When, and what spurred the growth of the DFW Metroplex (Dallas: insurance, schools)

[texstout]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

I state in same post how KC, Neb, Stl, and other places are rail hubs as well.



Other states really should follow suit then, especially the ones right nearby like Kansas.



Ok so is Dallas like the Riyadh of America. Is there a lot of oil rigs set up all over the DFW Metroplex and surrounding areas? I guess Texas is the Ghawar Field of America, and Houston being the Persian Gulf.

Ummm. no. I'm not sure if I have ever seen an oil rig in DFW. I grew up in Houston and even with an oil industry father, I rarely have seen a rig in person (not since moving to Texas in elementary from the middle east).


Dallas grew in recent years because of tax incentives, relatively cheaper real estate, central location, good health care, and large airport access. Decent weather (hot/humid but not too cold) doesn't hurt.

[arkroyal2223]

If you like listening to podcasts, Freakonomics radio are doing a 2 part series on why people are moving to Dallas. Really neat listen which came about after the hosts read an article in City Journal about the Metroplex (https://www.city-journal.org/dallas-fort-worth)

[Leonard123]

People are fleeing the politics. On that, I don't blame them. I would too.
https://www.texaspolicy.com/new-poll...for-democrats/

[brickpatio2018]

Oil and gas needs a banking center (Dallas), a port (Houston), and a capital/university city (Austin).

My understanding is that San Antonio's growth is due to both oil and gas companies and defense-related companies related to military bases located there.

Plus, Texas is a right-to-work state. No manufacturing company with a choice chooses to remain in unionized states. Growth from oil and gas, banking, and manufacturing helped lead to DFW airport, which kicked growth into high gear for good.

Atlanta by comparison is also in a right to work state with the big airport. Their growth originally came from being the headquarters of two of the largest companies in the nation: Coke and Delta. And like Dallas, Atlanta had a branch of the federal reserve, thus becoming a banking city.

Growth attracts growth, so other companies moved south out of unionized, northern states. Like Dallas, Atlanta's airport kicked their already-growing economy into the stratosphere.

The common features seem to be: right to work states attract manufacturing; an original source of growth (oil and gas/ Coke and Delta); banking to provide capital to new companies; and an airport to kick growth into high gear.

[dcb175]

I moved to Dallas in 2003, and left in 2013. It was booming during the entire 10 years I was there, and from what I can tell from afar it has continued to boom in the 8 years I've been gone. My assumption is that what's driving it now is the same as what was driving it in the early 2000's: relatively low cost & taxes attract company relocations, and that job market combined with (again, relatively for most) milder winter weather attract people from other parts of the country.

Aside from the relocations from more expensive coastal cities, it was also a regional magnet - tons of people from OK, West Texas, AR, etc. who wanted something bigger moved there after college. Similar to how NYC is in the northeast or Chicago is in the midwest.

It has it's downsides, for sure. But overall, wasn't a bad place to live by any stretch.

[tcualum]

Originally Posted by texstout

Ummm. no. I'm not sure if I have ever seen an oil rig in DFW. I grew up in Houston and even with an oil industry father, I rarely have seen a rig in person (not since moving to Texas in elementary from the middle east).


Dallas grew in recent years because of tax incentives, relatively cheaper real estate, central location, good health care, and large airport access. Decent weather (hot/humid but not too cold) doesn't hurt.

They are a lot more common in Tarrant County. Also, they don't look like they used to. Once the well has started, the only thing you might see to indicate its presence is a fence.

I grew up in Richardson during the 80s when Telecom Corridor was really growing. A large percentage of the kids in my elementary school were from Chicago or elsewhere in the Midwest. Native Texans were a minority. Dallas was popular with transplants before the California wave.

As for cargo rail lines not being important, not true. Those goods have to go somewhere, and often it's distribution hubs located along major highways and freeways relative close to where the cargo is offloaded. DFW has lots of distribution hubs because of DFW Airport, the cargo rail lines and Alliance Airport plus I35, I20 and I30. If you've never seen the area around Alliance, you'd be shocked. The area has seen explosive growth because of that cargo airport.

[kt2le]

Historically, railroads spurred Dallas' initial growth and the city evolved into a banking and finance center for vast east Texas oil fields and related businesses. The city's economy grew from these origins.

[TheOverdog]

I'm not sure if I have ever seen an oil rig in DFW.

There are oil rigs in Ft Worth, but generally the oil fields are farther away from Dallas, originally Beaumont (spindletop) and then Midland/Odessa, but M/O are much more directly dependent on oil extraction and when the price falls, there is less to do. DFW is the place oil is administered from, think management functions instead of manual labor.



And yes, Riyadh is a good comparison.

[Gree Mountain]

I like the Riyadh comparison. Two major cities obedient to capitalism, both of which are located in places governed by conservative, religious fundamentalists.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

There are oil rigs in Ft Worth, but generally the oil fields are farther away from Dallas, originally Beaumont (spindletop) and then Midland/Odessa, but M/O are much more directly dependent on oil extraction and when the price falls, there is less to do. DFW is the place oil is administered from, think management functions instead of manual labor.



And yes, Riyadh is a good comparison.

Certainly O&G significantly helped DFW up until the 1980s, though the sector was never as dominant as it was in say, Houston. After the 1980s (oil crash and consolidation to Houston), DFW has really relied on its other industry sectors, which also became less dependent on the O&G ecosystem, and its role as a logistics and transportation hub. The investments by national financial, insurance, defense firms and firms in other sectors wouldn't have happened without DFW Airport.