Is the Dallas, Plano, and/or FW area a good place to live for introverts? (Portland: 2013, living)

[TR95]

Originally Posted by sirdantes

Hello,

I generally like to keep to myself, is the greater Dallas area a good city to live in for an introverted, single, male, college student? I've lived in the Seattle area and enjoyed the weather, the considerate drivers, and the fact people generally kept to themselves and stayed out of each others way, the women just weren't really my type in generally (Very few Latin women or Mulatto's). I'm currently in San Diego, CA and HATE it. I don't really care for the overall attitudes of a lot of the people here and the drivers suck. I also am not a fan of the weather, it rarely rains and it's sunny virtually ALL the time.

I don't mind a friendly nod when passing someone but I'm not an overly social person, would Dallas fit me? I don't mean to be rude but please no questions about why I'm not sociable or why I'm not an extrovert, it's irrelevant. Thanks in advance for any replies!

-Sirdantes.

Yes, as others have said big downpours at once. And the ice that almost shuts down the city for a week. That may be a positive for you though.

Many more sunny days here than Seattle though. If you hate the drivers in SD, they're not much better here, probably worse, but just my opinion. See below link for a study.

Hell on wheels: The state with America's worst drivers revealed | Mail Online

Very interested in what you don't care about the overall attitudes of the people in SD. You don't have to say, but wondering what area as I never experienced that there.

I'm old so can't comment on the Latin women in Dallas, but the one or two times I have ventured out to the younger areas, I don't see many Latin women in the Dallas area, but sure they are there somewhere.

[TheOverdog]

Dallas doesn't just get rain in giant bursts of flooding downpours. Dallas gets measurable rain (>.10 of an inch) about once every two weeks for 8 months of the year. The longest strech I see without any rain this year was 26 days and that is in the summer. Compared to San Diego, that is pretty often.

A lot of our vegitation is not climate appropriate requiring something like an inch per week, which is why we are always in drought. There are only about 10 states in the US that get 50 inches a year to meet that requirement with rain water alone, most along the gulf coast and southern Atlantic coast.

[sirdantes]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I would have to be there to understand what you mean...It seems as though Dallas rain is spread pretty evenly throughout the course of a year. Please see link >>> What is the average annual rainfall in Dallas, Texas?

[milwaukeemarshall]

I think Dallas a great city for anyone and I also believe that you will enjoy this place if you decide to move here. My other is an extreme introvert and totally not social at all. This is not a bad thing as she has always been like this....and she loves the city. She can come and go as she pleases however I will say that the driving and drivers will take some getting used to. I am from Milwaukee where we considered drivers rude.....however the fast pace of Dallas freeways and the sheer amount of people will make you a more aggressive driver. I was not used to 6 lane freeways and commuters not letting you in while you enter the on ramp. I also was not accustom to needing to be "in my lane" miles before my exit. However, you will learn and adjust as needed. I think you will love the city and I agree 1000% with everyone else....the rain comes in bucket fulls. When it rains....it rains, however there is also spot raining....in which it can rain in one area and be drenched while totally dry in another area.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by sirdantes

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I would have to be there to understand what you mean...It seems as though Dallas rain is spread pretty evenly throughout the course of a year. Please see link >>> What is the average annual rainfall in Dallas, Texas?

On a monthly basis, more or less. Not on a daily basis. In Seattle you get a light rain (almost a mist really) for half the days or more. In Dallas you get a torrential downpour a couple days a month.

[sirdantes]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

You have to live here to know. Like others have posted, we get torrential rains just a few times per year, with flash flooding, etc. It happens so hard and fast that the ground doesn't have time to absorb much of it. Once that all runs off, we'll go weeks before seeing rain again. Most of the time, TX as a whole is in some stage of drought.

Oh ok, now I see what you mean. Yes, in the King County/Snohomish County Wa area there's a constant mist or shower that's on an off for the duration of the day and over night. It doesn't rain A LOT as far as inches, but it does rain A LOT as far as frequency during certain months. I'm originally from Norcal (The Valley) and it gets HOT during the summer...Not like Phoenix AZ, but still too hot for my liking. Does Dallas go through long stretches of intense heat?

[TR95]

Originally Posted by sirdantes

Oh ok, now I see what you mean. Yes, in the King County/Snohomish County Wa area there's a constant mist or shower that's on an off for the duration of the day and over night. It doesn't rain A LOT as far as inches, but it does rain A LOT as far as frequency during certain months. I'm originally from Norcal (The Valley) and it gets HOT during the summer...Not like Phoenix AZ, but still too hot for my liking. Does Dallas go through long stretches of instense heat?

Oh my yes. The first summer we were here topped 100 for over 40 days. Close to a record though and hasn't been close to that the last two summers. But yes, 95+ from June to end of September. I don't notice that it seems that hot though. There is humidity, but I remember sitting at a kid's soccer game in Carlsbad in October and it was 88 and it seemed way worse than 95-100 here in the summer. It's when it's 105 that it starts to bother me.

My biggest complaint is the wind speed. If you like to do things outdoors, play basketball, run, or anything else it seems the wind is usually 15+ mph except in the summer when it is 100+. Just have to plan the last leg of your run to be with the wind.

We had a choice between Seattle and here, and all my friends from Seattle said to sweat your ba--s off in Texas than deal with the gloominess and rain in Seattle. I think I would have to agree, no matter how beautiful Seattle is.

[BigDGeek]

Getting back to being an introvert...if you don't fit into a neat little package in DFW (married, married with kids, and/or Christian, etc.) it can be very difficult to meet people and form close friendships. I'm a 38 year-old female divorcee, so I'm like kryptonite.

If you don't want to make friends, trust me...people here won't make any effort to befriend you. (Even if you DO want friends, it's very tough for some.)

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

Dallas is one of the sunniest cities in the nation. It most certainly does not rain plenty, in fact, we're usually in some stage of draught for most of the year.

Originally Posted by sirdantes

Thanks for all the replies guys. MckinneyOwnr, according to the research I've done, Dallas gets about 40 inches of rain a year which is about two inches MORE than Seattle and about 4 times as much as San Diego. Seems like plenty of rain to me.

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Yeah but it comes in buckets, rather infrequently, so there are way more sunny days.

Originally Posted by stan4

It comes in large, infrequent doses.

I agree with these posters. If you like rain, you won't like Dallas. The Dallas sun is the most brutal and unforgiving of light and heat blasts. I've measured over 170F in my car. Rain is a rare treat here. If you don't love the sun, go elsewhere.

Traffic is surely worse here. Most assuredly because you will have no choice but to drive more because things are father apart.

There is indeed more space here - so you won't have people in your face 24/7 like in NYC. But people are more "friendly", so they will be more intrusive. Always saying hello, making small talk, yadda yadda. Personally I'm ok with that except for neighbors coming over all the time trying to be my buddy. I just need a better fence. But yeah, I think you can do that. Plus you could live in the coutry where there aint nobody.

[TheotherMarie]

I moved here almost six months ago, am an introvert, and spent a lot of my life in SoCal.
Here's my view so far:
The drivers here are scary. They drive fast and rude, compared to San Diego.
People pretty much keep to themselves. My poor dog LOVES people, and this is the first place we've lived where she can't get a stranger to pet her.
The weather is pretty dry and sunny. We get a downpour now and then. It's hot. And then it's cold. And then it's hot again. And then it's cold again. Weird weather.
And they've just started having earthquakes. Makes me feel right at home. : )