Why is Dallas so underrated for nightlife? (Houston, Austin: crime, college)

[PolarSeltzer]

So I don't live in Texas, but have spent a lot of time in its major cities, and in my opinion Dallas has the best nightlife by far. Austin may have the most concentrated nightlife but it's too college-oriented and doesn't have the variety you expect in a big city. Houston has great hip-hop clubs and overall good variety, but aside from Midtown it's too spread out and requires too much uber-ing (and even Midtown is weirdly spread out).

With Dallas you get the best of both worlds - a bunch of walkable nightlife districts that are all relatively cohesive and offer great variety. Deep Ellum, Uptown, Oak Lawn, Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts, Downtown, etc. And if you get tired of Dallas, you've got robust nightlife in Fort Worth and Addison not too far as well.

I feel like it's a no-brainer. Yet whenever you see those Top 10 nightlife cities lists, it always seems to be Austin or Houston, not Dallas, that makes it among the Texas cities. And even just looking at City Data polls and general reputation, I feel Dallas' nightlife is wildly underrated, while Austin and Houston are both overrated. What's the deal there?

[Katana49]

I've always felt that Dallas nightlife skews to an older demographic vs Austin or Houston. Because of that, there is less of an emphasis on the "it" trends as you might find in other major cities.


So it's less trendy... but people in their 30's and up don't really care about that... and probably aren't involved in any voting for best nightlife scene.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by PolarSeltzer

So I don't live in Texas, but have spent a lot of time in its major cities, and in my opinion Dallas has the best nightlife by far. Austin may have the most concentrated nightlife but it's too college-oriented and doesn't have the variety you expect in a big city. Houston has great hip-hop clubs and overall good variety, but aside from Midtown it's too spread out and requires too much uber-ing (and even Midtown is weirdly spread out).

With Dallas you get the best of both worlds - a bunch of walkable nightlife districts that are all relatively cohesive and offer great variety. Deep Ellum, Uptown, Oak Lawn, Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts, Downtown, etc. And if you get tired of Dallas, you've got robust nightlife in Fort Worth and Addison not too far as well.

I feel like it's a no-brainer. Yet whenever you see those Top 10 nightlife cities lists, it always seems to be Austin or Houston, not Dallas, that makes it among the Texas cities. And even just looking at City Data polls and general reputation, I feel Dallas' nightlife is wildly underrated, while Austin and Houston are both overrated. What's the deal there?

Depends on what you like. I agree with your descriptions for the most part too about the differences between the three. I think about it slightly differently though. Dallas does have more cohesive districts than Houston overall, but I don't think you're really more or less likely to stay within say Midtown Houston all night vs. Uptown Dallas. Additionally, Houston's nightlife is more centralized in general - there's a lot more going on in the suburbs and on the Ft. Worth side in DFW vs. Houston. I just don't think matters all that much overall because you can still easily find yourself ubering all over the place in either region.

I think both Austin and Houston have better nightlife venues though in general. I do agree Dallas is underrated - overall it's not far behind either place but I'd probably still put both above it at the end of the day. Anecdotally, it seems a lot more common for people from DFW to go to Austin or Houston to party than the reverse. That could be different depending on the demographics though.

[elan]

Maybe because the bars aren't open.

[citidata18]

I've heard two complaints about Dallas' nightlife, and it's not that it isn't robust.

1. It's homongenous, as the crowds at popular establishments aren't all that diverse (both race and income-wise). This is a turn off for minorities and working-class individuals who seek more inclusive places to rest, relax and have fun. That's why they look to Houston for their nightlife fix.

2. As the OP showed, it's extremely spread out. Unlike In Austin where much of the nightlife is centered around several blocks of 6th street, the same critical mass is lacking in Dallas with everything being found in relatively tiny nodes you have to drive to/from.

[R1070]

I agree that it’s underrated. Lots of different scenes to cater to anyone. The LGBTQ bars here are among the best I’ve ever seen.

[TheOverdog]

I don't think Dallas or Ft Worth are necessarily underrated for night life, but the rest of DFW area has very little and thus drags Ft Worth and Dallas down. The nightlife barely existed a decade ago, so most of the new nightlife venues are really new and there aren't many of them. And since there aren't many of them, they aren't very diverse. Nightlife also brings nuisance crime and goes against the 'generic family friendly' (as opposed to actually family friendly-with venues and unique stuff for parents with children to do) vibe they are going for.

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

The nightlife barely existed a decade ago,

Uh, that is incorrect. I was enjoying the nightlife options in Dallas twenty years ago, and it definitely didn't start then either.

[tmtex]

Today you will get shot

80-90's Greenville ave was one big party

[TheOverdog]

Uh, that is incorrect. I was enjoying the nightlife options in Dallas twenty years ago, and it definitely didn't start then either.

I didn't say in Dallas, I said in the suburbs. If you were going out in the suburbs 20 years ago, you didn't have many options, and you had to fill out one of those 'private member' club cards.