School me on Dallas TX

[Mike80911]

I know there are a lot of Pelicans who reside in Texas, so I was looking for some information. My son will be starting an internship in Dallas this summer and I wanted to know a little about Dallas. The usual stuff the best place to live close to Downtown, the good the bad where to go where to avoid safety concerns and any other information some of you care to share. He is a smart kid and grew up in NYC, so he has awareness of his surroundings. We have been to Austin but never Dallas so any insight would be helpful.
Thanks

[mattdavis11]

To make any recommendations I'm going to need a little more information. Does he drive a car, does he want to drive to work? Does he want to live in a house?

There are many options available that would suit what he is used to, or something totally foreign.

[stomachmonkey]

Dallas is meh.

Generally safe no matter where you are.

Dallas itself is a somewhat boring city. Nothing even close to Austin vibe which my wife and I describe as "someone took the East Village and stuck cowboy boots on it". Besides Deep Ellum I don't know of much else going on for young people.

Personally I'd say Ft Worth but you don't want to do a daily commute from Ft Worth to Dallas, it would suck.

If he is working in Dallas proper i'd suggest living in an outlier community like Las Colinas.

New modern apt complexes with great amenities, pools, gyms, often community hosted social events.

A variety of public transport options so commuting into the city is cake.

Easier access to Ft Worth.

Stuff to do in the area like Toyota Music Factory and good restaurants.

And, depending on where he is coming from, a really great value.

I'd suggest looking along the 114 corridor between DFW and Dallas.

[GH85Carrera]

Find out where his office is, and were he commutes to.

Try to find something in the vicinity. Like all big cities, traffic sucks. Get to a place that involves the least commuting as possible. Spending and hour or more commuting each way every day has to to be horrible.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

To make any recommendations I'm going to need a little more information. Does he drive a car, does he want to drive to work? Does he want to live in a house?

There are many options available that would suit what he is used to, or something totally foreign.

If he's going to live in Texas, he should have a car. I guess it's possible that Dallas is different, but as they say, everything is bigger in Texas, including Texas. I can't imagine trying to exclusively walk or use public transpo here. He'll probably get used to driving 30-90 mins.

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Dallas is meh.

Dallas itself is a somewhat boring city. Nothing even close to Austin vibe which my wife and I describe as "someone took the East Village and stuck cowboy boots on it".

I'd second what SM said. I haven't spent a ton of time in Dallas, but I've been there 5-10 times over the past 25 years, and every time I've come away with the same feeling.

And what Glenn said, where is his job? If he's working one place, and gets an apt (or whatever) in another place, he could end up driving an hour or more. Something more specific about where his work will be will help.

[red-beard]

I was just exploring the old areas East of Downtown. They are doing a nice job of upgrading the areas.

I mostly know the areas near Galleria.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by masraum

If he's going to live in Texas, he should have a car. I guess it's possible that Dallas is different, but as they say, everything is bigger in Texas, including Texas. I can't imagine trying to exclusively walk or use public transpo here. He'll probably get used to driving 30-90 mins.

I'd second what SM said. I haven't spent a ton of time in Dallas, but I've been there 5-10 times over the past 25 years, and every time I've come away with the same feeling.

And what Glenn said, where is his job? If he's working one place, and gets an apt (or whatever) in another place, he could end up driving an hour or more. Something more specific about where his work will be will help.

Yes one generally needs a car for day to day.

Dallas is not a large city and the business district where he'd most likely be working is a pain to commute to by car no matter how close to it you are.

Dallas is small enough that exactly where in the city one works is largely irrelevant and is not much of a factor when considering the commute. We are not talking Boston, NYC, Chicago, LA.

I'm sure this trend is not unique to this area but over the last decade there has been a very purposeful initiative to build lifestyle communities aimed at renters.

Apartment communities that remind you of small self contained cities. It's not just blocks of buildings. They all have retail integrated so you can live in one and most of your day to day needs are met right outside your front door.

The spaces are all modern and amenities abound. Typically run about $20 per sq foot these days which is a bargain for what you get.

Wish they had places like that when I was young and starting out. Great quality of life.

[Mike80911]

Thanks for the replies I knew this would be the right place to get advice. He will be working at the Trammell Crow Center I guess like NY that is considered the "city". He would like to find a nice apartment. He will have his car we are going to drive it down there. He probably won't have time to enjoy the city much as I am sure he will be working a lot of hours but when my wife and I visit it would be nice to know where to go for a nice tour of Dallas

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike80911

Thanks for the replies I knew this would be the right place to get advice. He will be working at the Trammell Crow Center I guess like NY that is considered the "city". He would like to find a nice apartment. He will have his car we are going to drive it down there. He probably won't have time to enjoy the city much as I am sure he will be working a lot of hours but when my wife and I visit it would be nice to know where to go for a nice tour of Dallas

Trammel Crow Center is in the Arts District. Nice area with a bunch of culture.

Is he working in the building for someone else or working directly for Trammel Crow? They are in the real estate business and actually have residential apartments in the city not too far from the Center.

I'm sensing you guys are from back east? I moved to Dallas from Lawn Guyland.

Dallas is a City but nothing even close to NYC not like there is much that is.

A "nice tour" of Dallas would occupy you for a day, maybe two.

It's a kind of dead city. Even middle of the day on a workday the place is kind of empty.

It just does not have that hustle and bustle you'd normally associate with "a city"

I would stay NW of Dallas. Easier access to more options.

East of Dallas is also nice but to get anywhere you have to get around the city which sucks.

Think of the area as a triangle with DFW being the top point and the bottom two base points being Ft Worth on the left (west) and Dallas on the right (east).

You want to stay within the triangle.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

In Ft. Worth & Dallas the Women dress real nice.
Folks are polite.
The homeless hang out in the library and few other areas, NO tent cities.
Lots of Cowboy stuff going on all the time, especially Fort Worth.
No cars downtown Fort Worth on weekend in city center.
Go see a real farm auction for a cultural treat.
Try out Lone Star beer, its a sweet version of Coors

[Mike80911]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Trammel Crow Center is in the Arts District. Nice area with a bunch of culture.

Is he working in the building for someone else or working directly for Trammel Crow? They are in the real estate business and actually have residential apartments in the city not too far from the Center.

I'm sensing you guys are from back east? I moved to Dallas from Lawn Guyland.

Dallas is a City but nothing even close to NYC not like there is much that is.

A "nice tour" of Dallas would occupy you for a day, maybe two.

It's a kind of dead city. Even middle of the day on a workday the place is kind of empty.

It just does not have that hustle and bustle you'd normally associate with "a city"

I would stay NW of Dallas. Easier access to more options.

East of Dallas is also nice but to get anywhere you have to get around the city which sucks.

Think of the area as a triangle with DFW being the top point and the bottom two base points being Ft Worth on the left (west) and Dallas on the right (east).

You want to stay within the triangle.

He will be working in the building but not for Trammell Crow. We are form NY we live in Queens just on the border of Lawn Guyland. Did you move to Dallas for work? How long have you lived there? Do you like it better than NY?

[Racerbvd]

[Mike80911]

I told him to be careful because if JR Ewing was shot no one is safe there

[Neilk]

He needs to live in the Uptown area or nearby. That's where all the action is and pretty walkable. From there, he wouldn't be more than 10 minutes by car from any bar and super close to the Trammel Crow center.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike80911

He will be working in the building but not for Trammell Crow. We are form NY we live in Queens just on the border of Lawn Guyland. Did you move to Dallas for work? How long have you lived there? Do you like it better than NY?

One of my clients convinced me to come.

Too long.

Do I like it better than NY? Lets put it this way, I'd move back to LI / Huntington / the North Shore in a heartbeat. I miss the people and the water, big time.

When I move away from Dallas, it will be for good.

I was moving to Austin 2 years ago but things changed. I've spent a lot of time since the 90's in Austin so I was already very familiar and comfortable with it.

I was born and grew up in Stuttgart, lived a bunch of places abroad and in the states.

Don't get me wrong, life here has not been terrible or miserable and it served its purpose but its the only place I've lived that i never really felt any attraction to or formed any emotional bond with.

I personally, (and understand others may not), find it to be generically vanilla with no real distinct identity or culture uniquely its own other than some cult like obsession with the Cowboys.

Here's one thing that makes me crazy. You go outside, doesn't matter what season, it doesn't smell like anything. Like nothing, fresh cut grass, flowers, spring rain, hell, I live kinda in cow country and you don't even smell cow ****. Nothing, sterile. It's like even the air is dead and has no soul.

My experience here is, it's a place that you just exist in.

And mind you I don't feel like that in other areas of Texas.

But, some people love it. My neighbor behind me is from Westbury, used to manage a Wiz He loves it here and would not move back to NY.

So, the son should come and make his own assessment, he might find it the most awesome place he's ever been.

[Mike80911]

Huntington is a very nice town I am sure you miss it my mom lives in Melville. He is only going to be in Dallas for the summer for his internship hopefully he likes it and does well there.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by Mike80911

I told him to be careful because if JR Ewing was shot no one is safe there

That's hillarious.

I wonder how many people got that?

[javadog]

Don’t listen to anything stomachmonkey has to say. The last thing your kid wants to do is commute to downtown to go work.


Trammell Crow Center is in the arts District, he’s within walking distance of uptown or the west end, there’s an absolute ton of stuff to do down there. I would suggest trying to find an apartment within walking distance of where he’ll work, shouldn’t be difficult.

[Mike80911]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

That's hillarious.

I wonder how many people got that?

Mostly just us old people

[Mike80911]

Originally Posted by javadog

Don’t listen to anything stomachmonkey has to say. The last thing your kid wants to do is commute to downtown to go work.


Trammell Crow Center is in the arts District, he’s within walking distance of uptown or the west end, there’s an absolute ton of stuff to do down there. I would suggest trying to find an apartment within walking distance of where he’ll work, shouldn’t be difficult.

Thanks for the advice that is what he is hoping to do. He wants to find a place close to work either walking or transit distance.