The BIG 4 - Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin (Fort Worth, Abilene: construction, agriculture)

[TXperson]

Originally Posted by houstoner

Well, I guess we can all agree San Antonio is the most laid-back. Beyond that, looks like it's anyone's guess, depending on the "scenes" we're involved in, what part of town we live in, and our personal experiences.



Interesting. How does this work then? You say people in Dallas and Austin are friendly, but also pretentious and standoffish, and don't really like to talk? The word "pretentious" has negative connotations, so I'm not sure what pretentious but not in a negative way means. Likewise, Houstonians like to talk more than Austinites, but are not as friendly? Your post is full of contradictions that do not compute, like the bolded part, for example.

It is possible to be both pretentious and friendly. Being pretentious may be a negative trait, but the dictionary defines being pretentious as the expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature, in which both Austin and Dallas are full of it. However, the people there can still be cordial and neighborly. It's easier to talk to Houstonians as they have no problem talking to strangers, but they don't appear to be as 'friendly' like people are in Austin. People in Austin like to brag about their friendliness, which is very true, however it also turns out that Austinites are more reserved and think that they are the greatest in their own minds.

And I thought my posts made sense. Believe it or not, it is possible for people and cities to have both positive and negative traits. I try not to write things off completely, or make any absolute judgments or conclusions, if that makes any sense. I would think that it would be rather closed minded if I did.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by Dangerfield

I'm not familier with what you're talking about, you may want to find the article and/or link to post it.

What I know happened is the city legitimately changed the FBI UCR methods and came under criticism claiming the drop in crime wasn't due to an actual decrease but the different reporting method.

DPD Police Cheif Kunkle's 2008 statement reguarding the 2008 crime rate:

Crime in Dallas dropped 10 percent in 2008
By STEVE THOMPSON / The Dallas Morning News

(only a portion of the article)
"But political pressure – brought in part by the comparison – has spurred the department over the last few years to undertake a massive review of the way it records crime. As a result, it realized that in some cases, Dallas wasn't following the FBI's reporting rules to the letter, making the city look worse in relation to its peers. The agency has made changes accordingly, causing some drops in the numbers that aren't related to actual drops in crime. Even so, agency officials believe most of last year's drop was real."
"Those changes should have already been absorbed in this year's numbers," Kunkle told reporters after the committee meeting, pointing out that crime dropped in categories untouched by the accounting changes. Murders, for example, dropped from 200 in 2007 to 170 last year. That's the lowest figure for any year since 1966, Kunkle said. The city's drop in crime during 2008 was the largest since 1993, when crime fell about 15 percent. It was also the fifth consecutive year of overall crime reduction."

Link: to entire article
Crime in Dallas dropped 10 percent in 2008 | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/010608dnmetdallascrime.3f66bb1c.html - broken link)

Here, find it: //www.city-data.com/forum/texas...smackdown.html

[First24]

Originally Posted by Angel713

Here, find it: //www.city-data.com/forum/texas...smackdown.html

Why? I've already proven my point.

[crystalblue]

I keep reading that Houstons traffic is the worst, esp if your heading downtown...

[iamanewcomer]

I voted Hou because it is the only city with sea access...

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by iamanewcomer

I voted Hou because it is the only city with sea access...

that can be a negative as well - Hurricanes.

[crystalblue]

of these 4, which would you consider to have the best (least worst)traffic?

[love roses]

That's a tough one actually. My first thought is San Antonio. Houston and Dallas have good freeway systems, so traffic moves better. Austin doesn't have the road infrastructure the other cities do so traffic moves more slowly.

[EasilyAmused]

Houston. It's the greenest if the big four. I like green. Not a fan of the Hilll Country look. Not a fan of lots of concrete ( Dallas except in the Park Cities and around White Rock)

If O&G was centered around the Tyler Texas area, I'd be happy as a clam.

[blkgiraffe]

No to San Antonio and Austin.

I live in Houston now ,and love it! I also love Dallas too, especially since I feel more at home there because it being so close to my hometown, Waco.