Describe stuck-up, materialistic and snobbish... (Dallas, Austin: high school, universities, salaries)

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by galore

every US citizen (even the ones who are getting a raw deal in these ideologically charged, divisive times) that I know loves the USA.

Got that right.

And we love Texas. Even DFW.

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by socketz

I work with dozens of highly educated indians and asians that feel the same way.

While I'm a natural born citizen, I have spent alot of time overseas and have to agree that there is not a better place on earth to live. The opportunities here are endless. What's sad is that fewer and fewer americans think this way.

The problem with this is, no one around the world wants to hear that. Do you want it hammered into you that Japan has a higher GDP with a better educated populous, or that Europeans are more sophisticated than us and that we in America have no culture. Most don't. This goes pretty much for people in general, whether it be northern suburbs vs southern DFW suburbs or Texas vs Kansas.

[Moth]

I did a year down in Dallas and thus have some thoughts on this.

Stuck-up: Nope. Folks in Texas are pretty friendly. It was a shock at first, but I came to appreciate it except when some started rambling about Jesus.

Snobby: No more than elsewhere and probably less so than most.

Materialistic: Yes. Without a doubt, Dallas is the most materialistic place I have ever experienced. I am not saying its devoid of intellectuals or cerebral thinkers, but most conversations invariably center on what grills to get, best deals for cars, houses in Plano (never understood the appeal of that place but whatever...), boats (sailing on those faux lakes), etc, etc.

I find this quite ironic as Dallas is dirt cheap and anyone making even a modest salary can live pretty well there (I had come from New York). Rather egalitarian when you think about it. But between the valet parking at the malls and the seemingly inexaustable supply of kept women, money, or at least the appearance of having alot seemed to be of utmost importance.

[Lakewooder]

Plano is not Dallas, thank God.

[CallMeLaura]

My boyfriend and I just had this conversation, as we're moving to McKinney next month. I've also had a similar conversation with a girl friend, who moved to Dallas from WI and then moved back.

Dallas is all about appearances. Even if you're not snobby, it's about appearances. People are friendly, but in a superficial way, to strangers and acquaintances that you just don't see outside of the South. I think how you view that depends on the type of interaction you're most comfortable with. I grew up with it, so it seems 'polite' to me and places to the north are unbearably rude. For people who grew up in the north, Dallas is shallow and fake and in places like Chicago they 'just tell the truth'.

I'm not a clothes horse, but I don't leave the house without my hair and makeup being done. I've been told I'm snobby in that respect, but from my perspective, looking put together just means that I care enough to look presentable. It's not about showing anyone up, but looking the best I can. I mean, who wants to look at dirty, ugly things?

But wanting to be surrounded by nice things doesn't mean outdoing anyone, either. I drove a 12 year old Honda Civic until this year. It was well kept and I spent a lot of time detailing it. Every mechanic who worked on it commented about how clean it was.

So, I think 'outsiders' may feel uncomfortable with the social customs. There are plenty of nice and genuine people in Dallas, just as there are in other places.

[KewGee]

CallMeLaura,

I'm willing to bet if you left the house without snazzing up your hair or wearing makeup that would not make you dirty and ugly by any stretch of the imagination.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

Dallas is all about appearances. Even if you're not snobby, it's about appearances. People are friendly, but in a superficial way, to strangers and acquaintances that you just don't see outside of the South.

That is called "common courtesy", even if applied to strangers ib public places.

[Moth]

That is called "common courtesy", even if applied to strangers ib public places.

And it is, for the most part, quite refreshing. I had no problem with it after I adjusted. The thing is, take those same nice people and put them in a car and they then morph into kamikazees. Dallas has the worst drivers in the universe.

[lh_newbie]

I'm not sure I agree with the "superficial way" comment. People are very friendly here. The comments about appearance is definitely alive and well in Dallas. Plastic surgery places are spread all over the place. In fact, I believe there's one called "Plano Plastic Surgery Center" or something like that.

Bleached hair, lots of makeup and fake boobs. Definitely a lot of each. If you really enjoy the "granola" look of Colorado folks - Dallas will put you in shock. Appearance doesn't stop at looks - it extends into toys, houses and cars. I always chuckled when I see an apartment complex chuck full of Lexus, BMW, Mercedes and Corvettes.

But, for all the fronting going on, people in general are genuinely nice and courteous. I really like that part of our culture here. When I lived in Michigan, if you made eye contact with a stranger in a public place, you got a funny look. Here, they will smile or say hello. I love it.

Brian

[DFWMike]

Wow, Sacshe is a ghetto? Just tell you're friends it's hard to be a Mexican ghetto when the percentage of hispanics is at 9%. Not suggesting I agree with the context of "Mexican" being equated with bad, but if we want to be factual there is an easy argument to be made. I don't think a place with an average household income of 69k(Plano's average is 71k btw) can be described as a ghetto in any fashion of the word.

Now obviously, not close to Frisco's average of 85k per household, but few cities in the Metroplex can measure up to that. The assertion that this ladies friends had, though, can be the very answer the op asked for as it exemplified snobbery in that a perfectly nice middle class city can be described as a ghetto because it's not the glitziest place in Dallas. Btw, it's not anymore rural than Frisco is, all of those large houses are being built on not so former cow pastures.