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I would love to hear what neighborhoods in Dallas you are unlikely to interact with somebody from outside of your own race. The only neighborhoods I can think of where ECONOMIC diversity doesn't exist is Highland Park, Preston Hollow, and some really destitute areas of southeast Dallas. Everywhere else from Lakewood to Lake Highlands to Downtown to Oak Cliff to Far North Dallas to Far East Dallas is diverse both economically and racially. I live in East Dallas by the lake and I encounter people of all races, poor and wealthy, on a daily basis. Everytime I hear somebody say Dallas isn't diverse or integrated I have to assume they haven't been here in at least 20 years or longer.
What does a lack of zoning and quirkiness mean? If Houston's "quirkiness" and anti-zoning equates to the possibility of you buying a $500,000+ home in an area surrounded by section 8 apartments and check cashing places, I'll take zoning every day of the week.
When I lived in North Dallas it was more common to see people playing cricket out in this field than to see people playing basketball or soccer.
I still have yet to see a city in Texas more integrated than Arlington Texas. Arlington may feel suburban but its definitely well integrated through out the city. There is no such thing as a exclusive black, white, asian, or hispanic community in Arlington.
When in Dallas difference in Houston I absolutely love driving down 75 and seeing all the lights toward downtown and uptown and then going the complete opposite way it's so gorgeous, then turning into 635 toward addison and then going to DNTollway and back through George Bush like one of my favorite routes. In Houston there's nothing like that but 45 coming conroe is awesome with all the restaurants covering the sides of the freeway. Just thought I should mention.
Well, someone in Houston could say Dallas has nothing like the 610 Loop, or the Katy Freeway, or Southwest Freeway. There is not a single view in Dallas that beats the ramp going from the Westpark Tollway to 59 North. You see Downtown, Uptown, TMC, and all other little clusters around the loop, in one shot.
Well, someone in Houston could say Dallas has nothing like the 610 Loop, or the Katy Freeway, or Southwest Freeway. There is not a single view in Dallas that beats the ramp going from the Westpark Tollway to 59 North. You see Downtown, Uptown, TMC, and all other little clusters around the loop, in one shot.
I still have yet to see a city in Texas more integrated than Arlington Texas. Arlington may feel suburban but its definitely well integrated through out the city. There is no such thing as a exclusive black, white, asian, or hispanic community in Arlington.
As far as views go, can't forget 610 over 59 looking deep into Uptown as you're about to enter it. Ramp from 610 onto 288 north, Katy Freeway coming into downtown, and 610 east over the ship channel (gives the illusion of being a mini Manhattan with all the skylines lined up looking west). Awesome.
No zoning is what gives Houston its quirky vibe while Dallas just appears overly sterile & bland with its stricter zoning.
In Dallas they sweep all their trashy neighborhoods under the rug much better while in Houston they are intermingled with the ritzy areas of town making the city less segregated among different races & ethnic groups.
In Houston you are more likely on a daily basis to interact with someone not of your own race.
I honestly cannot fathom this statement. You must NEVER visit the city or the metro area. Maybe you're speaking of very small enclaves, like the Junior League club, or any number of lily-white private country clubs. Otherwise, any Dallasite who read that statement would rightfully wonder what you're talking about.
We recently had a company get-together at a popular bar on Belt Line in Addison, admittedly not Dallas proper but since it's a suburb some will knee-jerk that it can't be diverse.
At one point I looked around the club and remarked to a co-worker that I had never seen a bar with so many different types of people. Black, Asian, white, "redneck," people in their 40s and 50s along with the mostly 30-something crowd, and high-powered exec types. The music playing? Classic rock!
I think one of the reasons we get nicked when we talk about Addison, Richardson, Plano, Southlake, Irving, Arlington or Fort Worth is that all those places contribute so much to the area. Each is a destination in its own right. We are told we're using those places as "crutches," which is the standard whine. Fort Worth is the biggest "crutch" of all, though at this exact minute here at my workplace in Dallas county I am closer to downtown Fort Worth than to downtown Dallas. I could be at Angelo's BBQ in about 25 minutes.
There has been some rivalry among the city of Dallas and the various powerful suburbs in DFW, but it serves to make each entity stronger, in that they know they have to compete at a high level to "beat" their neighbors. This makes us all stronger. And we ALL win when a major company decides to make DFW its home, in that the area is recognized as a good place to do business. That begats other relocations.
I believe that ALL the cities in the DFW metro together make this a great place. Contrast this to Houston, which is king of the whole area, surrounded by a lot of smaller, bedroom communities that no one outisde Texas has ever heard of. And even then, the "greatness" of Houston seems to be confined within a small loop. Are you outside the loop or inside it? Are you cool or not? I couldn't fathom being restricted to such a small area, knowing that if I venture outside that loop, I'm suddenly far removed from most of the good shopping, cultural amenities, and bar and restaurant scenes.
Instead of one giant next a lot of kids at the kids' table, in DFW we're all adults sitting around a single big table. Dallas may be at the head of the table, but it knows that everyone sitting there is in it together.
I honestly cannot fathom this statement. You must NEVER visit the city or the metro area. Maybe you're speaking of very small enclaves, like the Junior League club, or any number of lily-white private country clubs. Otherwise, any Dallasite who read that statement would rightfully wonder what you're talking about.
We recently had a company get-together at a popular bar on Belt Line in Addison, admittedly not Dallas proper but since it's a suburb some will knee-jerk that it can't be diverse.
At one point I looked around the club and remarked to a co-worker that I had never seen a bar with so many different types of people. Black, Asian, white, "redneck," people in their 40s and 50s along with the mostly 30-something crowd, and high-powered exec types. The music playing? Classic rock!
I think one of the reasons we get nicked when we talk about Addison, Richardson, Plano, Southlake, Irving, Arlington or Fort Worth is that all those places contribute so much to the area. Each is a destination in its own right. We are told we're using those places as "crutches," which is the standard whine. Fort Worth is the biggest "crutch" of all, though at this exact minute here at my workplace in Dallas county I am closer to downtown Fort Worth than to downtown Dallas. I could be at Angelo's BBQ in about 25 minutes.
There has been some rivalry among the city of Dallas and the various powerful suburbs in DFW, but it serves to make each entity stronger, in that they know they have to compete at a high level to "beat" their neighbors. This makes us all stronger. And we ALL win when a major company decides to make DFW its home, in that the area is recognized as a good place to do business. That begats other relocations.
I believe that ALL the cities in the DFW metro together make this a great place. Contrast this to Houston, which is king of the whole area, surrounded by a lot of smaller, bedroom communities that no one outisde Texas has ever heard of. And even then, the "greatness" of Houston seems to be confined within a small loop. Are you outside the loop or inside it? Are you cool or not? I couldn't fathom being restricted to such a small area, knowing that if I venture outside that loop, I'm suddenly far removed from most of the good shopping, cultural amenities, and bar and restaurant scenes.
Instead of one giant next a lot of kids at the kids' table, in DFW we're all adults sitting around a single big table. Dallas may be at the head of the table, but it knows that everyone sitting there is in it together.
All of the suburbs competing with each other is just a race to the bottom. The next new suburb will come up and steal businesses away from the suburb before it. A company moving into a suburb may be good for the whole area, but I bet the City of Dallas wishes those tax dollars were in its city limits. There is no central city in DFW. That's why the Super Bowl was such a disaster. No city in this sprawling place to take the lead. Everyone has their own little bubble in DFW and mostly stick to it. In Houston, there is clearly one central main city. Your point about their not being popular suburbs is false, as The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Katy/Cinco Ranch are pretty well known to people moving to Houston (considering they grew the most). You really think people know about Addison or Euless before moving to DFW? But anyway, that's why the Super Bowl in Houston was a success. The party was in THE city. Everyone came to Downtown because that's where the action was. And it's not like Houston suburbs don't have attractions and business districts of their own either. It's just that the main and most important ones (museums, sports stadiums/arenas, employment centers) are in the city.
Dallas alone can't compete with Houston on city alone because of all the suburbs Dallas has to compete with. I used the Super Bowl example because I thought that week clearly showed how fractured DFW really is, despite the claims of "working together".
All of the suburbs competing with each other is just a race to the bottom. The next new suburb will come up and steal businesses away from the suburb before it. A company moving into a suburb may be good for the whole area, but I bet the City of Dallas wishes those tax dollars were in its city limits. There is no central city in DFW. That's why the Super Bowl was such a disaster. No city in this sprawling place to take the lead. Everyone has their own little bubble in DFW and mostly stick to it. In Houston, there is clearly one central main city. Your point about their not being popular suburbs is false, as The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Katy/Cinco Ranch are pretty well known to people moving to Houston (considering they grew the most). You really think people know about Addison or Euless before moving to DFW? But anyway, that's why the Super Bowl in Houston was a success. The party was in THE city. Everyone came to Downtown because that's where the action was. And it's not like Houston suburbs don't have attractions and business districts of their own either. It's just that the main and most important ones (museums, sports stadiums/arenas, employment centers) are in the city.
Dallas alone can't compete with Houston on city alone because of all the suburbs Dallas has to compete with. I used the Super Bowl example because I thought that week clearly showed how fractured DFW really is, despite the claims of "working together".
You operate from multiple false premises. The Super Bowl was not a "disaster." It is unfortunate that we had the ice and snow, but, without the weather, the only misfortune was Jerry's mistake of trying to sell seats that were not properly fastened.
The Super Bowl WILL return to North Texas, probably before it returns to Houston. Which brings me to another point: If the Houston SB was so successful, why has it not hosted another game? Why has there been no talk of Houston being added to the rotation, as was mentioned for Jerry World? Actually, I think the incident most remembered about your SB is the infamous wardrobe malfunction.
Lastly, I was actually in Houston visiting during the SB weekend. Your single rail line had just opened. My friend and I decided to go downtown to get a feel for the action. What a mistake.
We were surrounded by 50,000 "fans," most of whom were in the process of tossing their beer bottles on the pavement. I never saw so much broken glass. The street was completely strewn with glass shards. The crowd was so scary that we decided to get out of the area as fast as possible, but not before making the mistake of riding the rail line. It was jammed to well over capacity, everyone packed in like sardines.
We were well happy to get out of there and back to the safety of his home.
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