Houston vs. Dallas (Austin, Portland, San Diego: credit, living in, shop)

[FourFiftyFour]

Jack- a trail in the middle of the city is not outdoorsy... nor is a boardwalk. Those are meant for crowds. Not the great outdoors (again in my opinion). =)

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

Jack- a trail in the middle of the city is not outdoorsy... nor is a boardwalk. Those are meant for crowds. Not the great outdoors (again in my opinion). =)

what about Cullen Park, George Bush Park, Memorial Park, Terry Hershey Park, Bear Creek Pioneers Park, Hermann Park, Sheldon Lake Park, Dwight D Eisenhower Park, ect... you act like Buffalo Bayou Park is the only park in Houston when in fact its just a couple hundred acres out of almost 50,000 acres of park land in Houston.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

WOW DFW has mountains?!?!!? I wonder when I said THAT!!!

No- I have a car- I can DRIVE. Just because of WHERE I live in the Houston metro has NOTHING to do with Houston area itself.

AGAIN- THE HUMIDITY ALONG WITH THE HEAT is what is AWFUL here. Yeah Dallas has some humidity, but it is NOWHERE near as bad as HOUSTON =)

I dont know, maybe when I lived in Dallas, I had more access to hikes that were not so crowded, more options for biking (not too far of a trip to get some places with some elevation changes rather than flat and straight lines everywhere), colder weather at some points during the year that allowed for more activities outside, my dogs actually could enjoy more days of doing things outside with me for longer than 5 minutes, more of my hobbies (again why its my personal opinion) were much better there due to the location and availability of places, again my opinion.

I would rather be in 95 degree heat with less humidity than 85 degree weather with tons of humidity. Houston's humidity is a killer for me. Bottom line.

What about Sam Rayburn?? I could drive that far away for far more than only one thing to do when I was in Dallas area... lol! Maybe I just had better luck finding places up there, but hey SO SORRY for just warning the OP that maybe Houston might not be for them as it is not for everyone. Bottom line is, Houston is more uncomfortable climate wise for someone like me! There ya go!

Hey- you can take that chill pill now everyone

oh BTW- when I lived in Dallas, I was just as far away from the metro as I am now from Houston's metro- and still personally found more things to do there. LOL but I am not a true Texan either. Let's untwist the panties.

you said you "prefer the mountains" when we were comparing DFW and Houston, as if DFW had them..

apparently it did. again, its all about location. where did you live in Houston? where did you live in Dallas? there are plenty of elevation changes in Memorial Park, Terry Hershey Park, and others around town. i guess all those slopes up and down the bayou banks dont count as elevation change either?

its all subjective..

Sam Rayburn is similar to Brazos Bend, in that apparently they both only have one "secluded" trail. you acted like DFW didnt have parks like that.

no one came in here and started warning the OP about all the negative stigmas with Dallas.. so i dont see why you felt the need to for Houston?

again, what sides of each metro were you on?

[FourFiftyFour]

I have not been to all of those parks, but a good chunk of them. Some are better than others obviously. I still have to say that being able to enjoy the better ones (or even a place like Brazos Bend) does not give a big time frame as the heat and humidity that is almost year round really kills any sort of a somewhat good time for me. Guys, you are talking to someone who breathes better at 14K ft in 30 degree temps than I do sea level here in the Houston area- maybe I am a small minority when it comes to my opinion, but be thankful that not everyone loves the climate in Houston and that not everyone loves to do the same things as you do- or your area would be even more crowded!!!

I wish the OP well on their decision between the two cities!!

[FourFiftyFour]

TexasTallest- I was close to Red Oak, TX when I worked in Dallas. I worked off of Mountain Creek Lake at the power plant there. I also had lived south of Ft Worth in Granbury (definitely not "Dallas" of course though.. but had easy access to DFW for sure from there).

For Houston area- I have lived in Santa Fe, Alvin, Pearland, and Rosharon. I work in Freeport currently. So most of my experiences of both metro areas have been south of each city.

I regret moving back to Houston area- I grew up in the area, moved away for a time, and moving back has been very difficult with dealing with the climate and not having much to offer for me as a person. This is, of course, my personal opinion again. I think some people are not prepared for what the climate really is like here in the Houston area- everyone that has flown in from a different location has all been shocked when I pick them up at the airport. I guess my warning stems from that- as it is a big shock to a lot of people. Sorry for trying to look out for someone and heed a warning so they know the good with the bad.

[Bobloblawslawblog]

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

AGAIN- THE HUMIDITY ALONG WITH THE HEAT is what is AWFUL here. Yeah Dallas has some humidity, but it is NOWHERE near as bad as HOUSTON =)

This always cracks me up. As someone who has lived in both Dallas and Houston, I can assure you... what little less humidity there is in Dallas, and what little less heat there is in Houston... really adds up to a moot point. Both cities are equally miserable when the true gauge of dscomfort - the heat index, is factored in. I dropped an equal amount of sweat in both places. So, "nowhere near as bad"? Give me a break. BTW I love/hate both cities equally, before I get the ever-so convenient "homer" label. And for the record, I live in neither city anymore.

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

I dont know, maybe when I lived in Dallas, I had more access to hikes that were not so crowded, more options for biking (not too far of a trip to get some places with some elevation changes rather than flat and straight lines everywhere).

It requires roughly the same amount of driving time from either city to reach any significantly hilly terrain. Maybe a tiny bit shorter drive from DFW, but not enough of a difference to be significant.

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

Hey- you can take that chill pill now everyone

You sure were using a lot of all-caps wording in your post, so, uh...

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

TexasTallest- I was close to Red Oak, TX when I worked in Dallas. I worked off of Mountain Creek Lake at the power plant there. I also had lived south of Ft Worth in Granbury (definitely not "Dallas" of course though.. but had easy access to DFW for sure from there).

For Houston area- I have lived in Santa Fe, Alvin, Pearland, and Rosharon. I work in Freeport currently. So most of my experiences of both metro areas have been south of each city.

I regret moving back to Houston area- I grew up in the area, moved away for a time, and moving back has been very difficult with dealing with the climate and not having much to offer for me as a person. This is, of course, my personal opinion again. I think some people are not prepared for what the climate really is like here in the Houston area- everyone that has flown in from a different location has all been shocked when I pick them up at the airport. I guess my warning stems from that- as it is a big shock to a lot of people. Sorry for trying to look out for someone and heed a warning so they know the good with the bad.

oh.. you are the person in the Waco thread from Santa Fe that hates the current outdoor opportunities.. i just realized that. well yeah, Santa Fe blows. and isnt really near many recreational activities except for water given that its on the southeast side of the metro. though there doesnt seem to be much near Red Oak except Joe Pool Lake.

im still not sure what Houston doesnt "offer you" that DFW does.. what outdoor recreational activities are available in Dallas that Houston lacks? i would imagine many of those "shocked" people flew in in the summer time, when most people travel. its hot in all of the south in the summer. ever been to Georgia in the summer? the humidity can be killer.

"almost year round humidity"? i would hardly call the current weather, and any weather from here through april or so, to be "humid".

again, no one is here warning the OP about all the negative stigmas of Dallas. though i dont think that sort of thing would fly on here... im not sure why you feel its your duty to be so insistent on Houstons "miserable Humidity" especially when you acknowledge that you are in the minority when it comes to your local surroundings/environment preferences

[FourFiftyFour]

I had some trails that I had access to that were almost all secluded when I was in Dallas (only bad thing was a lot of ticks even during freezes! so weird!). I went to not as "mainstream" places I guess you could call them.

Almost every day in Houston area is humid to me- I like it to be as dry as possible. Yes tons of other places can be humid too, but Houston is in general, very humid on a very regular basis (look at the forecast for tomorrow- going to be a miserable day at work for sure).

The North end of Houston is still humid for me, yes I know it has trails and such- just very very uncomfortable weather where I feel smothered. I drive a lot- I put close to 30K miles on my personal car every year so I do not just stay in Santa Fe area for things to do. I go out of town many weekends for my hobbies.

My dogs did better in Dallas area than here too.

Like I said, we should all be thankful we are all so very different so we all want to live in different areas.

At the end of the day- If I had to pick- I would pick Dallas over Houston for me and will leave it at that and give no more details unless OP specifically asks me. Thanks a bunch guys!

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by FourFiftyFour

Almost every day in Houston area is humid to me- I like it to be as dry as possible. Yes tons of other places can be humid too, but Houston is in general, very humid on a very regular basis (look at the forecast for tomorrow- going to be a miserable day at work for sure).

454 I am a runner and have been running in and around Houston for a couple of decades and I have never experienced a day in all that time that at some point during the day I could not run if I wanted to. If you are miserable with the weather we are having now, then by all means move away ASAP, but if you are trying to tell us that DFW is less miserable then you are going to have a argument, your personal anecdote's aside the facts are contrary to your assertion.

[FourFiftyFour]

Funny that I looked up most humid cities in America- and city-data itself pops up with TONS of Houston area cities in this list when Dallas was nowhere to be found. So if humidity affects me in a poor manner, then I think that a place that is in the top humid areas will be much more miserable than a place that is not on the list. Thank you once again.

I experience many days out of the year that I can not function in the heat- and I have passed out and have had heat stress in a bad way from it. It always seems to be the humid and hot days when it happens.

I did not have any of those episodes in DFW while working outside in full PPE. Guess DFW is still more miserable as Houston according by law, because anything you say goes, while what I say is not allowed to be accepted? Great, glad that I got that cleared up. Thanks.

Oh, and I have been living in the Houston area for more than a quarter of a century (riding horses in three day eventing, playing sports, racing motocross, racing superbikes, etc- a lot of it I have had to put on hold while being back here due to weather)- so I think I would know how I feel on average here.