Houston vs. Dallas --- SMACKDOWN! (San Antonio, Austin: house, tornado, living)

[deeptrance]

Texans, let's admit it, no matter where we live, there are only 2 REAL cities in this state, DFW and H-town. Yeah, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso are cities but they're not CITIES, am I right?

So, here's the question, and I mean this in all good sport, no personal insults allowed:

Which city is the BEST and WHY, between Dallas and Houston?

I'll offer the opening volley in what I hope will be a lively Texas-friendly smack-down.

Houston might have heinous humidity, traffic, smog and floods, but I think it beats Dallas hands-down for culture. Seems like far more musicians, artists, and other interesting cultural types come from H-town. Dallas is good for... ummm..... shopping? And, uh... Malls?

Houston has a more cosmopolitan, multicultural vibe to me. OK, so one of the cultures happens to consist of cockroaches the size of economy cars, but heck, if we can train them then maybe we can use them to get around town and save on our energy bills, right?

Houston is a port city, it's near the ocean and it's very GREEN with beautiful big trees. Dallas is landlocked and doesn't even have an attractive waterway like San Antonio and Austin.

Anybody wanna take a shot at this? Which city represents Texas best? ALL IN GOOD FUN! Cuz I don't want this thread deleted or locked....

[LastDallasNative]

The two cities are so different it is not worth debating. Furthermore, it is almost as if they are in different states. Dallas is Dallas and Houston is Houston.

[Lucidus]

You make some good points deeptrance, but I would say that Dallas is the best TEXAS city. Houston is a good American city that just happens to be in Texas but Dallas has that true Texas feel to it and everything Texan is better than everything non-Texan.

[Guerilla]

Yeah, Dallas does fit the "Texan" stereotype more than Houston does. Houston is more international than Dallas. Houston as the third most international consulates in America.

[deeptrance]

Nice responses! I agree with all of you. Is that it? Smackdown ends so easily?

I agree that Dallas and Houston might as well be in totally different states, and I agree that Dallas is more "Texan" whereas Houston is more "international." But that's kind of what I said in my opening post, that Houston is the REAL city in Texas. I just didn't think about the fact that Houston's international cosmopolitan flavor makes it less Texan and therefore possibly disqualifies it for the smackdown.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

Texans, let's admit it, no matter where we live, there are only 2 REAL cities in this state, DFW and H-town. Yeah, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso are cities but they're not CITIES, am I right?

IF I had to choose between the two, I'd take Dallas if for no other reason than the humidity is much less....and they're not subject to hurricanes as Houston is. Dallas also gets more of a winter than Houston, so that's another "plus."

But....having said that, I am not really a big city person....and would not really want to live in a place any larger than where I am now. I am such a wuss that traffic in EITHER place drives me NUTZO!!!

IF I had to live in a big city in TX....it would be El Paso.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

Nice responses! I agree with all of you. Is that it? Smackdown ends so easily?

I agree that Dallas and Houston might as well be in totally different states, and I agree that Dallas is more "Texan" whereas Houston is more "international." But that's kind of what I said in my opening post, that Houston is the REAL city in Texas. I just didn't think about the fact that Houston's international cosmopolitan flavor makes it less Texan and therefore possibly disqualifies it for the smackdown.

Oh, so true. Sometimes Houston doesn't feel like it's in Texas. When I lived in Austin, it felt so much more like Texas.

The thing about Austin is it doesn't have the big city amenities Dallas and Houston do (even though it would like to think it does sometimes...) Same can be said of San Antonio.

But back to the rivalry, a funny thing I remember... during the picks for the 2012 Olympic finalist cities, both Dallas and Houston were in the running. The committee visited Dallas first, the Dallas folks warned them of all these supposed horrid things in Houston... when they got to Houston they were so pleasantly surprised that there was a whole article written about it in the local paper. Anyway, in the end Houston made the final 4 U.S. finalists and Dallas didn't Of course in the end NYC became the U.S. finalist.

[Guerilla]

And Houston was again considered for the U.S. 2016 Bid, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philly.

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

IF I had to choose between the two, I'd take Dallas if for no other reason than the humidity is much less....and they're not subject to hurricanes as Houston is. Dallas also gets more of a winter than Houston, so that's another "plus."

But....having said that, I am not really a big city person....and would not really want to live in a place any larger than where I am now. I am such a wuss that traffic in EITHER place drives me NUTZO!!!

IF I had to live in a big city in TX....it would be El Paso.

Dallas may to get hurricanes, but they get tornadoes more than Houston. The winters in Dallas suck. The roads get icy, and they don't take care of it until the icy had almost already melted. Every time it gets icy, there are so many accidents throughout the Metroplex. I like Houston's winters better. It is usually sunny out and 40-50 degrees. Sometimes it rains, but it rarely gets icy and you don't start slipping all over the place like in Dallas.

[kawgpz550]

Well, I haven't made it to Texas yet, but I choose Dallas over Houston. It was a toss up between Dallas and San Antonio (and Tyler, which to me is still somewhat part of Dallas)...Hosuton was NEVER in the running. I will take my chances ANY day with a tornado as opposed to a hurricane. Tornados usually come and go rather quickly and your house may or may not get hit etc. With a hurricane, geesh, it can last a while and pretty much can take everything away! Also, Dallas doesn't have crocs and gators! OMG, I would lose it if I was to run into one
But hey, I'm looking for "Texas" not international...

Great post! I love it that everyone can give an opinion and no arguments lol This is GREAT!

[jwb123]

Well, I will give a non-native, from-the-progressive-NW opinion... there is no city in Texas worth living, other than Austin! I know many people who share a similar viewpoint. It's Texas, without being Texas.

I love it and am so happy we moved here!

I have been to Dallas several times, and I could never live there... Houston, never been - but not feeling like I need to visit either. Though, my interest is piqued a bit as I am confused at what makes it so "International".

I am also interested in what "Big City Amenities" I am missing down here?? I am from Seattle, and before that, the DC area... so I think I've experienced several cities, and can't think of what is lacking?