Atlanta(midtown) moving to Uptown Dallas, lots of questions (McKinney: appointed, for rent)

[sassymoi]

Hello Dallas!

I'm a 30 y/o A.A. cardiology nurse moving to Dallas Spring. I've been looking at Uptown Dallas because it looks like it has that Boston type culture to it which i like. I'm a native of New England. However, i'm worried about the crime stats Dallas, TX Crime Map - Showing Crimes in Dallas - Crime Statistics, Alerts and Reports - Crime Stops Here for this area. Is it really that bad? Atlanta has crimes and i thought it was really bad here, but it seems as if the city of Dallas has it worst. I'm really interested in Uptown Dallas( it's quite an expensive area). I haven't decided what i'm comfortable with for rent. For now i'll stay with a max of $1200- the less the better since i'll be going to school.
I'm moving for 3 reasons, much needed change of scenery, medical school and dating. So how diverse is Uptown Dallas? I enjoy living in a safe and very diverse neighborhood with lots of fun and adventures stuff in the area( I'm a gemini- i like variety). Also how is the dating scene for African American professionals in this area? Also how bad are those tolls? We only have 1 toll here in Atlanta and it cost only 50 cents. On average how much do commuters spend on tolls in Dallas?
Thanks a bunch!

[JenG1974]

Ok - so Dallas crime is NOTHING like ATL crime. I lived in Atlanta for 5 years before moving back to this area. I would never go back to ATL - they couldn't pay me enough. My husband is from NYC and he loves Dallas - I don't think you will be disappointed.

[TrueDat]

Overall, crime is less in Dallas than Atlanta on a percentage basis. Atlanta always makes the list of most dangerous cities in the US, Dallas does not:

FBI Lists Top 20 Most Dangerous Cities In America In 2012 | 105.9 Kiss-FM

As for Uptown, it's not particularly dangerous, unless you consider exposure to so many bros and d-bags in one place dangerous (j/k). It is certainly the most walkable part of the city with lots of bars and restaurants and has easy access to light rail. But, as with any big city, you need to just keep your wits about you no matter where you are.

Exactly where are you working? You don't want a long commute if you don't have to. While not as bad as ATL traffic at its worst, Dallas traffic can be bad.

There've been many discussions on here about the dating scene here for AA females, lots of both pro and con. Compared to ATL and DC, the black professional population is much smaller but it does exist.

[CGGirl]

I'm not AA but I'm Hispanic and often mistaken for AA and I'm from NYC originally and lived in DC for over 10 years before moving here. I would not consider Uptown diverse at all. I lived in Uptown for 2 years and I walked everywhere and went to the bars around there. It was very rare for me to see anyone non-white. The social scene in Dallas appears to be quite segregated from what I've experienced. I barely even saw any African-Americans just walking around in Uptown. If I were to describe Uptown based on my experiences in NYC and DC, I'd say it was like a frat party. (Think lots of men in baseball caps and lots of women wearing shorts with high heels or boots).

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

I'm not AA but I'm Hispanic and often mistaken for AA and I'm from NYC originally and lived in DC for over 10 years before moving here. I would not consider Uptown diverse at all. I lived in Uptown for 2 years and I walked everywhere and went to the bars around there. It was very rare for me to see anyone non-white. The social scene in Dallas appears to be quite segregated from what I've experienced. I barely even saw any African-Americans just walking around in Uptown. If I were to describe Uptown based on my experiences in NYC and DC, I'd say it was like a frat party. (Think lots of men in baseball caps and lots of women wearing shorts with high heels or boots).

OK I'll play - and I know posts like these are your gag. So you either really believe what you write or it's some sort of joke. Did you ever go to the Lemon Bar? Baboush? Rio Room? Abacus? and on and on. I had lunch at Baboush about a week ago - I'm fairly certain I was the only white person in the building.

[poisonakki]

you took the words out of my mouth lol
I live in uptown and it's not diverse unless you include the population of hispanic and black students who commute to uptown to attend high school.
I occasionally will spot the rare black couple in uptown but if you see a black guy in uptown he's usually with a white chick/hispanic chick/asian chick etc. So hope OP is into dating non-black guys otherwise the the professional black male dating pool is pretty small.

Originally Posted by CGGirl

I'm not AA but I'm Hispanic and often mistaken for AA and I'm from NYC originally and lived in DC for over 10 years before moving here. I would not consider Uptown diverse at all. I lived in Uptown for 2 years and I walked everywhere and went to the bars around there. It was very rare for me to see anyone non-white. The social scene in Dallas appears to be quite segregated from what I've experienced. I barely even saw any African-Americans just walking around in Uptown. If I were to describe Uptown based on my experiences in NYC and DC, I'd say it was like a frat party. (Think lots of men in baseball caps and lots of women wearing shorts with high heels or boots).

[TrueDat]

The truth is probably somewhere in between. While the social scene in Uptown is not all white, it is predominantly white and will probably seem even more so to someone coming from ATL. As an AA myself, it seems like a lot of the professional social meetups are farther north, in Addison as there are several popular hangouts up there like Buttons http://www.buttonsrestaurant.com/#/addison and Soho http://www.sohofoodandjazz.com/

[Exult.Q36]

There are plenty of Black professionals in the DFW area, but they are spread out and not concentrated. I suggest you come with an open mind and don't expect Dallas to have the concentration of black professionals that DC and Atlanta have.

[CGGirl]

Originally Posted by EDS_

OK I'll play - and I know posts like these are your gag. So you either really believe what you write or it's some sort of joke. Did you ever go to the Lemon Bar? Baboush? Rio Room? Abacus? and on and on. I had lunch at Baboush about a week ago - I'm fairly certain I was the only white person in the building.

Not sure what you mean when you say that posts like these are my "gag". Never heard of Lemon Bar or Baboush or Rio Room. Either they were not along McKinney Avenue in the part of Uptown where I lived or they are new. The only Abacus that I know of is the restaurant in the Knox-Henderson area and I only know of it as a restaurant that was very good a few years ago and owned by Rathbun. I am not familiar with it being a bar or "hangout" type of place.

The places that I went to were in Uptown and not the West Village or Oak Lawn. I actually like the area further up by Turtle Creek.

The places I'm referring to are places that I frequented more than once or twice - places like the McKinney Tavern (can't remember the full name), Idle Rich, Gingerman, Uptown Bar and Grill. Baboush appears to be in the West Village and appears to be an African restaurant and so I imagine that's why it it was a more diverse crowd. You saying there was diversity at a place called Baboush is like me saying there was diversity at Ojeda's.

[CGGirl]

Apparently, the burbs must be where all of the minority professionals are because I've lived in Uptown, Oak Lawn, and East Dallas area and it's quite rare that I would see more than one or two Hispanics or AA's. When I was single, I didn't see it and now that I'm not single and now a mom, I still don't see it. Dallas just seems a lot more segregated than other areas I've lived (NY and DC). If I get off the Dart at Westmoreland or Downtown, I see a lot of diversity. I just don't see the diversity of minority professionals here in Dallas proper.