Dallas Vs. Atlanta (atypical comparison) (Marietta, Smyrna: employment, contractors, tornadoes)

[portyhead24]

Well, after doing some research between the two cities since I've heard they're very similar it seems to me that Atlanta has a more gung ho attitude and pride in their city (not that Dallas doesn't). I also went to the skyscraper page and was shocked because a city that is half the size of Dallas has nearly 200 highrises while Dallas only has 125. I'm from the metroplex so I'm not trying to stir up any heated debate, just an open discussion on what the deal is. Maybe my perception is incorrect so I'd like to know what other people think. Also, I hope to visit for my first time soon, I have a good friend who lives in Buckhead.

[pwright1]

Highrises and skyscrapers do not make a city.

[Tdiddy0027]

atlanta just has a smaller city limits than dallas does. They can annex more land

[atlantagreg30127]

Ok well, a lot of the folks on that skyscraper page cross the line into freaky-architecture humping sometimes. I love to see a nice skyline with modern gleaming buildings too, but buildings hardly make a city what it is. It's the people and the planning.

Dallas and Atlanta are cities that grew very quickly. Atlanta continues to do so, while Dallas has slower growth (but it's still going on). Both cities have bad traffic (Atlanta's is worse). Both cities get hot and humid during the summer (Dallas is worse). Both cities get bad thunderstorms and tornadoes sometimes in Spring (Dallas gets bigger ones). Atlanta has more distinct seasons and with the exception of not getting much snow, we typically do have four seasons. Dallas isn't as defined. They on rare occasion do get more snow/ice than we do, but then in the middle of Winter they many times are much warmer than us, too.

Dallas is made up primarily of White and Hispanic residents with a few blacks, Asians, and others mixed in. Atlanta has a very large black population, then White, followed by "everyone else" who tends to blend in more than other cities where multicultural events take place more than they seem to here.

Atlanta has MARTA heavy rail which for a time was expanding and a model system. It's now stalled, and Dallas has the "DART" light rail which is full steam ahead right now with massive expansion underway. So Dallas wins in public transit, and more importantly, leaders who know how to deal with it and work it into the grand plan for a city. We - do not. Dallas is similar to Houston in that for a southern city, the downtown area is a bit more compact and lively and they actually have life there as opposed to dozens of satellite cities. We're more sprawled and spread out like L.A., with a small and not super active downtown but lots of satellite cites in the surrounding area.

Atlanta has more trees. Dallas tends to cut down all the trees first, THEN decide what to build in that area once the trees are gone. More contractors here are trying to at least leave some stuff behind and cut down only what's needed.

Dallas has Country music. Atlanta has Rap and HipHop. You can decide for yourself if that's a plus or not.

The two cities are different more than they are alike. How many skyscrapers they have aren't even a factor in anything having to do with the quality of life. Only you could decide which one is best for you.

[ckws]

I'm currently in the midst of moving from Dallas to ATL....
remember that Atlanta only has 1 city center....and for all practial purposes...Dallas has two.....don't forget Fort Worth. When you figure in Las Colinas and the North Dallas Tech area....there are several major employment centers in Dallas that are widespread geographically.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by ckws

I'm currently in the midst of moving from Dallas to ATL....
remember that Atlanta only has 1 city center....and for all practial purposes...Dallas has two.....don't forget Fort Worth. When you figure in Las Colinas and the North Dallas Tech area....there are several major employment centers in Dallas that are widespread geographically.

You'll find that here on a greater scale. Downtown Atlanta has the largest number of commuters who come in to work, but you'll find work center areas (smaller downtowns, office complex centers) in Buckhead, Perimeter, Duluth, Marietta, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Decatur, the Gwinnett mall area, and more.

This is why it's hard for them to have a rail system here that's convenient for large number of people. In some cities you have people who just go from point A to point B every day for work and back home. Here, you have people from point A going to points B, D, F, or G, and people from point G going to C, H to J.. LOL... it's a mess.

[willrusso]

Keep in mind that city proper population numbers can be misleading. Dallas city just annexed more land thus making it appear multiple times larger than atlanta. This is not really the case. Go by metro population. Atlanta has 5.4 million vs over 6 million for dallas-fw. So we're not that far behind. Cheers.

[portyhead24]

I completely understand that, I was commenting on the fact that Dallas' population is 1.3 million where Atlanta's is near 500,000 yet it seems I rarely find as much excitement out of the Dallas forums about their city. It just seems to me that Atlanta has so much goin on. I'm not saying the amount of high rises a city has makes it the best, but is indicative that something successful is going on with the city. Companies don't just construct buildings cause they wanna be the coolest kid on the block. Plus there are many other things I've read and seen in these forums that say to me the people here are so excited about their city whereas the Dallas people as a whole are moreso apathetic. Not the holy gospel just my perception. Man, I posed the same question in the Dallas forum (I live in Arlington right outside of Dallas) and this one guy got way defensive, it was just a observation, not an attack.

[plessthanpointohfive]

1 city center in Atlanta? Nope.

Downtown
Buckhead
Clifton Corridor

And that's just in the city limits!

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by portyhead24

Man, I posed the same question in the Dallas forum (I live in Arlington right outside of Dallas) and this one guy got way defensive, it was just a observation, not an attack.

I just looked at your post over there and they all were defensive! I think Greg's comments regarding the differences and similarities between Dallas and Atlanta hit the nail on the head. Also, I think other things that have helped Atlanta's progress were its smooth transition during the Civil Rights Movement as compared to other Southern cities, its proximate location to the major urban areas along the Eastern Seaboard, the Olympics, and a diverse industrial base. Dallas has been booming over the past twenty years, but has been hindered in the past by its unfavorable perception in the wake of the JFK assassination (sounds crazy, but for a couple of decades afterwards it was known as the "City of Hate") and the S & L crisis. It's amazing to see how far Dallas has come and now it seems that it's growning in a more sustainable manner than Atlanta.