Dallas area vs. Austin area (Houston, Plano: homes, to buy, income)

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

eepstein likes to claim that Austin is somehow full of gas guzzlers. That makes almost no sense at all - Texas is the land of big vehicles in general. But he refuses to acknowledge that Austin has the highest per capita sales of hybrids in Texas. Austin is the only Texas city in the top 15. Dallas buys more hybrids - but I hope so since it is 3 times larger than Austin. He also doesn't seem to understand that the V8 in the S-class Mercedes so popular with the north Dallas (or Austin Westlake) crowd pollutes just as much as a Chevy Tahoe.

Not true at all. Today's combustion engines are so efficient & burn so clean, pollution (NOX is the proper term us mechanics use) is almost eliminated totally. Vehicles made before 1996 are the ones that are polluting the most & the ones we need to try & get off of the roadways.

Cylinder management is a new technology that is really taking off & more car makers are beginning to use it. Honda was the first company to market it in the US I believe, followed by GM which calls theirs "Flex Fuel".

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Not true at all. Today's combustion engines are so efficient & burn so clean, pollution (NOX is the proper term us mechanics use) is almost eliminated totally. Vehicles made before 1996 are the ones that are polluting the most & the ones we need to try & get off of the roadways.

Cylinder management is a new technology that is really taking off & more car makers are beginning to use it. Honda was the first company to market it in the US I believe, followed by GM which calls theirs "Flex Fuel".

Metro Matt - I think you're missing my point. An S-class M-B is just about equivalent to a Chevy Tahoe in pollution (including hydrocarbons). It is meaningless to complain about SUVs at the exclusion of other vehicles of comparable powertrains. I agree modern vehicles are very clean burning compared to the past.

eepstein (in other posts) complains about Austin's abundance of polluting SUVs. He has no data to show that Austin has more SUVs (or other v8 powered vehicles) than other cities. I don't believe the vehicle demographics of Austin are materially different than for other large Texas cities.

Based on American Lung Association data (download the 2009 data at City Rankings Overview (http://www.stateoftheair.org/2009/city-rankings/ - broken link)) you will see that Dallas is 7th in the 25 most ozone-polluted cities. Austin isn't on that list. Austin (Travis county) also scores a 'A' on particle pollution while Dallas (county) scores a 'B'.

BTW - it is interesting to see that 6 of the top 10 on the 25 most ozone-polluted cities are in California. Houston ranked 5.

[artsyguy]

How is Austin an artsy town when it doesn't even have an arts district LOL.

Originally Posted by LAnative10

^^^The truth lies somewhere in between.

Both are nice cities. It will be easier to get a better job in Dallas because the economy is much larger. Austin is a much more attractive city with more to do outdoors. Dallas is alot more diverse and international. Austin is more artsy. Austin is more Southwestern, Dallas is more Midwestern. Both have Southern elements to them. Austin and Dallas are both very image consious.

Both have Texas flair, both are politically left of center, both have friendly and herd mentality people. You will find all kinds in both places.

Its a matter of personal preference. Go visit both and one will stand out.

[getmeoutofhere]

As many have said, both offer different things. Austin is smaller, and rabidly proud to the point of being obnoxious about how "weird" it is. It really isn't. There isn't much special at all about, except for UT.

Dallas is very "plasticky", where the ladies all dress up and do their hair to hop in their Mercedes-Benz (the AMG version, look how special I am, I can spend $140K on a car!) to go shopping at Neiman-Marcus and be "seen".


Both are pretty liberal.

Dallas is much bigger than Austin, so for many that is a deciding factor.

Dallas has the edge in art and culture, simply due to its size.

[case44]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

How is Austin an artsy town when it doesn't even have an arts district LOL.

Actually, that does strike me as odd as to why they don't.

[love roses]

East Austin is becoming the Austin arts district.

[artsyguy]

Dallas has four I repeat four art districts and even one of their massive malls is covered in art-work, I think it is called the North Park shopping center mall.

Originally Posted by case44

Actually, that does strike me as odd as to why they don't.

[artsyguy]

It's the same story with UT Austin. Blargghhhhhhhh.

Originally Posted by eepstein

The city of Austin is such a trainwreck that it literally makes up lies to cover up its massive shortcomings which are HUGE.



3.)

[artsyguy]

I agree with you eepstein. People in central Texas don't know what they are missing. Arrogance can really cloud reason and judgment.

Originally Posted by eepstein

I agree. You can't possibly compare these two cities together. Dallas wins hands down and every possible way shape and form. Dallas is a huge, international, business mecca with wealth and status that would blow the average person away. Its mega northern suburbs have some of the highest household incomes in the nation and the highest school ratings as well. Dallas has a fabulous infastruture with tons of improvements to an already superior system. Dallas can squash little Austin with it's high tech field and overall job oppurtunities.

People in Austin are horrendously arrogant and full of themselves. Nearly all of them are extremely jealous of Dallas and to a lesser extent Houston. Austin's quality of life is dropping fast as more and more people come here with high expectations (and being sadly disappointed)--Avoid Austin....It's an overpriced, extremely overrated place.

DALLAS ALL THE WAY BABY!!!!!

So he is loony because he isn't part of the communist worshiping herd that is in Austin. Okay. Sure.

Originally Posted by triwing

eepstein, you're a bit on the loony side.

No. Maybe the poster actually uses rational thought to come to his conclusions.

Dallas has great topography. Cedar Hill (Dallas county) is a mini-hill country paradise. White rock lake, bacchman lake, and Robert E Lee Park are great too. Dallas skyline looks great. Oklahoma mountains are only a few hours north of Dallas.

Originally Posted by jdevelop2

What and absurd statement. Is it possible that eepstein and artysguy are the same person?


So... Dallas is better than Austin in every possible way. Well you are the first person I have encountered who believes that having a higher violent crime rate is preferable.

You would also be the first person I have met who believes that Dallas has more attractive topography than Austin.

VERY and I mean VERY few Austinites are jealous of Dallas. What a thoroughly ignorant assertion.

[wpmeads]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

The most ironic aspect of the "keep austin weird" idiocy is that Austin isn't weird; you'll find some artsy neighborhoods but Dallas, Houston, etc have them too.

"Keep Austin Weird" started as a campaign to support small and local businesses, but it's just been very misunderstood by transplants and tourist to a ridiculous extent. I like the slogan, but I just wish it would be geared toward it's original purpose.