If you have a choice, go elsewhere - 2/18/2024

I seldom review anything but I was inspired by reading the other Dallas reviews to add my two cents. I’ve been here since 2015 and we hope to leave when we can get jobs elsewhere. The driving is terrifying and there’s a ton of it; no where you want to go is less than 20 minutes each way. The housing is not affordable, at all, and you have to drive by beautiful, expensive houses that make you feel like you’re dying inside to get home to your house. There is a lot of racism and segregation and no interest in changing things. And there are no easily accessible, nice public spaces, especially not close to the affordable housing. If you aren’t here yet and you have options, look elsewhere.

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Not good. Not good, at all. - 6/17/2021

I have lived in Dallas, as well as areas around the Dallas Metroplex, for over 20 years. With that said, what I have seen in that time, has not been overly pleasing; and is not improving. Property taxes are high, and getting higher. Actually buying a home has become a challenge for the average person...And that started BEFORE Covid. Property taxes jumped 40 percent around 2018; another 60 percent, the following year. No end in site. Alot of Gentrification of neighborhoods...I live in a nice neighborhood, but not fancy. Small houses built in the 50s, 700 to 1100 square feet. This area would run 50 to 80k, 5/6 years ago. Houses are now averaging 200k plus...Taxes around 4k a year. For a small house....Wood frame, 2 /3 bedroom- 1 bath. House across the street sold for 84k five years ago...now worth 249k. Traffic is brutal, and getting worse. Even with expansion of freeways, and toll areas, the afternoon jam usually starts around 3 pm on the highways, and you will not get much relief with back roads. Count on an hour commute, for an 11 mile, one way drive. Air quality is horrible. Between pollution, dust, mold, and various other factors, it is not good for any that have allergies, or any other respritory issue. Weather is another issues. The Summer temps are like a blast furnace. Though there tends to be wind, it does nothing to help comfort levels outside. Summer temps start before Summer is officially here, and it's not out of the ordinary, for 100 degrees in October. What's left of the year is very erratic. Food and Culture offerings, however, are wonderful, and very diverse. BUT, expect to pay a pretty penny for museums, gardens, etc. The public school system in Dallas proper, has been less than on par, since I have lived here. Overall Dallas, and surrounding areas, are not something I would recommend. But, if you can afford the exaggerated cost of living. Can stand sitting in traffic for eternity. Don't have a problem with the weather.. and constant humidity. And have a household income of over $100k a year...This may be the place for you.

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NOT THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE, BY FAR - 5/16/2021

There is only one thing I found to be relatively good in this city: upscale restaurants. The food is tasty but only in upscale restaurants, I am vegan, and still found many options amongst all the meat eaters. No vegan restaurants exist in Dalals, but they will accommodate anyone. The city itself is just harsh. It is not pretty due to a complete devoid of any significant parks, culture, any body of water, intelligent people or any interest beyond Texas. People have very little interest in anything except food or shopping. Intelligence does not seem to dominate here, very sheltered and limited people. The first thing I noticed is how aggressive and dangerous the drivers are. They care very little about the pedestrians, animals and other drivers on the road. They will run you over, or at least try their best to run you over if you are a pedestrian. If you are an animal. crossing any street, they will run you over 99% of the time, noone breaks here, they accelarate. Doing 100 mph in a 30 mph zone is normal and acceptable here. So, if you are planning to never walk, carry a gun with you everywhere and be ready for an altercation, this city is for you.

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NOT THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE, BY FAR - 5/12/2021

I would have to agree with the low stars reviews for this place. I really gave it a try and wanted to find more positive than negative in this palce, but it's not possible. I lived in many places, including NY, Florida, Nevada and Cali. Texas was probably one of teh worst experiences I've had out of all of them. My main complaint and the reason why I would never be able to live in Dalla or anywhere in Texas are the drivers. I had never in my life seen so many dumb, ignorant, reckless and homicidal drivers as I did in Texas. These drivers don't care about anything or anyone on the road. They will literally shoot you if you are driving slwer than they are in front of them. They all without exception ignore all speed limit signs and drive 80 mph in 30 mph residential zones with kids, animals, people crossing the street. It is so disturbing to see how Texan people have no regard for any life. I see them accelerate to kill squirrels, racoons, cats crossing the street instaed of hitting the breaks. It is very upsetting how cruel people are in Texas. Moreover, there is ZERO culture here. Not one person I met in Texas was interested in anything other than food, drinks and themselves. There is very little to discuss with people here and when you try to discuss any other topic than food, they become intimidated and uninterested. Arrogance is also very dominant here, although, I am not sure why. They all seem to have inflated egos and disregard for society as a whole. This culture just does not seem to evolve, I'd say it's regressing rather than progressing. The fact that they think doing away with gun licensing and allowing an open carry is good for the society is a huge problem. Evolution just passed this place by. Basically, if you like shooting animals, people and drive over everything in your way, this is the best place for you. Furthermore, the weather really leaves much to be desired. Dallas is not blessed with beaches, ocean, big parks or any pleasant natural habitats. In the winter it's freezing cold, can get to double negative digits, in the summer it's scolding hot, getting to triple digits. Don't forget about the blackouts for days, floods, terrible roads that noone ever fixes, and most of all cops that just don't care. The property taxes are out of control compared to other states, and even if there is no state income tax, they get you on sales tax, property tax and high food prices. Overall, the only reason I gave it 2 stars is that real estate is still affordable if you are willing to live way out in the suburbs and the food is really good in most of the restaurants in Dallas. Can't wait to leave this place and never come back

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Could Be Better - 5/5/2021

Lost of transplants, downtown is usually empty during day time, uptown is where most people are at. There are tons of things that make Dallas feel like it's a wannabe New York. Whether it be the arrogant people, people honking their horns before the light turns green, traffic, and violence esp. In the southside of the city. Dallas has many good places to visit but this city has definitely gone from 4 stars to 1 star over the years. Some attractions are still worth visiting though!

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Neither here nor there - 3/17/2021

I lived here for about 5 years, but my family was from the area and I visited north Texas a lot as a kid. There are maybe as many Dallas' as there are residents, and it changes everyday. If you want nature, hiking, wildlife, that kind of thing, forget it. Dallas not only sprawls for seemingly hundreds of miles in all directions, it sits in a featureless flat nowhere devoid of any discernible geographic and natural markers. The winters are generally pleasant. There is about a week of spring in early March, then you face six months of often excruciating heat and humidity. It is intolerable, so everyone learns to stay inside. A few years ago temps broke 100 for something like 50 straight days, and that didn't even break the record. I was there. It was hell. Then there are the tornadoes and floods... Dallas is just all about Dallas. I work in the arts, which is what took me there. There is money, so there is patronage. Until recently the rich still went elsewhere to spend their money, but this keeps shifting. Money means good restaurants, good museums, good shopping, many young people, jobs, and action action action. There are bad parts of town, but you learn where they are and steer clear. You're not likely to hear many Texan accents - even people raised in Dallas assume general flat American dialects. It never felt like the "real" Texas I knew growing up visiting smaller town relatives not that far away. Dallas is a generic sprawling, successful American city. It's neither good nor bad, here or there. The politics skew further and further left, and that is the same dumb song and dance everywhere now. You can find affordable housing, especially the further away from downtown you're willing to go. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in your car. It seems like the freeways go forever, and are always crammed. There are a ton of immigrants from everywhere, which means (among other things) great ethnic restaurants of every description. If you want big city action and opportunity and don't care one whit about feeling connected to an actual place and culture, Dallas might be for you.

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The short and sweet - 11/24/2020

Like the old saying goes: for weather I'll take Dallas; for people I'll take Houston

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Even after years away, I've no desire to return. - 9/21/2020

Left DFW almost a decade ago after living there for a similar length of time. Came back earlier this year (pre-COVID) for a couple days. We didn't rent a car and depended on DART to get us everywhere. If you're thinking you can live in DFW easily without a car, think again. We ended up having to take an Uber once because the trains to the burbs stopped running at 8 or 9pm. Uptown/Victory Plaza had some nice infill, but Downtown Dallas was still a dead zone. I imagine it's even worse now. The walkability, especially in the burbs, is still terrible. Even though a lot has changed (much for the better), I'll never go back. The climate sucks balls and scenery-wise it's an incredibly ugly and bland place to live.

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Dallas, TX - time to leave for a bluer state. - 3/29/2020

I’m a gay man living in Dallas, Texas for the past 21 years, recently retired from education and working in sales for 25% of the salary I made in education. It’s difficult to find another teaching position in my area because of my experience and school districts that discriminate based on how much they’d have to pay an older, experienced teacher with an advanced degree. Traffic congestion is horrible here despite almost constant roadwork to improve roads. The choices made by the designers of the road systems are not smart. Large GLTBQ presence in the metroplex including The Turtle Creek Chorale once lead by Dr. Timothy Seelig, until he’d had enough of the organization’s board of directors. The organization was then led by two under achievers that were told to resign or they would be fired. This was because of the horrible choices they made for the organization. The community’s moral compass is the largest predominantly gay and lesbian church in the world, The Cathedral of Hope - an excellent organization. However, Dallas is still very clique-ish and judgemental of others outside of their circle. You’re not young, old, rich, thin, fat... enough to be in their social circle. Cost of housing is skyrocketing as are taxes on over priced homes. Every neighborhood has at least a few flipped houses that are being purchased by someone for 3 to 4 times what I paid for mine 10 years ago. Raising everyone property value & taxes in the neighborhood. All of the tiny hamlets on the perimeter of the metroplex have now become bustling monster suburbs with huge housing developments building McMansions with unbelievable amenities such as golf courses, tennis courts, multiple swimming pools, etc. For instance, Prosper, TX had a population of around 2,400 in 2000 but grew to around 24,000 by 2020. You can look it up & see it for yourself.

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Dallas gets a thumbs down - 12/17/2019

I've lived in several cities and Dallas was the first I had a problem with continuous wage theft. Thankfully Texas has a wage theft act and I was able to file complaints with the Texas Wage and Labor Dept and after investigating my paycheck would be cut from the Texas Comptroller out of Austin. That's the weirdest thing in the world. Looking at your check and it shows 'Texas Comptroller'. The companies were super slick in how they would do the wage theft. One company in particular signed me up, without my knowledge, for a retirement account. When the company laid us off eventually after losing their contract - I went to pull out the money in the retirement account and ING (now called Voya) told me that I would only get about 25% of what the account held. I was shocked. I asked why. The ING agent said that after ING took its percentage, the administrator also took a percentage and the administrator was taking about 60% of what the account held. The ING agent said that my company had made itself the administrator and had set it's own fee (something ING allowed them to do) and the agent admitted she had never seen a fee so high. Reverse wage theft. I filed a claim with the Texas Wage Theft Act and after they investigated they found in my favor and paid me. But that is not the half of it. I had companies in Dallas continuously attempting to steak from me. I would always fight them by filing complaints. They would quickly ban me in their system. I had coworkers who would just walk away. From venture paychecks. I had one male friend who was cheated out of $700 dollars by his employer who kept his entire last check. He was too afraid to report to the Texas Wage Theft because they were 'white people' and blacks in Texas are afraid of whites. I had another friend, who worked through a staffing agency for a bank. The staffing agency owner, a white woman, wanted more money for the work she was doing. She went behind my friends back to the company and demanded twice the wage (not for my friend but the extra for herself - again my friend did not know this was happening) and this was against the original agreement. The bank decided to simply choose another person from a different agency. Instead of being honest with my friend, the staffing agency owner lied to her like there was a problem with her performance and they let her go. When my friend called her former manager at the bank the manager told her they liked her and she was doing an excellent job and then she explained what the staffing agency owner did and said that was why they went with a lower cost associate. This woman kept my friends last paycheck. When I told my friend to go through the Texas Wage Theft office she said she would 'leave it to God' and she had 'moved on'. Unbelievable. Dallas was also the only city I had ever lived where my paychecks were often LATE. I worked through staffing agencies for a few years and I was continuously being banned by them because I would protest so hard when my paycheck would never be paid on time. They would always claim the client was late with the hours. One client in particular sent me proof where they had faxed my hours multiple times to the staffing agency and showed where the fax had gone through. They had also emailed my hours and showed me proof. The client could not understand why the agency was repeatedly claiming to not have my hours. After the staffing agency found out about my contacting the client they quickly paid me and banned me. All because I wanted my paycheck on time. Texas is one of a few states that allows landlords to evict if you are even one day late, but they allow companies the right to pay an employee up to two weeks late. I called the head of TX workforce in Austin and spoke to the Director. He said that unless my paycheck was 2 weeks late there was nothing I could do because Texas allowed the employees to pay late. My mom called and told me about a former coworker of hers who had recently moved to Dallas. She said 'you know.. she says her paycheck is always late'. I had never mentioned to my mom what I had experienced but I did that time. RACISM Yes. Dallas is very racist. There is something very 1930 about Dallas. The whites live light years better than anyone else. They seem to roll in money. Not every single one. But the vast majority. Dallas has very white firms with no blacks working in them or if they have an african american it may be one or two. Working as a contractor I worked in many different firms and there were times I saw no other black people. Not one. In a company with hundreds of workers. I remembered wondering... where do blacks work? Even now I can go into many establishments in Dallas or in Addison or Plano and see no African Americans at all. Sometimes maybe one. Where are we? And yes, South Dallas and places of South of Dallas (Cedar Hill, Desoto, Duncanville, Lancaster) are overwhelmingly black. But so much of other parts of Dallas (with the exception of Arlington and North Dallas which have cheaper, older apartments which are usually second chance) have no blacks at all. It's weird in 2019 to see parts of a major city like Dallas with no blacks. And dont get it twisted. Yes Dallas has a black mayor, DA and Police Chief. But they answer to the very white corporate establishment. The black police chief has looked almost haunted in some of her press conferences. She just looked afraid. She has been reluctant to call out the office racism in certain violent acts in Dallas. TERRIBLE EXPLOITATION Companies move to Dallas and start engaging in reprehensible behavior. In every job contract there is a clause that the company can 'assign other job duties as it sees fit'. Well, what I've seen happen is that if you are an exceptionally competent person, the manager will assign all of his or her job duties to you without any additional pay. You will never know you are doing the job of your manager. Or some higher executive. They will simply shirk off their responsibility. So not only are you doing your job, your doing their job too. PRETENDERS Someone mentioned about the folks pretending to be rich. A recent report by Experian stated that Dallas County leads Texas and the nation in the number of people 90 days behind on their car notes. If you drive around Dallas the number of luxury cars and brand new cars and high cost SUV'S jumps out at you. (It could be that many of these folks are working for Jewish Owned car washes that are starting everyone off at $50K a year - pls read the response from the guy from Illinois to get the sarcasm) or these folks are rolling in money. But them Dallas leads the nation for delinquency in car payments.

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Strong white supremacy culture. Adverse to black a - 12/17/2019

RACISM AND STRONG WHITE SUPREMACIST CULTURE. Remember the news reports showing the rich white college students from Dallas, TX gleefully singing about hanging blacks in trees and the multiple racist incidents on college campuses in Dallas. That's not even the half of it. You have these people as managers and supervisors running the corporations in Dallas. And they act the same. Woe to any black employee that finds themselves with a coworker or manager like this. They are powerless. That is IF they can even get hired. Dallas has a strong white supremacy culture. It's very strong. Third Reich strong. I've lived in other cities and they all dealt with some racism. But its uniquely different in Dallas. Its stronger and more embedded in Dallas. Intolerance. Low wages. ROCK BOTTOM Usually. Most minorities, especially blacks, dont get competitive pay. Whites get it. Some hispanics get it. Most blacks in the business world dont. Expensive and rising cost of living. Boring. Bland scenery. Segregated. Blacks are poorer. Far more marginalized than other groups. No job security. Many corporations with incredibly high turnover. Lack of jobs that offer traditional health insurance. Most offer discount plans. Over corporate. People lack substance. I submitted my resume to positions outside of Dallas (outside of Texas even) and the response has been incredible. The pay even moreso. The positions all start off at two to three times the wage I've earned in Dallas.

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Hell on earth - 12/15/2019

Wow! These crime statistics are straight b.s! The crime was so high this past summer, we called out "Bloody Summer" almost 300 people were murdered! The Answer to the out of control crime? State troopers and sheriff's were sent in to over police densely populated areas of minorities, instilling fear and further mistrust of the already shaky relationship between community and police force. Yep. Drive bys, robberies, home invasions, road rage, drunken driving, no insured motorists, hit and runs, you name it, Dallas has it and is the straight up KING. Did I mention the seemingly never-ending traffic jams? Boy. Rush hour starts at 635 at like 2p and doesn't end until after 7p. Starts at 3p on 30, and btw NEVER get on 30 during state fair season or the games. You'll want to hang yourself. It's that bad. Cost of living through the roof. A one bdrm apt in a decent part of town? 1300+ if you can find one. You can always live in the hood for around 800 if you can stand the gunshots and sirens, and also if ones available. Did I mention the heat? Starts in June at around 95 doesn't end until around October or November at around 95-100 that's if we're lucky. July through September it's like the Mojave 102+. No joke. Smog smog more smog. Did I also mention the joy of NO JOBS? yep. Lol. Don't let the smooth taste fool you. You must me bilingual to actually get a job that pays a decent wage and there's real competition for the few available. To many people crowding in worth the lure of millions of jobs available and that's just not the case. There are jobs, far out at least an hour or more in stop and go traffic that pay the grand starting rate of anywhere from 10.50 - 14.50 an hour for the uneducated. For the educated minority It's higher pay, but harder to get. It's a nightmare. Speaking of minorities, no night life . no joke. You must venture into the nether regions of Addison, Arlington etc. Dallas does NOT offer many venues geared toward blacks, and it's getting kinda hard on Hispanics here nowadays. Rampant RAMPANT gentrification. It's amazing. Trust me. I was born and raised here. Seen many changes. From a city where the jobs and housing were plentiful, the traffic was light, and it was actually liveable. I've seen 75 go from 2 lanes on either side to a many laned nightmare. I've seen the days when certain people couldn't live North of Buckner and 30 if the were the wrong color. Same with mesquite. Now those places are ghettos. Don't exaggerate the truth to sell a place. I'd give this place negative stars if i could but I'll do better then that and just move. All the newbies can have this trash hole. I see the writing on the wall, and it ain't good.

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Homeless problem, pollution, horrible weather - 11/21/2019

After 13 hellish years in the Dallas area, we have finally had enough. I'm grasping for something positive to say about it, but I'm coming up blank. It is one of the worst places imaginable to live in America, and I say this with the authority of someone that has lived in areas from coast-to-coast over the years. I come from Alabama, where there is racism, sexual discrimination, high crime and general prejudice against anyone that isn't rich. Dallas is worse. Much, much worse. Everything about it is ugly. Our kids were older when we moved here, and my wife and I thank our lucky stars that we didn't have to raise them here when they were little. My reasons range from the poor schools, the racism, the high crime, the dangers of physical altercations when some good 'ol boyah's kid will deck your kid for not being republican. It is that bad. The thing here is that most of the population that spends a good portion of its paychecks on plastic surgery, something that is pushed heavily on every other billboard and tv commercial here. Dallas is a city created by fakes, lived in by fakes, and promoted by fakes. City traffic has grown increasingly bad especially in areas north of downtown. There are sharp divisions between classes that rival the caste system in India. The population seems to consist of rich people, and poor people pretending to be rich. Every time you walk outside you are assaulted by extreme weather that is bad enough to kill you. The stinging insects are abundant - chiggers, mosquitoes, ticks. We are afraid to let our children play out in the yard and have to keep our big dog cooped up in the house and on a leash at all times when he's outside because if we allow him to play in the yard, he comes in covered with disease-carrying ticks. We dislike having to treat her with chemicals, but that's what is necessary if you live in Dallas. The quality of the air in Dallas is determined by the billions of cars you see everywhere. Most households have 2-4 cars. Nobody walks anywhere for fear of getting hit by one of them because this city has some of the worse drivers in the world. Tailgating at 80 mph is common. If you've ever traversed the city streets of Mexico City and its chaotic traffic, you ain't seen nothin' compared to Dallas. Traffic backs up during rush out, gets stuck when the weather is bad, completely shuts down when there is an accident, and there are frequent accidents because the drivers here are the most rude I have witnessed anywhere. Imagine having to spend your life walking from one airconditioned environment to the next. That's what it's like here. Most of the people are fat because no one can get any exercise unless they get into their cars and drive to the gym. Any good gym membership in the Dallas area is going to cost you an arm and a leg. There are goons walking the streets and roaming malls with assault rifles. They all have bumper stickers that brag about their gun rights. We also have legal rights to toothbrushes here, but I have yet to see a sign promoting them, and more than a few people don't use them. Hillbilly stereotypes are based on reality. This is not a good city for kids. It's not a good city for adults either. It is overcrowded, polluted, searing hot, bug infested and has a homeless problem developing that is getting out of hand. If I could have left a minus 50 star review, that's what I would have left.

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Dallas is not what people make it out to be. - 9/6/2019

I've lived in Dallas for 10 years. I've struggled financially the majority of that time. I'm a college educated African American by the way. I can only find work in customer service. I've had several highly educated and experienced friends move to Dallas and they have all left within a few months. They were being offered jobs far under their skillset. My friend with an MBA in Finance was being offered positions that paid $11 and $12 an hour. She moved to another state and immediately found a position paying close to $60K per year. Another friend moved to Dallas with a degree in Finance. He was being offered positions that paid $9 an hour. He moved back to Boston and found a position paying around $60K. One of my coworkers relocated to Dallas with his wife and child. His degree and background were in I.T. and Software Programming. He applied at the company I worked for which was an Ecommerce company that hired a lot of programmers. He was told to work in customer service for 6 months and 'prove himself'. He quit the job after four months and left Dallas with his family. He said he could find nothing but call center. All of these people were black. I met another black man who had moved to Dallas from New York. He had years of experience in Management and impressive educational credentials. He had gone through all the stages of the interview process with a local firm and they all loved him. He made it to the final stage and was told to come into the office for the final interview. His previous interviews were by conference call with various managers. Well... There was a problem. The folks did not know he was black. His parents were both from the Dominican Republic and he had a Spanish sounding name. The company was staffed primarily by hispanics and these people held all the top positions too. To make a long story short on the day of the interview he dressed up and walked into the building. He was shown to the interview room where 5 hispanic managers were waiting to meet him. When he walked into the room, a 6 ft 6 inch black man, he said their mouths literally dropped open. They were shocked that he was black. He said after that they quickly lost interest and rushed the interview and got him in and out very quickly. He heard nothing else. Another black woman I had the fortune to meet had relocated to Dallas, TX from Alabama. She had worked for 30 years for a Non profit as a Director. She also had impressive credentials. A similar situation happened to her. She had gone through all the stages of interviews for a local company and the people seemed to really be impressed by her. She was told to come into the office for a final interview with the manager who was a white female. She said when she walked in she could tell from the Managers face the manager had no idea she was black and the manager looked shocked. She said the manager rushed the interview and she never heard anything back. This has been my experience as well. I've been stuck in low paying jobs and when I apply for positions I am qualified for I am quickly notified that although my skills are impressive they have gone with other candidates. Yet when I go to the Linkedin page of these companies and look at the employees they are hiring they are overwhelmingly not black. And many are younger and lack the experience. They are hired on and trained. Dallas is very white washed and very racist. I've heard this from many African Americans I have met. Most of us are stuck because we need to make more to even be able to leave. I met a guy who worked in Construction for a company in Fort Worth. He said he was working with several other black males and it was in the middle of July and it was hot. They went to the hispanic man supervising them and asked for water. He put his walkie talkie on speaker and called up to the white man who was over all of them and informed him the guys needed water. The white guy responded 'Tell those Nigg&%* (he used the er on the end) that they have not worked long enough for water. These guys were making minimum wage working in the hot sun and they were denied water. I've interviewed with several local staffing companies and not one has an african american working in the office and several openly discriminate against black applicants by sending out only hispanics to the jobs. They even run coded job ads demanding the applicant be bilingual Spanish for even basic warehouse jobs. When questioned about this they give the most insane excuses such as "oh the corporate office is in Spain and they want all the warehouse workers to speak Spanish' or 'the supervisor is hispanic and he only wants hispanics'. Lots of racism in Dallas. The apartments are overpriced and often need a lot of work. The roads in Dallas are terrible. Most are very rough to drive on. The people are pretentious. They are shallow and empty. Not much substance to them. I've lived here for a long time and I often forget them as soon as I finish being around them because they are bland. Dallas lacks originality. There are lots of boring strip malls and chain restaurants. There aren't many creative people in Dallas. Dallas seems to be very corporate. Everyone wants a corporate 'title'. Many lack passion to create in the Arts or Music here. The Heat is oppressive. The summers seem to last forever. The traffic is awful. Its true what the other poster said about huge trucks and suvs driving around all night with their high beams on. It's true. Dallas is segregated. Blacks tend to fare worse in Dallas. The hispanics, Indians and Whites often flex with blacks. It's hard to explain but they know blacks lack the numbers in Dallas are are often poorer than others and don't have the options other races have. So they flex quickly. They are disrespectful. The African Americans usually reside in Lancaster, Cedar Hill, Mesquite, Duncanville, Desoto, and generally in South Dallas or South of Dallas. The companies tend to hire one black person, maybe two, for really good jobs in their firms and they make sure these people are highly visible to the public. But then they close the door on other African Americans. I have worked at call centers that were filled with blacks who had Masters degrees. Working in the call center because they could not find work elsewhere. I don't like Dallas. As one black woman put it to me - Dallas is the hispanic man's oyster. It's good for whites too. Any effort they make they are greatly rewarded. I think Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte and DC are good for ambitious African Americans. Dallas... Not so much. Last, Dallas pretty much shuts down after 9 pm. So there isn't much to do. Dallas as a world class city? It's not. It's laughable to say Dallas is a 'World Class City'. It's a hot, hellish, racist dustbin.

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Flighty Friends, Pushy Drivers, Limited Diversity - 3/23/2019

I recently relocated back to Houston from Dallas. I was in Dallas for 18 months. I went there in September of 2017 as a result of Hurricane Harvey - it was where I chose to evacuate. My life in Houston had also gotten stale on a number of fronts, so I had serious hopes that Dallas could outdo Houston. Guess what? It didn’t. What I learned about Dallas is that while it is another large city in Texas like Houston (and Austin and San Antonio) it is very different, and not in good ways. In summary, Dallas is too small, and not racially and culturally diverse enough for my liking. First, though, some important disclaimers for others who have wandered onto this city’s page. I looked at reviews of places with names “Cedar Park”, “McKinney”, and what not. Those are NOT Dallas - those are in what is known collectively as the “Metroplex”, the cluster of over 30 cities and independent municipalities that make up the entire area. Dallas is the largest city in the Metroplex but it is not the only one. Some of the experiences that folks gave account for here would make sense for a small town or community surrounding Dallas, but not Dallas itself. Second, I actually lived in Dallas for a year and a half. Someone who visited is going to have a different perspective because, frankly, they’re not staying. The city is effectively something to entertain them. But they’re not immersed in the day-in, day-out activities of having a life: getting a job, making friends, finding things to do in one’s free time outside the tourist attractions. So, let’s dive in. Let me start with the demographics. Yes, Dallas has some variety in its borders. I lived in Oak Lawn, the seat of the LGBT community in that town, and saw African-Americans, whites, and Hispanics. Interviewing for jobs I also saw Indians, Asians, and Mid-Easterners. But compared to Houston, Dallas struck me as considerably - how can I put this? - “whiter” city. It took me longer than I expected to find a decent Mexican restaurant. I consider myself multicultural and had hoped to enjoy the same kind of diversity of people in Houston as I did in Dallas - that is, people you could have upbeat and spirited conversations with, go out for lunches or dinners with, and get to know more deeply. There really was only one person I got to that level with, and due to unfortunate personal circumstances in his life, he basically wound up running away. That leads to another major complaint I have about Dallas - transcience. The city moves too fast. I met a bunch of cool people the first six months I was there. By the second six months they had all disappeared or moved on. That typically doesn’t happen in Houston, or at least, it has not been my experience. I have long-standing relationships in Houston that have lasted five years or more. And that’s not to say everyone disappeared like this, but this kind of disappearing act happened too often for my liking. Dallas has a reputation for being snobby and I suppose that may well be the case in the wealthy suburbs, but I didn’t get much of that. What I got was a sort of phoniness instead. It seems that Dallas folks are fine laughing and smiling with you in person, but if you scratch deeper it’s not real. I remember making friends (as best I could) with a guy who worked in a retailer in the neighborhood. Neither of us were thrilled with our job situations and I visited him at his job to commiserate. Eventually both of us got better gigs but when I reached out to him suggesting we meet up to celebrate, he was nowhere to be found - texts and e-mails went unanswered. It was as if he had vanished. And this was someone I had helped look for his new gig, too. Since returning from Dallas and reaching out to a few folks I knew when I was there, I have not received but one or two responses. It makes me wonder if the relations we had were real at all, all along. You may experience the same thing, especially if you’re a more sensitive or introspective type like me. Turning to size - Dallas really isn’t that big of a place. Compared to Houston’s over 600 square miles, Dallas clocks in at about 375, or about half the size - and it shows. Its smaller size means there’s less room for alternate roads and highways, critical when there’s a massive accident on US 75/Central or any of the other major roadways around. I can find my way around Houston very easily if a freeway is shut down, but in Dallas you’ll likely be going through neighborhoods as alternates. And on the subject of traffic, let’s talk about their drivers. I came to the conclusion that it takes three things to be able to drive in Dallas - nerves of steel, lightning reflexes, and a big middle finger. Dallas has been described as the Los Angeles of Texas - a car-oriented place where the motorists are pushy and aggressive. Dallas is the first place I’ve ever lived where I felt endangered driving to and from work - tailgaters and folks going 20-30 over the limit are pretty common. Amusingly enough, one of their major tollways, the Dallas North Tollway, has initials that could be pronounced “DENT”. I think the only thing that makes Dallas’ drivers not as deadly as they could be is they love their high-performance cars and SUVs and don’t want any damage to their sparkling chrome. I happen to be a big lover of the visual arts. I figured Dallas has major spaces and it does - the Dallas Museum of Art is their biggest space. The Dallas Contemporary is their largest modern space. But aside from that - and unlike Houston - Dallas itself doesn’t have many smaller, non-profit, independent spaces - for those you’ll have to go 45 miles west to Fort Worth (which has wonderful art spaces!). Dallas has something called the Design District, but this is industrial art or art for collectors - in other words, largely commercial. And commercial art has a different feel than, say, the Contemporary Arts Museum, DiverseWorks, or The Menil Collection, all in Houston. I was an established artist in Houston - that is, I had a name there, and had actively exhibited in shows. Dallas is a harder market to get into, and the vibe isn’t nearly as friendly as that of Houston. The Design District is worth a visit, though. And then let’s talk about coffee, a key thing for me. In Houston, you can find several independent (non-Starbucks) coffee nooks that close late - 10pm or later. In Dallas, many of the places are closed by 7pm and a handful stay open until 10pm. You can get flavored brew at the city’s Cafe Brazil chain, but that’s not a coffeehouse, it’s a diner. Arguably the city’s best coffee place, Crooked Tree, closes at 6pm weeknights/7pm weekend nights (as of this writing). When I moved there originally, they had 10pm weeknights/11pm weekend nights. This is in one of the busier residential/shopping districts in the city - this coffee place went the wrong way. Good for the owner, bad for patrons. Since returning from Dallas, I am discovering anew the value of living near a major body of water. As I wrote this, I was sitting in Galveston, just 50 miles from downtown Houston, and a short drive any day. Galveston has a beautiful seawall walk, beaches, and a quaint entertainment district called The Strand. Dallas, by comparison, is landlocked. The biggest body of water I knew about was White Rock Lake (not sure if this was a man-made lake or not). It just doesn’t feel the same as the Gulf, and even more noteworthy, White Rock Lake Park is not illuminated. Seawall Blvd in Galveston, though, is nicely lit and charming - you can take a lovely stroll after dark. And White Rock is not a “district”. Dallas’ downtown area is NOT based on a city grid (rows and columns) layout - it’s this weird spaghetti thing where streets meet each other at strange angles. Rush hour there is insane. Even the city’s edgiest neighborhood, Deep Ellum, didn’t do it for me. They have a nice little comedy club (where you can take classes on doing standup!). They have a few small art spaces. But this community - at this point in time (2019) I could describe as six square blocks of hedonists and “N-word” rap. If you’re not a young 20-something, Deep Ellum is probably not for you - interesting because the area has been hit by gentrification and rents there are almost certainly out of the reach of most millennials. Finally, the weather. No, you’re not gonna get hit with a hurricane in Dallas - the remnants, perhaps, but not a direct strike like Houston does. But you may get tornadoes, hail, or ice storms. Every first Wednesday of every month at 12 noon, they test their tornado sirens. I haven’t heard those things since living in central Illinois. And while the summer heat is of a drier variety, it is still HOT. Last summer was my first 115-degree summer, and I had the power bill to prove it. But it was the colder months that shocked me the most. Relative humidity in my apartment got as low as 12 percent (that’s where just giving someone a dirty look can shock them) and even a humidifier I bought at Target couldn’t keep up. My power bill to stay warm in a one-bedroom exceeded $200 regularly. I never had that in Houston. So, that is what I saw in 18 months of life in Dallas. I made a handful of smiling but tenuous friends, had one good one that suddenly dissipated, spent a lot of anxiety cycles behind the wheel, and had a soul hungering for real people who would invite me into their lives. I really, really wanted to like Dallas - I seriously did. But after depleting all the attractions I could think of that were appropriate to me, and wandering around the city mostly alone, I came to the conclusion that The Big D is a place that is better visited than lived in. Dallas is not as inclusive as it thinks it is.

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Flighty Friends, Pushy Drivers, Limited Diversity - 3/22/2019

I recently relocated back to Houston from Dallas. I was in Dallas for 18 months. I went there in September of 2017 as a result of Hurricane Harvey – it was where I chose to evacuate. My life in Houston had also gotten stale on a number of fronts, so I had serious hopes that Dallas could outdo Houston. Guess what? It didn’t. What I learned about Dallas is that while it is another large city in Texas like Houston (and Austin and San Antonio) it is very different, and not in good ways. In summary, Dallas is too small, and not racially and culturally diverse enough for my liking. First, though, some important disclaimers for others who have wandered onto this city’s page. I looked at reviews of places with names “Cedar Park”, “McKinney”, and what not. Those are NOT Dallas – those are in what is known collectively as the “Metroplex”, the cluster of over 30 cities and independent municipalities that make up the entire area. Dallas is the largest city in the Metroplex but it is not the only one. Some of the experiences that folks gave account for here would make sense for a small town or community surrounding Dallas, but not Dallas itself. Second, I actually lived in Dallas for a year and a half. Someone who visited is going to have a different perspective because, frankly, they’re not staying. The city is effectively something to entertain them. But they’re not immersed in the day-in, day-out activities of having a life: getting a job, making friends, finding things to do in one’s free time outside the tourist attractions. So, let’s dive in. Let me start with the demographics. Yes, Dallas has some variety in its borders. I lived in Oak Lawn, the seat of the LGBT community in that town, and saw African-Americans, whites, and Hispanics. Interviewing for jobs I also saw Indians, Asians, and Mid-Easterners. But compared to Houston, Dallas struck me as considerably – how can I put this? - “whiter” city. It took me longer than I expected to find a decent Mexican restaurant. I consider myself multicultural and had hoped to enjoy the same kind of diversity of people in Houston as I did in Dallas – that is, people you could have upbeat and spirited conversations with, go out for lunches or dinners with, and get to know more deeply. There really was only one person I got to that level with, and due to unfortunate personal circumstances in his life, he basically wound up running away. That leads to another major complaint I have about Dallas – transcience. The city moves too fast. I met a bunch of cool people the first six months I was there. By the second six months they had all disappeared or moved on. That typically doesn’t happen in Houston, or at least, it has not been my experience. I have long-standing relationships in Houston that have lasted five years or more. And that’s not to say everyone disappeared like this, but this kind of disappearing act happened too often for my liking. Dallas has a reputation for being snobby and I suppose that may well be the case in the wealthy suburbs, but I didn’t get much of that. What I got was a sort of phoniness instead. It seems that Dallas folks are fine laughing and smiling with you in person, but if you scratch deeper it’s not real. I remember making friends (as best I could) with a guy who worked in a retailer in the neighborhood. Neither of us were thrilled with our job situations and I visited him at his job to commiserate. Eventually both of us got better gigs but when I reached out to him suggesting we meet up to celebrate, he was nowhere to be found – texts and e-mails went unanswered. It was as if he had vanished. And this was someone I had helped look for his new gig, too. Since returning from Dallas and reaching out to a few folks I knew when I was there, I have not received but one or two responses. It makes me wonder if the relations we had were real at all, all along. You may experience the same thing, especially if you’re a more sensitive or introspective type like me. Turning to size – Dallas really isn’t that big of a place. Compared to Houston’s over 600 square miles, Dallas clocks in at about 375, or about half the size – and it shows. Its smaller size means there’s less room for alternate roads and highways, critical when there’s a massive accident on US 75/Central or any of the other major roadways around. I can find my way around Houston very easily if a freeway is shut down, but in Dallas you’ll likely be going through neighborhoods as alternates. And on the subject of traffic, let’s talk about their drivers. I came to the conclusion that it takes three things to be able to drive in Dallas – nerves of steel, lightning reflexes, and a big middle finger. Dallas has been described as the Los Angeles of Texas – a car-oriented place where the motorists are pushy and aggressive. Dallas is the first place I’ve ever lived where I felt endangered driving to and from work – tailgaters and folks going 20-30 over the limit are pretty common. Amusingly enough, one of their major tollways, the Dallas North Tollway, has initials that could be pronounced “DENT”. I think the only thing that makes Dallas’ drivers not as deadly as they could be is they love their high-performance cars and SUVs and don’t want any damage to their sparkling chrome. I happen to be a big lover of the visual arts. I figured Dallas has major spaces and it does – the Dallas Museum of Art is their biggest space. The Dallas Contemporary is their largest modern space. But aside from that – and unlike Houston – Dallas itself doesn’t have many smaller, non-profit, independent spaces – for those you’ll have to go 45 miles west to Fort Worth (which has wonderful art spaces!). Dallas has something called the Design District, but this is industrial art or art for collectors – in other words, largely commercial. And commercial art has a different feel than, say, the Contemporary Arts Museum, DiverseWorks, or The Menil Collection, all in Houston. I was an established artist in Houston – that is, I had a name there, and had actively exhibited in shows. Dallas is a harder market to get into, and the vibe isn’t nearly as friendly as that of Houston. The Design District is worth a visit, though. And then let’s talk about coffee, a key thing for me. In Houston, you can find several independent (non-Starbucks) coffee nooks that close late – 10pm or later. In Dallas, many of the places are closed by 7pm and a handful stay open until 10pm. You can get flavored brew at the city’s Cafe Brazil chain, but that’s not a coffeehouse, it’s a diner. Arguably the city’s best coffee place, Crooked Tree, closes at 6pm weeknights/7pm weekend nights (as of this writing). When I moved there originally, they had 10pm weeknights/11pm weekend nights. This is in one of the busier residential/shopping districts in the city – this coffee place went the wrong way. Good for the owner, bad for patrons. Since returning from Dallas, I am discovering anew the value of living near a major body of water. As I wrote this, I was sitting in Galveston, just 50 miles from downtown Houston, and a short drive any day. Galveston has a beautiful seawall walk, beaches, and a quaint entertainment district called The Strand. Dallas, by comparison, is landlocked. The biggest body of water I knew about was White Rock Lake (not sure if this was a man-made lake or not). It just doesn’t feel the same as the Gulf, and even more noteworthy, White Rock Lake Park is not illuminated. Seawall Blvd in Galveston, though, is nicely lit and charming - you can take a lovely stroll after dark. And White Rock is not a “district”. Dallas’ downtown area is NOT based on a city grid (rows and columns) layout – it’s this weird spaghetti thing where streets meet each other at strange angles. Rush hour there is insane. Even the city’s edgiest neighborhood, Deep Ellum, didn’t do it for me. They have a nice little comedy club (where you can take classes on doing standup!). They have a few small art spaces. But this community – at this point in time (2019) I could describe as six square blocks of hedonists and “N-word” rap. If you’re not a young 20-something, Deep Ellum is probably not for you – interesting because the area has been hit by gentrification and rents there are almost certainly out of the reach of most millennials. Finally, the weather. No, you’re not gonna get hit with a hurricane in Dallas – the remnants, perhaps, but not a direct strike like Houston does. But you may get tornadoes, hail, or ice storms. Every first Wednesday of every month at 12 noon, they test their tornado sirens. I haven’t heard those things since living in central Illinois. And while the summer heat is of a drier variety, it is still HOT. Last summer was my first 115-degree summer, and I had the power bill to prove it. But it was the colder months that shocked me the most. Relative humidity in my apartment got as low as 12 percent (that’s where just giving someone a dirty look can shock them) and even a humidifier I bought at Target couldn’t keep up. My power bill to stay warm in a one-bedroom exceeded $200 regularly. I never had that in Houston. So, that is what I saw in 18 months of life in Dallas. I made a handful of smiling but tenuous friends, had one good one that suddenly dissipated, spent a lot of anxiety cycles behind the wheel, and had a soul hungering for real people who would invite me into their lives. I really, really wanted to like Dallas – I seriously did. But after depleting all the attractions I could think of that were appropriate to me, and wandering around the city mostly alone, I came to the conclusion that The Big D is a place that is better visited than lived in. Dallas is not as inclusive as it thinks it is.

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Bashing DFW/Texas - 3/20/2019

For you Dallas haters, most of the population of the DFW metroplex is from every state in the US. So bashing anyone in Dallas/Ft. Worth is laughable. Can't drive on ice, really? Native Texans don't leave the house when the weather is bad. Traffic is a nightmare? Well, the ability of Texas to draw people to the state is what it's all about. Being a native, I love a crowd where I can ask who was born and raised in Texas. I would say that in a crowd of 20 people, 2 hands will raise. So bash all you want, you gave us this.

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Dallas has something for everyone - 1/23/2019

Great Weather year-round. One of the best places in the country if you love BBQ, good food, and great sports! Folks will complain about traffic and being "too urban" but those are also the folks who will pick out one thing to complain about no matter what it is. Forgot to mention... it has one of the largest airports in the country (not to mention we actually have two within 20 miles of each other), we have one of fastest growing economies with a number of large companies incorporated here. We have some of the best nightlife and performing arts here in Dallas as well. Unfortunately, I feel a lot of the negative reviews here are people that have moved here (for whatever reason) and are now homesick. If that's the case don't bash our city because you prefer another because its home to you.

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WARNING: Think Twice Before Moving to Dallas - 11/24/2018

I was born and raised in Chicago and lived in San Francisco for about a decade when I found myself watching too many HGTV shows and seeing low-priced, brand-new houses with granite countertops, spacious master bedrooms, and walk-in closets. I grew up in a cramped townhouse in Chicago and as an adult in an even crampier apartment in San Francisco. When I had a job opportunity in Dallas, I dreamed of being able to do laundry in my home instead of carrying it over to the laundromat. I dreamed of being able to put my dishes in the dishwasher instead of having to hand wash my dishes because a dishwasher in a San Francisco apartment is rare indeed. I dreamed of having a car and a garage and ditching public transport. I was excited and ready to go. Flash forward two years later and I regret leaving my tiny, cramped San Francisco apartment. Yes, I got all the things HGTV made me dream of. But it could not stop the feeling of emptiness that overcame me when I moved to Dallas. Most people here spend their free time consuming; you can find them either at one of the many malls here or at one of the many restaurants located in the many soulless strip malls around town. Charm and character are hard to find in this city; in fact I've been searching for it for these two years and have come up with a few blocks in Deep Ellum and a few blocks in the Bishop Arts District and that's it. If you enjoy long walks exploring the town, you'll be disappointed because sidewalks either don't exist or are extremely narrow and in really bad shape. If you enjoy people watching, you won't find that here either. Museums are lacking as are the performing arts. So while you might find housing cheaper here if you're not careful you'll find yourself spending all that extra money trying to fill the void in your heart, that emptiness that comes from being in a town that lacks true life and culture. I have a beautiful home and a brand new car and if I could, I would give it all back just to be in my small apartment in San Francisco. I've made my bed so I must lie in it, but you dear reader, you still have a choice. Think twice about what you really want and what is really important in life. Hint: It is not material things.

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Awful place - 9/4/2018

Not a good place to move.

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