Which big Texas city has the best downtown? (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Ft. Worth) (Fort Worth: apartment complexes, leases)

[dallasboi]

I like downtwn ft.worth...but you can do evrything in DTD that u can do in DTFT.Worth(and more of it)...the thing is..DTFT.Worth is so small it cant help but to feel busy and more vibrant. For example: If 50 peope all run up to a moble taco stand it would indeed feel and look busy...but if 50 people run into a food court(which is alot bigger)It wouldn't seem as busy.I think DTD is moving along fine with DT activity...we are not the urban oasis that we are embarking on but we will get there.

[Exult.Q36]

Downtown Fort Worth is the best in Texas.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

Yeah, there was a thread about this a few pages back. In terms of raw residential numbers, San Antonio leads with about 25 000 people actually living downtown, Austin is second with about 18 000, and Houston and Dallas each have about 6 000 people living downtown. Don't know numbers for Fort Worth, but suspect they are equally pathetic. These are large metro areas and these small numbers point to how fundamentally suburban the big Metro areas are, but the numbers are I think indicative of what the O.P was asking. Downtown San Antonio has the tourist trap of the Riverwalk but the largest concentration of Art Deco skyscrapers in the state, and you could live a fairly urban life there, lacking in the basic necessities of a walkable big grocery store, good public transportation, but plenty restaurants, coffee-shops, nightlife etc and the adjacent Southtown/King Williams district is one of the most vibrant and architecturally significant urban neighborhoods in the state. Downtown Fort Worth has the tourist trap of Sundance Square, which is pretty, but more of an entertainment district than anything else and the adjacent Museum district has fabulous museums but is mostly morgue-like after dark. Downtown FW is a fun place to visit and drive in and out of if you live in Fort Worth, but not really livable in terms of everyday basics. Downtown Austin has the juvenile tourist trap of 6th Street, but is increasingly the most livable downtown in TX: much more than just an entertainment district - home to the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi and pretty lively day and night seven days a week, but in danger of becoming a rich person's ghetto with the highest price per square foot real estate in the state (close to $500 per square foot). But the Whole Foods world headquarters is there, and tons of trendy boutiques, bike shops, furniture stores etc. No hardware store yet, but otherwise everything you could need in walking distance. Downtown Houston and Dallas are basically commercial zones and largely deserted at night. Dallas has Main Street, which is like a fatter, older version of Austin's 6th Street without the live music, and strip mall kind of restaurants, but some very good museums in the vicinity. And downtown Houston lacks even that. Nevertheless Houston and Dallas have great adjacent urban neighborhoods which are lively and livable - Uptown in Dallas and Midtown and Montrose in Houston. The urban suburban neighborhoods in TX's largest cities - Dallas just east, north and south of downtown, and most of inner loop Houston are much more interesting and bigger than equivalent neighborhoods in Austin, San Antonio and definitely Fort Worth, though almost all of central Austin and increasingly central east Austin has a quasi-urban vibe, and I love Southtown in San Antonio. Dallas has by far the best public transportation in TX, followed by Houston, But living in downtown Dallas or Houston, you would mostly still need a car to buy groceries, go to the dry-cleaners, get a haircut etc. It would be easier to do all the above in the adjacent downtown neighborhoods in these cities. In Texas, you could live in downtown San Antonio and Austin and have an urban life, but it still would not be close to the kind of urban life you could have in cities of similar size or bigger on the east coast of the U.S., Chicago, Portland, Seattle, SF, any major European, Asian or Latin American City. TX cities grew in the era of the automobile, and consequently are sprawly and lack pedestrian life and all the possibilities it contains. I live in downtown Austin and like it well enough. I could imagine living in downtown San Antonio, but would not want to live in downtown Houston, Dallas or Fort Worth, but could quite happily live in some neighborhoods close to downtown Dallas - Uptown, Oak Lawn, Deep Ellum, Lower Greenville, parts of East Dallas, North Oak Cliff and similarly for Houston - Montrose, Midtown, Rice Village - all charming quasi-urban places. If I got the right job, which paid enough money, I would move back to Manhattan - and nowhere in Texas is anywhere like there, but for my money, downtown Austin has the better apartments, better restaurants, better grocery stores, better nightlife and better walkability than any other downtown in Texas. Downtown Dallas has the best museums, and downtown Fort Worth probably has the most Texas charm and downtown San Antonio has the best architecture and downtown Houston has the best skyline. I suppose what I am really saying is that a downtown life with significant compromises is possible here, but if you want a classically urban life, there are much better places in the world than Texas.

Wow! Thank you for the very descriptive response on all 5 cities! Austin does seem to be the most liveable downtown from what you describe.

[verdecove]

Since I'm living in the Houston area I of course will vote for Houston followed by Dallas and San Antonio.

[stoneclaw]

san antonio and ft worth easily have the best downtowns. Why do we need a new thread for this?

[ebuch]

Which city has been increasing the most in population in say the last 10years?

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by ebuch

Which city has been increasing the most in population in say the last 10years?

Depends on the measurement:

By total population increase by City Proper: Houston
By total population increase of Metro Area: Dallas/Fort Worth
By percentage increase by City Proper: Fort Worth
By percentage increase by Metro Area: Austin

[ebuch]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

Depends on the measurement:

By total population increase by City Proper: Houston
By total population increase of Metro Area: Dallas/Fort Worth
By percentage increase by City Proper: Fort Worth
By percentage increase by Metro Area: Austin

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I have heard some say FTW could be outgrowing Dallas one day in the city itself..

[Lakewooder]

DALLAS !





















http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2463/4321wlawtherdrive.jpg (broken link)

[dallasboi]

^^^^^^^Yeah Dallas!!!!!!!!!