middle of winter and even though I've grown accustomed to it, I've never really been a humid, coastal person. So even though I'll always think Houston is better, if Dallas had more trees, it could possibly become a serious choice for a future move (yeah I know, but I love trees). I don't want to leave Texas, but I would rather live in Chicago or New York before Dallas.

[SouthDallas40]

Excellent post momof2dfw!

[Lakewooder]

Dallas has trees - the outlying areas don't. Also there are large parts of Houston which don't have the nice large pine trees.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Dallas has trees - the outlying areas don't. Also there are large parts of Houston which don't have the nice large pine trees.

No I'm not talking about those large bushes you see in Dallas, lol, I'm talking about real trees. Forests. And as far as those pineless areas of Houston, they exist, but I live in an area covered in pine.