Dear Dallas

[bluedogok]

I am starting to grow weary of Dallas myself. The traffic is horrendous and lots of road rage. Lots to do here, however if I decide to stay in Texas, I would definitely choose Austin or Galveston. Galveston has so much history and I happen to love all the Victorian architecture. They just completed "Pleasure Pier" on the Sea Wall with replaced boardwalk and rollercoasters and rides. The Moody Gardens are beautiful. I really like Austin because it's much more diverse than Dallas with a highly educated workforce. The economy is still doing quite well in Austin!

Before we moved to Denver I would have moved to the Houston area (Clear Lake/Galveston area) before I would move back to Dallas. When we got tired of the heat/humidity in Austin, I told my wife if we were going to put up with it I would rather move to Port Aransas where we could at least have the sea breeze effect and work in Corpus Christi...or we move to Denver. She made her choice.

[OKCisOK4me]

Dear Dallas, you suck...

With your high volume traffic, your over priced alcohol and your lack of residents who think Oklahoma is a tick trying to suck the lifeblood out of Texas. I only visit you if I have to. I'd rather vacation in Baghdad than have to be within your city limits. I do like Fort Worth, though ;-)

[Teo9969]

I was in Dallas most of last week and spent almost all my time in the Arts District...I get why New Urbanism is such a big deal to some here now. It was really difficult to find food after 4 and I saw nearly no retail in the areas that I walked. I also got the sense that nobody really walks around down there, even when it's absolutely gorgeous outside.

Nice looking skyline and all, but just really impractical for anyone not in an office building to be in downtown Dallas.

[RadicalModerate]

Dear Dallas, you suck...

With your high volume traffic, your over priced alcohol and your lack of residents who think Oklahoma is a tick trying to suck the lifeblood out of Texas. I only visit you if I have to. I'd rather vacation in Baghdad than have to be within your city limits. I do like Fort Worth, though ;-)

Why don't you say what you really mean? . . . =)
[Like]

[Plutonic Panda]

I like Dallas and that's just my opinion. Here's a new bridge if anyone hasn't seen it. Very nice and I wish they would do something really unique with the I-35 bridge near downtown when it comes time to widen it.

[ljbab728]

Plupan, I can't imagine any time during the next 50 years that the I35 bridge over the river would need to be widened.

[Plutonic Panda]

Well, it would be nice if they would do something unique with the current bridge then. Maybe build a pedestrian bridge across the river and do something cool with it.

[ljbab728]

That would be nice but you can't make every bridge an icon. We have the Skydance Bridge and that may be our last one like that for quite a while. Dallas has plenty of boring bridges also.

[Plutonic Panda]

I was thinking about the Skydance bridge as well. Would be kind of awkward (I guess????) putting another expensive and "iconic" bridge in that close to one we just built. I would still vouch for it though. My thinking would be doing something unique for the I-35 bridge and then building a low key, yet cool, pedestrian bridge near the AICC (if that ever gets done ).

[G.Walker]

I was in Dallas most of last week and spent almost all my time in the Arts District...I get why New Urbanism is such a big deal to some here now. It was really difficult to find food after 4 and I saw nearly no retail in the areas that I walked. I also got the sense that nobody really walks around down there, even when it's absolutely gorgeous outside.

Nice looking skyline and all, but just really impractical for anyone not in an office building to be in downtown Dallas.

+1

[bchris02]

I like Dallas quite a bit, but I like Houston more.

[SoonerDave]

I like Dallas quite a bit, but I like Houston more.

Must admit your the first person I've ever heard say that. I've been to Dallas and Houston several times, and I must say Houston is among the most least pleasant cities I've ever had to visit. Ironically, much of my wife's family has expressed a similar opinion, and some of them actually lived there some time ago. If, heaven forbid, circumstances forced me to make some sort of choice between those two alternatives, Dallas would win without a second's hesitation.

[tillyato]

Must admit your the first person I've ever heard say that. I've been to Dallas and Houston several times, and I must say Houston is among the most least pleasant cities I've ever had to visit. Ironically, much of my wife's family has expressed a similar opinion, and some of them actually lived there some time ago. If, heaven forbid, circumstances forced me to make some sort of choice between those two alternatives, Dallas would win without a second's hesitation.

What is is about Dallas that you like so much better than Houston?

[SoonerDave]

What is is about Dallas that you like so much better than Houston?

Houston is just such a "thrown together" place, and I never quite understood why I got that "vibe", "feeling" (whatever you want to call it) until I did some reading and found out that Houston has historically not had particularly strong zoning laws governing what kinds of things can be built in which kinds of locations. A guy I worked for many years ago had a very nice condo, but it was literally right across from a series of what couldn't be termed as anything but a slum. I asked him why they built areas like this side-by-side, and he basically affirmed what I had heard - you can build just about what you want where you want. I guess (?) the idea was that if enough other more affluent people built more condos that they'd necessarily push the slum area out? Don't know.

Guess the other big "whammy" was traffic. Yes, Dallas is its own kind of traffic malestrom, but Houston is a special kind of nightmare - seemingly (and I admit this is a subjective observation) a much more slipshod design of highways, unabashedly high-speed get-out-of-my-way driving mentality. I vaguely recall one of the guys I spoke with down there had indicated "yeah Houston traffic takes some getting used to."

Obviously lots of people like Houston, and that's great. To each their own. Just not my cup of tea at all.

[tillyato]

Fair enough. I've spent much more time in Dallas than Houston, do I probably don't really have enough information for a fair comparison of the two. I do really enjoy the area of Houston around Rice and the medical district, but couldn't stand having to live out in the suburbs and commuting into downtown every day.

Most of Dallas just feels like endless suburbia to me, outside of a few areas around Highland Park and Uptown, I can't see anything particularly special about Dallas other than just the fact that it is big. Like you said, to each their own. Obviously both cities are doing something right to have the kind of growth they have been experiencing of late.

[bchris02]

Interesting. To me Dallas feels more like a 'thrown together' type place where Houston has more of an authentic vibe. I think it has to do with individual experiences and preferences. If I had the option to move from OKC to Houston I would do it in a heartbeat. Houston traffic can be a nightmare but other than that, it's an awesome city.

[adaniel]

Houston is just such a "thrown together" place, and I never quite understood why I got that "vibe", "feeling" (whatever you want to call it) until I did some reading and found out that Houston has historically not had particularly strong zoning laws governing what kinds of things can be built in which kinds of locations. A guy I worked for many years ago had a very nice condo, but it was literally right across from a series of what couldn't be termed as anything but a slum. I asked him why they built areas like this side-by-side, and he basically affirmed what I had heard - you can build just about what you want where you want. I guess (?) the idea was that if enough other more affluent people built more condos that they'd necessarily push the slum area out? Don't know.

Guess the other big "whammy" was traffic. Yes, Dallas is its own kind of traffic malestrom, but Houston is a special kind of nightmare - seemingly (and I admit this is a subjective observation) a much more slipshod design of highways, unabashedly high-speed get-out-of-my-way driving mentality. I vaguely recall one of the guys I spoke with down there had indicated "yeah Houston traffic takes some getting used to."

Obviously lots of people like Houston, and that's great. To each their own. Just not my cup of tea at all.

Its not that Houston has weak zoning laws. Houston has no zoning laws whatsoever. The only thing between you and your neighborhood being invaded by pawn shops, strip clubs, tire shops, etc. is deed restrictions and a very active property owners association. If you have 2 of those things, then your good (and most of the affluent neighborhoods do). If not, well, good luck. My relatives live in an area known as Mission Bend. As recently as 2000, it was a very nice area. Now, its crap. Recently, a massage palor type place opened up right behind their house, one of these rub and tug type places, with all sorts of weird people going in and out all day. They can't do anything about it because they live in unincorporated Harris County and their is no formal zoning code. Houston isnt't all bad, and the inner loop area has really progressed nicely. But outside that and the 1-10 Energy Corridor, that city is a mess. Coming into the city on 45 between the Woodlands and downtown is just one big, almost dizzying blast of decaying strip malls, auto dealerships, empty fields, and shady apartments. And I can write a novel on the traffic and climate there. I did a summer internship there while still in college in 2007 and I couldn't wait to get out.

Between that and pretentiousness of Dallas, I am frankly starting to sour on Texas (and I say this as someone who lived there for 8 years). Its just not what it used to be. I now only go down there for family visits. Last fall, I ventured up to Kansas City and was surprised how much I enjoyed myself. Definitely worth the 2 hours of extra driving vs a trip to Dallas.

[bluedogok]

If I were to move back to Texas and not the Central Texas or Port Aransas areas, I would choose Houston over the DFW area and I lived in Dallas for two years. There are nice areas of Houston and many not so nice but if I had my way I would probably live in the Clear Lake/Kemah area....but I have no desire to move back to Texas.

[Just the facts]

If I had to live in Texas I would pick the town of Texline. I would want to live as far away as I could from the rest of Texas.

[boscorama]

Interesting. To me Dallas feels more like a 'thrown together' type place where Houston has more of an authentic vibe. I think it has to do with individual experiences and preferences. If I had the option to move from OKC to Houston I would do it in a heartbeat. Houston traffic can be a nightmare but other than that, it's an awesome city.

Houston is a day trip to and from Galveston; Dallas is in the middle of nowhere. Houston HAD the Oilers; Dallas HAS the Cowboys (for what it's worth). Houston is the capital of HUMIDITY and giant roaches; Dallas is just hot and miserable.

Given an ultimatum, I'd choose Dallas for its proximity to OKC.

[UncleCyrus]

I was in Dallas most of last week and spent almost all my time in the Arts District...I get why New Urbanism is such a big deal to some here now. It was really difficult to find food after 4 and I saw nearly no retail in the areas that I walked. I also got the sense that nobody really walks around down there, even when it's absolutely gorgeous outside.

Nice looking skyline and all, but just really impractical for anyone not in an office building to be in downtown Dallas.

Also very difficult to find a public restroom. These things are important to some people.

[bchris02]

Houston is a day trip to and from Galveston; Dallas is in the middle of nowhere. Houston HAD the Oilers; Dallas HAS the Cowboys (for what it's worth). Houston is the capital of HUMIDITY and giant roaches; Dallas is just hot and miserable.

Given an ultimatum, I'd choose Dallas for its proximity to OKC.

Yeah I had to deal with the giant roaches when I lived in Charlotte. Not fun and I am glad there aren't very many of them in OKC.

[progressiveboy]

Here is another coup for the Dallas area. They "constantly" get new headquarters from out of state and many states look to Texas as a low cost of doing business there! While I am growing weary of traffic in Dallas it amazes me they continually are able to attract nice high paying "White collar" jobs. Sure would be nice if OKC can land some of these nice high paying jobs! I know GE Research will be opening in the OKC area but other than that, the OKC Chamber needs to "agressively" attract high paying jobs to OKC!


Irving locks up 220 jobs with Trend Micro HQ relocation - Dallas Business Journal

[bchris02]

Here is another coup for the Dallas area. They "constantly" get new headquarters from out of state and many states look to Texas as a low cost of doing business there! While I am growing weary of traffic in Dallas it amazes me they continually are able to attract nice high paying "White collar" jobs. Sure would be nice if OKC can land some of these nice high paying jobs! I know GE Research will be opening in the OKC area but other than that, the OKC Chamber needs to "agressively" attract high paying jobs to OKC!


Irving locks up 220 jobs with Trend Micro HQ relocation - Dallas Business Journal

Dallas makes sense for a lot of companies. If you are trying to attract and recruit young, educated professionals, Dallas is going to be far more attractive than OKC.

[G.Walker]

Another thing that hinders OKC from attracting high paying jobs is that we lack move-in ready Class A office space. Companies like places that they can just move to instead of going through the hassle of buying land and constructing a new building, saves a lot of time and money to move in a office building ready to go.