Austin has more of a smaller town feel without being a small town. It does have lots of great jobs and industry, GREAT music and social scene, much more friendly and down to earth, more liberal (surprising being that it's the Texas capital). Very pretty - has some nice lakes, pretty hills and stuff very nearby. It is also where UT is so there is a college scene but since it is a good size city, it is not all the city is. It is hot in the summer but gets pretty mild winters. I hear nothing but good things about Austin.
Dallas is a fun city but has the tendency to be pretentious - it's hard to meet people in this city and a lot of people agree with that. It is very big and spread out, commuting is a bear (I live 15 miles from my job and a good day is about 40 minutes and a bad one is 1.5 hours). Some areas are very family oriented and others are more hip and young. They're doing a lot to revive the downtown area right now - tons of lofts and apartments. It is pretty cheap compared to the rest of the US and Dallas itself is probably one of the more liberal cities in Texas and the south. It is HOT in the summer and we usually get one nasty storm per winter - this one has been pretty bad, we've had 3 but today is 80 degrees! It is flat and not so pretty - some not pretty lakes nearby and a couple OK ones, few hills but a not bad drive to some pretty country. Job situation is pretty good here too - plenty of good companies in the area.
I lived in Austin for many years in the 80's & 90's. Then the computer companies moved in and it became very expensive to live there. But it is a neat place to live - scenic and somewhat equidistant from many places in TX since it is close to the middle of the state. It is the capitol of the state, has a vibrant arts scene and an equally vibrant intellectual landscape. I have never lived in Dallas, but have visited it many times. It is a big city and as you mentioned, has a flat landscape. I thought it would be dry, but it is surprisingly humid in the summer. Sorry but there is not a huge weather difference in Austin and Dallas except that Dallas has colder winters. Both cities have long, hot, humid summers that actually begin in Spring and don't end until late Fall. If I had to choose, I would definitely choose Austin. Iri
I've lived in Dallas for about a year now. When I first got here, I was shocked at how bland the metroplex seems... aesthetically, it is not the most pleasing. It's somewhat culturally diverse once you get into a niche here and start meeting people, though at first it seems to have no diversity. The roadway system here is weird, potholes everywhere, exits not marked, perpetual construction, sudden bottle-nosing on multi-laned highways that congest the flow of traffic, you name it. Everything there is to do is so spread out by up to 30-40 miles...it's a huge metroplex.
Well, I'm based in Chicago, but I had to go to Dallas and Austin for 3 weeks each for training last year. I don't know why everyone is bashing Dallas. I thought it was beautiful, especially by uptown/Highland Park (gorgeous area -- there were flowers, trees, hills, and a beautiful neighborhood to walk around), and even when we had to spend the day farther out (20 miles away), it took us no more than 15-20 minutes. No matter what section we went in (uptown, Plano, Las Colinas, Frisco), it was pretty and new, with trees and grass. Yes, except for uptown, Dallas is more flat, but who cares? I also was strucky by how clean Dallas was; I saw NO LITTER whatsoever. My mom came to visit one weekend, and she said the same thing. There are tons of cute little restaurants and shops in Dallas; anyone who says it's "just chains" either lives by the airport or doesn't go anywhere. I loved how accessible and livable Dallas seemed; and it was sunny and warm every day.
Now, let's talk about Austin. It is TOTALLY a college town. The so-called "great clubs and music scene" take up a 2-block strip downtown called Sixth Street; which is replete with UT students and drunken 20-something "Real World" wannabees. And I was shocked to see how informal and country the clubs were; I'm talking so small you could barely turn around any of them, and a lot of them looked like a honkytonk bar with peanut shells on the floor. There was NOTHING TO DO on weekends except walk up and down Sixth Street (which took all of 20 minutes), stroll around Town Lake stepping over vagrants and rodents (I mean, I saw rats every time I took a walk), or go to one of the lakes farther south of the city, and sit on a boat all day. If that's your thing, fine, but Austin's not hip, cosmopolitan, or particularly friendly. And the traffic in Austin is HORRIBLE. There are two main highways: 35 and 1/MOPAC. Austin used to be very small in the 70s-80s and they didn't plan the infastructure for all the people now. Commuting even 8-10 miles on either highway between 7 am and 6:30 pm can easily take 1 to 2 hours, and there are NO other options. My cousin just moved there 2 years ago, and she complains weekly about the traffic. Anyone who tells you traffic is good in Austin is just not telling the truth. Also, for some reason, I noticed the weather in Austin was warm, but often cloudy/overcast -- not sunny the way Dallas was. Oh, and the malls in Austin sucked -- cheesy, 80s style with no unique boutiques or well-known larger stores. Dallas has several great indoor/outdoor malls that are really pretty with great boutiques as well as Nordstroms, Macy's, Saks, Bloomingdales, Neiman's. I'm not a huge shopper, but I couldn't even window-shop in Austin (unless I was looking for a t-shirt or something). The whole "Austin is cool" thing is a marketing campaign that started with the dot-com era (which practically bankrupted the city when the market crashed in 2000) and has inexplicably lingered, perhaps through Lance Armstrong and Sandra Bullock, who live there. Don't know; don't understand it.
Personally, I was glad to return to Chicago, but if I had to pick (which hopefully I won't; Chicago's my home), I would pick Dallas. Definitely see for yourself, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Dallas and unpleasantly surprised by Austin.
Hey Devorah! I didn't know you lived in Dallas? What part are you in? I am in Lakewood myself.
That said, I have to TOTALLY disagree with you about the chain restaurant thing. I'd be curious if you live in one of the suburbs because yeah, that's true in Las Colinas, Addison, Plano, yadda yadda but in the Lakewood/Park Cities/Uptown/Downtown area, there are TONS of unique, hole in the wall, super restaurants. They're harder to find and it's usually better to go on referral rather than looking on your own, but there's SO much good stuff. Let me know if you're looking for some specific type and I bet I know a good one to refer you to.
And while I'm on the bandwagon of flat and not incredibly pretty - I think the skyline of Dallas is one of the prettiest I've seen. It's unique with the building shapes, Reunion tower and so forth. And Whiterock Lake is a great little mecca within the city. It is such a pretty little lake and great place to ride your bike, run or walk.
I'll agree with you on litter tho - especially the highways. City streets are not bad but highway shoulders can get bad especially when it's windy. And yes, the highway system and traffic SUCK! It took me 40 minutes to get from home to Las Colinas today and that's a good day. It helps once you know the shortcuts and side streets to cut thru the traffic. And another thing is every highway has two names - I-35/Stemmons, 114/John Carpenter, 75/Central Expwy, 635/LBJ and on and on. In LA, everything is "the" - The 10, The 5 and so on (which bugged the heck out of me) but Dallas is confusing b/c some people use the number while others use the name and still others use both!
And finally, I will stick by the pretentious until the end of time. Dallas is stuck up and haughty at times and it's the plastic surgery capital of the world (highest per capita - even higher than Beverly Hills). Lots of people looking for the BBD and it is hard to meet people in a regular setting.
The shopping scene in Dallas is also good - between Northpark and the Galleria, you have all the high end stores and boutiques. Now that Northpark has been redone, it is awesome.
As for traffic - all I gotta say on that is that you must have been going against the flow or at off times in Dallas b/c in general, Dallas traffic SUCKS. 635 is a nightmare. I-35 is usually not too bad until you get into the dreaded "Mix Master". The "High Five" is a cluster-you-know-what of highways, overpasses and such. Sure, if I am headed to Plano at 9 am on a Saturday, it will take me 20 minutes from Dallas but if I am headed to Addison at 5:30 on a weekday? Guaranteed an hour or more. I can't and don't speak for the traffic in Austin, but Dallas is really bad most of the time - you seriously must have been lucky. I've been driving this commute every day for 3 years and the reverse when I first moved here for a year and I despise it.
As for the weather - the last two days are the first ones we've seen sun in about a month. Maybe one or two here and there, but no good stretches. When it's beautiful in Dallas, it is gorgeous. Spring and Fall are awesome - and tons of patio restaurants to go to. But summer is hot and muggy and winter is often chilly and cloudy.
That was my point -- the shopping in Dallas is awesome, especially Northpark and Stonebriar, and the shopping in Austin sucks. Maybe I was lucky with the traffic in Dallas, but no one who has spent any time in Austin can seriously say it's better. We once had to go just 2 exits on Mopac at 4:30, and it took 1 hour. As for the weather, I didn't see Dallas was much colder than Austin - neither one is Miami - and coming from Chicago, I appreciated the sunny, warm days of Dallas. It just irked me how everyone was acting like Dallas was the ghetto and Austin was Santa Barbara or something. Dallas is a great city -- and I'm surprised the OP's boyfriend thinks Austin is more "up and coming." Maybe up-and-coming from near-financial ruin, but Dallas has a lot of young professionals and young families. Frankly, I found people to be very, very nice in Dallas -- much nicer than LA. Whereas, the people I met in Austin seemed really granola and into the hype that Austin was little Palo Alto or something -- NOT.
Hey, I've lived in Dallas for coming up on 9 years. I wouldn't be here if I didn't at least somewhat like it. It's definitely got a lot of good points, is very cosmopolitan and so on. People can be nice and friendly, especially to visitors, but they can also be pretentious and rude like any other place - I definitely agree they are nicer than people in LA and NYC in general, but compared to other places I've been, they're not as nice. And yes, I think Austin-ites are very proud of their city but I know a lot more people that are complimentary about Austin than are so about Dallas. You can see from my posts that I was trying to give the good and bad side of both - I just hadn't heard much bad about Austin nor experienced it myself. I HAVE heard and experienced the good and bad of Dallas, however! ;-)
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Living in Texas, I can give you some input.
Austin has more of a smaller town feel without being a small town. It does have lots of great jobs and industry, GREAT music and social scene, much more friendly and down to earth, more liberal (surprising being that it's the Texas capital). Very pretty - has some nice lakes, pretty hills and stuff very nearby. It is also where UT is so there is a college scene but since it is a good size city, it is not all the city is. It is hot in the summer but gets pretty mild winters. I hear nothing but good things about Austin.
Dallas is a fun city but has the tendency to be pretentious - it's hard to meet people in this city and a lot of people agree with that. It is very big and spread out, commuting is a bear (I live 15 miles from my job and a good day is about 40 minutes and a bad one is 1.5 hours). Some areas are very family oriented and others are more hip and young. They're doing a lot to revive the downtown area right now - tons of lofts and apartments. It is pretty cheap compared to the rest of the US and Dallas itself is probably one of the more liberal cities in Texas and the south. It is HOT in the summer and we usually get one nasty storm per winter - this one has been pretty bad, we've had 3 but today is 80 degrees! It is flat and not so pretty - some not pretty lakes nearby and a couple OK ones, few hills but a not bad drive to some pretty country. Job situation is pretty good here too - plenty of good companies in the area.
I have never lived in Dallas, but have visited it many times. It is a big city and as you mentioned, has a flat landscape. I thought it would be dry, but it is surprisingly humid in the summer. Sorry but there is not a huge weather difference in Austin and Dallas except that Dallas has colder winters. Both cities have long, hot, humid summers that actually begin in Spring and don't end until late Fall. If I had to choose, I would definitely choose Austin. Iri
Thanks everyone, when I visit Texas I'll let you know my thoughts on both cities
SP,
I'd choose Austin over Dallas...
I've lived in Dallas for about a year now. When I first got here, I was shocked at how bland the metroplex seems... aesthetically, it is not the most pleasing. It's somewhat culturally diverse once you get into a niche here and start meeting people, though at first it seems to have no diversity. The roadway system here is weird, potholes everywhere, exits not marked, perpetual construction, sudden bottle-nosing on multi-laned highways that congest the flow of traffic, you name it. Everything there is to do is so spread out by up to 30-40 miles...it's a huge metroplex.
Well, I'm based in Chicago, but I had to go to Dallas and Austin for 3 weeks each for training last year. I don't know why everyone is bashing Dallas. I thought it was beautiful, especially by uptown/Highland Park (gorgeous area -- there were flowers, trees, hills, and a beautiful neighborhood to walk around), and even when we had to spend the day farther out (20 miles away), it took us no more than 15-20 minutes. No matter what section we went in (uptown, Plano, Las Colinas, Frisco), it was pretty and new, with trees and grass. Yes, except for uptown, Dallas is more flat, but who cares? I also was strucky by how clean Dallas was; I saw NO LITTER whatsoever. My mom came to visit one weekend, and she said the same thing. There are tons of cute little restaurants and shops in Dallas; anyone who says it's "just chains" either lives by the airport or doesn't go anywhere. I loved how accessible and livable Dallas seemed; and it was sunny and warm every day.
Now, let's talk about Austin. It is TOTALLY a college town. The so-called "great clubs and music scene" take up a 2-block strip downtown called Sixth Street; which is replete with UT students and drunken 20-something "Real World" wannabees. And I was shocked to see how informal and country the clubs were; I'm talking so small you could barely turn around any of them, and a lot of them looked like a honkytonk bar with peanut shells on the floor. There was NOTHING TO DO on weekends except walk up and down Sixth Street (which took all of 20 minutes), stroll around Town Lake stepping over vagrants and rodents (I mean, I saw rats every time I took a walk), or go to one of the lakes farther south of the city, and sit on a boat all day. If that's your thing, fine, but Austin's not hip, cosmopolitan, or particularly friendly. And the traffic in Austin is HORRIBLE. There are two main highways: 35 and 1/MOPAC. Austin used to be very small in the 70s-80s and they didn't plan the infastructure for all the people now. Commuting even 8-10 miles on either highway between 7 am and 6:30 pm can easily take 1 to 2 hours, and there are NO other options. My cousin just moved there 2 years ago, and she complains weekly about the traffic. Anyone who tells you traffic is good in Austin is just not telling the truth. Also, for some reason, I noticed the weather in Austin was warm, but often cloudy/overcast -- not sunny the way Dallas was. Oh, and the malls in Austin sucked -- cheesy, 80s style with no unique boutiques or well-known larger stores. Dallas has several great indoor/outdoor malls that are really pretty with great boutiques as well as Nordstroms, Macy's, Saks, Bloomingdales, Neiman's. I'm not a huge shopper, but I couldn't even window-shop in Austin (unless I was looking for a t-shirt or something). The whole "Austin is cool" thing is a marketing campaign that started with the dot-com era (which practically bankrupted the city when the market crashed in 2000) and has inexplicably lingered, perhaps through Lance Armstrong and Sandra Bullock, who live there. Don't know; don't understand it.
Personally, I was glad to return to Chicago, but if I had to pick (which hopefully I won't; Chicago's my home), I would pick Dallas. Definitely see for yourself, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Dallas and unpleasantly surprised by Austin.
Thank you - sounds like until I visit myself its really a personal choice. Just like living here in LA there are pro's and con's.
Hey Devorah! I didn't know you lived in Dallas? What part are you in? I am in Lakewood myself.
That said, I have to TOTALLY disagree with you about the chain restaurant thing. I'd be curious if you live in one of the suburbs because yeah, that's true in Las Colinas, Addison, Plano, yadda yadda but in the Lakewood/Park Cities/Uptown/Downtown area, there are TONS of unique, hole in the wall, super restaurants. They're harder to find and it's usually better to go on referral rather than looking on your own, but there's SO much good stuff. Let me know if you're looking for some specific type and I bet I know a good one to refer you to.
And while I'm on the bandwagon of flat and not incredibly pretty - I think the skyline of Dallas is one of the prettiest I've seen. It's unique with the building shapes, Reunion tower and so forth. And Whiterock Lake is a great little mecca within the city. It is such a pretty little lake and great place to ride your bike, run or walk.
I'll agree with you on litter tho - especially the highways. City streets are not bad but highway shoulders can get bad especially when it's windy. And yes, the highway system and traffic SUCK! It took me 40 minutes to get from home to Las Colinas today and that's a good day. It helps once you know the shortcuts and side streets to cut thru the traffic. And another thing is every highway has two names - I-35/Stemmons, 114/John Carpenter, 75/Central Expwy, 635/LBJ and on and on. In LA, everything is "the" - The 10, The 5 and so on (which bugged the heck out of me) but Dallas is confusing b/c some people use the number while others use the name and still others use both!
And finally, I will stick by the pretentious until the end of time. Dallas is stuck up and haughty at times and it's the plastic surgery capital of the world (highest per capita - even higher than Beverly Hills). Lots of people looking for the BBD and it is hard to meet people in a regular setting.
The shopping scene in Dallas is also good - between Northpark and the Galleria, you have all the high end stores and boutiques. Now that Northpark has been redone, it is awesome.
As for traffic - all I gotta say on that is that you must have been going against the flow or at off times in Dallas b/c in general, Dallas traffic SUCKS. 635 is a nightmare. I-35 is usually not too bad until you get into the dreaded "Mix Master". The "High Five" is a cluster-you-know-what of highways, overpasses and such. Sure, if I am headed to Plano at 9 am on a Saturday, it will take me 20 minutes from Dallas but if I am headed to Addison at 5:30 on a weekday? Guaranteed an hour or more. I can't and don't speak for the traffic in Austin, but Dallas is really bad most of the time - you seriously must have been lucky. I've been driving this commute every day for 3 years and the reverse when I first moved here for a year and I despise it.
As for the weather - the last two days are the first ones we've seen sun in about a month. Maybe one or two here and there, but no good stretches. When it's beautiful in Dallas, it is gorgeous. Spring and Fall are awesome - and tons of patio restaurants to go to. But summer is hot and muggy and winter is often chilly and cloudy.
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