What's the name of entire metro area? (Dallas, Fort Worth: university, live)

[ajhno]

Hi, I am looking to opening a satellite branch of a business and want to know how to address the entire DFW area by name. For example, if I sell widgets, would "Dallas Widgets" be deemed as incomplete since the entire area is Dallas-Ft. Worth? Don't people in Ft. Worth hate Dallas? Would they feel left out?

Which of these are used (and don't sound odd to those who live there) and which are just terms outsiders use:
Dallas
Dallas-Ft. Worth
DFW
Metroplex
North Texas

Any others? I want to start registering web addresses, etc., but don't want to do something that will make me sound like I'm clueless (even if I am ).

Thanks!

[aceplace]

I think the term "North Texas" would describe the region and not offend anyone. The term "Metroplex" used to be the favorite, but it seems to be dying out, at least in the local media.

"Dallas-Ft Worth" may have been offensive to Fort Worth, because they may want to precede, not follow, Dallas, as in Fort Worth-Dallas. It seems silly, but why offend even a small number of people?

[Canine*Castle]

Crowded!! I'm just kidding. I still refer to it as the metroplex for the most part although to people who haven't a clue what that is, I say the Dallas-Fort Worth area. To cover it all, I would say Dallas-Fort Worth. You could be really different and say Fort Worth-Dallas. People shouldn't care which one is listed first.

[FarNorthDallas]

I say DFW. The word Metroplex makes some people mad for some reason.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by ajhno

Hi, I am looking to opening a satellite branch of a business and want to know how to address the entire DFW area by name. For example, if I sell widgets, would "Dallas Widgets" be deemed as incomplete since the entire area is Dallas-Ft. Worth? Don't people in Ft. Worth hate Dallas? Would they feel left out?

Which of these are used (and don't sound odd to those who live there) and which are just terms outsiders use:
Dallas
Dallas-Ft. Worth
DFW
Metroplex
North Texas

The official name of the area as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau is quite long - "Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area".

I agree with Canine*Castle that "Dallas-Fort Worth" or "DFW" are the best and most common terms used when describing the area. I still use "Metroplex", but it seems to be more a localized term. The area known as "North Texas" includes all of DFW and outlying areas such as Sherman-Denison, Corsicana, Mineral Wells, and Stephenville. To someone in another country, using "Dallas" to describe the whole area is more acceptable since it is one of the largest cities in the country. It isn't as helpful at the national or local level because of Fort Worth's size and notability. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a total of 6.15 million people, 2.03 million of which are considered part of the Fort Worth metro division, so you definitely don't want to exclude such a large number of people.

[blueskies49]

I still hear Metroplex quite often. In fact, I just heard it in a couple of local commercials the other day. But one term that I've been hearing more of lately is "North Texas". Like the pp says, it includes a larger area than just the "metroplex" or "DFW" since the suburbs are growing pretty fast outward in all directions including toward Sherman-Denison and other areas.

[dogblitz]

dfw...for sure... most hate metroplex... DFW says it all.

[ricwil]

There are many large suburbs around Dallas and Fort Worth so I would suggest North Texas to include them all with offending anyone.

[ctrres]

"Fort Worth/Dallas" actually used to be used by either (or both if I recall) KTVT Channel 11 and WBAP TV Channel 5 in the late 60s, early 70s. KTVT because it was in Ft. Worth. I always assumed WBAP was too.If the potential business were to use that, it would only connote a Ft. Worth location. Otherwise "D/FW" isn't likely to ruffle feathers either way; it's really sort of neutral, not least because its alpha. But ya never know."D/FW" wouldn't cause people in Hillsboro or Sherman to say "Aw, I ain't going there! It says D/FW. That name sounds exclusive." (It wouldn't wash as well if the sign on the roof said that on a Main St. outlet maybe. Because it's not D/FW.)"North Texas..." would work if the name was right. Otherwise it sounds a little overwrought, unless that would help sell products or you're a university or a state agency.There's always "Texas... ." "Metroplex" works if the place is inside D/FW because it also sounds established, like it's been there awhile, like for years. It was foisted onto the locals in the 60s by a hired ad/marketing agency. So people from that point on just said okay, whatever, and we wished the local television didn't use it so much already because it sounded kind of stupid when they did it.

[Metro Matt]

D/FW & be sure to put the slash

Metroplex sounds so 80's