Why Aren't There More Tree/Green in Dallas Compare to Houston???? (Plano: sales, sales tax)

[GirlCoder]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

Given that you already have decided you will hate Dallas, I expect your experience here to be awful.

People get what they expect. I came to Dallas opting to give it a chance even though its no where near as pretty as Southern California. I came here with an open mind. And I love it. I would advise you to do the same lest you be subjected to misery of your own choosing.

I grew up in Long Beach, CA. I never bought a house here in Dallas hoping to move back. I just never had the money to.

Now I'm buying a house only because I'm sick of renting. I love fall and winter in Texas. I hate Hate HATE it here during Spring and Summer. LOATHE it. But I tolerate it because I met the man I love here in Texas so I guess I'll settle down a bit.

However, we're now both working to save money to leave. Maybe. Eventually. I do acknowledge that there are jobs here, and one must do what one must in order to pay the bills and put food on the table. I'm a software developer and the jobs here are easier to get and housing can be cheaper than southern California. I miss it terribly and I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to go back.

However, in the mean time, I make do. Hang out inside during these dreadful summers, and do things during fall and winters.

As for green, yeah, people have to go more central Dallas (I can't speak for Ft. worth) or more established (read: older) neighborhoods in Richardson, Plano, Garland, etc. There the trees have had a chance to grow and flourish. Outlying areas are still newly built. It's all brown to me in Plano/Frisco/The Colony/Lewsiville/McKinney/Allen.

[MaryS80]

Climate plain and simple. Houston is a humid coastal area that gets much more rain than Dallas. Some area of Houston are marshy/swampy it is simply a wetter place than Dallas. Trees need rain more than they need sun.

Also the soil here is pretty bad, not sure if that is naturally occurring or a result of over farming.

[knrstz]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

I still want to know who counted the trees.

I believe his name was Captain Obvious.

[rantanamo]

Houston is super green mostly to the north part of the city. Otherwise, there's a ton of wetland and prairieland. To call Houston as a whole very green is simply a huge misnomer.

And as for beautiful places, I notice that by far, most people DON'T live in the actual beautiful areas if they live in an attractive area. Its like saying, oh, Upstate NY is gorgeous. Most people in NY state Don't live there. My brother recently moved to Phoenix, and we did the whole natural wonders tour and stay around southern Utah, Sedona, Flagstaff, northern New Mexico. I said wow, this must be awesome to live so close to. He said, working people don't have time to enjoy this stuff most of the time. Its just mountains in the distance. He also reminded me of how few people live in these beautiful places. No different than LA. Most people aren't living in the hills above LA. You see them. You drive past them sometimes. Yes you can go to the beach if you can afford to live close, but most people live regular lives and live in a relatively flat place. A lot of the time, its the part of the metro that doesn't have the more awesome weather. As my neighbors from Seattle complained, where are the mountains and water. I was like wow, did you guys live on a nice hill overlooking the water. They said, Bill Gates does. But its there.

[ladarron]

Dallas has alot of trees in the Great Trinity Forest.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Scout_972

Some researchers suggest high humidity contributes to clog pours and limits the skin's natural oils from flowing.

America's "Worst-Skin Cities"? Houston, Pittsburgh and Bakersfield, Calif. (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Americas-Worst-Skin-Cities-Houston-Pittsburgh-and-Bakersfield-Calif-995105.htm - broken link)

So why is the worst city next to the driest part of California and then Houston? That undermines the whole point of the study. It seems these "researchers" picked cities at random.

I was so happy to get to San Francisco last summer after driving through those deserts but I noticed the cold more than the humidity.

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by Winter2010

If you live in Houston, you will find tons of greens, within the city limit and outside the city in some suburbs such as The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Spring, Kingwoods, etc. Lots of trees.

Why isn't it the same with Dallas? All you need is soil and water.

Most of the indegenous plants in Houston back during the time of the Texas revolution were unsightly. We are talking horrible looking. It is only in the northern part of Houston where one will begin to see the kinds of pleasant looking indegenous pine trees that existed back during the time Sam Houston was alive. A common mineral one will see in East Texas is a rich, red soil which I've always thought trees enjoy as it implies it is high in iron.
North of the Dallas area, one will see the rich, black dirt, the same soil of the heartland or of the rich bread basket of the midwest.
Just 65 miles northeast of Houston as the crow flies is the heart of the Big Thicket, the thickest forest of North America.
There did exist that forest area south of downtown Dallas, but things quickly become arid (cactus) just west of Fort Worth and in southwest Dallas county.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Winter2010

If you live in Houston, you will find tons of greens, within the city limit and outside the city in some suburbs such as The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Spring, Kingwoods, etc. Lots of trees.

Why isn't it the same with Dallas? All you need is soil and water.

Just that.

Dallas (North Texas) gets less rain than Houston (Gulf Coast/Southeast Texas) & has a different kind of soil not conducive to growing tall pine trees.

They're in two completely separate regions & climates. For example, most tropical vegetation & palm trees won't survive the harsh Dallas winters. Rarely, though there are exceptions (last winter) does it ever get below freezing down in Houston where in Dallas it can dip down into the teens for days, even weeks at at time.

[lizziebeth]

Haven't read all replies but I'm going to go with that it's more humid in Houston. The lower level of humidity along with the heat means shorter trees in DFW. I have noticed that the trees are taller especially north of Houston. While pretty, not worth the sweat.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Dallas actually has the largest urban forest in the US. The trees here just look different than those in the Piney Woods/ East Texas/ Woodlands area.

yes, indeed. they're much shorter lol.

look guys, everybody knows that dallas has trees, but we know good and well that what people mean when they reference a forested area, is the sheer amount of tall trees. no other major city in texas comes close

north houston:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...16651&t=h&z=15

houston sits on the edges of the southeastern forest, which is a smaller part of the larger eastern u.s. forest.

Originally Posted by lizziebeth

Haven't read all replies but I'm going to go with that it's more humid in Houston. The lower level of humidity along with the heat means shorter trees in DFW. I have noticed that the trees are taller especially north of Houston. While pretty, not worth the sweat.

oh, come on. yes houston gets more humid than dallas, but not astronomically so. thus making the lush greenery MORE than worth it