Is Dallas green with trees? Are people friendly? (Irving, Denton: appointed, transplants)

[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!

[gtt99]

Is Dallas green with trees? NO

Are people friendly? NO

[bluescreen73]

Dallas has considerably more tree canopy than Denver, but it's not as lush and green as Atlanta. As a general rule of thumb, anything that isn't irrigated will be yellow or brown from July/August 'til February/March. The newer areas on the fringes to the north and east tend to have less tree cover (but still more than Denver).

Dallas is hot and doesn't get a lot of precip in the summer. Highs from 90-100 with lows in the 70s are pretty much the norm. It's not at all uncommon for the temperature to still be pushing 90 degrees at 10 or 11pm in July and August. No more windows open in the summer. You'll be a slave to air conditioning 24/7 from mid-June through mid-September.

As far as "no scenic beauty," have you ever driven across Kansas? Dallas is more or less east-central Kansas with more trees. Mostly flat with very little discernible topography. If you're into hiking it'll bore the hell out of you.

Are the people friendly? For the most part, but there are definitely pockets of snobby douchebaggery in places like uptown and the popular northern burbs.

FWIW, the older the housing stock in Dallas the better. A majority of the houses made from about 1995ish on are cookie-cutter and bland.

[calgirlinnc]

YES there are trees! Keller, Flower Mound, Grapevine all have trees. The green factor depends on the time of the year. It does get brown in winter. DFW is not as green as Atlanta, but it is also less humid.


YES people are friendly unless they are driving or arguing on City Data.

[Chloe333]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Dallas has considerably more tree canopy than Denver, but it's not as lush and green as Atlanta. As a general rule of thumb, anything that isn't irrigated will be yellow or brown from July/August 'til February/March. The newer areas on the fringes to the north and east tend to have less tree cover (but still more than Denver).

Dallas is hot and doesn't get a lot of precip in the summer. Highs from 90-100 with lows in the 70s are pretty much the norm. It's not at all uncommon for the temperature to still be pushing 90 degrees at 10 or 11pm in July and August. No more windows open in the summer. You'll be a slave to air conditioning 24/7 from mid-June through mid-September.

As far as "no scenic beauty," have you ever driven across Kansas? Dallas is more or less east-central Kansas with more trees. Mostly flat with very little discernible topography. If you're into hiking it'll bore the hell out of you.

Are the people friendly? For the most part, but there are definitely pockets of snobby douchebaggery in places like uptown and the popular northern burbs.

FWIW, the older the housing stock in Dallas the better. A majority of the houses made from about 1995ish on are cookie-cutter and bland.

Good to know that Dallas has more tree canopy, but was hoping the green would last more into the fall. I know the summer heat will be pretty rough, but it's not exactly cool here in Denver in the summers either. It's very dehydrating here with the dryness and heat in the summer. Thanks for all this helpful info! People have said that Ft. Worth is generally a friendly city, and that Dallas does have some superficial, overly materialistic pretentious pockets as you say.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

Good to know that Dallas has more tree canopy, but was hoping the green would last more into the fall. I know the summer heat will be pretty rough, but it's not exactly cool here in Denver in the summers either. It's very dehydrating here with the dryness and heat in the summer. Thanks for all this helpful info! People have said that Ft. Worth is generally a friendly city, and that Dallas does have some superficial, overly materialistic pretentious pockets as you say.

If you can handle Atlanta summers, you will be able to handle Dallas summers.

[EcoDeb]

People move to Dallas to work and earn a decent pay. Coming from the mountains of NCarolina, Dallas is not scenic or what I would consider green. Summers are usually very dry. We dig the people here. We live close to Denton, a college town with an arts scene. Our hood in the burbs is smaller and really super people! Wish y'all the best in your decision.

[Chloe333]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

YES there are trees! Keller, Flower Mound, Grapevine all have trees. The green factor depends on the time of the year. It does get brown in winter. DFW is not as green as Atlanta, but it is also less humid.


YES people are friendly unless they are driving or arguing on City Data.

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!

[HP48G]

You will be disappointed if you’re expecting extensive tree coverage. This is a flat prairie, there are no magnificent native specimens... native vegetation is mostly brush, with medium sized trees confined to the flood plains of creeks

As for planted trees, only the older neighborhoods have decent sized trees. Everything else is still mostly young nursery trees.

We also have oak wilt, so lots of large oaks are dying every year, and with the fear of damage to foundations, many people decide to remove very large trees from their yards.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by Chloe333

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.

In the vast majority of forum discussions, "natural scenic beauty" is essentially just a code word for mountains/topography. Because Dallas lacks such topographic features, it's considered by default to lack natural scenic beauty.

Dallas will certainly an improvement over Denver in regards to trees, greenery, and rainfall, but it won't be to the levels seen in Atlanta. Nevertheless, many of the same eastern trees and plants that thrive in Atlanta can also be cultivated in Dallas. And given that you were already impressed with the Dallas yards you saw in Zillow, it all should help in allowing you to adjust better in Dallas.

As far as people, perspectives will vary depending on who you encounter and where. There are plenty of Southerners/Texans in Dallas who embrace their etiquette, but the city also has many domestic/international transplants, who may or may not have been assimilated to that practice.