"Don't Dallas my Fort Worth..." / What the hell does this mean? (Houston: mattress, living in)

[Gone Again]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I won't "Dallas" your "Fort Worth".. I'll "California" it instead!

I think that's what referred to by the sings you see going from California into Oregon that read "Don't Californicate our state."

California has some great things about it, but if people from California are going to try and do to Texas what they did to their own state, then how long until we have a mass exodus from Texas because it's too expensive to live here? California is a royal mess in many ways. The idea that California is somehow superior is ludicrous.

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by Gone Again

I think that's what referred to by the sings you see going from California into Oregon that read "Don't Californicate our state."

California has some great things about it, but if people from California are going to try and do to Texas what they did to their own state, then how long until we have a mass exodus from Texas because it's too expensive to live here? California is a royal mess in many ways. The idea that California is somehow superior is ludicrous.

I don't think it's gonna happen on a large scale in Texas simply due to the population here that dilutes the transplants. Oregon doesn't have as many ppl and the California transplants end up taking over as the dominant culture, while in Texas, they're more like a nice addition to the cultural diversity.

[Gone Again]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I don't think it's gonna happen on a large scale in Texas simply due to the population here that dilutes the transplants. Oregon doesn't have as many ppl and the California transplants end up taking over as the dominant culture, while in Texas, they're more like a nice addition to the cultural diversity.

While I'm all for watering down the regressive Texas elements (being born and raised here, I welcome the change having been on the receiving end of some of these qualities over the years) last time I checked it was claimed that 1000 people a day are moving here from California, and that's has been the claimed number for at least three years. I can't help but think it's going to be far more noticeable than you might expect. Case in point, I don't think Beto would have been as close in the recent election, had that happened ten or fifteen years ago.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by rogramjet

I live in Austin, but I'm a huge fan of the brick paved part of Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth. I don't think there is anything like it in Texas (that I know of). It's almost totally local businesses and restaurants flanked by very charming neighborhoods.

Bricks aside, what is unique about that area? It's mostly strip malls. I mean yes the neighborhoods are very charming, but I don't see much that is unique about the area? (well besides the museums obviously) I feel like structurally Knox Henderson, Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts, and Parts of Lakewood are a better versions of basically the same thing, from a similar era but with fewer "Teeth" missing.

Not saying it's a bad area, I like the bricks and all, but "Unique to Texas???"

[RJ312]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I love Fort Worth, but why would anyone want to go to West 7th? It's like an inferior version of uptown where the Douches and 40k millionaires are from TCU instead of SMU and slightly more likely to wear boots and drive a truck than a German car. I've been a few times, and I keep thinking I'm missing something, but I don't think I am. Uptown for all it's flaws is at least a real neighborhood with an urban feel.

I mean granted, there are a few unique bars and restaurants to the area, though most are just an inferior clone to their Dallas counterpart.

Fort Worthians tend to think that they are friendlier and less pretentious than Dallasites.

Nightlife is a tough social context to compare because it often brings out the worst behaviors. Also, when people are interacting in a potential mating scenario, the interactions tend to be more difficult than interactions in non-mating contexts.

I would like to see Fort Worth have a different feel than Dallas. In a lot of ways, there's much to like about Fort Worth when compared with the nearby bigger city.

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by Gone Again

While I'm all for watering down the regressive Texas elements (being born and raised here, I welcome the change having been on the receiving end of some of these qualities over the years) last time I checked it was claimed that 1000 people a day are moving here from California, and that's has been the claimed number for at least three years. I can't help but think it's going to be far more noticeable than you might expect. Case in point, I don't think Beto would have been as close in the recent election, had that happened ten or fifteen years ago.

Don't forget the numerous people moving here from other places as well especially the East Coast, which is why Californian culture will never dominate here (unlike the PNW) although it's gonna further contribute to diluting traditional Texan culture. You don't hear of New Yorkers moving to Oregon en masse unlike Californians to Oregon.

[Nuclear Bear]

Originally Posted by NorthTexasGuy

IMO, DFW as a whole can be compared somewhat to the Greater Los Angeles area. My understanding is L.A. was once know for urban sprawl. That sprawl has now appeared to reach maximum capacity because of that areas physical limitation (e.g. the ocean and the mountains) and has now started to increase in its population density; especially in Los Angeles County where mass transit a certainly a must. The sprawl has continued into the dessert regions expanding into San Bernandino and surrounding communities. But those dessert city areas are much less densely populated as LA or Orange counties. Similar to how the Metroplex is comprised of now. I would venture to guess that many people in San Bernandino or Anaheim don't want the problems of L.A.


My point in relation to your post is, Fort Worth unlike any of the other "peer" cities you noted, is part of the 4th largest metropolitan areas in the country. It is essentially one big economic region where it's hard to determine where one city ends and the other begins. Unlike the L.A area, we don't have physical limitations that will limit the sprawl. In the mean time, cities such as Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Garland and Frisco will try to maintain their own personalities to differentiate themselves from being considered just another extension of Dallas. I for one, can appreciate that as a way to demonstrate city pride, but your average new resident or visitor can not. Progress is good and necessary as any area grows, sometimes folks just want to hang on to the spirit of the thing as long as they can. Fort Worth is very much just a big town to me, and I believe that's what most of the current residents like about it. It is its spirit, its character. A lot of people who know how Dallas is don't want that in Fort Worth; at least not yet. Just my opinion.

Arlington, Plano, Garland and Frisco are all suburbs.

The majority of people that live in these burbs....if they were in Las Vegas, New Orleans, NYC or some other tourist trap, and someone asked them where they were from they would state Dallas because no one would know what Garland or Frisco is.

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by Gone Again

California has some great things about it, but if people from California are going to try and do to Texas what they did to their own state, then how long until we have a mass exodus from Texas because it's too expensive to live here?

It's already starting to happen. Look at all the middle class people who are priced out of the housing market due to the large influx of people moving in from higher cost of living areas like California who will overbid on homes until they go for WELL over listing price and/or pay the whole house off up front in cash. Most "Texas middle class" folks who were around well before the huge influx of companies, employees, and relocatees from California, the Northeast, and other higher cost of living places simply can't afford to live decently in DFW anymore, and that's only going to get worse, because the influx of transplants is not stopping anytime soon

[Bullandram1]

Originally Posted by JJG

I have to ask because personally, it's the most annoying thing I ever hear from other Fort Worthians.

I'm probably the biggest Fort Worth homer on this forum and I don't like being lumped in with the city to the East... HOWEVER, anytime the subjects of city growth, infrastructure, luring white collar jobs/major corporations, expansion of transportation, etc. comes up, several people in this town say "Don't Dallas my Fort Worth" (which I find to be the most obnoxious saying created) or "you're trying to turn our city into Dallas", or the like.

I want to ask what that means, exactly, because it really doesn't make sense to me. I don't see how doing what EVERY major city does is trying to "be like Dallas". I believe it to make us look like petty, small-minded hicks who can't get over the fact that this is a major city and the 15th largest (and growing) in the nation. It's not necessary.

Just curious if you were born in Fort Worth or surrounding DFW cities? Personally I see the good and bad in both Fort Worth and Dallas. I think when people say that phrase they are saying they want an environment of peace and order. Dallas is not peace, its mainly chaos. I personally wouldn’t live in Fort Worth or Dallas. And I don’t think Fort Worth is peaceful either. haha. Some spots are so out of touch in a human sense. Transplants maybe?

[elan]

I think it just means let Fort Worth keep it's identity. It's separate from Dallas and that's good in my opinion. I personally hate the term DFW, I think the airport started all that. Dallas is not a well run city anymore and that kills me (born and raised there). I know driving back from vacations and stuff I still get an excited feeling when I see the lights of downtown, how sick is that, lol. It's just not the same city it was twenty years ago, we simply tear down everything and lose our history, for me that's sad. Fort Worth should not make the same mistakes, I think that's what don't Dallas my Fort Worth means.