Dallas VS. Chicago (Irving, Spring, Henderson: condo, hotels, townhome)

[jer2911]

Anyone who out here who has lived in both Dallas and Chicago??

If so, are they alike in any ways?
For example, can you get around Dallas without a car like you can in Chicago?
Can you answer on a scale from 1-10? 1 being no, 10 being yes.

Chicago has a great public trans system (buses, trains, taxies, sidewalks). Is Dallas anything like that? Please answer 1-10 again.

Is Dallas broken up into smaller neighborhoods/communities with in its city limits? For example, Chicago has Boys Town, Wicker Park, the Gold Coast, Wrigleyville, Roscoe Village, etc., etc.?

Does Dallas have a Michigan Ave type area? An area with lots of restaurants, hotels, parks, shopping, etc. ,etc?

Thanks!

[FarNorthDallas]

It's best to have a car in Dallas.

[Dallas native]

I've never lived in Chicago, but I've visited many times. Since not too many people have responded thus far, I'll give you my opinions anyway. The two cities are not all that similar, but what's the point of moving if you want the same environment? Chicago has a great urban vibe but it has long, hideous winters. Dallas is a mildly urban city with mostly pleasant weather for 10 months of the year and two extremely hot months. Both places have a very upscale & sophisticated vibe.

As for your specific questions:

Getting around Dallas sans car: 3. By September that would be a 4 (more DART rail lines open then).

Public transit: 3. (Same as above. Dallas does give good sidewalk though.)

Diversity of 'hoods: 10. Yes, Dallas is a city of neighborhoods. Your Halsted = our Cedar Springs. Your Gold Coast would be most similar to our Uptown. We also have other close-in areas with their own personalities such as Oak Lawn, Knox-Henderson, E. Dallas, N. Oak Cliff (check out Winnetka Hts. for prairie style architecture on streets named after Chicago suburbs).

Michigan Ave. area: It's all here, but not as centralized. Uptown has lots of upscale restaurant, retail, office & residential. But, it's not on one big grand avenue. Dallas has all the same posh retail as Chicago, but it is in multiple locations such as Stanley Korshak in Uptown, Neiman Marcus downtown, Highland Park Village and at Northpark Center. Great restaurants abound throughout the inner-city. The Dallas Arts District in downtown has been growing for 25 years and by this Fall it will be almost complete. Here's a preview of two of the venues: http://www.dallasperformingarts.org/

I've mostly lived in Dallas and NYC and I love both. Chicago is also very appealing, but I can't tolerate the cold weather. If you are considering a move to Dallas, by all means please come and visit. BTW, many people on this forum say "Dallas" when they are actually referring to their experiences in some far-flung suburb. If you are looking for an urban environment, you will need to learn to distinguish between the comments of people who actually mean Dallas (city of) and those refer to their experiences in suburbia. As with Chicagoland, there is a huge difference.

[rosscountry]

I have lived in both. They are very different. Weather, cost of living, traffic,, etc etc etc...What are you looking for in a city? It may be easier for everyone to give you feedback based on that.

[akaistha]

We recently moved from Chicagoland to Dallas in August 2008. I used to live in Old Irving neighbourhood prior to becoming a sub-urbanite. Chicago is better than Dallas on all counts that you are looking for other than diversity. People will say uptown is like Gold coast but that is an under-statement and in my opinion nothing in Dallas comes close to Michigan Avenue.

However there is more to Dallas, Dallas is definitely much more friendly....actually great people who go out of there way to be helpful , tons of outdoor activities along with weather to support them, great school districts in the burbs and some schools in the city, better traffic than Edens or 294 or 90 or 290 at anytime of the day, cost of living etc. You want to have family then you want to be in Dallas. If you are single and want to enjoy night life, lake and shopping then stay put in Chicago. For us Dallas is home now. Amit

[jer2911]

Thanks for all your opinions guys!
We have a young family, and I like Chicago, but I hate the cold. I want a warm Chicago. HALOL!
We love walking. I'd rather not live in my car all the time if I don't have to. However, I don't dislike driving. I just don't like living in burbs where all you can do is drive to and from the store, etc. I'd like to be able to walk out of our sub-division and actually get somewhere on a sidewalk if I want, you know what I mean? Dallas seems to have great neighborhoods with sidewalks. It seems like almost all of them have sidewalks from my google mapping adventures LOL!

[cityconvo]

Some of the best single family neighborhoods that put you in walking distance to shops in Dallas are Vickery Place, Junius Heights, and Cochran Heights on the north side of town and Winnetka Heights, Kidd Springs, and Kings Hwy District on the south side.

If you want or are willing to go townhome/condo then your options would expand to include Uptown, Downtown, and Oak Lawn just to name a few.


Junius Heights Neighborhood

Vickery Place Neigborhood Association

Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association

I will second some of the point made above in that the two cities are really not that much alike at all especially concerning Michigan Avenue.

[jer2911]

Oh thanks for these links cityconvo!!

[KK2007]

My parents are originally from Chicago (born and raised). They moved down here quite a while ago, but always tell me how different they are. I have been to Chicago numerous times since my family lives there, so I'll answer based on my own experiences and my parent's experiences.

The public transportation around Dallas is nothing like Chicago. Everyone has a car. We have a public transportation system, but people rarely use it. Dallas' public transportation is about a 3 (0 being the lowest). It's there, but it's not really easy to use like CTA.
Taxies are rarely seen unless you are at a hotel, airport, etc. You usually have to call one to find one.

I don't think Dallas has anything quite comparable to Michigan Avenue. They have lots of nice shopping centers, but you don't get the same feeling as Michigan Ave. For example, there may be lots of stores, but there are not a bunch of hotels nearby.

[jer2911]

No one uses the public tran.? Maybe I'll ask in a new thread and see if their are any users out there.