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Sad I just found this thread after it has peaked, but still gotta comment.
Grew up in Georgia, undergrad in Alabama, first came to TX for grad school in Fort Worth in the 80s, then after two year stint in UK, to Atlanta (Marietta specifically) for 14 years and now in Dallas (McKinney actually) for 5. All 14 years in Marietta, the inlaws were in McKinney so came at least once a year, so I have seen both areas grow for decades.
Atlanta and Dallas are similar in size, especially if you consider Dallas and suburbs outside of Fort Worth. Both have a faster growing, more upscale northside, starting with the wealthiest close in area (Buckhead and Highland Park respectively) and moving on northward to the wealthiest suburbs. Growth in both has been disproportionately northward.
Both have miniority dominated disadvantaged areas immediately south of downtown. The southern suburbs of both, once totally white in both are now turning minority.
The minority breakdown is one of the larger differences. I would say both metro areas are still majority Anglo, but the minority in Atlanta is dominated by African Americans. Don't know my statistics exactly, but I believe the Hispanic community in Dallas is larger than the black community. Atlanta has only had a sizable hispanic community for the last decade or so. The larger hispanic community in Dallas gives it a different feel. Please don't castigate me, not saying this in anyway negatively, it is just a marked difference.
The geography of the area is what is markedly different. This has already been mentioned before, but as a native Georgian, I miss the trees the most. Not that Dallas doesn't have some mature trees, but they just don't compare to mature trees in Georgia. Also, it is the type of trees. I miss the pines something fierce.
In an earlier post, someone posted a picture of a large treeline with the Dallas skyline behind. But you don't see that thick of a forested area in Dallas except in a floodplain of a creek or river. I would bet that picture was taken around the Trinity somewhere, and it is not an area that I would stroll in. There is nothing like the Chattahoochee river park or the Kennesaw Mountain battleifed, right in the thick of metro Atlanta where you can hike and feel like you have driven three hours north deep into the mountains.
The biggest tree difference comes out here in suburbia. Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney have all for the most part sprouted up in the last two decades out of completely flat cornfields with little to no established tree cover. There are areas where the horizon is nothing but an endless sea of roofs. Downright ugly. The houses are beautiful, but the lot sizes in this part of suburbia are much smaller than Atlanta. We always had a nice backyard in Atlanta, here in Dallas it is a blank postage stamp lookin at a blank privacy fence. Ugly.
Both have grown from migration from northern cities. I find more Californians here in Dallas, more Michigonians and Pennsylvanians in Atlanta, but both are common in that transplants greatly outnumber natives.
Traffic in Dallas is somewhat better, but going from downtown Dallas to Collin County is rarely better than downtown Atlanta to Marietta at rush hour. The better thing about Dallas is the east/west tollways in the northern burbs, something Atlanta sorely lacks. The George Bush Tollway would be like having an expressway from Marietta to Roswell to Duluth. The 121 Tollway is nearing completion and would be like having an expressway from Acworth to Alpharetta to Buford. Imagine the ease of moving around northern metro Atlanta if there were two roads like that north of 285. Don't like the fact that they are tollways, tho. Only have the one toll on 400 in Buckhead, toll roads are becoming the norm here in northern Dallas burbs.
Most of what else I could post would be redundant to other posters, but I prefer Atlanta, warts and all. But then again Atlanta is home, and most of us have a bias for home.
Last edited by Saintmarks; 09-05-2008 at 02:41 AM..
Sad I just found this thread after it has peaked, but still gotta comment.
In an earlier post, someone posted a picture of a large treeline with the Dallas skyline behind. But you don't see that thick of a forested area in Dallas except in a floodplain of a creek or river. I would bet that picture was taken around the Trinity somewhere, and it is not an area that I would stroll in. There is nothing like the Chattahoochee river park or the Kennesaw Mountain battleifed, right in the thick of metro Atlanta where you can hike and feel like you have driven three hours north deep into the mountains.
For a good hilltop feel, try Cedar Hills State Park. Also, the Cross Timbers area is a very thick, extended forest not in a floodplain. It is long and narrow and bisects the DFW area. Try looking anywhere from Mansfield, through Arlington, through Southlake, through Western Denton county, all the way to Oklahoma.
Most of what else I could post would be redundant to other posters, but I prefer Atlanta, warts and all. But then again Atlanta is home, and most of us have a bias for home.
Best point of this entire thread IMO. I have lived in both Atlanta (Duluth) and Dallas (grew up in the DFW area); I would substitute Dallas for Atlanta in the above quote.
For a good hilltop feel, try Cedar Hills State Park. Also, the Cross Timbers area is a very thick, extended forest not in a floodplain. It is long and narrow and bisects the DFW area. Try looking anywhere from Mansfield, through Arlington, through Southlake, through Western Denton county, all the way to Oklahoma.
I have seen both these areas and get a little relief in my soul, however they are not that accessible to McKinney. McKinney does have some great floodplain areas that are nicely wooded. I like the older part of McKinney, the only part of this suburban expanse that reminds me of home.
When I need a good fix for what really feels like home, I head over toward Tyler. Have been on an overnight church conference at a Christian retreat center near Lake Palestine and it had the big pines and azaleas and felt like I was right back in Georgia.
I have seen both these areas and get a little relief in my soul, however they are not that accessible to McKinney. McKinney does have some great floodplain areas that are nicely wooded. I like the older part of McKinney, the only part of this suburban expanse that reminds me of home.
When I need a good fix for what really feels like home, I head over toward Tyler. Have been on an overnight church conference at a Christian retreat center near Lake Palestine and it had the big pines and azaleas and felt like I was right back in Georgia.
It's unfortunate that you feel that way, not because there's anything wrong with pine trees, but because you appear to have a hard time adjusting to... and enjoying... new surroundings and experiences. If you could be just as happy in one place as another, you'd be happier than you are now.
There is nothing in McKinney that is really painful or dangerous. You could have been in European Georgia when the Russian army was blasting buildings with tanks, you could be living on $500 per year in southern Mexico, you could be trying to escape from battling guerillas in some war-torn African province... you could be an unemployed factory worker living on the government dole in England... the lack of pine trees is just a minor blip in the whole catalog of human misery.
I have seen both these areas and get a little relief in my soul, however they are not that accessible to McKinney. McKinney does have some great floodplain areas that are nicely wooded. I like the older part of McKinney, the only part of this suburban expanse that reminds me of home.
When I need a good fix for what really feels like home, I head over toward Tyler. Have been on an overnight church conference at a Christian retreat center near Lake Palestine and it had the big pines and azaleas and felt like I was right back in Georgia.
yes East TX
Tyler to Lufkin reminds me of Georgia(Atlanta and metro) not as fast pace as a DFW. More peaceful and wooded.
Atlanta has a "smell the roses" quality. Dallas is more big city.
Sad I just found this thread after it has peaked, but still gotta comment.
Grew up in Georgia, undergrad in Alabama, first came to TX for grad school in Fort Worth in the 80s, then after two year stint in UK, to Atlanta (Marietta specifically) for 14 years and now in Dallas (McKinney actually) for 5. All 14 years in Marietta, the inlaws were in McKinney so came at least once a year, so I have seen both areas grow for decades.
Atlanta and Dallas are similar in size, especially if you consider Dallas and suburbs outside of Fort Worth. Both have a faster growing, more upscale northside, starting with the wealthiest close in area (Buckhead and Highland Park respectively) and moving on northward to the wealthiest suburbs. Growth in both has been disproportionately northward.
Both have miniority dominated disadvantaged areas immediately south of downtown. The southern suburbs of both, once totally white in both are now turning minority.
The minority breakdown is one of the larger differences. I would say both metro areas are still majority Anglo, but the minority in Atlanta is dominated by African Americans. Don't know my statistics exactly, but I believe the Hispanic community in Dallas is larger than the black community. Atlanta has only had a sizable hispanic community for the last decade or so. The larger hispanic community in Dallas gives it a different feel. Please don't castigate me, not saying this in anyway negatively, it is just a marked difference.
The geography of the area is what is markedly different. This has already been mentioned before, but as a native Georgian, I miss the trees the most. Not that Dallas doesn't have some mature trees, but they just don't compare to mature trees in Georgia. Also, it is the type of trees. I miss the pines something fierce.
In an earlier post, someone posted a picture of a large treeline with the Dallas skyline behind. But you don't see that thick of a forested area in Dallas except in a floodplain of a creek or river. I would bet that picture was taken around the Trinity somewhere, and it is not an area that I would stroll in. There is nothing like the Chattahoochee river park or the Kennesaw Mountain battleifed, right in the thick of metro Atlanta where you can hike and feel like you have driven three hours north deep into the mountains.
The biggest tree difference comes out here in suburbia. Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney have all for the most part sprouted up in the last two decades out of completely flat cornfields with little to no established tree cover. There are areas where the horizon is nothing but an endless sea of roofs. Downright ugly. The houses are beautiful, but the lot sizes in this part of suburbia are much smaller than Atlanta. We always had a nice backyard in Atlanta, here in Dallas it is a blank postage stamp lookin at a blank privacy fence. Ugly.
Both have grown from migration from northern cities. I find more Californians here in Dallas, more Michigonians and Pennsylvanians in Atlanta, but both are common in that transplants greatly outnumber natives.
Traffic in Dallas is somewhat better, but going from downtown Dallas to Collin County is rarely better than downtown Atlanta to Marietta at rush hour. The better thing about Dallas is the east/west tollways in the northern burbs, something Atlanta sorely lacks. The George Bush Tollway would be like having an expressway from Marietta to Roswell to Duluth. The 121 Tollway is nearing completion and would be like having an expressway from Acworth to Alpharetta to Buford. Imagine the ease of moving around northern metro Atlanta if there were two roads like that north of 285. Don't like the fact that they are tollways, tho. Only have the one toll on 400 in Buckhead, toll roads are becoming the norm here in northern Dallas burbs.
Most of what else I could post would be redundant to other posters, but I prefer Atlanta, warts and all. But then again Atlanta is home, and most of us have a bias for home.
This is one of the better comparisons in this thread between the two. Major points for that.
And I'm sorry, the Crosstimbers (what's left of it anyway) just doesn't compare to the tree cover in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia. Sorry.
And I live near Kennesaw Mountain, and having it right near my backyard rocks. Cedar Hills Park is decent for the area, but it just isn't the same.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder -- some people apparantly think prairie is paradise, some prefer forests. YMMV. No need to argue about that.
It's unfortunate that you feel that way, not because there's anything wrong with pine trees, but because you appear to have a hard time adjusting to... and enjoying... new surroundings and experiences. If you could be just as happy in one place as another, you'd be happier than you are now.
There is nothing in McKinney that is really painful or dangerous. You could have been in European Georgia when the Russian army was blasting buildings with tanks, you could be living on $500 per year in southern Mexico, you could be trying to escape from battling guerillas in some war-torn African province... you could be an unemployed factory worker living on the government dole in England... the lack of pine trees is just a minor blip in the whole catalog of human misery.
I appreciate your concern, but it is nothing I am in distress about! My being in TX is in part economic and family driven in ways that I have no control over at this time in my life. There is much that I do appreciate about Texas but there is also some sadness in the whole reason I am here and that does cloud the picture a bit.
I grew up in Meriwether County Georgia on land that has been in my family since pre-Civil war era (no, not a large plantation by any means, just a family farm). That farm is now wooded, with hills, streams, wildlife. It is in my blood and in my soul.
As a child growing up there, I couldn't wait to get out. Now as I near the mid century mark, I ache to be back there. Someday I will, but until then it is the daily suburban grind.
Seeing the pines reminds me of another time and a time to come.
yes East TX
Tyler to Lufkin reminds me of Georgia(Atlanta and metro) not as fast pace as a DFW. More peaceful and wooded.
Atlanta has a "smell the roses" quality. Dallas is more big city.
That's because Atlanta with the transplants and all still has that Southern Charm. Dallas really never had that. If they did, it's basically gone now (outside of the black community). I also feel Dallas is a bit more fast pace than Atlanta but not much more.
In an earlier post, someone posted a picture of a large treeline with the Dallas skyline behind. But you don't see that thick of a forested area in Dallas except in a floodplain of a creek or river.
That isn't true. The actual city of Dallas (except the downtown core) + the embedded park cities are full of trees. If you take a picture standing on one of the elevated roads like Van Dyke road looking west, you'd think the area is a huge forest.
What's really bad in the metro area is the approach from DFW to Dallas - just horrible topography and ugly grassy areas with no trees. And then horrid developments like Valley Ranch! A sea of cookie cutter composite shingle roofs! I suspect that this first impression forms a lot of opinions!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saintmarks
The biggest tree difference comes out here in suburbia. Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney have all for the most part sprouted up in the last two decades out of completely flat cornfields with little to no established tree cover. There are areas where the horizon is nothing but an endless sea of roofs. Downright ugly. The houses are beautiful, but the lot sizes in this part of suburbia are much smaller than Atlanta. We always had a nice backyard in Atlanta, here in Dallas it is a blank postage stamp lookin at a blank privacy fence. Ugly.
Yeah, the (strangely very popular) suburbs can be shockingly barren.
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