torn over where to live and play while attending grad school in Denton

[renlouis]

My husband and I lived in Denton when I was in grad school there. We LOVED it! We made friends with other graduate students (who almost all lived in Denton) and we had a GREAT time there! The music scene is amazing and about once a month we'd all get together and drive into Dallas - usually to see one of our favorite Denton bands playing in Deep Ellum! There is everything you need in Denton and your peer group will be right there to hang out with, study with, go out to eat with, etc. We'd have loved to stay but had to move away to real jobs and real lives once I graduated!

[loves2read]

I think the point was that the comment about Denton being such a rich town was not what most people who know Denton would agree was accurate
I inferred the person who made that query was trying to find out if the poster who made the comment came from ethnic group/economic group with fairly limited horizons so that avg in Denton was above avg to the poster--who I guess was you, TX CountryBoy--
Denton has only lately had a building boom for any upscale retail--it looked more like the older part of Carrollton or Arlington vs the most upscale part of Plano/Frisco or FLower Mound--
so there was nothing about Denton that LOOKED like there was wealth although I am sure that there was certain % of residents who are very wealthy--
but there are two state universities there that are really second tier schools--that is not a platform for wealth

[Ashburnite]

I lived in Denton from 1989-1998, so it's been a while. I worked at UNT and spent time with undergrads, grad students, and professors and can tell you that it can be a nice close-knit community, especially among the grad students. When I was in Denton I lived for a while in different apartments and at the end in a rental duplex. If you're seeking a more adult type environment I would recommend finding a house to rent. Usually that works better than the apartments, especially the ones close to the campuses.

Denton always had a small town feel to me and for the most part I enjoyed living there. I didn't take part in the music scene much but I will say that it has a wonderful reputation. UNT has a very reputable music school so you have the opportunity to see a lot of good musicians performing in town. It DEFINITELY is nothing like Hollywood and isn't much for upscale bars and restaurants - LA it is not, but not much else is. ;-)

If you like hiking, there are good opportunities for doing that. Turner Falls in Oklahoma is a short drive away and there are many other places for that sort of thing as well. Texas is so big that it is pretty common to take road trips that are 5 hours long. You can explore and do all kinds of fun things.

Good luck in school!

[nmnita]

wonder what the OP ended up doing. It has been over 2 months since she posted and I believe school is starting next week, maybe it started this week.

Nita

[Missybu]

AWFUL! Absolute culture shock! I have traveled extensively around the world and have never felt more out of place than in Denton. Perhaps if I were a local, originally from a small town or undergrad at UNT or TWU my opinion would be different. Denton is NOT the place for a young-professional, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, single, female to live. I came to like Frisco/Plano/Austin-Ranch/Addison/Uptown. Needless to say, I'm going to bite the bullet and commute to school from elsewhere! Wish I could have made a more informed decision initially but I took a gamble and learned the hard way. Thank god I'm getting out of their soon so my opinion of Texas will hopefully end on a high note.

[TexasVines]

sophisticated people can find a way to make due anywhere and everywhere

judgmental, closed minded (often considering themselves open minded progressives), boorish people are usually the ones that can't "find their place" anywhere but somewhere filled with the like "minded"

I would imagine you will be putting "single" in many of your post for a long long time to come

[UNT_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Missybu

AWFUL! Absolute culture shock! I have traveled extensively around the world and have never felt more out of place than in Denton. Perhaps if I were a local, originally from a small town or undergrad at UNT or TWU my opinion would be different. Denton is NOT the place for a young-professional, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, single, female to live. I came to like Frisco/Plano/Austin-Ranch/Addison/Uptown. Needless to say, I'm going to bite the bullet and commute to school from elsewhere! Wish I could have made a more informed decision initially but I took a gamble and learned the hard way. Thank god I'm getting out of their soon so my opinion of Texas will hopefully end on a high note.

Coming from L.A. I could see why you wouldn't like it, but that's good you have found to enjoy other parts of the DFW area. That's the great thing about the metroplex, there is usually something for everyone. Please be careful, though, when making generalizations about a city such as Denton. There are young professional, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, single females that live there!

[loves2read]

obviously did not get that good an education at UNT--choosing "their" for "there"

[UNT_Eagle]

Originally Posted by loves2read

obviously did not get that good an education at UNT--choosing "their" for "there"

Good one!