Dallas vs. Houston (Pasadena, Galveston, Pearland: credit, luxury, military)

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by LOK222

houston is a swamp in the summer IMO

Dallas is more like paradise

Well, there you go. You have one person's valid opinion, so the original poster can draw from that. Houston is indeed very soggy. It doesn't bother me too much, but it can be an inconvenience from time to time. Don't let the weather catch you ill-prepared.

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by mpope409

Well, there you go. You have one person's valid opinion, so the original poster can draw from that. Houston is indeed very soggy. It doesn't bother me too much, but it can be an inconvenience from time to time. Don't let the weather catch you ill-prepared.

ha ha..

i moved from DC where its pretty muggy in the summer but Houston is worse I think. Here in Dallas, the air is cleaner, the grass is greaner and it's not a steamer

[Lakewooder]

"Paradise" - YES! When I lived in Houston and was going to go to Dallas to visit, my friends and co-workers would ask where I was going for the weekend. I would simply say, "paradise".

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by LOK222

ha ha..

i moved from DC where its pretty muggy in the summer but Houston is worse I think. Here in Dallas, the air is cleaner, the grass is greaner and it's not a steamer

Dallas' grass is not greener lol

[mpope409]

And I still say that the heat and "wetness" is somewhat of an exaggeration. Like for instance, right now, it's pretty windy and nice feeling in this area of Texas. You're looking at maybe 4 out of 12 months in the calendar year where the hot weather is a problem.

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by mpope409

Dallas' grass is not greener lol

well.. when I say "Dallas" I mean "frisco"

Greenist Grass in the world here

[metroplex2003]

I agree, statistics can really change things.
DFW has overtaken Philadelphia this year as the nation's 4th largest metropolitan statistical area in at just above 6,000,000 people. Yet Dallas is 9th largest city in US and Ft. Worth 19th largest.

The thing is, you almost have to consider the MSA, otherwise, you can start talking about cities such as Omaha, NE, or Louisville KT being the same size or bigger than places like Atlanta, GA. Atlanta proper has under 500,000 people. That's smaller than places like Indianapolis, Milwaukee, etc. But no one will argue that Atlanta is considered more of a major city than a place like Louisville, Kentucky. Thus, you have to look at the MSA's to get a more accurate reflection of the city.
Having said that, the Houston area is clearly smaller in population than the DFW area. Houston viewed by the US Census beareau has under 5.5 million people as opposed to DFW's 6.1 million. Yes Houston proper is the 4th largest city in the USA, but this is the result of excessive annexation, the same tactic used by Louisville, Kentucky to claim itself in the top 15 largest.
San Antonio has unrestricted growth access since it's not bound by suburbs like Dallas is. As a result, San Antonio proper has overtaken Dallas proper in number of people, but there is no one that would say that San Antonio is a more of a major city than Dallas. San Antonio MSA barely clears 1.7 million people. Hence, they have a very small airport, versus DFW having the 3rd largest airport in the world.

After reading all the opinions, I still think MSA's is a better reflection of an area than city proper, though its not perfect, especially when you're in the northeast and trying to define where Boston ends.

But if we just look at proper cities, then SF is not that big, St. Louis proper barely clears 350,000, Atlanta proper 483,000, Omaha proper upper 300k's, Indianapolis proper 700+K...many of these cities are perceived to be smaller than Atlanta, but their proper populations are bigger or close to that of Atlanta's. There is a reason that Atlanta supports the busiest airport in the world, b/c it's metro pop exceeds 5,000,000 and it's the largest urban center of the Atlantic southeast.

So, my vote is for DFW versus Houston on a variety of fronts:
1) more diversified economy. We do collectively have more fortune 500 companies than Houston. And you have to look at the collective area.
2) Traffic: Houston's main business districts (Downtown, Galleria/Uptown, and Med city district); all located within the inner loop. This poses for huge traffic nightmares and flow patterns. DFW’s business districts are more spread out: Downtown/Uptown, Las Colinas, Richardson Telecom Corridor, Tollway District, and downtown Ft. Worth.
3) More professional sports teams: DFW is only one of 4 major US Metro areas to have all major professional sports.
4) Cleaner city. Everyone has mentioned that. No one argues against it.
5) Dry heat vs. Humid. Enough said.
6) Shopping: We clearly win on this point. Though Houston gets kudos for its ethnic cruisine. Exclusive Texas stores are more likely to be found in the DFW area since DFW area has more wealth overall. DFW has 21 registered billionaires, making it #3 in the world for most number of billionaires in a metropolitan area. Only NYC and LA have more. We also have one of the highest millionaires per capita.
7) Better infrastructure: Though Texas cities are notorious for bad public transportation, our light rail/TRE is still decades ahead of Houston’s.
8) High rise construction: Dallassky.com will demonstrate that Dallas may become Texas' first truly walking city. This is made possible through careful city planning versus the no zoning rules of Houston. Though Austin as a relatively pedestrian city, Austin is relatively small and is more like a pedestrian college city. Dallas uptown/downtown is planning 50 brand new high rises to be added to the urban core over the next 5 years. In addition, they are planning to bridge their districts together with a centralized park.
9) DFW Int'l: This airport is 3rd largest in the world, 2nd largest in the US, 3rd busiest in the US. Once open skies agreements take hold, DFW's International Terminal D is poised to attract more international carriers, especially that from One World. Quantas, who is partners with American, is currently in discussion to offer non-stops to Sydney. American, being largest carrier in the world, is headquartered at DFW. DFW is also home to SWA, the largest discount airline in the world at Dallas Love Field.
10) DFW has the best of both worlds: Down to earth Ft. Worth, More Cosmopolitan Dallas. And maybe Houston is a hybrid of the two.

Points in Houston’s favor:
1) Slightly more ethnically diverse…thus allowing for more international service. Though with the recovery of American Airlines, this may change as the world’s largest airline has more reach with its one world partners than Continental does.
2) Close to beach and other Texas Urban centers. Houston is closer to Austin and San Antonio. This is a plus in Houston’s favor.
3) Restaurant scene: I give this to Houston, though this may not last forever given DFW’s 100K per year population growth and rapidly growing urban core that is currently outpacing that of Houston’s urban core growth.
4) Scenery: Yes DFW is boring scenery wise. Cannot argue that.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by LOK222

well.. when I say "Dallas" I mean "frisco"

Greenist Grass in the world here

Probably Astroturf, lol.

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by mpope409

Probably Astroturf, lol.

lol

maybe

but people from Hawaii vacation in Frisco. It's beautiful

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by metroplex2003

Thus, you have to look at the MSA's to get a more accurate reflection of the city.

New York is important without its metro area and San Francisco's metro is smaller than Dallas-Fort Worth's, but San Fran has more global points.

Having said that, the Houston area is clearly smaller in population than the DFW area.

This is because the DFW area combines two major cities (the only major U.S. metro to do so) plus suburbs. Houston's is only a major city and suburbs.

Yes Houston proper is the 4th largest city in the USA, but this is the result of excessive annexation, the same tactic used by Louisville, Kentucky to claim itself in the top 15 largest.

Houston did not annex its suburbs just in order to claim a top spot. That is ridiculous. It should also be noted that Atlanta as well New York annexed places. New York annexed Brooklyn which gave it a huge chunk of it's population. Granted, this was a very long time ago, but what if it hadn't happened? New York would be 2 million-plus smaller. Houston has to start somewhere.

We do collectively have more fortune 500 companies than Houston.

Dallas and Fort Worth combined have more Fortune 500 than Houston. Not Dallas.

More professional sports teams: DFW is only one of 4 major US Metro areas to have all major professional sports.

True.

Cleaner city. Everyone has mentioned that. No one argues against it.

Also true.

Shopping: We clearly win on this point. Though Houston gets kudos for its ethnic cruisine. Exclusive Texas stores are more likely to be found in the DFW area since DFW area has more wealth overall.

Not true! Dallas has more Class A shopping opportunities, but Houston has better shopping opportunities. You're going to find that a lot of the highest designers and fashion houses are not available in Dallas, but in Houston.

Better infrastructure: Though Texas cities are notorious for bad public transportation, our light rail/TRE is still decades ahead of Houston’s.

That's because it is ahead. Houston's is practically brand new and still under development. Upon completion, I assure you, it will be superior to DFW's.

High rise construction: Dallassky.com will demonstrate that Dallas may become Texas' first truly walking city. This is made possible through careful city planning versus the no zoning rules of Houston. Though Austin as a relatively pedestrian city, Austin is relatively small and is more like a pedestrian college city. Dallas uptown/downtown is planning 50 brand new high rises to be added to the urban core over the next 5 years. In addition, they are planning to bridge their districts together with a centralized park.

Houston is also under heavy development of walking communities. We'll see who finishes first .

DFW Int'l: This airport is 3rd largest in the world, 2nd largest in the US, 3rd busiest in the US.

That's because Houston has more than one international commercial airport. I believe that New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are the only others to share in this luxury. I may be wrong.

Close to beach and other Texas Urban centers. Houston is closer to Austin and San Antonio. This is a plus in Houston’s favor.

I fail to see how this is favorable.

Everyone in this state knows that Dallas has always been in competition with Houston, and has always tried to eclipse its accomplishments. It has in some ways, but it had help: good ol' Fort Worth, Texas. Houston is practically holding it's own since there are no other major cities in the area.

Third largest skyline after NY and CHI, second to New York in theatre seats (home to the next broadway?), home to most expensive neighborhood in Texas, suburb of Sugar Land voted third best place to live in U.S., largest medical center in the world, thriving mainstream music scene, etc., etc.

The competition will one day become unfair as Houston rises, and it's proper population is expected to add 3 million within the next twenty-five years (reference the TXC Network).