Is Dallas ugly? (San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth: city hall, hotel, house)

[emylie]

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?

You can take a walk , but there is nobody in the street (it scares me)!
I am not used to Dallas and I will not.....

[eastdallasson]

where in dallas do you live that walking the streets is scary? Dallas is actually more walkable then people give it credit for (in the city at least) people just decide not to walk. Its not that you CANT walk to the store, restaurant, bar, etc. its just that people decide a 1 minute drive makes more sense than a 5 minute walk...even the transplants who get to complain about it all the time

[ise_66]

Hi Bostonioan08;

I would never mean to offend Dallas residents by posing the question. It is an honest question to try and understand Dallas. I have visited it only once and was greatly impressed by it including the airport and the roads. I have heard a lot about Dallas and seen some pics also. But Alas I was there for only a long weekend (had to get back to work) and as you know big cities need lots of time to even understand.
Milwaukee is beautiful and heaven like in Summers but in Winter it is nasty and the sumemrs are like 4 months. Dallas I am told and read has a milder weather as such then parts of South and Texas.
I am also in high tech computer engineering and Dallas has good background in those areas and hence the question and interest.

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by ise_66

Hi Bostonioan08;

I would never mean to offend Dallas residents by posing the question. It is an honest question to try and understand Dallas. I have visited it only once and was greatly impressed by it including the airport and the roads. I have heard a lot about Dallas and seen some pics also. But Alas I was there for only a long weekend (had to get back to work) and as you know big cities need lots of time to even understand.
Milwaukee is beautiful and heaven like in Summers but in Winter it is nasty and the sumemrs are like 4 months. Dallas I am told and read has a milder weather as such then parts of South and Texas.
I am also in high tech computer engineering and Dallas has good background in those areas and hence the question and interest.

Very good! Understand we do get a lot of trolls on our forum who only intend to be provocative. And sometimes we find after a long and detailed answer to a question we find they never even bother to come back and read what we write so --- anyways, cool.

I have heard good things about Milwaukee too BTW. I hope my post helps you with your big decision.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by ise_66

Hi Bostonioan08;

I would never mean to offend Dallas residents by posing the question. It is an honest question to try and understand Dallas. I have visited it only once and was greatly impressed by it including the airport and the roads. I have heard a lot about Dallas and seen some pics also. But Alas I was there for only a long weekend (had to get back to work) and as you know big cities need lots of time to even understand.
Milwaukee is beautiful and heaven like in Summers but in Winter it is nasty and the sumemrs are like 4 months. Dallas I am told and read has a milder weather as such then parts of South and Texas.
I am also in high tech computer engineering and Dallas has good background in those areas and hence the question and interest.

I've always heard that Milwaukee is a rather dirty, working-class town typical of the Midwest. Am I mistaken?

Dallas is not the most beautiful city in Texas, even (Austin or San Antonio) but most neighborhoods have trees and sidewalks and may neighborhoods are gorgeous.

Winter here can get nasty for us, but for us that means 32 degrees with a little ice and cold wind. We don't bat an eye at consecutive days of 100 degree weather. Dallas' winter is colder than most of Texas, and the summer is slightly cooler and less humid. But I wouldn't use the term "mild" to describe our weather in the slightest.

[DaveG99]

no

[pepper131]

Dallas is mild when you lived in the north and had to deal with sub-feezing temps for weeks and gray clouds for weeks.

At least in Dallas, we can have quite a few bright sunny days in the middle of winter and temps hovering around 50 on most days.
10 degrees with a wind chill below zero is quite miserable...and in Milwaukee...don't you get "lake effect" in the winter? That just makes it 10 times worse.

[stan4]

Depends on where you live. Where I live, there are small, rolling hills with TONS of open green space, trees, golf course, water...20 minutes from downtown.

[Ketabcha]

One of the myths that are passed around about Dallas is that it is not green.

Dallas is in northeast Texas. East Texas, among other parts of the state, is very green. There are lots of trees. Lots of green space. The further east you go the more trees you will find. I've always thought of Dallas as a lovely city. Of course, there are some not-so-pretty sections but generally speaking Dallas is pretty. It is also very clean.

Depending on what part of the city you live in, there are walking trails, bike trails and parks.

Dallas also has some very fine museums and the music scene is wonderful.

We do have seasons, too. But they are not as pronounced as those found up north. We get snow every few years. It gets hot in north Texas. I've lived in many states but Texas is always home.

[momof2dfw]

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?

Huh? Just like ANY and ALL cities Dallas has icky parts and beautiful parts. Even though some consider San Francisco to be more "natural beauty" the hills are covered in concrete and structures so the only "natural beauty" is the water in the distance and the few parks scattered about w/ trees and grass. NYC is a concrete jungle as well. A city has to have a lot of "concrete" to even be ranked a "city".

There ARE natural beautiful areas that are green all during the summer, with varying degrees of topography and such. You just have to go where the masses in the suburbs don't go. Look in areas like around White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum, Bluffview, around the Spring Creek Forest Preserve in Richardson/Garland and even out in Parker. TONS of grass, green trees, rock formations, hills, etc.

NO! Disney is NOT coming to ANYWHERE in North Texas. Gosh, if it were true from the time the first rumor started that they were "already under construction" they would be open by now.

In the Dallas area we do have Six Flags and then NUMEROUS water parks: NRH2O, Hawaiian Falls (Garland & The Colony), Bahama Beach, Hurricane Harbor (across from Six Flags), Wet Zone and MANY more.

Austin and San Antonio are only 4-5 hours away. In San Antonio you have Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. If you want to experience the Hill Country first class then check out Hyatt Hill Country or Hyatt Lost Pines. Another nice one a wee bit closer is in Glen Rose. There are also tons of other areas within a 4-7 hour drive IN Texas to go to and see plenty of nature, beauty and have tons to do. There are plenty of lakes close by as well. You will find that a lot of natives to the area have a second home either out in the country or on a lake. You can be as close as an hour away from a "second home" or 4 hours depending on what your looking for. I think your going to be REALLY surprised to see actually how green it is here and how much natural beauty there is. If you want to see ALL of what Texas has to offer it can take several years to experience it. Call the state or get online and get a Texas Travel Guide (free). You can go all the way from Palo Duro Canyon up in the panhandle near Amarillo to the Big Bend area in West Texas to the Big Thicket in East Texas and not even come close to experiencing it all.

With two kids that are elementary age if they are involved and active you will have PLENTY to do. Youth sports is big here and there is no lack of any kind of sport for any age from young to old.

Originally Posted by 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.

I too love the countryside outside of Dallas and the burbs. I don't think it is ugly at all.

I HATE wearing a coat. I like it that most of the winter here all I need is maybe a light sweater or jacket.