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This is probably a dumb question but is the FEMA Flood Map of the Houston area pretty accurate?
They're going to be revised since our last 3 floods. Many homes flooded in Harvey (admittedly a very very extreme event unlikely to be repeated at the same intensity in my lifetime) that were not in mapped floodplains.
FEMA maps only show their estimate of stream-based flooding. They do not cover flooding from overwhelmed surface drainage systems (streets and storm drains) which frequently happens in heavy extended downpours.
Bottom line - don't think that just because the map shows you're outside the flood plain that you're OK.
You know all those 19th century historic areas in NYC, Philly, New Orleans Savannah, etc that people find oh so charming? They were built long before the first zoning ordinance was ever drafted: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ilt-today.html
The lack of zoning simply places control of development in the hands of the market. And one can only imagine the walkable boom that would enveil if that market were filled with urbanists. But unfortunately, with many of the regulations placed in the city's code, this urban potential is never realized: decent townhome development is forced to provide parking spaces, and venues are forced to be a certain distance back from the sidewalk: https://marketurbanism.com/2016/09/1...ates-land-use/
I like the lack of zoning. But let's throw out the regulations.
They're going to be revised since our last 3 floods. Many homes flooded in Harvey (admittedly a very very extreme event unlikely to be repeated at the same intensity in my lifetime) that were not in mapped floodplains.
FEMA maps only show their estimate of stream-based flooding. They do not cover flooding from overwhelmed surface drainage systems (streets and storm drains) which frequently happens in heavy extended downpours.
Bottom line - don't think that just because the map shows you're outside the flood plain that you're OK.
I was thinking it is simple to just analyze the map and stay out of those zones. Damn, I guess I was wrong.
Or the frequency of them either. I can MAYBE count on one hand the number of times I've heard a tornado siren in over a decade in Houston...you'd get that many in one or two years in Dallas.
Which is because Houston is farther south, meaning that it comes in contact with stronger high pressure (AKA capping) during the shoulder seasons. The high pressure suppresses storm development, leading to fair, partly cloudy days.
The bulk of tornado activity in Houston occurred during the 20th century, when the mean jet stream position was farther south. Since then, the track has shifted north, decreasing the frequency of spring storms.
I live in Houston but went to college in Dallas; between visiting college friends and my MIL living there, I am up there a lot. Houston and Dallas are very similar to each other (and to Atlanta) in a lot of ways - big sprawling modern Sunbelt cities. I think overall your choice should be on where you'll get the best job in your field.
Attractiveness: In-town Houston is ugly with pockets of pretty, while overall, in-town Dallas is more attractive. The suburbs of houston tend to be more attractive because they aren't in the middle of a prairie.
Weather: Tornados pop up unexpectedly and can be pretty unpredictable, I remember spending finals week studying in the basement of my dorm because there was a tornado watch. Tornados are much less frequent in Houston, most often accompanying a hurricane, and really we only get one major tropical storm/hurricane every ten or so years. There is usually a scare that amounts to nothing (hurricane tracked elsewhere) every 3 years. Dallas also gets really frequent hail storms. Hail-damaged cars are a common site on Dallas freeways. Hail storms are much less frequent down here. Houston, on the other hand, gets a lot of flooding, not just when hurricanes or tropical storms hit. I'd say there is a flood that causes damage to houses in a part of the area every three years or so. Don't let anyone tell you Dallas's summers are more mild than Houston's they are just as brutally hot, and the whole area browns out (vegetation-wise) apart from irrigated landscaping several months in the summer. It's a prairie. Houston, being on the edge of the Piney Woods, and getting more rain in the form of short afternoon showers, stays green all year round. Dallas does get more of a real fall than Houston, but then winter, Dallas is at the foot of the Great Plains, cold fronts move in from Canada with nothing to stop them, bringing ice storms. I hated winters up there, and Dallas is a lot of grey skies and bare leafless trees in the winter months. Houston, a cold front will move in overnight for a couple days, with overnight lows in the 20s, daytime temps in the 40s, then it's back up into the low 60s, and all the pine trees keep it green all year.
Diversity: Houston is more diverse than Dallas, it's one of the main things I like about it, and there are all these cool enclaves in it that are destinations in themselves, with great ethnic restaurants, like New Chinatown, Mahatma Ghandi District, Koreatown on Longpoint, etc. As far as LGBTQ acceptance goes, I had to laugh at the claim that Dallas having five more gay-affirming churches than Houston has is proof Dallas is more accepting. I lived in the Montrose, the largest gay community outside of San Fransisco's Castro for years, have lots of gay friends. Most gay people I know don't ever go to church, so couldn't care less about having five less gay affirming churches. Dallas has more gay-affirming churches because it has more churches in general, Dallas is more Bible Belty, more socially and politically conservative than Houston. Remember, Houston has had an openly gay mayor, Dallas has not. Dallas also feels more obsessed with wealth and social status than Houston does, more laid back. Owing to it's diversity, Houston's restaurant scene is better than Dallas's, and our theatre scene is bigger and more diverse (lots of great independent theatre companies in Houston doing interesting and cutting edge work). Though Fort Worth's Bass Hall is the prettiest theatre venue in Texas, by far.
Recreation: Dallas has more nearby lakes than Houston has, but Houston has the Galveston Bay System and the nearby beaches. From downtown Houston you can be on the beach in Galveston in less than an hour, even on a Friday afternoon. I sail (was also on the sailing team in college), and while Dallas's lakes are nice (I'm a fan of Joe Pool particularly), for a sailor, nothing beats saltwater. I also kayak and fish, and the size and diversity of fish on the coast beats the lakes hands down. As far as public parks and greenspace go, Dallas and Houston are pretty much on par. Same with towns and other places to go for daytrips and weekend getaways by car.
Schools, Dallas and Houston are pretty neck and neck, the inner city schools (with notable exceptions) are not very good, but several great suburban districts in both areas.
Economy - both strong, Dallas relies less on oil and petrochem than Houston does, but Houston's economy is far more diversified than it used to be.
Medical Care - The Texas Medical Center in Houston, with places like MD Anderson Cancer Center, St Luke's, etc beats Dallas hands down.
Higher ed: Dallas and Houston both have one good large private university each, SMU for Dallas, Rice for Houston. As an SMU grad it pains me to say this, but Rice is higher ranked than SMU. But if you're talking DFW, then the Dallas area also has TCU. Dallas area also has more choices for traditional public universities, with UT-Arlington and UT-Dallas. But though I wouldn't have said this even 10 years ago, University of Houston is probably a better school than either of them at this point.
Last edited by Reefmonkey; 06-29-2018 at 08:01 AM..
Diversity: Houston is more diverse than Dallas, it's one of the main things I like about it, and there are all these cool enclaves in it that are destinations in themselves, with great ethnic restaurants, like New Chinatown, Mahatma Ghandi District, Koreatown on Longpoint, etc. As far as LGBTQ acceptance goes, I had to laugh at the claim that Dallas having five more gay-affirming churches than Houston has is proof Dallas is more accepting. I lived in the Montrose, the largest gay community outside of San Fransisco's Castro for years, have lots of gay friends. Most gay people I know don't ever go to church, so couldn't care less about having five less gay affirming churches. Dallas has more gay-affirming churches because it has more churches in general, Dallas is more Bible Belty, more socially and politically conservative than Houston. Remember, Houston has had an openly gay mayor, Dallas has not. Dallas also feels more obsessed with wealth and social status than Houston does, more laid back. Owing to it's diversity, Houston's restaurant scene is better than Dallas's, and our theatre scene is bigger and more diverse (lots of great independent theatre companies in Houston doing interesting and cutting edge work). Though Fort Worth's Bass Hall is the prettiest theatre venue in Texas, by far.
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You may laugh at that claim, but I have to laugh at the gross inaccuracies in comparing the gay communities in your post.
Montrose, the largest gay community outside San Francisco??? Not even close. Per capita, Dallas has the largest gay community in Texas even ahead of Austin. Dallas and Houston's gay population are about the same despite Houston being twice the size of Dallas. Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs blow anything in Montrose out of the water IMO.
As for gay mayors, no Dallas has not had one. However Dallas county (not just the city) re-elected Lupe Valdez 4 times and she is gay. It wasnt just the city, but the whole county that did that.
Remeber HERO that Houston voters shot down? Dallas approved it with no counter suit by religious whack jobs in the city.
You may not think gay affirming churches are a good way to measure but HRC score sure is. Dallas has a perfect 100 score. Houston is at 74.
If you're planning to live 95% of your life in the suburbs in whichever city (home, school, work, entertainment), then I think you'll find the 2 are pretty much the same. Discussing inner loop and Bishop Arts District is pretty useless in this thread.
I live in Houston but went to college in Dallas; between visiting college friends and my MIL living there, I am up there a lot. Houston and Dallas are very similar to each other (and to Atlanta) in a lot of ways - big sprawling modern Sunbelt cities. I think overall your choice should be on where you'll get the best job in your field.
Attractiveness: In-town Houston is ugly with pockets of pretty, while overall, in-town Dallas is more attractive. The suburbs of houston tend to be more attractive because they aren't in the middle of a prairie.
Weather: Tornados pop up unexpectedly and can be pretty unpredictable, I remember spending finals week studying in the basement of my dorm because there was a tornado watch. Tornados are much less frequent in Houston, most often accompanying a hurricane, and really we only get one major tropical storm/hurricane every ten or so years. There is usually a scare that amounts to nothing (hurricane tracked elsewhere) every 3 years. Dallas also gets really frequent hail storms. Hail-damaged cars are a common site on Dallas freeways. Hail storms are much less frequent down here. Houston, on the other hand, gets a lot of flooding, not just when hurricanes or tropical storms hit. I'd say there is a flood that causes damage to houses in a part of the area every three years or so. Don't let anyone tell you Dallas's summers are more mild than Houston's they are just as brutally hot, and the whole area browns out (vegetation-wise) apart from irrigated landscaping several months in the summer. It's a prairie. Houston, being on the edge of the Piney Woods, and getting more rain in the form of short afternoon showers, stays green all year round. Dallas does get more of a real fall than Houston, but then winter, Dallas is at the foot of the Great Plains, cold fronts move in from Canada with nothing to stop them, bringing ice storms. I hated winters up there, and Dallas is a lot of grey skies and bare leafless trees in the winter months. Houston, a cold front will move in overnight for a couple days, with overnight lows in the 20s, daytime temps in the 40s, then it's back up into the low 60s, and all the pine trees keep it green all year.
Diversity: Houston is more diverse than Dallas, it's one of the main things I like about it, and there are all these cool enclaves in it that are destinations in themselves, with great ethnic restaurants, like New Chinatown, Mahatma Ghandi District, Koreatown on Longpoint, etc. As far as LGBTQ acceptance goes, I had to laugh at the claim that Dallas having five more gay-affirming churches than Houston has is proof Dallas is more accepting. I lived in the Montrose, the largest gay community outside of San Fransisco's Castro for years, have lots of gay friends. Most gay people I know don't ever go to church, so couldn't care less about having five less gay affirming churches. Dallas has more gay-affirming churches because it has more churches in general, Dallas is more Bible Belty, more socially and politically conservative than Houston. Remember, Houston has had an openly gay mayor, Dallas has not. Dallas also feels more obsessed with wealth and social status than Houston does, more laid back. Owing to it's diversity, Houston's restaurant scene is better than Dallas's, and our theatre scene is bigger and more diverse (lots of great independent theatre companies in Houston doing interesting and cutting edge work). Though Fort Worth's Bass Hall is the prettiest theatre venue in Texas, by far.
Recreation: Dallas has more nearby lakes than Houston has, but Houston has the Galveston Bay System and the nearby beaches. From downtown Houston you can be on the beach in Galveston in less than an hour, even on a Friday afternoon. I sail (was also on the sailing team in college), and while Dallas's lakes are nice (I'm a fan of Joe Pool particularly), for a sailor, nothing beats saltwater. I also kayak and fish, and the size and diversity of fish on the coast beats the lakes hands down. As far as public parks and greenspace go, Dallas and Houston are pretty much on par. Same with towns and other places to go for daytrips and weekend getaways by car.
Schools, Dallas and Houston are pretty neck and neck, the inner city schools (with notable exceptions) are not very good, but several great suburban districts in both areas.
Economy - both strong, Dallas relies less on oil and petrochem than Houston does, but Houston's economy is far more diversified than it used to be.
Medical Care - The Texas Medical Center in Houston, with places like MD Anderson Cancer Center, St Luke's, etc beats Dallas hands down.
Higher ed: Dallas and Houston both have one good large private university each, SMU for Dallas, Rice for Houston. As an SMU grad it pains me to say this, but Rice is higher ranked than SMU. But if you're talking DFW, then the Dallas area also has TCU. Dallas area also has more choices for traditional public universities, with UT-Arlington and UT-Dallas. But though I wouldn't have said this even 10 years ago, University of Houston is probably a better school than either of them at this point.
That's a bunch of crap. I really cringe when someone says Houston is like Dallas and vice versa.
That just tells me you don't walk around the inner loop. Yesterday I drove to Herman park. Parked my car at the zoo parking lot walked around. Took the rail to downtown. Walked on main street. Walked the underground tunnel. Took the rail to the med center.
I
After doing that you can't compare Dallas and Houston.
The scenery is DIFFERENT. Mostly because of the trees and countless skyscrapers outside of downtown Houston.
It's laughable really.
Saying they are the same is just plain lazy. Get out an meet or watch the people. It's light years diff
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