Diverse community and good weather-Can I find it in Texas?? (Dallas: homes, good schools)

[ElkHunter]

[quote=I don't want to live in a town where there is open racism.
We are an interracial couple, I'm black and he's white. I know as far as black/white couples go we are still considered different. Yes, even in California!.[/QUOTE]

Just a little side not you'll get a chuckle out of. I worked down in Dallas/Ft Worth for a while. I was the process engineering manager and I had 3 maintenance guys working for me. Tony-Black, Lee-Chinese , Ed-White.

About a week after I got there, I was up in the front office and this Black lady come in and I asked her if I could help her. She said, Yeah, I'm here to pick up my husband, he works in maintenance. I said, I'll get him for you. So I went out on the production floor and saw Tony and said, hey, your wife is out in the lobby ready to pick you up so go ahead and clock out. A couple minutes later, he comes back smiling and said, no that's Lee's wife. Proverbial foot in mouth. A couple days later, a little chinese gal come in and said she was there to pick up her husband, he works in maintenance. I learned the first time. I said, "And his name is?" She said, "Tony." About a month later, this little hispanic gal comes in and said she was there to pick up her husband. I went and got Ed. Done figured out the other two.

But what I'm saying, is in that area, mixed race relationships are no big deal I had over 80 workers on my floor and over half of them were in mixed race relationships.

Now, as to tornado's. Stay away from Dallas. In the 4 years I was there, I saw over 20 tornados and shot over 200 pictures of them. Never had to use a zoom lense. If you go just East of there, even within commuting distance, you can avoid them. Tornado's seemed to form right between Dallas-and Ft Worth and about 15 miles south. And then walk right up between the two. Only one went to the east in 4 years and it didn't do much.

[neddy]

Austin is a more liberal in every sense of the word. I think not as open as SF but you can and see almost anything there and the town loves it that way. SA, conservative, very family oriented

[Guingirl]

We are moving from Sacramento to North Fort Worth area (we haven't decided exactly where yet). You might want to check that area out. Fort Worth is more laid back, has a lot of culture and from what I have seen so far is pretty diverse.

If you want, just send me a PM and I can point you to more specific areas.

[fierce_flawless]

Honestly, I'd say Austin is more liberal, more diverse, more open minded.

Overall though, stay out of the small towns in Texas and you'll be okay.

San Antonio likes to call itself "diverse" but a lot of the city is segregated ethnically and racially.

I have lived here (SA) for 22 years, and there's this weird thing. I'm white, and there are areas of town where I'm given some serious crap for being white, dirty looks, comments, etc. It's bizarre. It comes from blacks and hispanics both. The funny thing is, a lot of it is said in Spanish and people think I'm too much of a guera to understand... well after being called derogatory names because I'm white for my entire life, I have learned what the words are in Spanish, thanks very much! It's sad, because I have no problem with anyone of any other color or ethnicity... but sometimes they have preconceived ideas about ME.

My experience has been that SA, like all places, has it's "pockets" of diversity and you have to dig to find them. I'm white "mutt" (well, German/Native American/Irish), I have one child that is half white, half Mexican with very dark hair, medium skin and pale blue eyes, another who is extremely pale (his dad was half Dutch). Yes, they have 2 different fathers. They are half brothers who look nothing alike!

I am also a lesbian who came out later in life, with a girlfriend who is Hispanic and Sioux Indian and has 2 children, one who looks very white and the other who is darker skinned and looks like a little Eskimo baby with her fat cheeks and dark almond eyes! So we're pretty much the melting pot in just one family. We do get some "looks", but we are never sure why! Is it the lesbian thing or the ethnicity thing or both? Or none? LOL

I try and seek out the artsy types and artsy areas, and it's usually all good after that.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by whatalady

I heard that Dallas is predominately black. I want my children to be around as many cultures and races as possible. I love my black people but we all know what happens when you get too many black people in one place.....just keepin' it real. Black people can be prejudice too, even against our own race. sad but true. I am not liberal, more conservative.

This is so far from wrong that I don't even know where to start. Dallas is not "predominately black". Like any large city there are pockets in the big city that tend to have a majority of one race/ethnicity in them but saying that the entire city is mostly black is so far from the truth it is not even funny. Yes, there is a large black population as well as a large Hispanic, Asian, white population. Now if you travel to the suburbs of the great metroplex the majority of the neighborhoods will be pretty mixed w/ diversity. Some may lean a tad more one way or the other but nothing where you can say, "all ________'s live there". I totally understand the black prejudice and have witnessed it myself. I personally was upset when one black neighbor did not want to have anything to do w/ another neighbors black friend as she thought she was "too black".

Then the tornado issue. One poster said that in 4 years they saw over 20 tornados IN Dallas............ hahahaha....... ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! I'm a native of 40+ years and have not even seen 4 tornados. As a matter of fact I've only seen one rotation in the sky but it never developed and dropped. We have had warnings but we don't even have 20 warnings in a 4 year period. I would say this is a tad bit of an exaggeration. And if you could look up the weather patterns most of the warnings and tornados for the past several years in the D/FW area have happened to the west of Ft Worth. A few in Arlington and Grand Prarie (located between Dallas and Ft Worth).

Brick homes. Being that Texas has more heat the brick homes fair better in the weather than a wood structure. Hail is another factor but I've only had hail damage once. Most of it is pea size or smaller and does little or no damage. Brick is easier to maintain w/ a lot less upkeep. Most cities have an 80% masonary requirement for all building structures. Termites are just a small reason why the homes are made of brick but the main reason is the upkeep or due to weather.

[KewGee]

Here are the ethnicity stats for Dallas city:

Hispanic (35.6%)
White Non-Hispanic (34.6%)
Black (25.9%)
Other race (17.2%)
Two or more races (2.7%)
American Indian (1.0%)
Asian Indian (0.6%)
Vietnamese (0.6%)

Of course, the total percentages above are greater than 100% because Hispanics can be counted in other races.

So, blacks are not predominant, but the percentage isn't too far behind Hispanics and Whites.

As far as tornadoes go, Dallas County has only had 80 tornadoes during the period of January 1, 1950 through October 31, 2006 (56 years), an average of about 1.5 a year.

[momof2dfw]

"As far as tornadoes go, Dallas County has only had 80 tornadoes during the period of January 1, 1950 through October 31, 2006 (56 years), an average of about 1.5 a year. "

And many of those may not have ever touched down. Both of my parents are Dallas natives as well and none of us nor anyone in our families or friends have ever lost a home to a tornado. I would not let this stand in the way at all. Just by news accounts alone I'd be willing to bet that Florida gets more than we do.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

"As far as tornadoes go, Dallas County has only had 80 tornadoes during the period of January 1, 1950 through October 31, 2006 (56 years), an average of about 1.5 a year. "

And many of those may not have ever touched down. Both of my parents are Dallas natives as well and none of us nor anyone in our families or friends have ever lost a home to a tornado. I would not let this stand in the way at all. Just by news accounts alone I'd be willing to bet that Florida gets more than we do.

In that 56 year time frame, Texas has had 7,565 tornadoes and Florida, 2,884. Of course, Texas is a bigger state.

Texas has had 431 F3s and higher and Florida has had 41.

For the 80 in Dallas County, yes, I believe from the web site that they all touched down as records aren't usually kept on funnel clouds. I don't believe anyone could keep up with that.

[AK123]

You said you've already looked at Sugar Land and Katy, I think you're on the right track and those would be good fits for you and good places to start.

You'd have Houston nearby... Houston is probably the most diverse and multicultural city in the state. Lots of mixed-race couples. Mild winters compared to many other Texas cities (escaped the recent ice storms). The beach is one hour away. While Austin is very laid-back (almost too much) and Dallas is the opposite (people care more about what you wear/drive and your house size) Houston is in between and a nice balance. You will also have access to all the world-class amenities of the nation's 4th largest city.

One thing you might not like is the occasional hurricane scare... though the last major one to hit was 20+ years ago. You won't have to deal with droughts, huge hail, major tornadoes, and ice like many other areas of Texas though.

[whatalady]

Wow, Everyone is so helpful. Thank you. Does it really rain during the summer alot? I see some parts of Texas get 47 in of rain per year. And weather forecast usually will say chance of rain. this hearsay of course. But is there any truth to it?
Also, are the food portions really big in Texas. Are there lots of rodeos?
Has any recently relocated from California?
What do you wish you would have known or done before hand.