Why is Houston so cheaper than Dallas (San Antonio, Austin: tenants, pros and cons)

[dallasboi]

Originally Posted by AcresHomes44

Dallas beats Houston in shopping, hands down. Dallas’ shopping is geared towards the upscale crowd; Houston’s shopping is for everyone. If you want upscale shopping in Houston, River Oaks/Galleria is your spot. Just your regular working class malls: Willowbrook Mall, Katy Mills, and other malls in/around Houston. Suburban DFW has shopping for all income levels, but Dallas city limits…negative.

...I had to post this y'all!!!!....The comments are EPIC!!


Luxury shopping at " The Galleria" in Houston.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQfDfN8J...dium=copy_link

[R1070]

Houston just has a different vibe than Dallas. You would never have that at NorthPark.

[Johnhw2]

Houston is largest has City without zoning. So lots can be smaller meaning lower land cost for a house hence lower prices. Supply and demand matter too. Houston had a humidity and flood history stigma along with the nearby refineries all meaning less demand vs Dallas etc.

[AcresHomes44]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

...I had to post this y'all!!!!....The comments are EPIC!!

Luxury shopping at " The Galleria" in Houston.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQfDfN8J...dium=copy_link

Unfortunately, mess like that is common at Galleria, but it doesn't take away from Galleria being an upscale shopping mall. Many of them can't afford to shop there, so they go to Galleria to cut the fool.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by R1070

Houston just has a different vibe than Dallas. You would never have that at NorthPark.

Sounds like you’re forgetting the infamous skateboard scene.

That being said, they do have different cultures and vibes. It’s one of the reason one has a vibrant hip hop scene and the other doesn’t. But that’s not stopping anything at NorthPark. People feel more comfortable being loud in malls everywhere these days from Miami to LA. There’s pros and cons to this, but it’s the case non the less.

Originally Posted by AcresHomes44

Dallas beats Houston in shopping, hands down. Dallas’ shopping is geared towards the upscale crowd; Houston’s shopping is for everyone. If you want upscale shopping in Houston, River Oaks/Galleria is your spot. Just your regular working class malls: Willowbrook Mall, Katy Mills, and other malls in/around Houston. Suburban DFW has shopping for all income levels, but Dallas city limits…negative.

You’re not giving Dallas enough respect here for being family friendly. I would say Dallas’ regional shopping scene for the middle class is even better than Houston.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Rydealong

For food, it’s a near tie. I wouldn’t say Houston is overrated as a food city, but Dallas is just extremely underrated as a food city on another level. The one thing Houston has over Dallas is ethnic enclaves and signature dishes. But Dallas has just about everything you can find and leads in quite a bit of food genres. Even Viet Cajun for example is almost just as good in Dallas as it is in Houston these days.

For shopping, it’s a no brainer favoring Houston in my opinion. There’s just so many stores you can’t find in Dallas than you can in Houston. Some people point Dallas’ having brand loyalty for Neiman Marcus as the reason for this, but regardless of the reason, this is the case. I will say that there’s more upscale shopping areas in Dallas by number of locations, but none that equate to the River Oaks/Uptown/Post Oak corridor. And even then, the Woodlands is now establishing itself as a legit upscale shopping and dining destination on its own recently, giving the multiple places effect in Houston. Dallas was previously the leader but ever since investors poured in so much money to lure shops to Houston in the 2010s, it completely changed the game. I will say, though, that Dallas is better for the middle class while Houston is better for both high class and low class. Meaning for your common folk, Dallas has more family friendly shopping.

For nightlife, it’s a close call. I’d say Houston’s is more tourist friendly nightlife with the better Downtown and Midtown for people visiting. Having one of the hottest music festivals in the world right now also gives it popularity points. And not to mention celebrities like Drake and James Harden constantly talking about the strip clubs gives it popularity points too. This is probably part of the reason the Houston Super Bowls were seen as bigger successes in terms of overall events and vibes. But as a local, the nightlife in Dallas is just as good as in Houston.

This is a great post overall, but the bolded is honestly how I've always felt about the two areas. I feel like Houston is better for the rich and poor, while Dallas is better for the middle class. And its reflected in the demographics of both areas, as Houston has slightly higher wages but also a slightly higher poverty level than Dallas.

I don't think that this in and of itself really affects COL much overall because at the end of the day, both areas have nearly identical income levels, but the distribution of that income is spread more evenly in Dallas.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

I know a lot of people on here are older and it’s hard to view the world differently as things evolve, but things aren’t what they used to be. Dallas a hotter food city than Houston today, Houston is a hotter shopping city than Dallas today.

The few modern designer brand that come out of Texas and stay established out of Texas have almost all been from Houston. Historically, it was Dallas. Even right now as we are speaking, Travis Scott is launching his new line at Christian Dior in the Paris event. Despite Scott pricing his clothes for hundreds, they still go dead stock. In 2011, it would’ve been a no brainer that Dallas is the superior upscale shopping destination, but too much happened in that time frame for whatever reason.

Likewise, I don’t know how many awards Dallas has to get before it’ll finally be respected as the food city it is. In 2019 it rightfully won the restaurant city of the year from Bon Appetit and for a good reason. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/dal...-the-year-2019 With few exceptions, most of what you can find in Houston, you can find in Dallas.

As far as nightlife goes, it’s really a toss up. I recently went to Deep Ellum, and just like I noticed in Houston, Deep Ellum seems even busier than it was pre pandemic. It reminded me of a mix of Midtown and Washington. It had Midtown’s walkability with Washingnton’s hipster vibe.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

This is a great post overall, but the bolded is honestly how I've always felt about the two areas. I feel like Houston is better for the rich and poor, while Dallas is better for the middle class.

100% but particularly to shopping, to me it seems Houston became the Upscale shopping Mecca during the 2010s at some point. Before that, Dallas was the Texas leader in this regard. Before that, you didn’t really see the Flagship Dior, Hermès etc sprinting up left and right while Dallas had their fair share.

But as it goes for the middle class, our regional malls are pretty meh compared to DFW. Even the nicer ones like Willowbrook and Memorial are decent at best. The Woodlands is one legit regional mall we have but it’s starting to get expensive there. I guess this reflects the Houston being for the rich and poor while Dallas is best in the middle class. And again, neither is a slouch in any of the 3 and both are good for any level of shopping. That’s just how the trends have been recently for whatever reason.

[kwr]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I know a lot of people on here are older and it’s hard to view the world differently as things evolve, but things aren’t what they used to be. Dallas a hotter food city than Houston today, Houston is a hotter shopping city than Dallas today.

The few modern designer brand that come out of Texas and stay established out of Texas have almost all been from Houston. Historically, it was Dallas. Even right now as we are speaking, Travis Scott is launching his new line at Christian Dior in the Paris event. Despite Scott pricing his clothes for hundreds, they still go dead stock. In 2011, it would’ve been a no brainer that Dallas is the superior upscale shopping destination, but too much happened in that time frame for whatever reason.

Likewise, I don’t know how many awards Dallas has to get before it’ll finally be respected as the food city it is. In 2019 it rightfully won the restaurant city of the year from Bon Appetit and for a good reason. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/dal...-the-year-2019 With few exceptions, most of what you can find in Houston, you can find in Dallas.

As far as nightlife goes, it’s really a toss up. I recently went to Deep Ellum, and just like I noticed in Houston, Deep Ellum seems even busier than it was pre pandemic. It reminded me of a mix of Midtown and Washington. It had Midtown’s walkability with Washingnton’s hipster vibe.

I’ve been waiting for you to post in this thread and glad you jumped in. Really enjoyed your Houston Lifestyle a Forum posts. You’re spot on with the shopping and it’s hard for Dallas boosters (looking at you Dallasboi) to accept the impact of the River Oaks District on the Houston’s luxury scenes. That mall has forced the Galleria to go even more upscale with the recent addition of a luxury wing.

For the most part, I agree with your post. Although, Dallas’ food scene is improving, it still needs to catch Austin first before equaling or surpassing Houston. Overall, Houston is still the best food city in TX. As I posted earlier in this thread, the international population diversity in Houston fuels the good scene.

https://247wallst.com/special-report...ities-in-2019/

Since 2020 was a down year due to the pandemic and the world is now re-opening, it will be interesting to see rankings for 2021.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Do you think San Antonio is too expensive now?

Austin is by far the most expensive in Texas. San Antonio is only an hour away. The trickle down effect is real.