Is Dallas green with trees? Are people friendly? (Plano, Lewisville: apartment, condo)

[Jeohnny]

Dallas has lots of cool laid back people. Coming from the la area, people here overall are very friendly

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

Hello All,

My husband finds out in a week or two if we are moving to Dallas for a potential new job. We are currently living in the Denver area, and I'm hoping that Dallas will be much greener with more trees than the Front Range of Colorado. It's very brown, dry, dusty, and barren here in Denver much of the year, and this is the main thing about it that I don't like. I grew up in Atlanta, and since living in Denver, I've yearned to go back there just for it's beautiful trees, flowers, and plants. I'm hoping Dallas is somewhat similar to Atlanta with greenery. Many of the Dallas yards on Zillow (looking at surrounding suburbs of Dallas) look much prettier than Denver yards, and I'm so excited about this possibility! The housing is certainly much nicer in Dallas.

However, people on forums have said that Dallas has no natural scenic beauty and so I'm wondering if I'm missing something when I see all these pretty properties. What do they mean by this? Do you think this is true? Coming from the Front Range, just having greenery and trees would be beautiful and scenic after a few years in this very brown, dusty, dry place. The mountains in the background are beautiful to look at, but the actual Front Range is quite the opposite to me. Also, it rains so infrequently that it looks kind of dusty, dirty, and grimy to me all of the time in Denver. Does it rain a good bit in Dallas? If so, I'm hoping Dallas is cleaner looking than Denver with more rain and this would qualify as scenic beauty for me.

Also, are people as a whole friendly and warm in Dallas? I've found the people in Denver to be cordial and pleasant enough, but there is also a reservedness and aloofness as well. I would love to get back to a place with more of the warmth, social etiquette, sweetness, and hospitality of some places that I've lived in the South. Hoping Dallas has this as well.

Thanks in advance for any feedback everyone!

I have lived in ATL and DAL and spent a fair amount of time in Colorado/Denver.

Dallas has trees (more than I expected) but nothing like Atlanta. Atlanta though was mostly pine trees which are useless and clutter your "yard" with pine needles, IMO.

Dallas is greener than Denver but not as green as Atlanta.

Dallas is pretty dry July-September. Also extremely hot and unpleasant.

Atlanta is friendlier than Dallas. Dallas does not really have the southern hospitality you are expecting, but it's certainly better than what you will find up in northern cities. Probably more similar to Denver, IMO.

My order of preference is probably DEN > DAL > ATL. Did not care for ATL traffic, humidity, or house lots. Good food and friendly people though.

DEN is tops in my mind due to proximity to mountains and cooler summers, though to be honest I have never been there in the winter. Traffic and housing costs are worse in Denver, IMO.

I like Dallas, my main complaint is the unbearingly hot and long summers and nights.

You should be able to find average precipitation by month to compare rainfall amounts between ATL, DAL, and DEN.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

Thanks for those suburb references! Will definitely check out if we end up moving. Husband’s office would be in Irving so not sure if those areas are close. I’ve got to myself a yard-sanctuary with mature, large trees and shrubbery, and some tree canopy. I miss this so much and can’t wait to bask under some towering trees!

As others have alluded to, if you want large, mature trees you will need to stick to the older neighborhoods of Dallas. These would be neighborhoods in Dallas county, with downtown Dallas being the hub and branching out in a circle from there. Probably about a 10 mile radius from downtown.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

Also, I've been jogging on these dusty, rocky trails in flat, open spaces out here in Denver which is unpleasant especially in summer, and sounds like the local parks-trails in Dallas will be far more wooded and shaded. Also, the Front Range feels very crowded with houses all crammed together to me, lots of dense suburban sprawl, and so hoping Dallas is a bit more spread out with more land and space between everything.

Thanks everyone for your helpful input!

I think your vision of Dallas may not be quite what you are expecting.

I am not familiar with many densely wooded/shaded parks/trails here and suburban sprawl with crammed houses is pretty common here, I believe.

Others with more knowledge feel free to correct me if I am mistaken.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

I’ve read many online comments about Ft Forth being unusually friendly. Strange how Dallas-Ft. Worth are so close, but a lot of people say there is a difference in friendliness and warmth between the two cities. Elton John bought a house in Atlanta because he found Atlanta people so friendly, and I recall Atlantans being generally warm and friendly having grown up there.

Ft. Worth and Dallas are two very different places actually, considering they call it one area, "DFW". Very different places.....

[EcoDeb]

Originally Posted by octo

Parts of Dallas are very lush. Others are rather barren (usually where all the new construction happens).

My backyard looks like the Amazon from April to November. It’s wilderness along a creek.

Our yard is very lush as well, large Post Oaks and Native Elms, Lake Lewisville subdivision. Yes living near water is the key to larger trees (for Texas) as indicated.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You won't find large lots in many areas. Not sure what you consider large. Sure there are multi-acre lots for $10 million homes. You might find 1/4 acre at your price point, more if you will look at older houses.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by EcoDeb

Yes living near water is the key to larger trees (for Texas) as indicated.

I've explained this a few pages back, but in the case of Eastern Texas (along and east of I-35), the true key to large natural tree cover is really permissive soil. It just so happens that such soil is associated with waterway flood plains, given the layers of periodic sediment distribution.

With the red clay soils of East Texas, trees grow everywhere regardless of the presence or absence of water, and are of different species that what dominates Dallas. The East Texas red clay has different mineralogy than the classic shrink-swell clays of Dallas, and so isn't inhibitory to tree growth. Also, the pH of the red clay soils is very low, meaning that acid loving trees like pines, magnolias, and dogwood are favored over alkaline species like pecans, elms, and ash.

[Nn2036]

The old wealthy part of Denver is as green as Dallas.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by Nn2036

The old wealthy part of Denver is as green as Dallas.

The green in Denver isn't lush and/or widespread compared to Dallas, regardless of how well off the neighborhood is.