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I will do my best to give an unbiased, objective view of both cities as a mid 20s young professional who has lived in both areas.
Houston and DFW have ENTIRELY different personalities and are both pretty "fast paced" so to speak.
SIMILARITIES in BOTH:
1. Good job market
2. Excellent nightlife
3. Excellent diversity
4. Good to great school systems... Rice, SMU, TCU are by far the best overall private universities in Texas (imho)... Baylor is fine however it's primarily geared towards pre medical tracks and is in Waco (lol), Trinity is respectable
5. Great people
6. Expansive city with multiple access/highway routes to get to certain destinations. *** I feel that people take this for granted, if you are ever passing through Austin and there is an accident on I35 you are pretty much ****ed ***
7. Great culture and things to do besides drink
8. Great food
9. Great music... If you ever lived in San Antonio for a prolongued time, like i unfortunately did, and visit Houston or DFW... you can notice this difference VERY VERY well
DIFFERENCES:
A. Houston
1. WAYYYYYY more humid than DFW. It's really not even close although both around July - August will be very HOT. There is no point in EVER "layering" in Houston
2. Very good areas but kind of limited. The "nice" areas in Houston might be considered Rice Village, the Heights, Midtown, Sugarland, Montrose (some parts), the Woodlands/Spring, TMC area... Now while these are good areas and I have friends in these areas so I do enjoy visiting, for such a big(space wise) city, I don't believe it's enough. The nightlife in these areas is great, particularly in Rice Village and Midtown (imho) and I'm a DFW guy. But this brings me to my next point...
3. Greater "gap" socioeconomically than DFW. While there are "bad" parts in all big cities. Houston has a very large socioeconomic gap, primarily between those in O&G, IB, and Medical Industries... and then there's pretty much everyone else(lol). I'm just being honest with this. There is a "gap" in DFW too, but it's not as noticeable.
4. The bugs...
B. Dallas
1. You get REAL FOUR SEASONS. Have you seen downtown Dallas around New Years Eve?? Beautiful.
2. CLEANER... this I think even Houston guys will admit. The Dallas Galleria is CLEANER than the Houston Galleria... but I think the Houston Galleria might be slighly larger. It doesn't matter though, Dallas has Northpark which beats both
3. Less socioeconomic gap. While the "tech" industry does dominate in DFW... There is also opportunity in MANY MANY other fields too.
4. More "nice areas". I'm not ignorant, and I try not to be biased as I enjoy visits to Houston to see friends and to go out when I can and I do like some parts of it, but Dallas has better "nice areas". Highland Park, Richardson, Irving, Southlake, Uptown, Greenville, Plano (probably East), Rockwall, Highland Village, Arlington Heights, Richland Hills... There are a few other areas I didn't feel like mentioning, but there is a definitive difference if you stay in either area for a prolongued time.
5. While there are definite "bad" areas in Dallas... try East Dallas at night (lol), if you're smart, you can notice that it is not near as bad as in Houston. Which in turn makes Dallas less dangerous in terms of getting killed. There are probably more robberies in DFW though... For that reason, it is always imperative to get a GATED community and your problem is solved. But this is mostly true for Houston too.
6. More predictable weather. This coincides with the first one, but geographically it probably plays a role. DFW, save for some parts, isn't far up north enough (near Oklahoma) to consistently get tornado threats. Houston is at constant threats for hurricanes, and floods b/c of the nearness to Galveston and the coast.
CONCLUSION:
All in all, I'm a DFW guy but I'm not ignorant or completely biased and i see redeeming qualities in Houston... but if i have to pick one, I would choose DFW everytime and visit Houston. I believe many people do the same too. Either way, I have them 1-2 in Texas BOTH ahead of overrated Austin
i know its not HvD related, but how is Baylor "geared towards the medical track"?
i like how you gave some of Houstons props to both Houston and Dallas. Dallas is diverse too, with great culture and great food.. but Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in the US, a food Mecca, and has some of the finest museums and theater outside of NYC and DC.
1. no its not "close", but Houston stays cooler than DFW in the summer months, making the heat/humidity comparable.
2. err, what? just because Houston isn't all segregated like DFW doesn't mean there aren't a lot of nice areas. keep in mind that Houstonians are making thousands of dollars a year more than DFW residents, and Houstons economy is way larger.
3. interesting theory.. i would like to see some evidence for that. Houston is definitely more blue collar-esque than DFW, but I'm not sure it creates some huge socioeconomic gap like you claim (at least, one thats noticeably different than any gap in DFW).
4. yeah. i guess they don't have bugs/pests in DFW?
1. have you seen DFW traffic in a snow storm?
2. the city overall definitely keeps tidy around the populated corridors. i guess there is a reason Simon is spending hundreds of millions redeveloping and renovating theGalleria..? well see who has the nicer Galleria then. "i think its slightly bigger than the Dallas Galleria", haha you know dang well theGalleria is the largest mall in Texas. i still haven't found the allure of Northpark.. does Dallas have an answer to River Oaks District?
3. nope.. no opportunities in mid-range career fields for Houstonians... lulz
4. say what? the nice areas are easier to find, but you seem to have left out a lot of nice areas off the Houston list. Downtown Houston, Katy/Cinco Ranch, Uptown, Kingwood, Pearland, Clear Lake, Friendswood, Memorial City, BriarForest, Bellaire, practically every municipality that has the word "Village" in the name (there are at least a handful), etc. to name some of the ones you forgot to mention. if you don't think the high end areas of Houston are "enough" then you might want to google the number of million dollar home transactions taking place across Houston, and then compare that to DFWs transactions.
5. how are South or East Dallas not as bad as Houston? sure its easier to avoid the bad areas.. that all comes back to the socioeconomic segregation in DFW. most of the nicer neighborhoods in Houston actually aren't gated.. not unless you go out beyond the Beltway.
6. umm.. tornadoes can strike anytime. and there is hardly any warning when they hit. hurricane season is only June-November or so, and we have plenty of time to evacuate. didn't Dallas just get hit by some nasty floods too?
Conclusion: thanks for your opinions.. i, along with many others i believe, would choose Houston every time and visit Dallas. but so be it.. everyone is entitled to their own opinion!
Eh I think you have good points, I'll biased of course but I'm not ignorant or hateful bc I see that Houston is a nice cituy too. So it's all subjective there's really not a wrong answer but the fact that this type of argument comes up so often shows these two cities are predominately 1-2 in Texas(regardless of which one is number 1 and which is number 2) so it doesn't really matter too much too me. I'm cultured enough to appreciate BOTH cities.
Although you are correct that I forgot some notable areas in Houston... You cannot forget that DFW contains Dallas AND Fort Worth(which included the history, the zoo and the museums in Fort Worth as well ) so it has to be noted that DFW is ALL of it and not "just" Dallas
Nah I don't think you're being ignorant or hateful. Houston is just a bit more confusing and not as easily presented to outsiders, so unless you've lived here forever then it's hard to learn it all.
They are definitely one and two in the state, they're a reason they are always compared.
Yep, DFW has Ft Worths amenities too. Kind of nice for people on the eastern and western edges of the metro to not have to go so far, but I tend to prefer not having to visit two separate places to experience all of the amenities. Kind of funny how Houston lacks zoning but ended up with a more centralized layout while the zonecentric DFW is multiple pieces to one pie.
3. Greater "gap" socioeconomically than DFW. While there are "bad" parts in all big cities. Houston has a very large socioeconomic gap, primarily between those in O&G, IB, and Medical Industries... and then there's pretty much everyone else(lol). I'm just being honest with this. There is a "gap" in DFW too, but it's not as noticeable.
This is the second time in the past week some poster from DFW has tried to use this socio-economic factor against Houston. It's amazing how easily people in glass houses throw stones.
Houston , DFW , and Austin are 3 of the most economically segregated Metro's in the country, with Austin coming in at number 1 of the big Metro's. Houston is 4th and DFW 7th. There is very little difference between them. However the factors that cause these various differences in the economic segregation are quite interesting.
Size and Density
Economic segregation is positively associated with population size and density.
Economies
Economic segregation tends to be more intensive in high-tech, knowledge-based metros.
Wealth and Affluence
Economic segregation is connected to the overall affluence of metros,
Race
Race is a significant factor. Economic segregation is positively associated with the share of population that is black, Latino, or Asian, and negatively associated with the shares of white residents
This is the second time in the past week some poster from DFW has tried to use this socio-economic factor against Houston. It's amazing how easily people in glass houses throw stones.
Houston , DFW , and Austin are 3 of the most economically segregated Metro's in the country, with Austin coming in at number 1 of the big Metro's. Houston is 4th and DFW 7th. There is very little difference between them. However the factors that cause these various differences in the economic segregation are quite interesting.
Size and Density
Economic segregation is positively associated with population size and density.
Economies
Economic segregation tends to be more intensive in high-tech, knowledge-based metros.
Wealth and Affluence
Economic segregation is connected to the overall affluence of metros,
Race
Race is a significant factor. Economic segregation is positively associated with the share of population that is black, Latino, or Asian, and negatively associated with the shares of white residents
Despite the rivalry between Texas' two largest cities, they are pretty similar in terms of people, culture, foodie, shopping, transportation (lack of), walkability (only in limited city center areas), etc.
IMO, the three biggest differences are:
1. Weather: Houston is 250 miles south which means it's a warmer climate vs Dallas. Being on the gulf, Houston is considerably more humid than Dallas. Dallas does get all four seasons - it may only be winter for a few weeks, but it does ice & snow here which are both extremely rare in Houston. As far as natural disasters, Houston is in a hurricane zone and Dallas gets bad hailstorms. Dallas is on the southern end of tornado alley, though usually tornadoes strike on the western edge of the metroplex (west of Fort Worth) vs in Dallas proper.
2. City zoning- the one thing that drives me NUTS about Houston is it's lack of zoning. You can actually have a strip club next to a church and an elementary school.....and be in very wealthy part of the city! Dallas has a lot more zoning rules - ie, a street or neighborhood is typically zoned for either multi-family or single family housing, not both. Houston is the largest major US city without zoning.
3. Economy - Houston's economy is much more dependent on the Oil & Gas industry than Dallas. Houston is home to 24 Fortune 500 companies vs 19 in Dallas. Only 2 of Houston's F500 HQ's are NOT in the oil/gas/energy industry (Sysco Foods & Waste Management), whereas Dallas' F500 list is very diverse (American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Texas Instruments, Tenet Healthcare, AT&T, Kimberly-Clark, Dean Foods, Dr Pepper/Snapple, JCPenney, GameStop, etc). Only 4 of Dallas' 19 F500's ARE in the oil/gas/energy industry.
Big City Feel - which one feels like more of a big city?
Weather - how does the weather compare?
Hiking and Fishing - I like to hike and fish as "leaving the city" activities. Which metro area has better options for that?
Thanks!
I'm going to avoid all but the last three criteria of your list
Big City Feel - Anybody who has ever visited both will tell you Houston feels much bigger than DFW
Weather - Houston is more humid but the heat indices are about the same in both Metro's so you will be equally as miserable or comfortable in either city in the summer, and winters are milder in Houston.
Hiking and Fishing - Especially fishing Houston wins hands down along with all the other coastal activities of sailing scuba, water skiing surfing, deep water fishing ect...
In short if you prefer regulated more orderly suburban life DFW is probably more for you. If you prefer a more unregulated bigger city experience with a coastal flare Houston is your obvious choice...
2. City zoning- the one thing that drives me NUTS about Houston is it's lack of zoning. You can actually have a strip club next to a church and an elementary school.....and be in very wealthy part of the city! Dallas has a lot more zoning rules - ie, a street or neighborhood is typically zoned for either multi-family or single family housing, not both. Houston is the largest major US city without zoning.
I think its time to clear up some of these Urban Myths concerning zoning in Houston. True Houston does not have a Zoning code per se, but it does have building codes which in many cases act as zoning ordinances and Houston does have laws against building any business that serves or sells alcohol within 1500 feet of a church or school. Yes there are some businesses that are grandfathered into the law and if the establishment that serve's or sells alcohol was there first it can remain. But these people who try to give the impression that every church or school in Houston is located next to a strip club are hyperbolic in their descriptions.
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