Dallas - thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Fire ants, terrible winters and summers, way too short springs and falls - forget about outdoors life. But yes, everything seems brand new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Dallas vibe is just too try hard and superficial for me.

I like Houston much better.

I agree with the Dallas vibe. Living there, I found it to be very pretentious. My sister lives in Houston and I'm not sure it's much different there. I think the focus on superficial is just part of southern culture.

Pray tell, where do you reside with a focus on the non-superficial?

I currently live in upstate NY. I'm the one who said Dallas focused on the superficial. My current area is the least superficial area I've ever lived. All of the high school girls wear baggy sweats and no make up. Nobody cares what sort of car you drive or where you work. There isn't a competitive culture here. The schools hold no contests for who can read the most or not miss any days. Kids don't talk about their grades or SAT scores.

I found the DC area to be very competitive with their kids. Instead of trying to have a nicer car than your neighbor, adults were making sure their kid was better at sports, music, school, or anything than the kid down the street. The focus on college prestige and ranking is insane in the DC area.

Different areas of the country have different cultures and values. In one are of the country the varsity football players and cheerleaders rule the school while in other areas nobody cares who is on the football team. In some areas the first question you get when meeting someone new is what church do you attend. In the south your kids might be expected to take classes on manners and attend cotillion. If you live in Texas your child may attend their friend's quincinera while a child in New York would attend a friend's bat mitzvah.

The differences may seem small but if you have kids they have at least a minor impact in your life. My sister in Houston talks about mums, cheerleading practice, monogrammed items, the hot brands for her daughter, and the school pick up line because there isn't a school bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Dallas vibe is just too try hard and superficial for me.

I like Houston much better.

I agree with the Dallas vibe. Living there, I found it to be very pretentious. My sister lives in Houston and I'm not sure it's much different there. I think the focus on superficial is just part of southern culture.

Pray tell, where do you reside with a focus on the non-superficial?

I currently live in upstate NY. I'm the one who said Dallas focused on the superficial. My current area is the least superficial area I've ever lived. All of the high school girls wear baggy sweats and no make up. Nobody cares what sort of car you drive or where you work. There isn't a competitive culture here. The schools hold no contests for who can read the most or not miss any days. Kids don't talk about their grades or SAT scores.

I found the DC area to be very competitive with their kids. Instead of trying to have a nicer car than your neighbor, adults were making sure their kid was better at sports, music, school, or anything than the kid down the street. The focus on college prestige and ranking is insane in the DC area.

Different areas of the country have different cultures and values. In one are of the country the varsity football players and cheerleaders rule the school while in other areas nobody cares who is on the football team. In some areas the first question you get when meeting someone new is what church do you attend. In the south your kids might be expected to take classes on manners and attend cotillion. If you live in Texas your child may attend their friend's quincinera while a child in New York would attend a friend's bat mitzvah.

The differences may seem small but if you have kids they have at least a minor impact in your life. My sister in Houston talks about mums, cheerleading practice, monogrammed items, the hot brands for her daughter, and the school pick up line because there isn't a school bus.

Op here

— upstate ny is gorgeous. All the little lake towns in the adirondacks 💯

Ithaca is one of the best towns in the country

I guess my point wasn’t so much that Dallas is the best ever but more that I was surprised (from my low expectations)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in DFW and it's better than people think but not as good as visitors charmed by low prices want to believe.

Pros:
Friendly day to day interactions with strangers/acquaintances. Much nicer than around here, and I think people around here are fine
Lower (but no longer low) COL, and cheaper expectations for life (no 6 weeks of sleep away camp, etc)
Generally easy to find good school systems
Phenomenal food

Cons:
Weather. Not just heat but extreme weather- there are a lot of tornado's in the spring (and now summer)
Lack of natural beauty. You won't notice until you do and then you will (not) see it everywhere you look
Politics. It's easy to write it off as NBD or only a partisan woud care, but there is a lot of casual racism, people being A-OK with HOAs running their lives, and this kind of tyranny of the Church that is hard to understand until you've lived it
Weird gender stuff. This is a subset of politics but deserves its own mention. Things that are optional here (cheerleading, football) are more foundational there and it infiltrates the days to day more than you might think
You'd better freaking LOVE your car. A lot if Texans do, and if you do at can be great. But you'll be in it all the time.

Agree with all of this, plus there isn't much greenery compared to the DMV.

Agree. I have been to Dallas, and I found it way too manufactured and boring. And the weather...DC area is bad enough but at least we have some natural beauty out here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Dallas vibe is just too try hard and superficial for me.

I like Houston much better.

I agree with the Dallas vibe. Living there, I found it to be very pretentious. My sister lives in Houston and I'm not sure it's much different there. I think the focus on superficial is just part of southern culture.

Pray tell, where do you reside with a focus on the non-superficial?

I currently live in upstate NY. I'm the one who said Dallas focused on the superficial. My current area is the least superficial area I've ever lived. All of the high school girls wear baggy sweats and no make up. Nobody cares what sort of car you drive or where you work. There isn't a competitive culture here. The schools hold no contests for who can read the most or not miss any days. Kids don't talk about their grades or SAT scores.

I found the DC area to be very competitive with their kids. Instead of trying to have a nicer car than your neighbor, adults were making sure their kid was better at sports, music, school, or anything than the kid down the street. The focus on college prestige and ranking is insane in the DC area.

Different areas of the country have different cultures and values. In one are of the country the varsity football players and cheerleaders rule the school while in other areas nobody cares who is on the football team. In some areas the first question you get when meeting someone new is what church do you attend. In the south your kids might be expected to take classes on manners and attend cotillion. If you live in Texas your child may attend their friend's quincinera while a child in New York would attend a friend's bat mitzvah.

The differences may seem small but if you have kids they have at least a minor impact in your life. My sister in Houston talks about mums, cheerleading practice, monogrammed items, the hot brands for her daughter, and the school pick up line because there isn't a school bus.

PP here. I really do appreciate your taking the time to share. As a southerner, I don't think overgeneralizations about areas are fair, but I do get what you're saying about upstate New York. I live in Atlanta and have met and work with some of the nicest people from upatate NY!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG no. Just - NO!

Too many MAGA/ supremacists.

Guess what. They absolutely do not want you there, especially if that’s what you think of them.

No one is inviting you OR your divisive politics that somehow has you ascribing hyperbolic negative traits and more disdain for your fellow Americans who disagree with you than you can muster even for Hamas sympathizers, so please stay away.

+a million. Stay the F outta Texas. They don’t want you there and I don’t want you there when I move back home. You run your commie leftist mouth in Dallas and someone will put their fist in it in short order. Go to California where you belong. Texas is full.

Wow .... I' don't know Dallas but considering these statements it must be a horrible place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG no. Just - NO!

Too many MAGA/ supremacists.

Guess what. They absolutely do not want you there, especially if that’s what you think of them.

No one is inviting you OR your divisive politics that somehow has you ascribing hyperbolic negative traits and more disdain for your fellow Americans who disagree with you than you can muster even for Hamas sympathizers, so please stay away.

+a million. Stay the F outta Texas. They don’t want you there and I don’t want you there when I move back home. You run your commie leftist mouth in Dallas and someone will put their fist in it in short order. Go to California where you belong. Texas is full.

Wow .... I' don't know Dallas but considering these statements it must be a horrible place.

They keep voting for Ted Cruz. That alone should tell you something about Texans.

[Anonymous]

Its in the South.

Nuf said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its in the South.

Nuf said.

/\/\ Ignorant poster. Nuf said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG no. Just - NO!

Too many MAGA/ supremacists.

Guess what. They absolutely do not want you there, especially if that’s what you think of them.

No one is inviting you OR your divisive politics that somehow has you ascribing hyperbolic negative traits and more disdain for your fellow Americans who disagree with you than you can muster even for Hamas sympathizers, so please stay away.

+a million. Stay the F outta Texas. They don’t want you there and I don’t want you there when I move back home. You run your commie leftist mouth in Dallas and someone will put their fist in it in short order. Go to California where you belong. Texas is full.

Are all Texans as violent as you? Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG no. Just - NO!

Too many MAGA/ supremacists.

Guess what. They absolutely do not want you there, especially if that’s what you think of them.

No one is inviting you OR your divisive politics that somehow has you ascribing hyperbolic negative traits and more disdain for your fellow Americans who disagree with you than you can muster even for Hamas sympathizers, so please stay away.

+a million. Stay the F outta Texas. They don’t want you there and I don’t want you there when I move back home. You run your commie leftist mouth in Dallas and someone will put their fist in it in short order. Go to California where you belong. Texas is full.

Wow .... I' don't know Dallas but considering these statements it must be a horrible place.

They keep voting for Ted Cruz. That alone should tell you something about Texans.

Don't forget that national treasure, Greg Abbott.

[Anonymous]

Lots of money, lots of pretty girls, and lots of heat (summers are too long & too hot).

Lack of natural beauty. Nevertheless, I would move to Dallas and enjoy it if offered a great job in the area.

[Anonymous]

Ugh. I worked for a local start-up that was acquired by a Dallas-based company years ago. They expected all 80 or 100 of us to move there but no one took them up on it. Ick!

As others have said:
- hot as hell from spring through winter;
- serious snotty, pretentious money vibe (at least most people here can pretend to be interested in the arts, politics, or culture);
- passive-aggressive, catty, silly women (why, bless your heart!);
- reckless, speeding drivers on the highway from the airport;
- cowboy hats and cowboy boots;
- pollution and Big Oil;
- serious bullshitters a la Enron. BSers with swagger and something to sell you, always;
- ugly infrastructure and highways everywhere;
- too much fatty food, queso and nachos

The only thing I really liked was the houses built around an open courtyard.

[Anonymous]

Shithole for rednecks.

[Anonymous]

If you do move there, consider spending some vacation time at beavers bend state park in broken bow, OK. My daughter and I were there this spring and it was absolutely gorgeous.