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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.
I just read that comment and thought, "Huh?" and then read your post. If Dallas has a small-town feel, I am not aware of the new definition of such. It doesn't have even one bit of that.
about 10 years ago when I was interviewing in the midwest and northeast I frequently was asked by people (in places like Toledo OH and Long Island, no less) what I thought of the 'Big City' and was it a real shock coming from a 'small towns' in Texas (I'm from Dallas and I've lived outside of Houston in the past). Always thought it was hilarious how many clueless people there are out there. You could tell by the look on their faces that they didn't believe it when I told them that Texas has 3 of the top 10 largest cities in the US - more than any other state. Idiots still makes me laugh.
about 10 years ago when I was interviewing in the midwest and northeast I frequently was asked by people (in places like Toledo OH and Long Island, no less) what I thought of the 'Big City' and was it a real shock coming from a 'small towns' in Texas (I'm from Dallas and I've lived outside of Houston in the past). Always thought it was hilarious how many clueless people there are out there. You could tell by the look on their faces that they didn't believe it when I told them that Texas has 3 of the top 10 largest cities in the US - more than any other state. Idiots still makes me laugh.
I know. I tried to explain to people in Europe that the DFW area had (at that time) 5 million people, and the expressions on their faces... I might just as well have been telling them that it was a city on the planet Mars.
1. Overall a low cost of living. If played right, can catapult your retirement planning.
2. Excellent food. The restaurants here are amazing. One of the best area in the country in my experience. Lots of locally owned, unique places all over the metro.
3. Employment opportunities.
4. People are nice. I think it's a Southern thing.
5. Diversity. If you want high rise or urban living, you can have that. If you want suburban living, you can have that. If you like sports, we have lots of professional and semi-pro teams. If you like having a large home and being a hermit, well, you can do that too. If you want to live near a major, well connected airport because your job requires lots of travel... well, I think you get the picture. DFW offers a lot of different options.
While these are definitely positives, June-July-August are definitely three reasons to not live here. Overall, at this point in my life, I can't imagine living anywhere else. My wife and I have a beautiful home, wonderful friends, a great church and both have employment. Because the relatively low cost of housing, we are able to get more home we need for well less than we could spend, affording us the opportunity to contribute heavily into our retirement plans while still being able to take nice vacations. It's a good balance.
When the Wright amendment is 100% rolled back air travel will be even better out of Love and probably DFW too. Right now American still has a monopoly on most routes, but look out for Southwest in the next few years.
1. Overall a low cost of living. If played right, can catapult your retirement planning.
2. Excellent food. The restaurants here are amazing. One of the best area in the country in my experience. Lots of locally owned, unique places all over the metro.
3. Employment opportunities.
4. People are nice. I think it's a Southern thing.
5. Diversity. If you want high rise or urban living, you can have that. If you want suburban living, you can have that. If you like sports, we have lots of professional and semi-pro teams. If you like having a large home and being a hermit, well, you can do that too. If you want to live near a major, well connected airport because your job requires lots of travel... well, I think you get the picture. DFW offers a lot of different options.
While these are definitely positives, June-July-August are definitely three reasons to not live here. Overall, at this point in my life, I can't imagine living anywhere else. My wife and I have a beautiful home, wonderful friends, a great church and both have employment. Because the relatively low cost of housing, we are able to get more home we need for well less than we could spend, affording us the opportunity to contribute heavily into our retirement plans while still being able to take nice vacations. It's a good balance.
Brian
You know, Brian, if Dallas had cool summer weather like San Diego, for example, it would probably grow to be the largest city in the world.
As it is, the handicap of the summer heat (assuming it is a handicap), merely reduces it to the fastest growing major city in the United States.
I don't know anyone out of state who comes to Texas for a vacation, unless it's top see the alamo or college kids for spring break.
I miss the cool fresh air, nature, the mountains, change of seasons, clean streets, beautiful landscapes even in the crappist parts of town, not having to fight traffic on the highway to get around the cities.
Unless you been to Denver or any city in Colorado, you wouldn't understand.
I have been told by Californians, unless I been to their cities I wouldnt understand
Really???? There are a LOT of people that come to Texas for vacation.
Uh, I've been to Colorado (all over the entire state for decades) and Denver too many times to count. I saw and dealt w/ plenty of traffic in Denver and on the highways and side streets that were busy and highly populated. Even saw litter in the crappy parts of town. It ain't all roses. I really do think you are seeing Denver with rose-colored glasses now only because you miss it. It does have its downsides and same issues w/ crime, gangs, litter, potholes, traffic that all cities the same size deal with.
FYI, I even own land in Colorado.
I seriously think you have put yourself in a position here in Texas out away from where most things are located that you probably want. Your an hour away from the Dallas City Limits. Of course it is going to take you a good 30 minutes to get to a mall being that far out and to the grocery stores that are more "diverse" like Trader Joe's (yes, I've been to one).
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Originally Posted by aceplace
I don't know anyone who lives in New York or Chicago for the weather or scenery either.
The Cross Timbers area where I live is, in my opinion, quite pleasant and scenic... thick forest and lakes. True, it's not as scenic as, say, lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas, but the most important thing to me is not scenery but big city urbanity and a fast moving economy.
LOL!!! Hear about the heat waves in NYC all of the time. NO THANK YOU!!! They get plenty of heat and nothing to do to cool off except unplug a fire hydrant.
Uh, having been all over the entire state of Colorado and don't mind it one bit........ there is NOTHING in Colorado that compares to Lake Tahoe. I loooooove Lake Tahoe. But, go out of the mountains and you have places like Carson City and Reno. They are BARREN deserts w/ very few trees at all and no mountains IN the city itself. Just the ones off in the distance you can see. I've also been in Reno for Hot August Nights when it is in the upper 90's and the ashpalt is hotter than........
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Originally Posted by aceplace
I see a confusion in this thread... sometimes people specifically mention Dallas, sometimes Texas. They are not one and the same.
I know. One minute someone is saying "Texas" and then "Dallas". I thought it was top 5 reasons to live IN DALLAS.
Texas is VAST and has several geographic areas that are all VASTLY different. There is no comparing one side of the state to the other.
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Originally Posted by aceplace
Dallas summers are paradise compared to Miami in April.
LOL!! Try The Keys. So dang humid you don't even want to wear CLOTHES!
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Originally Posted by Cupcake77
Exactly. We were only supposed to be here a year, well that turned out to not be true. Now we can't get out. No jobs and and combine that with higher cost of living etc... There is a reason it's so cheap here.
I have run across some transplants as well. One moved from Maryland, he was offered a job here and he said the houses are cheap. But recently it seems he might be unhappy here. Doesn't like his neighbourhood anymore, doesn't know where to move because the neighbourhoods here are so poorly planned as to their location, Nothing to do here, I don't know what it was like in Maryland for him, but he claims Dallas is ugly compared to where he came from and nothing to do... extreme weather... He feels stuck too now. He leaves the state every chance he gets and goes on mini vacations.
I think a developer should make a sub division called Transplant Estates. We could have lots of trees, green grass, our own Trader Joes, bike paths, In and Out burger place, REAL italian resturants and Deli's from the east coast, REAL health food stores (not whole foods), No trucks allowed, only SUV's, our own snow machine during the winter months, far away from trains, industrial plants and the highway.. I could go on.
It is what it is. Just have to make the best of it.
It isn't "cheap" here. It is affordable. There IS a difference. Things have been kept in line and balanced. There are plenty of people that thought moving here it would be "cheap" but soon found out that it is not so. That property taxes are based on how much your house is valued at. They came with grand dreams and bought the biggest thing their eyes could see. Instead of trying to stay realistic that got bit in the rear with their own "dreams".
People all over the world get homesick, live in areas where they don't like their neighbors, feel something is poorly planned, feels there is "nothing to do". That is not something that is only occuring here in the Dallas area. If this person moved to the same area as you then they are out of the city and there is not as much to do. Move closer in and everything is at your fingertips. Your friend could have recently suffered a loss in his family back in Maryland or something that makes them long to be closer to them.
Again, I think you have moved to an area that is still way out on the fringes and not as planned out as what you thought it was. If you came closer in it would be a lot better. When your in an area that is still growing and out on the fringe that is just the way it is. I see the same "poorly planned" areas in places like Denver, Colorado Springs, etc. Or any city in Florida, California, etc. It is not something that just happens here.
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Originally Posted by TrueDat
The problem with Dallas is that, like LA, it's so spread out and daunting in some ways that people say it doesn't have this or that when the truth is that whatever they're looking for might exist somewhere in the Metroplex but they've never run across it.
That is the problem I see w/ Cupcake. She lives out on the fringe from most of the heavy growth so she is far away from those things. Too many people move here and get stuck in this little bubble they put themselves in and don't venture out or they are afraid to. Whereas there are some of us that are not concerned where anything is as it really isn't that far to drive to if we want to. I don't hesitate to drive to downtown or wherever if I'm wanting or needing something.
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Originally Posted by Cupcake77
I know I have been a little rough with my opinion on Dallas. But I do know how Orlando is. My brother lived in Tampa for awhile and they even had their daughter in private schools and they said the same things you did about living there. Not a great place for kids.
I only know the keller/trophy club, southlake, roanoke area. While there is not much to do out here, there is southlake townsquare and it's really nice and growing. They have lot of activites and shopping, movie theater.
Seems like most people move to Frisco, I was only out there once and they have everything within 10 minutes of them. For me I have to drive almot 20-30 minutes to get to a mall. But I prefer it out here, but it's growing and now they are building a lot of new homes in Roanoke, so it wont be long before it's congested over here.
I am actually thinking of buyng someones house who is retiering and leaving texas, they own 11 acres of land in roanoke in my price range, but the house is only 1790 sq feet nothing fancy. They have their own lake and a place for horses. I prefer space and nature. I dont mind being away from everything.
I actually have family that is relocating to Florida, Jacksonville. They have NEVER BEEN! I have and am dying over what they are thinking they are going to be living around. LOL!!! Oh well.......
Okay, I'm confused. First you complain about a lack of things to do and amenities and the shopping and having to drive so far and then you say you don't mind being out away from everything??????
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Originally Posted by tyanger
about 10 years ago when I was interviewing in the midwest and northeast I frequently was asked by people (in places like Toledo OH and Long Island, no less) what I thought of the 'Big City' and was it a real shock coming from a 'small towns' in Texas (I'm from Dallas and I've lived outside of Houston in the past). Always thought it was hilarious how many clueless people there are out there. You could tell by the look on their faces that they didn't believe it when I told them that Texas has 3 of the top 10 largest cities in the US - more than any other state. Idiots still makes me laugh.
LOL!!! I will never forget the different people I met in California on one trip. This was mid 80's and one girl asked if we knew J.R........ Sure, he is my next door neighbor. The poor girl BELIEVED IT!
Then these college guys at the hotel from Arizona asked me how many horses we had and how as it to ride a horse to school. THEY WERE SERIOUS! And no, they were not drunk either.
It is still like that all over. People think we still ride around on horses and just shooting guns for no reason...........
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyanger
When the Wright amendment is 100% rolled back air travel will be even better out of Love and probably DFW too. Right now American still has a monopoly on most routes, but look out for Southwest in the next few years.
Unless AA comes in and tries to take it over again and turn it into an indoor amusement park....... NO!!!!!!!!!!!
I actually have family that is relocating to Florida, Jacksonville. They have NEVER BEEN! I have and am dying over what they are thinking they are going to be living around. LOL!!! Oh well.......
Me too! I wonder if they will feel the same way I feel about Florida-Orlando. Keep us posted
I grew up in the Northeast and have lived in Dallas for 18 years. I do see the difference in terms of people discussing their religion more openly, but I also don't see a lack of diversity or lack of tolerance that others have expressed. I grew up Christian and my husband Jewish. We don't belong to a temple or participate much in church activities (every once in a while) - I have never felt rejected or judged about that. If/When the question comes up "do you belong to a church?" - I just say that we don't really do much regarding that and the conversation moves on to other things. I have found people (even pretty religious people) here to be fairly tolerant and accepting of people whose views differ from their own. On a slightly diffferent note, I have found people (in the suburbs) to be a little more dogmatic in their political beliefs (mostly conservative) - a little less tolerant of liberal-leaning folks, though there are certainly pockets of liberalism here - esp. in the more urban areas.
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still makes me laugh.
I know. One minute someone is saying "Texas" and then "Dallas". I thought it was top 5 reasons to live IN DALLAS. 
There is a reason it's so cheap here. 
, No trucks allowed, only SUV's, our own snow machine during the winter months, far away from trains, industrial plants and the highway.. I could go on. 
