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.

 

[Isildur1]

Love legacy west go there at least once every 6 months minimum but as a daygamer I’m not impressed with the quality - the city lacks footflow unless you’re at a university or mall. My cousin used to lecture at university of Texas met some women there they were very into the British accent

I still prefer Washington DC if I had to do game somewhere - went to Colorado a few months ago whilst it’s a beautiful place again really empty compared to Western Europe

 

[SW15]

Love legacy west go there at least once every 6 months minimum but as a daygamer I’m not impressed with the quality - the city lacks footflow unless you’re at a university or mall.

I have a positive impression of Legacy West / Shops of Legacy (its older predecessor) on small sample sizes.

Legacy West does seem to be drawing in some talent. There are approach opportunities there. The approach options can happen between the stores outdoors, inside of a store, and sometimes at the bars/restaurants in the area. There's very little in Legacy West in terms of nightlife that I think is a good place for approaching. The bar area on the top floor of the Legacy Food Hall is possible for approaching. Some of the dining/drinking venues there are good date bars, even for early stage dates. Bulla Gastrobar and Taverna are probably the best for an early stage date around there.

The biggest issue with both Shops of Legacy and Legacy West is that they are both in the suburb of Plano. They draw in more of the Plano/Frisco type suburban crowd as compared to some places in Dallas city limits, where I tend to spend my time.

In the last 10-15 years, more corporate headquarters have moved up to the Legacy corridor. As a result, there are more career oriented transplanted singles up in that area. The most notable corporate headquarter relocation to that area was Toyota around 2016-2017.

There are big name companies that headquartered in that part of Plano prior to 2000. Frito Lay (PepsiCo's food division) has been headquarted in that area since the 1980s, when Plano was far less populated. Ross Perot's EDS company was up in Plano in the Legacy corridor in the 1980s as well. JCPenney has that their corporate headquarters in Plano since 1987.

Plano has changed a lot since circa 2010. Plano developed its reputation as a family centered suburb in the 1980s-1990s and it was the "hot, new suburb" in the area then. By 2000, Plano had reached a population of 222,000, as compared to 72,000 in 1980 and 17,000 in 1970. Today, Plano's population is nearing 300,000. It's a more mature suburb now and unlike some suburbs in DFW, it has matured without experiencing much urban decay. Plano has kept its school systems good and attracted a lot of white collar East and South Asian transplant couples with children or East/South Asian transplants who are planning to start families soon.

The Legacy area of Plano is good for more established couples who are childless and want to have some fun things to do without being a more family-centered part of Plano. It's also good for those in that life stage mentioned in the last sentence who have a corporate job near that area.

The bars around the Legacy area do tend to draw in some attractive single mom divorcees looking for either a good time or for a 2nd husband. Sambuca 360 in the Shops of Legacy area is the most well known bar for this but there are other bars that are similar to Sambuca in that area.

You mentioned footflow before. Dallas isn't great for footflow. Pure street game in the Dallas area isn't all that impressive.

The best footflow spot in Dallas for doing approaches outdoors is The Katy Trail, which I profiled in Post #274 in December 2023. White Rock (profiled in Post #275) is also an outdoor Dallas option for that too, but doesn't have as many good options as Katy Trail.

The top 2 malls for approaching are Northpark (profiled in Post #355) and Galleria Dallas (profiled in Post #280).

Dallas isn't known for its university scene either. Southern Methodist University (SMU) is the biggest name university in the area. It's a smaller private school. The University of Texas has 2 satellite campuses around DFW. UT-Dallas is in Richardson near the Plano border and UT-Arlington is in Arlington in between Dallas and Fort Worth. UT-Dallas and UT-Arlington are smaller commuter schools. Texas Christian University is a bigger name private university in Fort Worth. There are a couple other smaller, religious schools in Dallas too. SMU has the biggest pickup scene in Dallas. There's some daygame possible adjacent to SMU (though not as big as the post college scene on Katy Trail). SMU students who have turned 21 are known for going to Dallas nightlife venues in a few Central Dallas neighborhoods.

 

[GoodMan32]

To the OP: I know you've said Houston broads have better attitudes than Dallas broads.

Might you know (or have any guesses) of why?

The possible explanations I can think of:

Houston is a blue-collar oil city. Dallas is a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses white-collar city.

Houston, as far as I know, mostly gets fellow Southerners as transplants. Dallas, on the other hand, gets transplants galore from all over.

 

[HaleyBaron]

To the OP: I know you've said Houston broads have better attitudes than Dallas broads.

Might you know (or have any guesses) of why?

The possible explanations I can think of:

Houston is a blue-collar oil city. Dallas is a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses white-collar city.

Houston, as far as I know, mostly gets fellow Southerners as transplants. Dallas, on the other hand, gets transplants galore from all over.

That's pretty much the reason. I can clean up in Houston. The women are more receptive. But it comes with the downsides. A lot more crazies there.

 

[SW15]

Houston broads have better attitudes than Dallas broads.

Houston is a blue-collar oil city. Dallas is a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses white-collar city.

Houston, as far as I know, mostly gets fellow Southerners as transplants. Dallas, on the other hand, gets transplants galore from all over.

That's pretty much the reason. I can clean up in Houston. The women are more receptive. But it comes with the downsides. A lot more crazies there.

Houston's economy is more closely tied to the energy industry, strongly overlapping with oil/gas. There are some white collar energy industry jobs in Houston, especially nearer to Downtown Houston. Dallas has a more diversified economy.

Even though Houston's economy is more closely tied to the energy industry, it is still one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the USA. There are a lot of jobs in a lot of fields in Houston. However, Dallas has always been more diversified economically than Houston and it is also a massively populated metropolitan area.

Houston women are not working the bluer collar energy industry jobs.

Houston women are generally not as good looking as Dallas women, but they make up for it with better attitudes. Obesity rates are higher in Houston. Outdoor exercise is more challenging in Houston with more oppressive humidity. The Dallas area is more into fitness because there's a strong image oriented in Metro Dallas, usually in the neighborhoods closer to Downtown. Collin County (the suburbs north of Dallas) tends to have more out of shape married people. Southern Dallas County (south of Downtown Dallas) tends to be more non-Whites with higher obesity rates and not known for being a hub of a lot of singles activity.

Both cities are getting a lot of transplants. I think Dallas gets a wider range of transplants, but Houston is still drawing in a lot of people.

A lot of Dallas area are transplants are married people with children going straight to the Collin County suburbs. Some might go to Keller/Southlake in Tarrant County (Fort Worth is Tarrant's big city) or the Denton County further out suburbs of Fort Worth. These married transplants with children typically only enter the local dating pool after a divorce.

Dallas gets more of the unmarried transplants moving here for a corporate job.

Plenty of crazies in Dallas too. Houston doesn't have a monopoly in Texas on the craziest females.

 

[Travel memoir21]

Speaking of Dallas…I feel like going to Austin and taking a stroll on 6th street when I get back.

Who wants to join me? Give me a dm

 

[SW15]

Speaking of Dallas…I feel like going to Austin and taking a stroll on 6th street when I get back.

There's an interesting relationship between Dallas' scene and Austin's 6th Street. 6th Street in Austin is the most well known nightlife district in Austin.

At a fundamental level, Dallas and Austin have different feelings and cultures. Dallas is more about being pretentious and superficial than Austin. Dallas is a much larger metropolitan area and more corporate than Austin.

Austin is only a 3 hour drive from Dallas if traffic cooperates (it often doesn't -- unless you want to travel at unusual times).

Many Dallasites went to The University of Texas in Austin. That's the main University of Texas campus. As a result, a lot of Dallasites did have an Austin 6th Street experience.

It's difficult to replicate the Austin 6th Street experience in Dallas. The closest areas would likely be Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville at this point.

When Uptown Dallas was stronger in the 2010s, there was a bar called 6th Street in Dallas. It opened in September 2012 (see below) with the intention of replicating the Austin 6th Street experience as a lot of Uptown was starting a decaying phase. It closed in late 2016/early 2017. From late 2012-early 2015, it was popular.

Sixth Street imitation opens in Dallas, unsure if will live up to Austin namesake

Dallas is borrowing some Austin atmosphere with 6th Street Bar, a bar designed to embody the essence of Austin’s famous Sixth Streetbar district. Celia Lopez, owner of 303 Bar & Grill in Dallas, opened 6th Street Bar in the Bishop Arts District in Uptown Dallas, an area known for its urban...

thedailytexan.com