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I did answer you in my last reply and in fact suggested you move here. it was aceplace that can't seem to keep on topic and went off the handle and attacked others.
Cupcake thanks for all your comments they have been very helpful!
LOL you claim to live in Dallas yet you don't see how it is far more progressive than Austin? OMG. That is just sad. You need to get out of your house more often and take a drive downtown. And don't say "OMG the people of Austin voted against the traditional marriage amendment. That makes them non-traditional". Nobody cares about that. I've yet to hear or read about a horde of Texas gay dudes whining and griping about gay marriage. They just don't give a flart about it. Plain and simple.
That college is not everybody's paradise. Also they don't touch some of the other Texas universities when it comes to music programs. It can't be everything to everyone.
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Originally Posted by theloneranger
I cannot fathom what would cause you to hate Austin so much and to spout nonsensical garbage about it on such a regular basis.
I am a Dallasite, and Dallas will always be home to me, but you are simply flat out wrong if you say that Dallas is more progressive or less "traditional, stupid, and backwards" than Austin. It just is not the case in the real world. Dallas is absolutely more traditional than Austin under any definition of the word. I don't know what part of Austin you've experienced, but it isn't the one that the rest of the 1.5 million people in the Austin area and the other 25 million Texans have experienced.
As for UT, obviously I'm a little biased, but I don't know anyone who says UT is overrated. The US News rankings penalize their fairly inclusive admissions practices for the university as a whole, but it's ranking by the academics they interview is in the top 25, and almost every single program they offer and that anyone ranks is in the top 25. There isn't a better university in the nation for Accounting or Petroleum Engineering or for many other business and engineering disciplines. Southern Methodist and UT-Dallas do not have the reputation or program offerings that UT does, and for you to claim otherwise is just flat out wrong. The University is an elite public university in the nation, in the ranks of UVA, Cal, UNC, UCLA, and Michigan. I don't know why your Austin hatred also extends to the University of Texas, but it's patently preposterous to try to claim that any university in the state other than Rice is better regarded.
LOL you claim to live in Dallas yet you don't see how it is far more progressive than Austin? OMG. That is just sad. You need to get out of your house more often and take a drive downtown. And don't say "OMG the people of Austin voted against prop 8. That makes them non-traditional". Nobody cares about prop 8. I've yet to hear or read about a horde of Texas gay dudes whining and griping about gay marriage. They just don't give a flart about it. Plain and simple.
I don't know why you are sticking up for UT. It's not everybody's paradise. Also they don't touch some of the other Texas universities when it comes to music programs. UT can't be everything to everyone.
I do get out in Dallas and socioeconomically the class divide in Dallas is even greater than in Austin--the divide is just a north/south one rather than a west/east one. No one in Austin voted for Prop 8. Prop 8 was in California. However, the fact that Dallas County can vote for a lesbian sheriff at the same time as banning gay marriage tells you something about how progressive we are--we accept you for who you are but we aren't going to let you change our traditions. Travis County voted in favor of that proposal. The Austin City Council held a public memorial service for a transgendered homeless person. If that ever happens in Dallas I expect the earth to end soon after. I don't think homosexual issues is the only definition of progressive, yet you do. We get it, the gayborhood in Dallas is bigger than Austin's. However, there are six times as many people in DFW as in Austin and the area as a whole is far less accepting of homosexuality than Austin. Dallas is a great town but it is not a progressive paradise, PARTICULARLY when compared to Austin. Have you ever noticed that you're just about the only person who ever says that Austin is not a progressive city by Texas standards--maybe you should actually listen to what the rest of the world thinks because they're usually right.
And I'm sticking up for UT because it's an excellent institution and the things you are saying about it are not only wrong, they're borderline libellous. There is not a comparable university to UT in Dallas, and in fact the recent legislative session had a big part in increasing funding to UTD to perhaps make them equal. However, as of right now they aren't. I know UT is not the best university in the country academically, but it is one of the nation's elite public universities. I will agree that there are a few schools with better music programs, such as UNT, but on the whole the only university in Texas that can claim that it's better than UT is Rice, and the two schools are so vastly different that it's difficult to compare them. However, your attitude toward the University is just plain incomprehensible. I understand you don't like Austin very much, though I can't understand why very well, but that doesn't give you the right to disparage the state's flagship university for no particular reason and with no factual backing whatsoever.
I forgot the name! It is called the Defense of Marriage Act. I don't remember reading or hearing about Texas gay men being too bothered by that act. It isn't preventing them from having sex. That's what really matters to them.
You don't need factual backing to criticize a college. Opinions or judgments are completely legitimate, legal, and non-libelous. A non-athletic music major will most likely have a much higher opinion of UNT yet possibly view (in their opinion) UT At Austin as overrated or no good for them. That is why I said it's not everybody's paradise in spite of their rankings. The fact is that the average drop out rate is around 50% for college. I'm not sure what UT's drop out rates are, but if it was an unusually amazing college then the drop out rate would be 10%.
I don't even care that much about gay issues or democrat vs. conservative politics in the city. Texas is a traditional state. Most of the States in the US are traditional. You can't escape traditionalism even in liberal states like California or New York. So you will not really get it in Austin. If you're a liberal gay your best bet is Canada where religion is on the down low and gay marriage is legal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theloneranger
I do get out in Dallas and socioeconomically the class divide in Dallas is even greater than in Austin--the divide is just a north/south one rather than a west/east one. No one in Austin voted for Prop 8. Prop 8 was in California. However, the fact that Dallas County can vote for a lesbian sheriff at the same time as banning gay marriage tells you something about how progressive we are--we accept you for who you are but we aren't going to let you change our traditions. Travis County voted in favor of that proposal. The Austin City Council held a public memorial service for a transgendered homeless person. If that ever happens in Dallas I expect the earth to end soon after. I don't think homosexual issues is the only definition of progressive, yet you do. We get it, the gayborhood in Dallas is bigger than Austin's. However, there are six times as many people in DFW as in Austin and the area as a whole is far less accepting of homosexuality than Austin. Dallas is a great town but it is not a progressive paradise, PARTICULARLY when compared to Austin. Have you ever noticed that you're just about the only person who ever says that Austin is not a progressive city by Texas standards--maybe you should actually listen to what the rest of the world thinks because they're usually right.
And I'm sticking up for UT because it's an excellent institution and the things you are saying about it are not only wrong, they're borderline libellous. There is not a comparable university to UT in Dallas, and in fact the recent legislative session had a big part in increasing funding to UTD to perhaps make them equal. However, as of right now they aren't. I know UT is not the best university in the country academically, but it is one of the nation's elite public universities. I will agree that there are a few schools with better music programs, such as UNT, but on the whole the only university in Texas that can claim that it's better than UT is Rice, and the two schools are so vastly different that it's difficult to compare them. However, your attitude toward the University is just plain incomprehensible. I understand you don't like Austin very much, though I can't understand why very well, but that doesn't give you the right to disparage the state's flagship university for no particular reason and with no factual backing whatsoever.
I'm neither religious nor conservative and still love living in Dallas. I moved here 11 years ago from Europe for a job and consider it one of the best things that ever happened to me. Dallas can come across ugly (especially, if you drive from DFW to the city - the first impression is a treeless barren landscape) but if you invest some time exploring the area, you'll be surprised how visually diverse and pretty it is (endless HOA subdivisions, prairie, forests, high-rises, huge lakes, quirky small neat homes, southern mansions, shopping from small markets to 80-style megamalls to modern town centers). Keep in mind that the "spectacular affordable homes" are typically far out on former prairie land (which I believe is the reason why people think Dallas doesn't have trees. It doesn't if you consider the northern plains Dallas).
I like it here because I can afford to live a debt free life working for a international corporation and owning a house without a mortgage in the city on a big lot with lots of trees and a creek. Life is convenient and good. Dallas has all the amenities that make life easy and while it is lacking spectacular topography (I lived in a country with what some consider the best alpine landscape for a few decades. been there - done that. Nice to look at but ultimately not that important for daily life), it offers enough outdoor activities for me. I also like the weather but I don't mind the heat. In fact, I love the heat and the sun!
Those are my sentiments also, Galore.
The Dallas I live in is a very large urban area with just about every urbane amenity, cultural expression and economic opportunity. And you raise a good point about the sheer variety of topography. Much of the DFW area is in fact former grassland, much of it is heavily wooded lake areas, and the portion I live in in Denton county is part of a long, narrow natural forest called the Cross Timbers... forest so thick that it separated warring Indian tribes and kept the peace between them.
No one judges cities by mountain topography, however. With just a few exceptions such as Rio De Janiero or San Francisco, cities are places of urban excitement or utility, rather than mountain playgrounds. The Bavarian city of Munich does not have the Bavarian Alps in the city, but it is a charming city nevertheless. Paris and London do not have mountains in the city limit, nor does Chicago, nor does Dallas.
Last Saturday, I attended a huge festival in Dallas' Fair Park, a former world's fair site, with many entertainments, open museums, lots of people, and an evening concert and fireworks show in a huge, recently refurbished stadium. Mostly I enjoyed the human interaction. There are similar, albeit smaller, festivals on the weekends throughout the warm weather months, many opportunities to get out on weekends.
One unusual thing about Dallas, unusual for a Sunbelt city, is its urban core. Quite frankly, I am excited about being in a region with tall buildings and urban landscapes. I like the extension of the core called Uptown, I like to ride the old trolley cars along McKinney Avenue, and I like the walkable character of the place.
I've already developed my opinions about the Dallas economy, how it relates to the Blue-Red state ideological divide, so I won't amplify them further. I'm not that political myself, but I appreciate the favorable economic consequences, something like the difference between East and West Germany in the 1980s. I prefer rich cities to poor ones.
I'm convinced that the massive growth that DFW has experienced is not a coincidence, but is a legitimate indicator of the relative value that the people of the USA place on Dallas. People balance Dallas' shortcomings against its assets, and they conclude, on balance, that North Texas is the place to be.
I did answer you in my last reply and in fact suggested you move here. it was aceplace that can't seem to keep on topic and went off the handle and attacked others.
Cupcake, you are the one who crossed the line and demeaned me personally. You said "You are an embaressment to Texas and Texans I have met, who are intelligent and have class.".
I, on the other hand, made only generalized statements about political ideology, and how it distinguishes Sunbelt areas such as DFW from places dominated by the Ideological Left, such as Portland, Seattle and the SF Bay Area.
Personal attacks are a violation of terms of service and are reportable to the moderator.
Cupcake, you are the one who crossed the line and demeaned me personally. You said "You are an embaressment to Texas and Texans I have met, who are intelligent and have class.".
I, on the other hand, made only generalized statements about political ideology, and how it distinguishes Sunbelt areas such as DFW from places dominated by the Ideological Left, such as Portland, Seattle and the SF Bay Area.
Personal attacks are a violation of terms of service and are reportable to the moderator.
I'm a bit puzzled about this "small town feel" opinion. When I drive through downtown and Uptown, north on Akard, down Cedar Springs, and then north on McKinnon, I am going from one high rise canyon to another.
Driving north on US75, I will be going through a forest of high rise office and commercial buildings for 20 miles, especially if I make a left on I635 and go north on the Tollway. I will be in a commercial zone until I reach central Frisco maybe 30 miles later.
My idea of a small town is a place with a few thousand residents out in the middle of nowhere, maybe a town square with a courthouse, surrounded by a few blocks of one and two story commercial buildings, than maybe about 10 or 20 blocks of single-family houses on large lots, then farmland.
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