52 replies to this topic

[crossroad]

FromCityToRural, on Apr 3 2007, 04:06 PM, said:

That's a very interestin piece on Houston...thank you!

Does anyone happen to have a downtown resident population in the cities in Texas?  Would be interesting to see...

[dgreco]

crossroad, on Apr 9 2007, 10:01 PM, said:

Does anyone happen to have a downtown resident population in the cities in Texas? Would be interesting to see...

there is a breakdown somewhere in here.  I am not sure if it is just the downtown or the if they can even break that down exactly.

[DruidCity]

Quote

I think people tend to snub Hou as dirty compared to Dallas.

I haven't spent enough time in Texas to have any strong opinion.
However, my cousin has lived in Texas for many years now (Houston for a few years,
and now Dallas area, but visits Houston often since his wife's family lives there).

He basically said that Houston is dirtier/grittier than Dallas, but more fun.

[blockbuster]

Between the two which is the greener city? (trees, plants, etc.)

I live in a suburb of dallas (richardson) and haven't seen much of a difference plant wise between the 2 despite the obvious advantage houston has.

Edited by blockbuster, 05 June 2007 - 08:19 PM.

[tierwestah]

I like Dallas and i like Houston but between the two, i'll take Houston's culture, flavor, and authenticity. Although I do like Dallas for its infrastructure and transportation options.

[UptownNewOrleans]

Another thing, Houston has more historic black neighborhoods than Dallas:

5th Ward
Acres Homes
3rd Ward
4th Ward (what's left of it)

[cajun]

quality of life depends on so much more than this....how close you are to family and friends, your job, your housing conditions, and your economic status.  

It's too hard to say "which is better".  I have spent time in Houston and Dallas and I can say that they both have big drawbacks not specific to them including crime, major traffic issues, mass sprawl, and cleanliness.  
However, and this is one of the most important things, both cities are growing rapidly with amazing upward mobility.  You can have a lives' worth of careers in either city with numerous organizations.  

I choose not to vote.

[dallasbrink]

Dallas because when you think of Pro Texas Football, u think of The Dallas Cowboys and that team down in Houston.

Houston is to hard to get around, one street has 6 names in one mile stretch, cant handle a Six Flags and is in reach of being hit by Hurricanes.  

cajun, on Jul 20 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

quality of life depends on so much more than this....how close you are to family and friends, your job, your housing conditions, and your economic status.  

It's too hard to say "which is better".  I have spent time in Houston and Dallas and I can say that they both have big drawbacks not specific to them including crime, major traffic issues, mass sprawl, and cleanliness.  
However, and this is one of the most important things, both cities are growing rapidly with amazing upward mobility.  You can have a lives' worth of careers in either city with numerous organizations.  

I choose not to vote.

[totheskies]

WOW I first have to credit the Urban Planet forumers for being able to have this discussion without drawing blood.  Unlike some OTHER forums I am formerly associated with.  

I am originally from Little Rock Arkansas, which for all intensive purposes is like the "kid brother" of Dallas.  The sharing of I-30 forms a pipeline of culture, ideas, and wants between Arkansans and North Texans.  Because of this, I grew up inundated by Dallas culture... Six Flags, Cowboys, the awesome Texas economy... oh yeah, and there was that one little television show.   I can confidently say that I wasn't even aware of Houston's existence until I was in high school.... I saw this big blob on a road map, and it wasn't San Antonio, Austin, or the Metroplex.  

The D/FW embodies so much of what is Texan, and what is truly American... the heartland, the smell of success, glitz and glamour, and a wonderful, independent spirit.  These are the aspects I love about Dallas and all of Texas.  I spent one great summer living in Arlington, and I got to experience the Big D in every way possible.  

But as a matter of preference, I'm a Houstonian.  This city shares that successful attitude with Dallas, and a similar successful economy, but it's the edgier, grittier side that appeals to me here.  It's mind boggling that a town can be so close knit while having such ridiculous amounts of diversity.  The social schedule within a year will leave you going crazy... THE Rodeo, Art Car Parade, Houston Pride, The Houston International Festival, Galveston Mardi Gras, Dickens on the Strand, and yeah so so so much more.  I mean what do you say to a city that is red-blooded country western town, home for world-class opera and ballet companies AND a true mecca for Southern Hip-Hop.  It boggles my mind that we seem to keep all of this cool stuff as a secret from the rest of the country.  If you're not aware, come down for three days... spend one in the inner city area (Montrose, downtown, Galleria), one in the southeast (Clear Lake, Galveston), and one in the Southwest (chinatown, Sugar Land).

At the end of the day, Texas is a very fortunate state to have such pehnomenal urban areas.... Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso have all defined themselves differently.  But together, they make a very powerful force within the state, and our country.

There's my one-sided and biased opinion  

[UptownNewOrleans]

I'm in Houston every weekend/every other weekend and when I'm there, there's always something to do. I rock with Dallas just the same and they get down in their own way. I have love for Dallas & Houston due to family & friends that reside there. I remember Houston's infamous Northside/Southside rivalry like it was yesterday. Southsiders were being robbed & killed/shot by Northsiders so Southside retaliated. Houston has the whole syrup culture going on which started in the 90s.

[FortWorthology]

I'm disappointed that there's not an option for what I would choose - "None of the above - Fort Worth."

[cajun]

UptownNewOrleans, on Feb 12 2008, 09:29 AM, said:

I'm in Houston every weekend/every other weekend and when I'm there, there's always something to do. I rock with Dallas just the same and they get down in their own way. I have love for Dallas & Houston due to family & friends that reside there. I remember Houston's infamous Northside/Southside rivalry like it was yesterday. Southsiders were being robbed & killed/shot by Northsiders so Southside retaliated. Houston has the whole syrup culture going on which started in the 90s.

My problem with Houston is not that there isn't anything to do.


My problem is that it doesn't matter where you are, you are far away from your destination.  I seem to spend my life in the car.  Every bar, grocery store, or anything is filled with people....like you can't escape them.  Sometimes I just want some elbow room, you know?  A little open highway and some nice scenery.  Houston can't supply that for me (most of it is ugly, IMO).  Dallas is heading that way too.  

I guess that's one of the reasons Dallas and Houston are so big.  They are set on massive pieces of land perfect for development, so housing is spread out, cheaply built, and sprawl happens.  

Those are really the only big disadvantage that I see to either city.  

I personally prefer Dallas over Houston (but I don't dis-like Houston at all) now that I've spent more time there.  The more desirable, yet affordable neighborhoods in houston  are all in or near the suburbs, which are really far away from the city center now.  I'm glad to see more re-development and in fill though...but they are still unaffordable to most folks.  It's a nice city, but it's not a perfect fit for me.  

I like smaller towns like Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tampa, Cincinnati, and Santa Fe.  They aren't perfect either, but their problems are easier to deal with.  
T
I guess I am a big fish in a smaller pond kind of guy.  Houston isn't for me.

The major positives to both cities are this:  I have family in both cities.  I have a job in Dallas, and could easily find another job if I needed to.  There is great upward mobility in Dallas and Houston.  I've lived in both cities, and to me, Dallas is slightly better.  To you, Houston might be better.  It depends on the person.  Quality of life is subjective.

Edited by cajun, 15 February 2008 - 07:34 PM.

[UptownNewOrleans]

cajun, on Feb 15 2008, 08:28 PM, said:

My problem with Houston is not that there isn't anything to do.


My problem is that it doesn't matter where you are, you are far away from your destination.  I seem to spend my life in the car.  Every bar, grocery store, or anything is filled with people....like you can't escape them.  Sometimes I just want some elbow room, you know?  A little open highway and some nice scenery.  Houston can't supply that for me (most of it is ugly, IMO). Dallas is heading that way too.  

I guess that's one of the reasons Dallas and Houston are so big.  They are set on massive pieces of land perfect for development, so housing is spread out, cheaply built, and sprawl happens.  

Those are really the only big disadvantage that I see to either city.  

I personally prefer Dallas over Houston (but I don't dis-like Houston at all) now that I've spent more time there.  The more desirable, yet affordable neighborhoods in houston  are all in or near the suburbs, which are really far away from the city center now.  I'm glad to see more re-development and in fill though...but they are still unaffordable to most folks.  It's a nice city, but it's not a perfect fit for me.  

I like smaller towns like Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tampa, Cincinnati, and Santa Fe.  They aren't perfect either, but their problems are easier to deal with.  
T
I guess I am a big fish in a smaller pond kind of guy.  Houston isn't for me.

The major positives to both cities are this:  I have family in both cities.  I have a job in Dallas, and could easily find another job if I needed to.  There is great upward mobility in Dallas and Houston.  I've lived in both cities, and to me, Dallas is slightly better.  To you, Houston might be better.  It depends on the person.  Quality of life is subjective.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all. It's well understood you can't get around without a car in Dallas & Houston. In New York, everything's built up but in Houston & Dallas it's all spread out. I like H-town & Dallas, to me they're both the same. Houston's interesting because you can drive 30-40 miles and still be in the city limits.