Is Dallas ugly? (San Antonio, Austin, Garland: transplants, credit, home)

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by ise_66

HI

I am planning to move from Milwaukee, WI to Dallas and am used to seeing green trees and going out for walks etc in the Summer. Also I can go to short weekend trips to Chicago and WI dells.
How is Dallas comparable. I have a wife and 2 kids....in elementary school. What kind of family fun places/things are there?
I am told that Dallas is insipid, colorless, boring, dull and concrete place. Is that true?

Dallas is just another American city with all the good and all the bad typical of American cities. To answer your questions:

Green trees and walks in the summer: Green trees gets a plus in D. Trees stay green longer in DFW than up north. DFW is not located in a forest however, it's located on the great plains so tree density and height is sparser. Walks in the summer is very doable, but DFW is not a "walking city" place by design. I see lots of people taking walks around their neighborhoods, but this is not a city flush with walkable destinations like Manhattan or Boston, so don't expect that. What is nice though is I've come to conclude DFW probably is a nice place for biking though. And as far as walking in the summer - well yeah, but you have to alter your calendar here a bit. The northern states summer begins here in April and lasts through June then resumes in September and lasts through November. Autumn, winter, Spring all fit between December and March, and then TX has its own unique season in July/Aug which for lack of better term I will call Inferno. It may not be nice but at least we don't have to shovel it. Anyways, to make a long story short, you have more time for nice summer walks among shorter sparser but still green trees.

I can go to short weekend trips to Chicago and WI dells: Well Chicago is a little farther from here but I was there just a few weeks ago myself. I just saw RT airfare for $183. Dunno what Wisconsin dells are.

Fun family stuff: Museums - not the Louvre, but ok, I love the Dallas zoo, Six Flags lots of waterparks, pools and baby pools, lots of McDonalds with great playlands, four professional sports teams, NASCAR, parades, lakes, the Texas State Fair, concerts, fairs, and if that's not enough South Padre, cruises from Galveston, and Mexico are a short flight/drive away. DFW is excellent for family fun.

insipid: Sorta. A whole lot of the suburban construction around here is cheaply built cookie cutter disneyish stuff, but most of America suffers the same malaise I think. Cookie cutter neighborhoods and Mcmansions are not so specifically a scourge of Dallas as they are a scourge of the 21st century. OTOH, although Mcmansions may not outlast the Roman aquaducts, they do serve their original owners very well at a truly reasonable price. Plus the fake plasticness of DFW is kinda an illusion. It's really just new so of course it's looks a bit unnatural.

colorless: The grass does turn a dreary yellow brown here during the dry seasons - summer and winter. The summer part kinda sucks, but better moderate weather & brown grass in the winter than than the mess of a northern winter!

boring, No not really. There's plenty of stuff to do here and easy access to much more.

dull: Nope, see above.

concrete: Many of the big highways are definitely come across to me as bleak concrete tombs incarcerating us all in rolling sarcophagi. Some aren't so bad, but most are. On major thoroughfares you will find spots which are vast concrete deserts, but they are usually interspersed with green spots. And then there are quite a few greener ways to travel. But the neighborhoods are removed from the highways and they are all very suburban in character.

Now to answer your original question - is Dallas ugly? Well I have never been to any city anywhere that doesn't have its ugly sections. A lot of the area around Irving is pretty gross, MLK Blvd is pretty nasty, the strips malls everywhere are just blah and there is more corrugated steel buildings around here than anywhere else I've ever been. DFW does get failing grades with me for urban planning, but it is a young city and I foresee that changing. And as sure as DFW has its share of blight, it certainly has its pluses too. DFW is a helluva lot cleaner than the old world, and it also has a lot less urban decay. It certainly has some fabulous neighborhoods with the sad caveat that for the most part you can't go there. Walling up your nice neighborhoods hides the best parts of a city so whereas the ugliness is left in plain sight, the beauty is hidden. It's a shame.

Dallas is not among the beautiful cities of the world. It doesn't benefit from a glorious natural environment like San Fran. But it's a break even for most places in the US. It lacks great architecture, urban design, and natural beauty. It's clean, does have nice neighborhoods, and plenty of family amenities. Aesthetically, it's not the worst but it's not the best.

Now that I've given you such a fabulous answer, I have to wonder whether with your rather blunt question if you really cared to know or you were just trying to berate DFW and offend the residents.

[**NoodLes**]

Just like any other city, Dallas has some real nice areas and some real ugly hoods. The biggest surprise for you I think will be how close the ugly hoods are next to the nicer areas. You can literally have $350,000 townhomes right across the street from $50,000 condos. I find it interesting.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by ise_66

Is it true that DIsney is coming near Dallas?

I hope not!

Is it true that Sea world is in San Antonio?

There is a Sea World in San Antonio, yes.

[FarNorthDallas]

The "Disney near Frisco" rumor has been around while and there is even some recent litigation about it. I guess someone bought some land under the assumption that Disney was coming and Disney claims they are not.

There are some areas of DFW that are prettier than others. I was recenty in a neighborhood in Fairview - River Oaks I think it was called - and it was heavily wooded and hilly. Bring your big checkbook.

Weekend driving trips - Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Texas beaches, Turner Falls, OK, Oklahoma City, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Shrevport, LA (casinos), there are also casinos along the Oklahoma border, Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. Further away - Kansas City is about a 7 hour drive. Colorado is a popular TX destination, New Mexico, Big Bend, TX, Memphis.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ise_66

Thanks for the info. The pics are lovely and they convey that Dallas is not beutiful and nature is not the strong point but there are some good things also.
What about weekend trips etc? What can we do as a family for some outings. Is it true that DIsney is coming near Dallas? Is it true that Sea world is in San Antonio?

iknow this has been answered but I will add to it, no Disney in the plans for Dallas at this time as far as I know, Yes, Sea world and lots of other great stuff in San Antonio, it is a great week-end trip with the family. Houston offers some great places as well and there are lakes and beaches all over Texas. Galveston is just a 45 min drive from Houston, Dallas metro has lakes that are great for family entertainment plus there are some neat resort areas out toward Tyler, TX. These are just the high spots.

I personally think, for a major city you couldn't find a better place to raise a family.
Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

The "Disney near Frisco" rumor has been around while and there is even some recent litigation about it. I guess someone bought some land under the assumption that Disney was coming and Disney claims they are not.

There are some areas of DFW that are prettier than others. I was recenty in a neighborhood in Fairview - River Oaks I think it was called - and it was heavily wooded and hilly. Bring your big checkbook.

Weekend driving trips - Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Texas beaches, Turner Falls, OK, Oklahoma City, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Shrevport, LA (casinos), there are also casinos along the Oklahoma border, Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. Further away - Kansas City is about a 7 hour drive. Colorado is a popular TX destination, New Mexico, Big Bend, TX, Memphis.

Farnorth, don't want to get into an argument, but Kansas City, 7 hours? How fast do you drive? We live in NWA, about 2 1/2 hours from KC and we are 6 hours from Dallas. We have tried every way there is to cut it down to less than 6, just can't be done. Not even our granddaughter who thinks that cars can go as fast as planes has figured out a way to cut the drive down. BTW, we actually drive a little north of Dallas.

[FarNorthDallas]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Farnorth, don't want to get into an argument, but Kansas City, 7 hours? How fast do you drive? We live in NWA, about 2 1/2 hours from KC and we are 6 hours from Dallas. We have tried every way there is to cut it down to less than 6, just can't be done. Not even our granddaughter who thinks that cars can go as fast as planes has figured out a way to cut the drive down. BTW, we actually drive a little north of Dallas.

I could have sworn I did it in 7 hours last summer. Maybe it was 8 hours - 3 between Dallas and OKC and then 4 hours between OKC and KC. It's a tollway in Kansas. Google maps says it's 8 hours.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

I could have sworn I did it in 7 hours last summer. Maybe it was 8 hours - 3 between Dallas and OKC and then 4 hours between OKC and KC. It's a tollway in Kansas. Google maps says it's 8 hours.

thinks that is closer to right, yes, you would take the tollway from OKC to KC. We go up 35 through OKC to get here as well. There is a little closer route, through McAllister Ok, but god is it boring, plus even with the 121 improvements it is still a pain in the A## to get from there to the Lewisville, Flower Mound area.

Nita

[pepper131]

You can't really compare the area you are coming from to Dallas - it's so different. I'm from Michigan - the summers are much greener up north. But...when my family visits here in the winter months, they are impressed with what is still green; especially into March when trees start flowering.

[eastdallasson]

i'm still unconvinced that the prairies in north texas are ugly. I personally love the countryside around dallas. Its not densely green...but so what? Its open and rolling with a huge sky. you can be outside nearly the entire year without a jacket or even thinking about a jacket; i'm in new jersey now and when i have to bundle up to make a five minute walk in april it infuriates me! the city of dallas has plenty of trees, some gorgeous neighborhoods old and new. have an open mind to the differences and i don't think you will be disappointed but know what you are coming to and what you are leaving.