Uptown vs West 7th Ft Worth (Dallas, Fort Worth: appointed, fit in, lease)

[AA777]

Single professional guy in mid 30's moving from NYC and trying to decide between West 7th area in Ft Worth vs Uptown area in Dallas. Pilot at DFW so the distance seems about the same either way. Have a vehicle, so not a concern about public transit.

I have spent an afternoon in both areas walking around a bit but haven't been able to visit the areas at night yet when anything is going on so couldn't reply get a feel for anything. These are the two recommended areas I have heard most often for what I am looking for. I'm looking for an area that is WALKABLE to bars, restaurants, nightlife, music.. I know it won't be like NYC, but I don't want to have to worry about drinking and driving anywhere while going out at nights, plus I just like to have everything nearby in walking/biking distance. Hate cookie cutter suburbia track home type of areas where you have to drive forever to do anything, and generic strip mall bars/restaurants.

Having a hard time deciding between the two areas.. people tell me Ft Worth is more laid back, pickup truck driving, chill type of people, less pretentious women.. while Dallas is more fancy yuppie types with gold watches, botox and BMW's. I hear this stuff constantly from co-workers. I'm sure it's a highly exaggerated stereotype but everyone seems to say the same thing. I know I haven't spent much time in either area yet but I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two when I went in that aspect. From the way people described the difference to me I was expecting to see people riding horseback down the street in Ft Worth, trucks with gun racks on every corner, and girls in shorts and cowboy boots dancing on the bar tops in Ft Worth, while there would be Lamborghini's and boob jobs left and right in Dallas.. I was a little disappointed because both areas looked about the exactly the same with the same looking people, one area was just a lot smaller than the other area? I saw just as many expensive cars in both areas and didn't notice any more cowboy boots on the Ft Worth side (like I was led to believe) haha.

About me? It "sounds" like I would fit in on the Ft Worth side better from what I hear at work.. I wear T shirts and Jeans, don't tuck in anything unless I absolutely have to at work, very outdoorsy, athletic, ex Military and drive a Truck, lol. Masters degree, Into fitness, sports, biking, nightlife, music venues, running or hanging out at a patio bar with the dog, anything outdoors.. always like to have a variety of stuff/events nearby to do and a variety of restaurants/bars (preferably not generic chains). I avoid those type of places but it appears that is the majority of everything in DFW so I may be out of luck on that one. I have a good paying job, but I'm not a fancy type of person that needs to show everyone. I can't stand people like that to be honest.

My concern with the West 7th area is it seemed like a very small condensed area when I went there. Maybe I missed something? But I just thought there would be more to the area from the way people recommended it. Honestly I have gotten a lot more recommendations to go to West 7th than Uptown from co-workers so I am looking for more info here on that (none of the people recommending these areas to me live in either of them though, seems everyone I work with is married with kids in suburbia). Does the West 7th area get boring quick? Since there isn't all that much there? Uptown seemed like a much bigger more spread out area with more stuff to do, the area kinda has more stuff blended in as well like Victory park area, West Village, Knox-Henderson, Katy trail.. Right now I am really leaning towards Uptown...

Which area is better for singles? Single professional women 25 to early 30's? Meeting friends? 98% of everyone I work with at DFW seems to be married with kids, and older so I don't really know anyone in the area to do stuff with. Any recs or advice welcomed?

Thanks

[Aceraceae]

Dallas > Ft Worth

[#1soonerfan]

Your observations are correct. West 7th and Uptown are pretty much carbon copies of each other, with the former being a scaled down version of the later.

I personally prefer Ft Worth, but based on your suggestions you would probably like Dallas better. With that in mind, I would not live in the core of Uptown if you want to avoid the leased Beamer/fake boobs crowd. I just turned 30 myself and while I strongly prefer urban living, I find the thought of living right off of McKinney Avenue listening to 21-25 year olds screaming every weekend to be mildly infuriating.

If you can, broaden your search to Knox Henderson or some of the areas right off Lower Greenville Ave. Not as vibrant as Uptown but it is much more laid back and still walkable and with some character.

[TurtleCreek80]

I used to live in NYC. FW is charming, but it is S.M.A.L.L. I know I would be bored there quickly as a young single professional. The social circles in FW are very small, very. Whereas Dallas is large enough that you'll always be meeting new people but not as anonymous feeling as NYC is.

I would live in Uptown or possibly Design District to keep your commute times down and then plan to hang out in the more laid back neighborhoods like Henderson Ave, Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts District, Deep Ellum/Expo Park, Ross Ave just east of 75, etc.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I used to live in NYC. FW is charming, but it is S.M.A.L.L. I know I would be bored there quickly as a young single professional. The social circles in FW are very small, very. Whereas Dallas is large enough that you'll always be meeting new people but not as anonymous feeling as NYC is.

I would live in Uptown or possibly Design District to keep your commute times down and then plan to hang out in the more laid back neighborhoods like Henderson Ave, Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts District, Deep Ellum/Expo Park, Ross Ave just east of 75, etc.

I echo this exactly! Dallas is much larger, denser, and more diverse than Fort Worth. It is honestly not even close. Dallas has it all -- yuppies, hipsters, LGBT, black, Hispanic, very poor, very rich, etc in abundance in comparison to FW. Fort Worth is less transplant saturated than Dallas and feels more insular overall. There are also PLENTY of laid back areas in Dallas. If you get sick of the perceived "pretentious culture" of Uptown, spend some time in Deep Ellum, Cedars, Lower Greenville, or Bishop Arts District/North Oak Cliff. There are so many different areas to explore in Dallas! As much as I enjoy Uptown, it's not the only neighborhood in Dallas. West 7th in Fort Worth plays a much bigger role to the young professional crowd there because frankly Fort Worth doesn't offer much to that segment beyond that. Perhaps a little bit in Downtown.

[jdallas]

If you are limiting the criteria to Uptown vs 7th street as it pertains to a mid-30's guy looking for women 10 years younger, then Uptown is your place. Look for the kickball league after parties and the 'charity' pub crawls.
Quality vs quantity, I'd go with 7th St if you are looking for long term.
Honestly, most professionals I know who are active with running, biking etc. don't go anywhere near either location.

[AA777]

Thanks! So avoid directly off Mckinney? Is it better to be closer to the Victory Park area or the North side near West Village or even further North?

[TrueDat]

Second the Knox-Henderson area which is a little quieter than Uptown but it's right there if you want it.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by AA777

Thanks! So avoid directly off Mckinney? Is it better to be closer to the Victory Park area or the North side near West Village or even further North?

I'd say closer to West Village/Cityplace is your best bet. Blackburn and McKinney are the main roads that go through it. Lemmon, Cole, and the western side of 75 are the boundaries. There's a bunch of patio bars along McKinney starting from the Lemmon Ave. intersection and ending around the Hall St. intersection. From there going south along McKinney, it's about a good 5-10 minute walk until you hit the main area of Uptown's nightlife (more patio bars, clubs, etc). One of the Katy Trail entrances is off of Blackburn St, which is about a ~5 min walk from West Village. Slightly north of Blackburn along McKinney is Cole Park. And speaking of music venues, the Rustic is a popular outdoor concert venue off of Lemmon near 75. Behind it, is a dog park/bar . Honestly I think this area satisfies walkability to bars, outdoor trails, parks, dog parks, and music venues the most in comparison to other parts of Uptown. Nightlife isn't as abundant in this area as it is in the middle section of Uptown, but you're close to some bars and about a 10-20 min walk from the heart of it all.

[pepper131]

What the State Thomas area? We visit friends here often and like the more mature, friendly vibe. This area is just east of McKinney Ave behind the ZaZa.