"Don't Dallas my Fort Worth..." / What the hell does this mean? (Austin: transplants, house)

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by JJG

. . . I really don't think we're on the same page, dude. None of that made any sense in terms of what this thread is about.

Not according to the reps

[JJG]

Originally Posted by NorthTexasGuy

IMO, DFW as a whole can be compared somewhat to the Greater Los Angeles area. My understanding is L.A. was once know for urban sprawl. That sprawl has now appeared to reach maximum capacity because of that areas physical limitation (e.g. the ocean and the mountains) and has now started to increase in its population density; especially in Los Angeles County where mass transit a certainly a must. The sprawl has continued into the dessert regions expanding into San Bernandino and surrounding communities. But those dessert city areas are much less densely populated as LA or Orange counties. Similar to how the Metroplex is comprised of now. I would venture to guess that many people in San Bernandino or Anaheim don't want the problems of L.A.


My point in relation to your post is, Fort Worth unlike any of the other "peer" cities you noted, is part of the 4th largest metropolitan areas in the country. It is essentially one big economic region where it's hard to determine where one city ends and the other begins. Unlike the L.A area, we don't have physical limitations that will limit the sprawl. In the mean time, cities such as Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Garland and Frisco will try to maintain their own personalities to differentiate themselves from being considered just another extension of Dallas. I for one, can appreciate that as a way to demonstrate city pride, but your average new resident or visitor can not. Progress is good and necessary as any area grows, sometimes folks just want to hang on to the spirit of the thing as long as they can. Fort Worth is very much just a big town to me, and I believe that's what most of the current residents like about it. It is its spirit, its character. A lot of people who know how Dallas is don't want that in Fort Worth; at least not yet. Just my opinion.

Ok... for one, don't ever put Fort Worth in the same category and sentence with Arlington, Plano, Garland and Frisco... those are suburbs, we are not.

If the negatives of Dallas are why people around here hold that idea, then it could be understandable to a point, because some of those "negatives" are subjective. However, when you tie certain issues and necessities, even, of what EVERY major city does to Dallas and just Dallas alone, it makes us look ignorant and paranoid of necessary change.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Threestep

Not according to the reps

I don't care about your "reps". None of that made sense.

[Gone Again]

I can't speak to the economic and other 'hard data' aspects of this. I can only go with what I know from my actual lived experience. I grew up in N. Dallas. We moved away for some years. When my wife and I discussed moving back, I told her I didn't want to live in Dallas again. We live in Tarrant county, right at the Fort Worth border. Fort Worth, and Tarrant county, had a very different vibe, feel and attitude. I've seen the little cards in restaurants and other businesses in FW that say "Keep Fort Worth friendly" I agree with that. It has a certain something Dallas lacks. I like this area, and wouldn't be interested in living in Dallas, except possibly for Grand Prairie.

Fort Worth has, and continues to grow. That's fine, I just hope it retains the loose, funky and laid back quality that it has had for as long as I can remember.

[happycrow]

As an Irving boy, I like Fort Worth's more western vibe, and am deeply and instantly sympathetic to any and all scorn thrown at City of Dallas' government, so "don't Dallas" (ANYTHING that isn't Dallas) makes immediate and total sense to me.

I don't know how Fort Worth should grow in the future (I mean, that's so not my call), but I do think downtown could use a little love, and if it gets denser but in a way that works well with FW's character, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing; it feels now like the parklands are gorgeous but the "not green" areas could really use a lot more trees and green space.

[ragnarkar]

I won't "Dallas" your "Fort Worth".. I'll "California" it instead!

[malcorub16]

^^ I've seen the "Don't 'California state outline' my 'Texas state outline'" on the back of truck windows. I don't agree with it 100%, but I do feel that bumper sticker is quite clever.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

I heard this often when I lived in Tarrant County and still hear it from friends in the area. They'd rather go to West 7th or Downtown FW than head into Dallas. The biggest reason for them is that Dallas has a lot of "dbags" (not my words!). I'm practically the only one that would want to head into Dallas instead because it's more my style. They like the slower paced, more homey feel of Fort Worth. I definitely feel there's a strong NIMBY population that only want the growth in FW to be on the outskirts in new suburban style neighborhoods. It'll take a lot to change that. The best thing FW can do besides try to develop Downtown is develop the CentrePort area into a Las Colinas/Legacy-lite.

I love Fort Worth, but why would anyone want to go to West 7th? It's like an inferior version of uptown where the Douches and 40k millionaires are from TCU instead of SMU and slightly more likely to wear boots and drive a truck than a German car. I've been a few times, and I keep thinking I'm missing something, but I don't think I am. Uptown for all it's flaws is at least a real neighborhood with an urban feel.

I mean granted, there are a few unique bars and restaurants to the area, though most are just an inferior clone to their Dallas counterpart.

Anyway, I much prefer downtown, south of downtown near the hospitals (Fairmont, maybe?) or the Stock Yards, though to be fair, if we are talking about real neighborhoods and not the fake feeling entertainment district, I really like the neighborhoods around the museums, both north and south of Camp Bowie.

[rogramjet]

Anyway, I much prefer downtown, south of downtown near the hospitals (Fairmont, maybe?) or the Stock Yards, though to be fair, if we are talking about real neighborhoods and not the fake feeling entertainment district, I really like the neighborhoods around the museums, both north and south of Camp Bowie.

I live in Austin, but I'm a huge fan of the brick paved part of Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth. I don't think there is anything like it in Texas (that I know of). It's almost totally local businesses and restaurants flanked by very charming neighborhoods.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by rogramjet

I live in Austin, but I'm a huge fan of the brick paved part of Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth. I don't think there is anything like it in Texas (that I know of). It's almost totally local businesses and restaurants flanked by very charming neighborhoods.

Bricktown in neighboring OKC is similar. I bumped into the area going back and forth to the Botanical Garden from the interstate. I last saw it in 2007 as the redevelopment efforts started to launch and it was mostly wide swaths of dirt being turned over and abandoned brick buildings in between.