Should You Move to Dallas?

I get it: big companies and our government are trying to incentivize people to come to Dallas. There's a lot of diversity here, the Ritz is iconic, you can find some pretty good food, you're thirty minutes away from almost everything (put a pin in that, I'll get back to it later), and the DFW airport is one of the largest in the state.

We also have some good schools, so I think the main people choose to live here is for the sake of convenience.

That said, we're surrounding by soul-sucking concrete. If you like that sort of thing, you'll probably be fine, but I prefer mountains to prairie. The plants we have cultivated here can be very pretty, don't get me wrong, but it takes a bit to get out of the city, and when you do there aren't a ton of place where you can freely roam.

On top of that, the traffic congestion is only increasing, because everyone here drives a car. I come from a family of four, and we have four cars. The bus takes as long as it takes to bike on most routes, and the local train station is very limited. They're starting work on that, but construction takes years and clogs traffic in the meantime--while more people move in, and add to it some more.

Dallas, at least in its current state, was built for cars. If you don't have a car, you probably need an uber budget. And that thirty minute drive time I mentioned? Can easily become an hour or more during peak hours.

That's a lot of time in traffic.

People are also driving a lot more carelessly now that covid restrictions have lifted. I realize it's been a year, but something about this clusterfluff of circumstances has convinced a lot of drivers that they should no longer show any amount of courtesy to anyone else on the road. It's noticably worse, and it's kind of scary.

P0llen counts are rising, and more people are noticing. Even I felt it this year, and I didn't think I had any issues with allergies--at least not after my childhood allergy shots. This isn't just anecdotal; we're one of the worst.

Community can be difficult to find. This isn't isolated to Dallas itself, but the big city lends itself to cliqueishness. I've found that most people are only interested in you when you're attending the same group at the same time, and if they do pursue a relationship with you outside of that then their interest is very limited. Part of this is the lackadaisical approach that Facebook likes encourage. Part of this is Dallas. Your mileage my vary in this one, but I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Many move here for the politics, so if Greg Abbot is your cup of tea, you might enjoy it more. Me, I like not hearing that people in my city have died due to power outages after a completely foreseen event that could have been adequately prepared for and wasn't because the people in power insist on believing that fossil fuels are the way to go in spite of the fact that they were the problem in the first place and they're also ruining the planet, so I'm with those who view Dallas as a form of hell.

There are others in the city government who are actually trying to keep us safe, but they have a tough fight against Republicans who just want to prove their point.

I know that politics can be polarizing and a lot of people don't want to see it mentioned at all, but it's also often a deciding factor in the decision to move, so I think it's better for everyone to know what they're getting into. It's a part of our lives, and I'm not here to fight about it, but everyone deserves to know.

It does get hot here, it's been 100F pretty consistently this summer. It also gets down to freezing during the winter on a regular basis--not for long, but it happens most years. It's usually somewhere around February; my sister has had more than one white birthday and hers is at the beginning of the month.

That said, anytime between Fall and Spring is a tossup. It can go from 70 to 30 in the winter in a matter of hours. Fall and Spring has similar changes, though they're not as drastic. You'd think that I would know to not dress for yesterday's weather after 30 years of living here, but sometimes I still catch myself doing it.

Very few things are open 24/7. From a consumerism standpoint that might be a good thing, but the thing is that crime goes down when people have a place to go. The only places at the moment are Cafe Brazil and Buzzbrews. If I recall correctly, there's been two cases of assault at the latter. It's funny, because I've never had anything happen to me, and I'm a night owl. The thing is, this is also an open carry state, so it's not exactly uncommon for people to get shot. I've never experienced it firsthand, but a family friend got shot while he was waiting in a shopping center in his car. He's fine. It made the newspaper.

Places like McDonalds are supposed to be open 24/7, but you can't count on it. They basically do what they want.

The funny thing about Dallas is that it's so big, you can have an entirely different experience depending on where you live. If you're looking to live in the city proper, you'll be able to find plenty of help. It's a well established city with a lot of writers writing about it and a massive base that makes for active forums--which is to say, I live in the burbs and cannot help you with which neighborhood you should move to if you're still set on living here, that's like asking a boomer for job advice. I can practically guarantee that someone else has already asked your question and you can find what you're looking for. Just use the searchbar. It will be quicker and easier, I promise.

(...sorry, up to date boomers.)

All told, moving to Dallas is up to you, but I really, really wouldn't recommend it.

...seriously, please don't move here. We're tired of the traffic.

If you sympathize with this and would like to help get me out of here, please send me a tip!