Observations on Dallas' Scene

[SW15]

Thought Id share this meme, I found it funny. lol

While this meme has more to do with Austin than Dallas, it does bring up an important point that is related to the culture of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and the mating environment here.

In the first post in this thread, I mentioned all of the transplants coming to DFW. A lot of transplants that come to DFW are married couples with families settling into suburban areas. A lot of transplants aren't in the urban core of Dallas in singles-centric areas. With that said, there are plenty of transplants from all over the USA and some from international areas that are around the singles-centric parts of Dallas. In Dallas itself, it's common to find people who have relocated to the urban core of Dallas soon after finishing school. They often move here completely unattached and start dating here, though sometimes people arrive as part of an established boyfriend-girlfriend non-marital couple.

There are so many people pouring into major Texas cities from the expensive, populated regions of California (Los Angeles-Orange County, Metro San Francisco, and Metro San Diego). Many long term Texas residents are concerned about transplants from California coming here and changing the culture of Texas negatively. While the ex-Californians are a legitimate concern for those who don't wish for Texas to become more like the failed state of California, transplants from a lot of other regions have the potential to affect the culture here just as much.

The transplants do affect the mating market in DFW. They weaken social circles. Because social circles tend to be weaker, people aren't closed off here. Stranger approaches are usually at least cordial and there isn't any hostility to outsiders, unlike some other areas of the USA. The rootless nature of a lot of transplanted to Dallas adults leads to a lot of app-based dating, which puts men in a more difficult position. The better play is to approach strangers and join in on whatever in-person events that you can attend.

The weak social circles do contribute to Dallas' pretentious reputation. Because a lot of people are meeting strangers, there are no consequences for bad behavior. When there's no attachment, women can be as superficial as they please.

 

[SW15]

I do enjoy Northpark.

I think Northpark is less enjoyable during the November-December holiday shopping season.

There might be more foot traffic but I think it would be more difficult to get women's attention on approaches during peak holiday shopping season at Northpark. The same problem would be relevant at Galleria Dallas too.

The parking situation at Northpark is better than Galleria Dallas.

 

[HaleyBaron]

I think Northpark is less enjoyable during the November-December holiday shopping season.

There might be more foot traffic but I think it would be more difficult to get women's attention on approaches during peak holiday shopping season at Northpark. The same problem would be relevant at Galleria Dallas too.

The parking situation at Northpark is better than Galleria Dallas.

I don't even expect to pick up women at Northpark. Too much of a walk park. No logistics for sitting and chatting except the small food court.

 

[SW15]

I don't even expect to pick up women at Northpark. Too much of a walk park. No logistics for sitting and chatting except the small food court.

In Northpark, the places to pick up are inside various stores or maybe in the corridors between stores.

 

[itouchyou]

If you could work remotely, would you choose to live in Dallas?

 

[HaleyBaron]

If you could work remotely, would you choose to live in Dallas?

Only reason I live here is out of convenience and happenstance. I would rather work remotely out in the rurals with beautiful green trees and plains. I just have to be worried about the occasional freaky weather and tornado. But it's a good place to live, but I think if I wanted more peace of mind, I'd go live in a more conservative traditional kind of city or town personally. Dallas for bachelor life for the moment.

 

[SW15]

If you could work remotely, would you choose to live in Dallas?

Dallas is a mediocre place to live for a remote worker who moves here with 0 connections to the area.

People who tend to move here with 0 connections to the area are people with bachelor's degrees + who move here for some sort of corporate job that requires an in-person presence at least some of the time. Dallas' corporate job environment is appealing to transplants.

Transplanted adults who move here with 0 connections to the area tend to enjoy this area less than those who grew up around Dallas-Fort Worth and/or attended a regional college with a strong alumni base here. The regional colleges with the strongest alumni bases are Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Texas, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University. Most other colleges will have some alumni base and an alumni group in Dallas, but the alumni bases might be small and not likely to show up to alumni gatherings.

Alumni networks are useful for college grads in this area. They can help with finding friends and even getting dates without having to cold approach at bars or swipe on the swipe apps.

Dallas does offer some solid big city amenities. There's enough to do around here. There's more to do than just shopping and eating here. You can find some good hobbies and there are often fun, semi-unique things to do. There are some good accounts on Instagram to follow to find some good things to do outside of going to bars/restaurants around here.

This place can be tough socially if you don't come here without some good elements in place. A lot of remote workers don't have the right life circumstances in place to do well socially here.