Houston vs. Dallas (Duncanville, River Oaks, West: neighborhoods, stores, suburbs)

[nakold23]

Originally Posted by casimpso

The last paragraph is spot-on. Head on over to imdb.com:
IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Dallas, Texas, USA" (1005 titles)
IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Houston, Texas, USA" (634 titles)

I remember a short-lived cop show set in Houston, but shot in Dallas! That must have ruffled a bunch of feathers down there.

On the retail and restaurant fronts, it's been a given for years that when companies are looking to enter the Texas market, they come to Dallas first, and that goes for all price points, high to low. Trader Joe's is on the way. Aldi was here first. When my niece told me she wanted an American Girl doll, I headed to the Galleria, again the exclusive outpost in Texas for them. In-N-Out is expanding as we speak. Yoshinoya Beef Bowl opens soon, again the first location in Texas. Nobu has one location in Texas. Guess where. H&M opened recently. Nordstrom opened its first store in the South in the Galleria. There are two W Hotels in Texas, in Dallas and Austin. I don't know which opened first but I can guess. These are just a few. There are many more.

There are exceptions, of course. Central Market opened in Houston before Dallas, most likely due to its proximity to the HEB headquarters. But while everyone in the Houston metro has to get in their cars to trek to that one location, here in the Dallas Fort Worth area we have four locations to choose from: Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake. And a fifth location is in the works, at the old Borders at Royal Lane and Preston Road in Dallas.

I was once in the Dallas location on Park Lane before a holiday, always a frenzy. I was chatting up one of the "foodies." She mentioned that Mr. Butt had visited the store earlier. He lives just across the way in Highland Park. Mr. Butt's empire may be concentrated in central and southeast Texas, but he calls HP home.

Not to be outdone, Whole Foods opened a new, flagship location practically a stone's throw from CM, on Greenville Avenue. It is truly a gem, and is busy every single time I've visited it.

There is a lot of talk on here about the "feel" of the cities, which by definition is purely subjective, and opinion. Apparently when nationally known, successful retailers and restaurateurs start crunching the numbers and the demographics, they feel like coming to Dallas first.

Good post. I'm not sure exactly how this is calculated and determined, but I guess Dallas has a better testing market.

Not to mention Texas' only Nike Town opened at NorthPark last month!

Another exception however- Houston got Ikea First

[R1070]

Originally Posted by nakold23

Good post. I'm not sure exactly how this is calculated and determined, but I guess Dallas has a better testing market.

Not to mention Texas' only Nike Town opened at NorthPark last month!

Another exception however- Houston got Ikea First

At that point Ikea hadn't planned on expanding to Texas yet. They acquired the company who had that store in Houston. I guess the popularity in Houston sparked other stores to open in the state. I like the location of the Houston store a lot better than the one in DFW. I think they need 2 locations in DFW.

[casimpso]

Originally Posted by nakold23

Good post. I'm not sure exactly how this is calculated and determined, but I guess Dallas has a better testing market.

Not to mention Texas' only Nike Town opened at NorthPark last month!

Another exception however- Houston got Ikea First

I forgot the new double-decker Wal-Mart/Sam's that opened up last month. It's design is only the second of its kind. Walmart intends to spend $200 million dollars in Dallas in the next few years, with six more supercenters opening.

Double-Decker Walmart/Sam's Club Opens in Dallas | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by casimpso

I forgot the new double-decker Wal-Mart/Sam's that opened up last month. It's design is only the second of its kind. Walmart intends to spend $200 million dollars in Dallas in the next few years, with six more supercenters opening.

Double-Decker Walmart/Sam's Club Opens in Dallas | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

a Double Decker Walmart??/

LMAO.

go on with y'all bad selves

you guys do need more Walmarts

[nakold23]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

a Double Decker Walmart??/

LMAO.

go on with y'all bad selves

you guys do need more Walmarts

woah woah woah! Now, I totally agree NO MORE WAL-MARTS! and most people here do too, but there are VERY few wal-marts within the city limits of Dallas. Something you would know if you visited they are only on the very fringes of the city and the suburbs.

[nakold23]

I love all these relocations you mentioned before casimpso, but I shudder at the thought of more wal-marts in the city. The suburbs can have them! although I did drive by the two story one a few times and went inside once, it is pretty cool as far as wal-marts go unquestionably

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by nakold23

woah woah woah! Now, I totally agree NO MORE WAL-MARTS! and most people here do too, but there are VERY few wal-marts within the city limits of Dallas. Something you would know if you visited they are only on the very fringes of the city and the suburbs.

I know. That is why I said you all need more.

anyway, Walmart hit it big as a suburban retailer.

They are now trying to break into the inner city of some less dense cities like that of the sunbelt.

The First one in Houston was about 10 Miles from Downtown. Then They started popping up in the North (Aldine, Airline) Etc. Now they are moving into the inner loop

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by nakold23

Houston got Ikea First

I hate Ikea. It is cheaply made but over priced crap.


why do you guys care so much about where these crappy companies go anyway?
whoooohooo Houston got an Ikea first and Dallas got a Double decker walmart, bla bla bla.


They are all crappy

[nakold23]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

I hate Ikea. It is cheaply made but over priced crap.


why do you guys care so much about where these crappy companies go anyway?
whoooohooo Houston got an Ikea first and Dallas got a Double decker walmart, bla bla bla.


They are all crappy

True for the most part. Locally owned for the win

[stoneclaw]

Originally Posted by nakold23

I give this post credit. Although I don't agree with much of it, it is miles ahead of what most of you other Houston posters are posting: random and arrogant comments that have no facts of claim to back them up.

But I will say, some of this post makes it sounds like you haven't seen Dallas in awhile. Like Houston, there are SO many beautiful areas not in the downtown area. Honestly, most of the best areas aren't so don't make these gross generalizations that make much of Dallas sound like some 3rd world country.

Also Dallas is not "country"... a smaller city, yes, but its still a CITY of over a million people. There is a perfectly adequate number of skyscrapers and the city and many of them have more character than the masses of houston. Any highways in North Dallas are lined with them and you really get a big city feel. Not as much as Houston, but the perfect amount for me.

Now of course, DART ridership numbers are really nothing to be proud of, but quite frankly I am happy with the initiative they are taking, something METRO cannot say whatsoever, and I believe in the future will we fully appreciate and understand how DART continues to make our area more dynamic and transit friendly.

The animosity should really stop, we are all Texans here! I at least try and provide facts and dont just say things like Houston sucks! and Houston posters should just give up! Come on. This is not second grade. Fair and thoughtful discussion on topics is totally appreciated, but these degrading and stereotypical comments make this thread look like a total joke.

@MetroMatt- The police brutality post was one of the most pointless posts I have ever seen. I could look up ANY major city on the internet and get disturbing results for police brutality. Actually, on both Youtube and Google, "Houston Police Brutality" generated a lot more results than "Dallas police brutality" (over 60,000 more actually on Google). Although this does not paint the entire picture for Houston, you can not use this as an argument and claim Houston is some utopia in this department.

@HTownLove- although the Houston area does have higher per capita income, no disputing that (although Dallas is still higher in the city), as I have said many times before, Dallas is not as prevalent on these lists of "wealthiest areas" because Dallas DOES NOT incorporate our wealthiest areas into enclaves and cities (except Park Cities). I dont understand why you think this is such a "victory" for Houston when actually it just showcases another difference in the two area's organization.

Responding to some other comments: sure it would be nice to have a port, but we make up for it with a more diverse economy (yours is diversifying, but it is clear ours is more diverse) and our airport. I am sorry that we have the geographic incapacity to not have a port, but actually it is more of a TESTAMENT to Dallas because we are able to sustain ourselves and prosper despite geographic barriers.

Like you guys always say "there is SO much that makes Houston better!"
well I feel the same way for Dallas, and just because y'all (or myself) claim this doesn't make it fact.

First word on the moon though, I'll give yall that one

respectable post. but i've been to Dallas plenty times over the years and was just last there in February this year. Not even a year ago. Furthermore, my grandfather used to live there so i'm pretty familiar with it.

Dallas has plenty of beautiful areas, not denying that. Downtown, areas around downtown, and probably North Dallas really come to mind. But I'm not fooled, south Dallas, Oak Cliffe, Duncanville, and all those areas are indeed very large parts of the city and they look older and some parts are more rundown, complete opposite of what you see in the afformentioned areas. Same with Houston, its nice around Eleanor Tinsley, River Oaks, Rice, Uptown, and West Houston, but not so nice on the Eastside, parts of Southeast, and i could go on. My point is that outsiders of Houston often generalize Houston to be the uglier areas while they don't do the same with Dallas.

As far as Dallas being country, that wasn't what i said, it's what a visiting friend of mine said about Dallas. Just the way R1070 was using what his friends said about Houston as reliable sources as to why Dallas was better.

I will concede and say Dallas is nicer than Houston. Hands down. And once the bridges and trinity river projects are complete, it will be even better. The urban development in Dallas is more modern, sleek, and luxurous. Although i must say Houston's new West Avenue and Upper Kirby area is shaping up quite nicely. But Houston definitely has the more character of the two. The individual neighborhoods, although more disarray give the city more of a flair that you can't quite get in Dallas. It seems that Houston is just more natural and accomplishes things without it even trying.

So although Dallas might be the 42" inch plasma mountable flatscreen TV with the wine taste, more people are around enjoying the 62" Floor model big screen with beer!

stoneclaw/C2H (ComingtoHouston)