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Old 12-11-2008, 10:21 AM
 
2,057 posts, read 5,489,181 times
Reputation: 1032

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First off, I am a 25 year old, straight, white, male.

My father is from Dallas and over the past 5 years, I have visited the Dallas area twice to see family members and I absolutely loved it. I saw Dallas, Arlington, Plano, Fort Worth, went to malls, ate at a lot of restaurants, toured where JFK got shot, etc. I have nothing bad to say about the place!

However, there is something in the back of my mind that is telling me to take a trip to Houston because it could possibly be better.

I have read all of the other forums that have been posted on this website and I get a generalization of what people say about Houston when its compared to Dallas. Such as more hurricanes, higher possiiblity of crime/floods, more traffic, slightly higher cost of living and a little hotter temp wise. PLEASE COMMENT ON THESE IF I AM WRONG?

Also, when I visited Dallas, everyone on my fathers side of the family said to stay away from Houston, but they love Dallas. WHY IS THAT?

However, even though I mentioned all of those things it doesnt really concern me as much as this. Please dont get offended by what I am about to say because I want to keep this site friendly.

By looking at a U.S. map, I noticed that Houston is a little to close to Louisiana for my taste. I have visited New Orleans and Shreveport and I could not stand either one of those places.

When I heard Terry Bradshaw and Jake Delhomme speak.... thats all of louisiana that I could take.

I know that Houston will have a lot more people than usual move there from New Orleans and Louisiana because of Katrina. HOW MUCH IS HOUSTON INFLUENCED BY LOUISIANA AND NEW ORLEANS AND IF SO THEN EXPLAIN HOW?

I would prefer if only people responded that have spent signifcant time in the Houston or Dallas area.... a weekend does not count.

Please dont recommend me moving to Austin, San Antonio or El Paso. I have no desire to live in those places. This is between Dallas and Houston.

Everyone,

Thanks for your time. I would love to hear as many responses as possible.

Last edited by NYC1DAY; 12-11-2008 at 11:53 AM..
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Old 12-11-2008, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Houston
50 posts, read 140,300 times
Reputation: 56
You sound like someone who has already made your decision!
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Old 12-11-2008, 12:03 PM
 
Location: where nothin ever grows. no rain or rivers flow, TX
2,028 posts, read 8,119,214 times
Reputation: 451
Theres no way around the New Orleans situation in Houston but to hide in mastahplanned communities and stay there. strict HOAs make it harder and harder for them to be the rural ghetto ghangstas. they do have relatives and friends that stop by every now and then, thats when they turn all ghangsta top-less fatties for a day or two. I dont like their mean looking dogs more tho. i think its an accident waiting to happen
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Old 12-11-2008, 12:33 PM
 
235 posts, read 802,943 times
Reputation: 186
There's almost an inherent dislike of one city for the other so I'm not surprised by what the people there are saying about Houston. I'd say it the other way around too, so I'm biased.
So here are two non-biased notes. Dallas isn't cheaper than Houston. And it gets colder up there too.
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Old 12-11-2008, 12:58 PM
 
Location: ITL, Houston
81 posts, read 230,507 times
Reputation: 120
I'm not from Texas, but have spent a lot of time in both cities. They are both hot in the summer, have bad traffic, crime, and lots of sprawl. Houston has occasional hurricanes/tropical storms and DFW has ocassional tornadoes. The cost of living is actually slightly higher in Dallas.

Both cities also have great people, restaurants, shopping, and plenty to do.

I prefer Houston because it feels more like an international city. It's definitely more diverse, but more importantly to me, I don't feel like I'm in Texas when I'm in Houston. In Houston, I meet lots of people from other states and countries. In Dallas, I meet a lot of people from Texas (not that there is anything wrong with that). I also like that there are lots of trees, there is a 1500 acre park and bayou with trails in the middle of the city, and I'd rather deal with humidity than ice.
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Old 12-11-2008, 01:04 PM
 
756 posts, read 1,882,002 times
Reputation: 276
Well I am biased so I prefer Houston. But you can't really go wrong with Dallas either. It is a large metro like Houston and you will have similar amenities and options in both. Weather is the biggest difference. Tell your family that some Houstonian told you that the biggest difference between Dallas and Houston is that Houston doesn't need Ft. Worth in order to be a big city. hehe, kidding, easy folks!
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Old 12-11-2008, 01:20 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
4,760 posts, read 13,822,318 times
Reputation: 3280
I prefer Houston. Houston may have all the downsides you mention but Houston is also unpretentious, has extremely friendly people, has lots of trees, and is closer to beaches.
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Old 12-11-2008, 02:01 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,216 posts, read 30,545,629 times
Reputation: 10851
Go to Dallas.
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Old 12-11-2008, 02:20 PM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,836,889 times
Reputation: 3672
"I have read all of the other forums that have been posted on this website and I get a generalization of what people say about Houston when its compared to Dallas. Such as more hurricanes, higher possiiblity of crime/floods, more traffic, slightly higher cost of living and a little hotter temp wise. PLEASE COMMENT ON THESE IF I AM WRONG?"

- More hurricanes: yes
- More floods: yes
- More crime: no (Dallas ranks higher on crime, checking stats)
- More traffic: they're about the same
- Cost of living: about the same
- Hotter temps: No. Just higher humidity. Dallas actually has both higher and lower temps than Houston. Dallas has ice storms; Houston does not generally.

"Also, when I visited Dallas, everyone on my fathers side of the family said to stay away from Houston, but they love Dallas. WHY IS THAT?"

Not surprising. There's a name for that... Dallitude. Snobbiness + ignorance rolled into one. When cities where being chosen as finalists for the 2012 Olympics, the people in Dallas were saything the same things. But guess what... Houston got chosen as a finalist while Dallas was eliminated.

"By looking at a U.S. map, I noticed that Houston is a little to close to Louisiana for my taste. I have visited New Orleans and Shreveport and I could not stand either one of those places."

There are people from Louisiana in both cities. Houston is closer to New Orleans while Dallas is closer to Shreveport. You won't be able to avoid that. Heck, I lived in New Orleans at one point. But, I think most of the Katrina evacuees have finally left (or been put in jail).

Overall, Dallas and Houston really aren't dramatically different. The differences are smaller -- Houston has more trees/greenery, beaches nearby, a port & bay, is more international and diverse, and has fewer snobby/pretentious people IMO. Dallas is both hotter/colder, fewer trees/drier, and has more of a "keeping up with the Jones" attitude.

Visit and see for yourself. Areas of interest to you would be Midtown, Montrose, West University area, W Alabama St area, the Heights, Galleria area, and Clear Lake/Bay Area if you like boats/water recreation. Also a trip to Galveston (though it's still in recovery)
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Old 12-11-2008, 02:23 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,216 posts, read 30,545,629 times
Reputation: 10851
If you don't want to be near Louisiana, stay out of Texas.
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