Houston vs. Dallas (Tyler, The Woodlands: parkway, windmill, crossroads)

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

NVM I found it.

2010 Census Hmong Populations of U.S. Metro and Micro Areas

D/FW: 683

Houston: 71

Atlanta followed by Tulsa by far have the most Hmong people living in the South.

wouldn't call it "by Far" looks like all areas in the south have tiny populations.

why the interest in Hmong anyway??? Do I need to try their food, or whatever it is I am missing?

[jayshoota]

Originally Posted by casimpso

These are meant as honest questions. If Houston is so great, why does it suffer from such a perception gap? Why does it have such a bad rap nationally? Why is it never mentioned in the same company as other, less populated metro areas, such as San Francisco, Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, or Miami, especially regarding the dining and nightlife scenes?

You may not believe it, but I travel to Houston a couple of times a year to visit a friend, and have always had a good time and some very good meals. Reef is phenomenal. And I ate at the old Bank back when it was a Jean-Georges kitchen. Unbelievable. You're guaranteed a good meal at any Barnaby's. Goode Company BBQ has some mighty fine fare. It's damn hard to find a parking place at Ruggles Grill sometimes. I wish I had the money to go to Tony's more than just the once. The scallops at El Pueblito are to die for, and it has a GREAT patio.

But the city just does not seem to get its "props." As good as it is, a common word to describe it is "underrated."

Meanwhile, "lesser" cities like Austin, and Dallas, with a million fewer people in the city, attract most of the attention. It's hard to keep up with the number of reality programs being produced here right now. Also, it's a fact that when retailers and nationally known restaurateurs decide to enter the Texas market, they almost ALWAYS come to Dallas-Fort Worth first.

Not to mention, we just opened our FIFTH Central Market in Dallas-Fort Worth. How is it that the Houston metro only supports ONE CM location? Is it because Mr. Butts, the boss man, lives in Highland Park, even though the bulk of his empire is in central and south Texas? Maybe he just always wants to be near a Central Market.

And our deck park is going to be open later this year, which is going to generate a lot of excitement.
The Park

You can spout numbers and percentages until you're blue in the face, but perception is reality.

I seriously think all you homers should start a dialogue with the Chamber of Commerce. With boosters like you organizing things, Houston couldn't help but find itself catapulted into the stratosphere of American cities.

I usually just get on here to read and never really post but I wanted to respond to a few things you mentioned. I think all Texas cities are underrated. There isn't really a city in Texas you can compare to San Fran, Boston, DC, etc. But there are many great aspects of Texas cities that all those places don't have.

Do you really want to base perception of cities on reality programs? The only shows I watch that feature DFW do not paint it in the best light. (Cheaters, Dallas SWAT, Ma's Roadhouse and Storage Wars Texas). I know that there are others that do probably a better job.

I think both cities get their fair share of retailers and restaurants from outside Texas. Dallas was the first to get H&M and Houston got the Prada store and the new Restoration Hardware Flagship store and the first Trader Joe's is going to the Woodlands (don't get me started...lol)

Also, Houston does have only one Central Market but we also have HEB's here which are really nice stores. It is odd to say, but the new HEB Montrose Market is probably the most beautiful grocery store I have ever seen.

With that being said, I love both cities. I am very excited about the deck park and think that will be a big plus for downtown Dallas.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by jayshoota

Also, Houston does have only one Central Market but we also have HEB's here which are really nice stores. It is odd to say, but the new HEB Montrose Market is probably the most beautiful grocery stores I have ever seen.

not only that but we have a ton of Whole Foods, Rice Epicurean, and other stores of that type, plus a ton of the more common ones such as Randalls, Kroger, Fiesta plus the discount ones such as Foodtown, Foodarama, Joe Vs etc etc

Frankly I would only get a few items from Central Market a year.
When he said how can we do with only one CM I ask what the heck I would do with more.

A good Fiesta, HEB or Kroger gives me just about everything I need. His Organically preppy butt probably hardly sets foot in CM but asks like he goes there on the daily.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Dallas would be nothing without Fort Worth as its crutch.

At between 500,000-700,000 more people in its metro, D/FW still isn't nearly as cosmopolitan as Houston. Is it getting there? Yes, but Houston has the advantage of being on the coast & coastal cities have nearly always been more diverse than their inland counter parts. Chicago being an exception to that rule.

North Texas' landscape (or lack of) though slightly rolling in some areas is boring & bland if you ask me. Hardly any trees outside of central Dallas County.

Call them pretentious, the palm trees in Houston just look incredible & go well with the pine trees. It just wouldn't be Houston without those two things. I can still recall the first time I visited Houston 13 years ago I was in awe of all the tropical vegetation down there. I had no idea it existed & I've lived in Texas my whole life!

How do palms go with pines? As a matter of fact, how does any tree "go" with another tree? I've never heard that before.

The only ones I like are those "South Carolina palms" that are actually native to the area, and give Houston that Old Lowcountry South look.

[ClarenceBodiker]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

D/FW is more white bread than Metro Houston.

Houston has more Asians (largest population in the South), Hispanics (3rd largest population in the US), & Blacks (largest Nigerian population in US).

Its no wonder Houston has the 3rd largest number of US foreign consulates & ranks 1st in the South.

More than 90 different languages are spoken throughout the Houston area.

Dallas trails Houston in diversity.

Dallas may have more Koreans, Laos, Thai, or blah, blah, blah, but Houston still comes out on top with way more Vietnamese, Chinese, & Filipino.

You're unbelievable. You've had actual census numbers thrown at you, and then an article that states DFW is the least segregated metro area in the U.S. and you're still spouting your anecdotal nonsense as if it's fact. Dallas, as a city, is about 3% behind Houston in Asians and 3% higher in Hispanics and Whites combined. That is virtually the ONLY difference between Dallas and Houston's diversity.

EDIT: Nevermind, I didn't realize you had moved the goalposts to include metro areas now. Northeast Tarrant County and Denton County are about the only suburbs I can think of with a lack of diversity in DFW. Collin and North Dallas are very diverse, and I doubt you'd be able to tell much of a difference between them and Houston's burbs.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by casimpso

Think again.

BTW: How does a place "feel" segregated? Is is something that wafts over you when you're out and about in a neighborhood, like the smell of the pit when you pass a BBQ restaurant, or the aroma of fresh bread near a bakery?

Segregation Hits Historic Low - WSJ.com

From the article:

In 2010, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston were the country's least segregated large cities. Atlanta's index fell 28 points to 54.1 in 2010 from 82.1 in 1970; Dallas-Fort Worth's fell to 47.5 from 86.9 over the same period.

Two facts within: 1. It's the Dallas-Fort Worth METRO area. 2. There's not a hair's breadth difference between DFW and the Houston metro.

It feels segregated, in comparison to Houston. I think it's mainly due to Houston's different zoning patterns that doesn't segregate socio-economic.

[jr1038]

Originally Posted by justme02

Yes, Houston does have the most Asians in the South. Ironically enough, the city with the 2nd largest Asian population in the South is Plano. Austin is number 3 and Irving and Dallas are neck and neck for number 4.

That's wrong.

Austin is #2 in Texas in total number of Asians, not Plano. By Census 2010 data, Austin was 6.3% Asian which is 49,800. Plano was 16.9% Asian which is 43,900.

Irving is also behind Dallas with 30,200 and 34,700, respectively.

Sugar Land would be close behind Irving with about 27,000.

Just FYI, these numbers are simple to find here so you can save yourself the trouble of trying to make things up as you go.

[jr1038]

Originally Posted by justme02

Its based off of raw numbers. By percentage the suburbs, Sugar Land (Houston),...

Actually, New Territory (adjacent to Sugar Land) is 41% Asian and has the highest Asian population percentage in the state. Sugar Land would be next after that at over 35%.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by jr1038

That's wrong.

Austin is #2 in Texas in total number of Asians, not Plano. By Census 2010 data, Austin was 6.3% Asian which is 49,800. Plano was 16.9% Asian which is 43,900.

Irving is also behind Dallas with 30,200 and 34,700, respectively.

Sugar Land would be close behind Irving with about 27,000.

Just FYI, these numbers are simple to find here so you can save yourself the trouble of trying to make things up as you go.

So with 6% Asians, Houston has more Asians than number 2 (Austin), Number 3 (Plano) and Number 4 (Dallas) combined???

At 27,800 Asians, Sugar land is no slouch either
New territory is not a city though. It is not yet incorporated

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

How do palms go with pines? As a matter of fact, how does any tree "go" with another tree? I've never heard that before.

The only ones I like are those "South Carolina palms" that are actually native to the area, and give Houston that Old Lowcountry South look.

Both are evergreens so they just look good together, especially compared to the depressing dead of winter Dallas gets when everything turns brown. Its one of the reasons I like Northern Houston & The Woodlands so much. If you've ever been to Northern Florida it looks very similar. One would be hard pressed to tell the two apart.

Oh & one more thing there is no such thing as a "South Carolina palm" being native to Houston. The name says it all right? The only palms native to Texas are the Dwarf Palmetto which grows in the Piney Woods of East Texas & the Sabal Texana in South Texas along the coast. Both thrive in the Houston area as with many other species of palms such as the Fan Palms, Date Palms, Queen Palms, King Palms, Sago Palms, Pindo Palms, Needle Palms, Windmill Palms, etc. etc. etc.