Dallas vs. Houston (Austin, Fort Worth, Plano: insurance, condo, crime)

[Panam]

Greetings folks,
For those of you who have been down to Houston, what do you say are some the differences between the two cities for good or for bad. Feel free to mention anything on your mind...

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by Panam

Greetings folks,
For those of you who have been down to Houston, what do you say are some the differences between the two cities for good or for bad. Feel free to mention anything on your mind...

I have been to both, to me I felt like dallas (really Plano-Frisco) was nicer and the people were just SO nice there! I loved it and cant wait to move!

Houston was ok, more humid but just not as welcoming and friendly IMO

[Brittnw]

I live in Houston and I'm possibly moving to Dallas in a few months..but I've been to Dallas a few times. The thing that would probably be the most noticable about the difference is that Dallas is cleaner than Houston in the long run..and less humid. I haven't really spent too much time in Dallas to tell you anything else about it. What I do know is that the majority though of the people I -know- in Houston absolutely hate Dallas. I'm NOT saying everyone in Houston hates Dallas but I just know a lot of people do..I have no clue what the people in Dallas think of Houston. It's really weird. As for Houston though I think it's a great city it just depends where you live and what you like etc. For me I live close to downtown right by everything in the Montrose/River Oaks area..where it is very cultural and artsy with a lot of gay people in Montrose and in River Oaks it's a bunch of old money rich people(even though things are starting to change a little around there..new houses instead of just really old nice houses). In Montrose there are a bunch of cute old bungalow cottage type houses with new townhomes as well. I'm just a couple blocks away from some of the greatest coffee shops and cafes, it's great. We also have GREAT restaurants. Any kind of food we have..including awesome texmex. The Museum District is really great as well. We also have a lot of suburbs..outside the city of houston..which I personally can't stand. The Houston Metro is our public transportation and it's probably the worst..always road construction..with lots of traffic.. but if you live inside the loop not much traffic unless close to the Galleria which is right outside the loop. Most importantly I think the people are great here..it's such a big city but people are really friendly,almost like a small town in a weird way..but that could just be a Texas thing not only Houston. Hope this helps some! If you have any more questions about Houston feel free to ask.

[AK123]

They are actually quite similar, being very large cities in Texas, but...

-- The climate: Dallas is more dry, gets hotter in summer, colder in winter, and can have drought and water shortage issues. Houston is more humid, but the temps are more moderate (escaped the ice storm Dallas and Austin got), and triple digit temps in summer are uncommon.
-- The scenery: Dallas is a prairie setting, there are some areas with large trees but nothing like Houston. In Houston there are trees everywhere and it is a much greener city (except where they've been mowed over for roads, construction etc)... tall pines, huge oaks, magnolias, and many, many others. The grass is usually green, you can grow almost anything, and droughts are uncommon.
Dallas has some man-made lakes. Houston has numerous creeks and bayous, lakes, and easy access to the beach. Water recreation is much more common because of the Bay Area, Galveston, etc.
-- IMO, Houston has a beautiful skyline and architecture, while I think that of Dallas is kind of ugly and bland. Though Dallas has zoning while Houston does not, which cuts down on some of the ugliness you'll see up close.
-- Many people from Dallas don't like Houston and the other way around; the Dallas people generally have some weird opinions (negative) about Houston (greatly overemphasize the industrial aspect of Houston and generalize the blue-collar east side of town to the entire city), while Houston people think Dallas is rather barren (in landscape) and resent the Dallas peoples' weird, negative opinions about Houston.
-- Houston's a little more culturally and ethnically diverse than Dallas.
In Texas, the culture of Dallas leans toward 'dress to impress', Austin is extremely laid-back, and Houston is in between the two.

As far as jobs, arts/culture, etc... they're going to be very similar in both cities.

[dallas,texas]

Dallas is a great city. Exciting weather(that is not always good), the people are nice, it has stuff to do, there are great houses there. I LOVE dallas. too many people give it a bad name, but the downtown is great, and there is some great things to do in it.

Houston is humid, WAY to industrial for me. all the oil and everything. The nearby ocean(galveston) is not too nice, and there is lots of oil leaks. THe people are not as nice, its too buisnessy. It has a nice downtown, but Dallas does also. I do not love Houston, but that is only MY opinion.

I prefer Dallas, but not everyone does

[midwestmom]

I'm having a tough time deciding between the 2 myself. From what I've read/heard Houston has a lot more opportunities to make a better income (comparatively, and COL on salary dot com shows we'd do better in Houston). I'm confused about the crime, the people who've lived in each city say there are really safe areas but when I look up the crime stats for the "good" areas the personal crime indexes are high especially compared to where we live now. I'm not sure which is more accurate. It seems like public transit is a better/more established in DFW, maybe because Houston is more spread out so people tend to drive more often? I haven't been to either city so this is all 2nd hand info. Both have a lot to offer - I wish I could visit both cities first but that isn't an option. I've seen great neighborhoods both places but there is that contradiction between what people say and what the stats show.

[Synopsis]

Dallas has my vote, but I live in the area so my opinion is a little biased. Houston is way too humid for me and although it get's hotter in Dallas, it feels hotter in Houston because of the humidity. I'm also into some semblance of seasons, and Houston just doesn't have much of a variety. As for pretty, the DFW area has plenty of beauty. See my post on Rickel Park in Hurst with pictures in the Fort Worth forum; we've got plenty of trees.

[socketz]

Go to Houston, then go to Dallas and the Metroplex.

Come back and tell me which one you like better. Yes, Houston has alot more trees and water, but...

For me, there is no contest between the 2.

However, that area outside of Houston called 'Woodland Hills' is VERY nice...but as you get closer to Houston....well, you decide for yourself.

Dallas vs. Austin could be a flip of the coin, but Houston wouldn't make my short list.

[amhi007]

Hello everyone!
I am new member and have found everyone's comments quite interesting!

I am a native Houstonian, BUT have been living in Dallas since 1989. Once I left home in 1984 to attend college I knew that I would never move back even though I still have some family there.

I find Dallas to be better in many ways. The environment is cleaner, better suburbs, but things to do in the Dallas area are fun too.

To anyone moving here from out of state I suggest doing your research and lots of it. There are plenty of websites that tell about the demographics for most suburban areas if that's what you are looking for. Also, job hunting can be very challenging unless you are in a specialized field such as healthcare where their is high demand.

Expect to pay more for auto and home insurance and property taxes here in Texas. Both are highly populated cities and so that means more losses and higher rates for consumers on insurance (l am a licensed property and casualty agent).

Overall, I really don't miss Houston as a city to live in. Just that my mom still lives there so I get homesick for her really.

[jekutz]

I grew up in Dallas and then after I got married we moved to Houston for my husbands job. I promised I would never love it or for that matter even somewhat like it! As far as I was concerned Dallas was home and Houston was this hot, sticky, humid mess of a place. We moved in July and I honestly thought we would die. Yes we were used to 100+ temps in Dallas but the humidity was downright unbearable. That being said October rolled around and the city started growing on me. We started out in "condo land" near the medical center and then several years later moved to Pearland (a suburb about 15 miles South of Houston). For a city I never wanted to like I fell in love with it! We lived there 10 years and would go back in a heartbeat!
We honestly never thought much more about the summer's after that. I won't say you ever get used to the humidity, but you don't get used to the 100+ temps in Dallas either and if you are for milder winters Houston is perfect from about November to March. They get the occasional snow and sleet, but never more than a day or two of the stuff.

It is a melting pot of cultures, lots of art and history, fun quirky places to go hang out, resteraunts everywhere and every kind, close to the beach (although not that big of an attraction) and very family friendly.
If you like suburbs rather than in the city type living The Woodlands and Conroe both North of Houston are beautiful with tons of trees and great communities (but would be a bit of a commute to Houston although I have friends that do it) and then you have some great communities south of Houston (Pearland, Friendswood, Kemah, Clear Lake and even some parts of Sugarland).

Then there is closer to downtown. Montrose (really cute place to live with so much to do), University Park (near Rice University but expensive), Bellaire and several other little city like places within the city.

All in all a great town. We miss it lots! We are in Los Angeles right now once again for my husbands job but set to move back to Dallas in June. He got a great job there and all our family is still there. It will be 12 years since we have lived in Dallas and looking forward to being back, but we will definitely be hitting the road several times a year for our Houston fix

I have finally come to the conclusion you can't go wrong with either city. There are pros and cons to both