My thoughts of DFW after living in Chicago for 5 years (Dallas: sales, apartment complexes)
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I've lived in Chicago for the past few years and just recently moved to DFW for the second time (the first time was less than a year). Below are my thoughts of the DFW compared to what I'm used to in Chicago.
Things I like better in DFW:
Newness: Everything in DFW is newer than in the Chicago area. Makes sense because DFW is a much newer metro area.
Niceness: Most everything in DFW is also better kept than in the Chicago area. Highways are in better condition, there isn't graffiti all over the place, landscaping on the side of highways and roads are better kept
Management: Texas is a much better run state than Illinois. Things like: Getting a DL at the DPS is a breeze compared to the nightmare in Illinois. Even the post office here is better run.
Traffic: People complain about traffic here, but it's only really bad during rush hour, and even then it's pretty flowing. If you go somewhere on Saturday morning, there are barely any cars on the road. Chicago has bad traffic even on a Sunday at 9am.
Roads: Because there are so many highways, it's easy to avoid city streets and stoplights/stop signs. Driving 15 miles in DFW often only takes 20mins. 15 miles in Chicago can take you over an hour.
No centralization: Employers and retailers are more spread out over the metro rather than being concentrated downtown. This makes it easy to live near work if you choose to. I guess some people would view this as a negative in the case where you have a husband who works in Fort Worth and a wife working in Dallas.
The weather: Summer here is hot but I'll take it any day over a Chicago winter.
The people: People in Chicago are rude and generally unfriendly. People in DFW are much nicer. Example: I was in Grapevine the other day and everyone let me cross the road.
The job market: There are a more diverse set of companies in DFW than in Chicago. You can work in finance, IT, healthcare, logistics, construction, you name it.
Safety: It feels so much safer here than in Chicago. There aren't panhandlers everywhere, there aren't constant shootings, robberies, and carjackings. And if there are, the person is actually punished.
Things I like better in Chicago:
PUBLIC TRANSIT: This one is so important. I really wonder what will happen in DFW the next time gas gets up to $5/gal or there is a gas shortage. Investing in public transit should be the most important thing moving forward, especially with how many people are moving here. The answer can't be to just build more roads.
Walkability: There is almost nothing that's walkable in DFW. Nearby where I live in Fort Worth, there are barely any sidewalks.
City feel: It would be nice if Dallas and Fort Worth had more of a walkable city feel.
Architecture and history: Chicago has some really amazing architecture and I do miss my 1890s building (even though it had electrical and plumbing problems). My favorite areas are the suburbs with 1920s homes.
Bike infrastructure: There are a ton of bike lanes in Chicago. DFW has almost none and I think it's incredibly dangerous to ride a bike here unless it's on neighborhood roads in a suburban area.
More young people: DFW definitely seems to cater more towards families and most activities here are for families with children.
Things that surprised me:
Affordability: DFW is almost as expensive as Chicagoland or at least rent prices certainly are. I'm paying more for rent in DFW than I did in Chicago, although I do have a nicer and newer apartment. Fortunately, it seems that salaries are now much higher than before and are basically on par with Chicago salaries.
Car insurance: My car insurance increased pretty significantly after moving here. I guess it's because people drive more, there are more uninsured drivers, and more wrecks.
Draconian blue laws: No legalized marijuana and only certain stores can sell alcohol and not on a Sunday. How can we fix this? If Walmart can sell guns, why not liquor? So much for the small government I keep hearing about.
Overall I really like it here and I plan on staying put. I'm still trying to find the right place to live but for now the middle of Fort Worth has what I need.
It doesn't make sense to compare the entire DFW metro against Chicago. In the north, you didn't live in the Chicago burbs. You never lived in Dallas proper.
The bedroom communities of DFW should be compared to Chicago suburbs. Dallas proper should be compared Chicago proper.
I don’t want Walmart to sell liquor and you just have to remember the times stores are closed.
Local officials in Dallas and the D-fw area in general do need to enact policies to help expedite construction and development of affordable workforce housing. That could be a major problem going forward.
Returning HOME always will have its advantage one knew and missed. The reasons one leaves are not gone.... Just you ACCEPT IT MORE.
Winters are a scourge for most. That RARELY Changes... All know Texas has less winters and once totally use to AC home to car to office to mall..... It is a BETTER Alternative to one who sees LOOSING WORST WINTERS as a HUGE + in itself.
From numerous SOUTHERNERS who moved Northward thinking winters would be fine, traffic a breeze and a different URBAN-LIVING was what they wanted.
Really found there was -- NO PLACE LIKE HOME. That was not me despite a move back home unless I just add much Much cheaper. Moving from a small city in the East .... still had me know winters and a Northern Region.
For all that leave or move back home? There will be those who want also the try a different region. Or Just A BIG CITY EXPERIENCE IN URBANITY.... Still unless COL was just too much like for those who moved fro California.
Few will assimilate fully in a South to North move IMO as reading just soooo many threads and post.
Texas.... I do expect a move to sucession of the state. This to PREVENT TURNING BLUE. If no major calamity hits with Gov DC aid needed.... AND the currebt Governor gets re-elected? I believe it WILL GET ON A VOTING BALLOT.
North to South ALWAYS is a easier adoption. No one moves to NYC expecting a utopian Urban movies scenario. Though we certainly want to hope so.
Most keep it as a FINALLY ARRIVED STANDARD THOUGH. Chicago still to me is a great alternative or stepping-stone and GREAT to experience when young.
It doesn't make sense to compare the entire DFW metro against Chicago. In the north, you didn't live in the Chicago burbs. You never lived in Dallas proper.
The bedroom communities of DFW should be compared to Chicago suburbs. Dallas proper should be compared Chicago proper.
Suburbs are suburbs and most are pretty similar, so I think it's easier to compare the metro as a whole. Big chunks of Dallas feel like the suburbs, so I think comparing Dallas to Chicago directly isn't a great comparison.
Chicago does have a lot more older suburbs compared to DFW. They have those early 1900s homes that I mentioned. Most are pretty expensive and I guess there's a lot of "old money" there. Land lots are smaller and many do not have driveways and the garage is on the back in the alley way. Example: https://goo.gl/maps/GzdSEWzGqAmxpxnS9
I have seen areas like this in Dallas (like Vickery Place) but there are far more in Chicago. Most of them have walkable areas that are near the Metra station (commuter train station) and feel like a Main Street.
In general, I find that Chicago has a larger variety of suburbs. There are suburbs close to the city that feel exactly like the city. Then there are some that are further away and feel almost exactly like DFW suburbs. And then you have some that feel like a mix.
Regardless, you get a lot more for your money in DFW. I can buy an older 4br home in a place like Arlington for $300 easily. In the Chicago suburbs, for $300K you'll be stuck with a small bungalow or in a suburb that's really far from downtown (usually a problem because like I said, most employers are in the downtown area).
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieinDallas
I don’t want Walmart to sell liquor and you just have to remember the times stores are closed.
Local officials in Dallas and the D-fw area in general do need to enact policies to help expedite construction and development of affordable workforce housing. That could be a major problem going forward.
Why not? I've lived in two states where Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc sold liquor and it really doesn't cause any problems. It's actually better because there is more competition and since when is competition a bad thing? Based on what I've researched, the only reason it's not allowed in Texas is because Total Wine and Specs lobby and pay off politicians to not pass the law.
The Sunday sales thing is for a similar reason. Specs and Total Wine don't want to pay employees to work on Sunday. Everyone knows the store closes at 9pm and is closed on Sunday, so they make the same amount of money.
If Walmart can sell guns, ammo, beer, and wine on a Sunday, why not liquor?
And yes, I agree about the affordable housing. We need more high rises and apartment complexes and more smaller homes. My SO and I don't have kids so we don't need a huge 4br house, but unfortunately there isn't money to be made in smaller houses so no one builds them anymore.
Suburbs are suburbs and most are pretty similar, so I think it's easier to compare the metro as a whole. Big chunks of Dallas feel like the suburbs, so I think comparing Dallas to Chicago directly isn't a great comparison.
Chicago does have a lot more older suburbs compared to DFW. They have those early 1900s homes that I mentioned. Most are pretty expensive and I guess there's a lot of "old money" there. Land lots are smaller and many do not have driveways and the garage is on the back in the alley way. Example: https://goo.gl/maps/GzdSEWzGqAmxpxnS9
I have seen areas like this in Dallas (like Vickery Place) but there are far more in Chicago. Most of them have walkable areas that are near the Metra station (commuter train station) and feel like a Main Street.
In general, I find that Chicago has a larger variety of suburbs. There are suburbs close to the city that feel exactly like the city. Then there are some that are further away and feel almost exactly like DFW suburbs. And then you have some that feel like a mix.
Regardless, you get a lot more for your money in DFW. I can buy an older 4br home in a place like Arlington for $300 easily. In the Chicago suburbs, for $300K you'll be stuck with a small bungalow or in a suburb that's really far from downtown (usually a problem because like I said, most employers are in the downtown area).
Why not? I've lived in two states where Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc sold liquor and it really doesn't cause any problems. It's actually better because there is more competition and since when is competition a bad thing? Based on what I've researched, the only reason it's not allowed in Texas is because Total Wine and Specs lobby and pay off politicians to not pass the law.
The Sunday sales thing is for a similar reason. Specs and Total Wine don't want to pay employees to work on Sunday. Everyone knows the store closes at 9pm and is closed on Sunday, so they make the same amount of money.
If Walmart can sell guns, ammo, beer, and wine on a Sunday, why not liquor?
And yes, I agree about the affordable housing. We need more high rises and apartment complexes and more smaller homes. My SO and I don't have kids so we don't need a huge 4br house, but unfortunately there isn't money to be made in smaller houses so no one builds them anymore.
I live in PA and back home. PA liquor laws are draconian. Only a SELECT VERY LIMITED # of Convience Stores and very limited Grocery stores as a supposedly experimment. Offer a beer or liquor dept
State stores for liquor is the norm in PA and a limited amount of beer distributors. Some bars can get a special liquor licence to sell be 6-packs and larger. You want multiples you LITERALLY. Have to take 2 12+ packs out separatele. State last year OK'd alcohol slushy drinks in bars. They are big. Only can take our 2 small or one large one out of a bar at a time.
You moved back to a more Conservative state an state Government. I too find states with EASY LIQUOR AND BEER SALES refreshing. I return home and WTF miss it.
Wecome to a new state and home state as I did. You have to live with it.... You Luv Texas.... accept change is slow and most like slow.... Red means Conservative in Liquor ideals too.
Choosing a State you have to live with that change.
Safety is definitely one of the pros for the DFW area. There are certainly unsafe areas in any city, but in DFW they are mostly centralized to a few neighborhoods in Dallas and possibly some lower income apartment complexes in the suburbs. You definitely won't see abandoned buildings with busted out windows in the DFW area, that's for sure.
I felt unsafe plenty of times in Chicago. Sometimes at stop lights, sometimes on the train, or sometimes walking around at night. The only place I've ever felt unsafe in DFW was in Dallas near the Akard DART station.
Crimes in DFW are centralized to a few places because of poor public transit. Defunding DART should be the most important thing moving forward.
This statement here just should not have been uttered because NO major city anywhere on earth is shutting down its public transt.
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