Why does everyone seem to hate Frisco? (Houston, Dallas: transplants, subdivision)

[UnfairPark]

Frisco is nothing special but its fine, no one hates or loves it. Its just a matter of personal need, preference or budget. Its not NY,London or Paris for people to care enough to passionately love or hate it.

[bluescreen73]

It's gotten way more diverse but when we lived in DFW it was Stepford, Texas. A bunch of pretentious, waspy jackholes who acted like their crap didn't stink. Used to get a kick out of seeing their faces when I told them about the city's history of brothels and illicit bath houses. Still can't believe how much people will pay to live in an area that, for the most part, looks like Kansas.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

It's gotten way more diverse but when we lived in DFW it was Stepford, Texas. A bunch of pretentious, waspy jackholes who acted like their crap didn't stink. Used to get a kick out of seeing their faces when I told them about the city's history of brothels and illicit bath houses. Still can't believe how much people will pay to live in an area that, for the most part, looks like Kansas.

ouch

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I mean there are stuff to go see there, the Star for one, and FC Dallas games are a ton of fun, but it's a paint to get up there, I'm mostly only up there for work.

I know, and I saw all that when I was up there.

But if I don't take the toll roads, it takes just as long to get there from my apartment as it does to Waco. And with no public transportation options there, it just adds to me not really seeing it as a major destination.

[aznkobee]

I live in suburban Plano and I still hate Frisco. My realtor tried HARD to get me to buy Frisco. The way they designed the whole gigantic retail strip is very bad imo. You have like a bazillion stores with hundreds of cars but only 2-3 entrances and you can never find your damn store once you are in. Its like they are playing a game of mazes and round-abouts. I avoid frisco more than I avoid dallas

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by DTXman34

1. How does one add over a million people? Easy. Better urban planning! Have you seen the acres upon acres of surface parking lots in Downtown Dallas? Dallas alone could've absorbed most of the multi-family housing growth. Not having 6-8 lane arterial roads and expanding public transit/improving walkability would also help. Making SFH neighborhoods more walkable and connected to a business center. Only if you think "good" urban planning is built on the basis of "drive to everything" would a place like Frisco be justified.

2. Political factors in northern cities? If this was true, NYC, Chicago, and Boston would be declining. No, it mostly has to do with geographical/terrain constraints along with the fact each city is different from another with a totally different history.

Your phobia of suburban life is comical. And yes, Chicago is declining. Look at statistics. And NYC and Boston are certainly the outliers of metro growth compared to the rest of the rustbelt. Nothing like the growth here in Texas.

But lets take them for example. Have you seen the suburban sprawl of these cities? All of northern NJ, Long Island, SE Connecticut.... suburban sprawl from NYC. Chicago spreads as far out from the core if not moreso than Dallas, into Wisconsin and Indiana. Boston the same, into NH and RI. Suburban "sprawl" is here. There is a demand for it.

People own land and have a right to sell it to a developer. Communities can vote to zone for whatever kind of growth they want. If there is no demand the people will not come. If they do, they will come. No reason to cram everyone into highrise blocks when there is affordable land mile after mile after mile in any direction you go here in Dallas. When people get tired of a commute and the price is unaffordable, they may choose to live closer in on less space. Until then, the have the right to choose what suits them best. It's the American way. Long may it live.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Your phobia of suburban life is comical. And yes, Chicago is declining. Look at statistics. And NYC and Boston are certainly the outliers of metro growth compared to the rest of the rustbelt. Nothing like the growth here in Texas.

I'm not against suburban life, especially pre-1950's suburbs. These early suburbs had SFH and front & backyards, but also had sidewalks, walkability to business districts, and street-car access. You have several means of getting around -- car, foot, bike, or street-car. AKA REAL TOWNS!!

I'm against suburban design that is built exclusively for cars, especially when over 90% of transportation $$$ are being spent on it. We need more areas like Bishop Arts or old Downtown Plano and less places filled with disconnected subdivisions, 6-8 lane wide arterial roads, and strip malls with massive parking lots in front.

And speaking of Chicago, it's still a better city to be poor in than here. At least you're not spending half your income on transportation just to get to a low paying job.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

People own land and have a right to sell it to a developer. Communities can vote to zone for whatever kind of growth they want. If there is no demand the people will not come. If they do, they will come. No reason to cram everyone into highrise blocks when there is affordable land mile after mile after mile in any direction you go here in Dallas. When people get tired of a commute and the price is unaffordable, they may choose to live closer in on less space. Until then, the have the right to choose what suits them best. It's the American way. Long may it live.

Of course they have a right to sell it to a developer, but you can't just build whatever you want. And since the 50's, most of our suburbs are mandated by law to cater exclusively to cars. So you have NO choice but to live that way in the majority of modern day suburbs. It's illegal to build mixed-use in many communities as well. We do not allow market demands in our zoning, which is why we have so much sprawl to begin with. If we did, we would see a lot more variety in terms of communities and definitely more pre-WW2 style suburbs (aka street-car 'burbs). The "American Way" also means "freedom of choice," and unfortunately we have few alternatives other than crammed high rise living or car-centric subdivisions. Talk about extreme with few choices in-between.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by DTXman34

Of course they have a right to sell it to a developer, but you can't just build whatever you want. And since the 50's, most of our suburbs are mandated by law to cater exclusively to cars. So you have NO choice but to live that way in the majority of modern day suburbs. It's illegal to build mixed-use in many communities as well. We do not allow market demands in our zoning, which is why we have so much sprawl to begin with. If we did, we would see a lot more variety in terms of communities and definitely more pre-WW2 style suburbs (aka street-car 'burbs). The "American Way" also means "freedom of choice," and unfortunately we have few alternatives other than crammed high rise living or car-centric subdivisions. Talk about extreme with few choices in-between.

I don't see any design difference in Dallas from uptown to Frisco. Wide arterial streets, big lots, not walkable, car centric, strip shopping centers. In fact much of Dallas is less dense than the burbs.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

But lets take them for example. Have you seen the suburban sprawl of these cities? All of northern NJ, Long Island, SE Connecticut.... suburban sprawl from NYC.

You have absolutely not been to northern NJ, most of Long Island, or ANY of SE Connecticut if you are even mentioning them in the same breath as a DFW (or other Sunbelt city) suburb. Same goes for nearly every true suburb of Boston. They just aren't laid out anywhere close to the same way. If you are going to use the term sprawl for one, you need a different term for what's going on in the others.



I don't hate places like Frisco in and of themselves, because I don't ever have to go there. I do greatly dislike people from Frisco who go on and on about how they're "right in the heart of it all" but I have infrequent contact with people living anywhere in Collin County - one of the few fringe benefits of the snobbery endemic to my industry.