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I have family in Southern California and the Atlanta area. When I was living in Atlanta at the time, my aunt who's lived in and around Los Angeles - a city notorious for its racial issues - since the 1950s came down to visit her sister/my aunt who lives there. I was giving her a tour of Atlanta and we passed by Lenox Square (which is a semi-upscale mall in an upscale part of town), and my aunt asked me if it was true that Black people still weren't allowed to shop at that particular mall. This was in the mid-2000s, not in the 1960s. I only looked at her the same way I look at any elderly person who says something off the wall and gave a resounding NO, and quickly changed the subject. You know years later, she asked me the same damn question again?! People are going to believe what ever they want to, despite any evidence to the contrary...
Currently, I live in the DC Area, and I've had people ask me a lot of ignorant questions about life for black people in Georgia and if we got shot at or lynched once we left the confines of Interstate 285. And Georgia had its version of Vidor known as Forsyth County which prided itself on being a 'sundown town' well until the 1980s. I still remember when Oprah Winfrey filmed an episode there in 1987 and the local residents were proud of the fact that they ran the last black people out of the county back in 1912. This area is only about 30 miles north of Atlanta. Its a bit more integrated nowadays (It's 2% Black; 6% Asian; 9% Hispanic), but it still has a perception of racism among a lot of locals. I lived in a county right outside Atlanta that was about 20% African-American for a few years and I had friends and relatives from predominantly black sides of the metro who wouldn't visit me due to the county's reputation for conservative, right-wing politics and anecdotes from the 1970s and 80s.
My point in all of this? No, Texas is not the only Red/Southern State that has a lot of false, ignorant stereotypes, or people making rude, elitist remarks about the place. It's considered socially acceptable by many people to bash the South in general, Texas included. Interesting considering many northern states (Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts) have way more racial issues than your average southern state, but perception goes a long way, and old memories die hard.
Well we aren't that far off from disagreeing. Fair enough points. People from other states will have their preconceived and outdated notions of the state based on media narratives which make Texas out to be the scapegoat of all the right wing ills in the country. Even if most of the problems it's accused of can be found in other states and that Texas has long shed a huge chunk of that past and is one of the most developed states in the country. But that doesn't stop someone's bias being confirmed by a few ignorant people they might encounter while in Texas. I mean for pete's sake, the poster is from Georgia. Are you telling me there are no issues in Georgia, Outside of ATL?
I just think that for some it comes easy to just bash and label because they may feel is socially acceptable to say that stuff about Texas. Even if it comes off as a bit elitist and sometimes rude.
Preconceived or outdated notions? You guys are too much! Y'all really can't believe that these are issues that I have experienced. I had no thoughts coming in, thats why Im here obviously. Ive lived in a bunch of southern towns (I went to GA Southern for two years for goodness sake!) and it was the first time to where I experienced the type of discrimination that I did.
But whatever, I don't know why y'all feel so defensive about Texas. You can talk about ATL all you want and I wouldn't immediately go on the defensive. I have no desire to ever live in Georgia again, outside of ATL (and I don't even want to do that since if I did, I would be there)... like I said earlier, Ive lived in other parts of the Southeast... and nope, done with that! Anyway, Im not sure how this became a discussion about racism since that was but a small snippet of my post, but Im done with it. You can think what you want about me I guess (its just the internet and Im a big boy); y'all can think I have some kind of an agenda or someone who has been influenced by the left wing media or whatever y'all want to think (not even sure how having criticisms makes one an elitist but ok). I can assure you though, that Im fairly unbiased when it comes to trying new things and I give everyone/everything a chance, many times second chances. I have negatives for every place Ive lived/visited; I just happen to dislike the negatives here more than other places. Thats all, now flame away I guess.
Sorry for my role in this; never was my intention. I thought I was just sharing my opinion (I didn't think I actually said anything offensive)!
I think the racism thing is just something that residents of DFW are sensitive about. Like anywhere else in the US, there are plenty of historical examples of racism in the area. However, for the most part DFW as a whole is more integrated than many other metro areas so it is frustrating that there is a perception out there that DFW is more racist than say, Chicago (one of the cities you mentioned you would prefer), despite a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Basically, you are sharing your own experiences and I don't think anyone should try to discredit those. I would just maybe suggest that others may not have the same experiences. There are certainly plenty of things that can be pointed to in Chicago or LA that some people have had negative experiences with racism in those cities.
So yea, you are correct. Dallas is not the same as Ft. Worth, but that happens to be what most of my experiences are from since Ive been here. I enjoy Dallas quite a bit more; its also more "diverse" and a bit more integrated, in my opinion.
1. Don't get me wrong, I don't care what people believe or if they think Obama is the devil incarnate. What I am bothered with is people seemingly going out of there way to tell me their, sometimes, ridiculous takes on politics. I simply don't care what you think, politically. I don't know why you would go out of your way to make unnecessary political statements- especially is a business setting.
2. So, heres the thing, Im from Atlanta and people there are nowhere near concerned about that kind of stuff. At least that has been my experience.
3. I was in Seattle not too long ago. I love that place. I am surprised that you faced that much racism considering that Asian Americans looked to be prevalent there. I have a couple of friends there that are Asian; I will ask them their opinions and see if they feel the same way.
4. I probably hate the weather here for a couple of reasons. One of them being I have a fairly lengthy commute (~100 mile round trip commute). So, when the weather is bad, I get to feel the brunt of it in my brand new coupe that after having to endure this wear and tear, no longer looks new. lol Also, never had to deal with hail before; didn't realize it does that as often as it does here. So, yea, I will concede that I didn't my homework on that one at least.
1) I agree, it does bother me how vocal people seem to have become over the past few years about politics. Like, I'm here to have fun with a group of friends, not listen to them tell me why they hate politician x for reasons y and z. I would before say that politics hardly comes up in daily conversation, but that seems to have changed.
2) Point take. That said, based on my experience, people seem to ask what church people go to because church tends to many people to be important in their life. I don't mean that as in religion itself, but the church people or community. While I never felt uncomfortable as a nonbeliever being asked, I should understand that not everyone is the same as me, thank goodness.
3) Don't get me wrong, I love Seattle, and I make it clear throughout the forums that Seattle is my favorite city in the US (despite my unrealistic fear of volcanoes and earthquakes). To be honest, in Dallas, where I've lived most my life, I've only had three or so racist encounters, each surprisingly from Blacks, but that's whatever. So when I say I encountered more on the West, it isn't that much. Though there are a number of instances that jump into mind right now.
4) Well, as you may know from my post, I don't have exactly "normal" ideas of good weather. Though, I will say, it seems like the Fort Worth side of the metro has more extreme weather, particularly with hail, which honestly scared me more than earthquakes for no food reasons. Based on my experience, one hail storm a year is a "treat" and any more really gets me off guard.
I think the racism thing is just something that residents of DFW are sensitive about. Like anywhere else in the US, there are plenty of historical examples of racism in the area. However, for the most part DFW as a whole is more integrated than many other metro areas so it is frustrating that there is a perception out there that DFW is more racist than say, Chicago (one of the cities you mentioned you would prefer), despite a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Basically, you are sharing your own experiences and I don't think anyone should try to discredit those. I would just maybe suggest that others may not have the same experiences. There are certainly plenty of things that can be pointed to in Chicago or LA that some people have had negative experiences with racism in those cities.
I think the general population today is too shallow to have a meaningful intelligent discussion on this topic.
In order to get this discussion back on topic, I'll sum up why DFW gets a bad rap:
* DFW is the fourth biggest metro in the country, so you'd expect it to have character and a living experience similar to metros around the same size (DC, Philly, Chicago). In reality, 90% of the metro feels just like an expanded characterless version of Suburbanville, USA with boring strip centers on every corner that you could find in just about any state.
* The amenities offered in DFW are fairly similar to DC, Philly, and Chicago, but you have to be willing to drive for hours all over the metroplex. Because most people are unwilling to do this, your actual day-to-day living experience won't be that different from a small suburb in any state.
* There is nothing inherently unique about DFW. When you think of most major cities in the US, there is something that makes them unique (shotgun houses in New Orleans, bay window homes in San Francisco, row houses in most large cities). Before I moved to Texas, I had never visited the state. I honestly couldn't name one unique thing I wanted to see in DFW.
* The scenery is awful. Most other large metros in the US (if they don't already offer their own scenery) are a short drive to parks and nature. People actually recommend driving 3 hours or more to find nature.
I won't mention weather because if you are willing to move to Texas, you should know that it's hot.
In order to get this discussion back on topic, I'll sum up why DFW gets a bad rap:
* DFW is the fourth biggest metro in the country, so you'd expect it to have character and a living experience similar to metros around the same size (DC, Philly, Chicago). In reality, 90% of the metro feels just like an expanded characterless version of Suburbanville, USA with boring strip centers on every corner that you could find in just about any state.
* The amenities offered in DFW are fairly similar to DC, Philly, and Chicago, but you have to be willing to drive for hours all over the metroplex. Because most people are unwilling to do this, your actual day-to-day living experience won't be that different from a small suburb in any state.
* There is nothing inherently unique about DFW. When you think of most major cities in the US, there is something that makes them unique (shotgun houses in New Orleans, bay window homes in San Francisco, row houses in most large cities). Before I moved to Texas, I had never visited the state. I honestly couldn't name one unique thing I wanted to see in DFW.
* The scenery is awful. Most other large metros in the US (if they don't already offer their own scenery) are a short drive to parks and nature. People actually recommend driving 3 hours or more to find nature.
I won't mention weather because if you are willing to move to Texas, you should know that it's hot.
Having the best economy in the world is unique. Like Paris, Dallas is famous for having some of the most beautiful women in the world. It has been determined to be the safest place in the nation. That is why it was chosen as the place to build the super collider. It has the most dynamic market in the nation and probably the world. By dynamic, that means it has an incredible capacity to throw off industries and create new ones. The retail in Dallas is second to none. The area is unique with four busy airports and two major airlines.
In order to get this discussion back on topic, I'll sum up why DFW gets a bad rap:
* DFW is the fourth biggest metro in the country, so you'd expect it to have character and a living experience similar to metros around the same size (DC, Philly, Chicago). In reality, 90% of the metro feels just like an expanded characterless version of Suburbanville, USA with boring strip centers on every corner that you could find in just about any state.
* The amenities offered in DFW are fairly similar to DC, Philly, and Chicago, but you have to be willing to drive for hours all over the metroplex. Because most people are unwilling to do this, your actual day-to-day living experience won't be that different from a small suburb in any state.
* There is nothing inherently unique about DFW. When you think of most major cities in the US, there is something that makes them unique (shotgun houses in New Orleans, bay window homes in San Francisco, row houses in most large cities). Before I moved to Texas, I had never visited the state. I honestly couldn't name one unique thing I wanted to see in DFW.
* The scenery is awful. Most other large metros in the US (if they don't already offer their own scenery) are a short drive to parks and nature. People actually recommend driving 3 hours or more to find nature.
I won't mention weather because if you are willing to move to Texas, you should know that it's hot.
Talk about an eeyore.
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People are going to believe what ever they want to, despite any evidence to the contrary... 
