Tuesday, October 10, 2006
A Little Love for the Big D
In three or four months, I will have lived in Dallas just as long as I lived in Austin. In fact, if you subtract the six months that I was in India, I have already been in Dallas longer.
How did this happen? When did this all come about? How can time have flown so quickly?
I was not happy to learn that we were moving here. I thought that Dallas was too big, too full of concrete, and too fake. I thought I would be lost and miserable in the urban sprawl. I knew Dallas was notoriously politically corrupt. I was really sad to leave my friends. I had known a lot of people who had grown up here or lived here, and they were all pretty negative about Dallas. So I figured that I would hate it too.
While my heart will always be in Austin’s corner, I have become quite accustomed to Dallas. In fact, I know my way around Dallas much better than I ever did in Austin. I was so often the passenger in Austin, riding with Mark, Ryan, and Victor, that I never truly learned the lay of the land beyond my neighborhood, frequent hangouts, and my commute to and from work. When we moved to Dallas, Victor started working immediately, and I had to rely on MapQuest to be my navigator. I feel completely confident driving in Dallas, even when we’re in unfamiliar neighborhoods. While I’m comfortable navigating the huge tangle of freeways that is DFW, I don’t think I’ll ever learn that mess of highways in south Austin.
Another reason I think I feel so comfortable in Dallas is that Victor and I have been very proactive about seeking out new restaurants, shops, etc. here. Maybe it’s because we have more money. It could also be that we have fewer friends to hang out with, so we are better at being adventurous in our exploration. Maybe it’s because it’s a bigger city; you end up covering a lot of territory just to check out the new hotspots.
A lot of my preconceptions of Dallas still hold true today. However, upon reflection, there are a lot of cute neighborhoods with real trees, real houses, and real people. There are great restaurants and shops. The arts scene is much better than I thought it would be. There is history here that has escaped the bulldozer, including beautiful architecture and interesting folklore. And while I am still uncomfortable with the emphasis here on "looking good" (especially for women), I have found that there are a lot more nice, genuine people here than I thought there would be. Victor enjoys reading about all of the political scandals, and we both feel fairly well-informed about what is going on here.
My new job has helped me feel more a part of Dallas, too. I’m required to network with area businesspeople and philanthropists, and it is my job to know what’s going on in the DFW business and cultural scene. In the short month that I’ve worked at the theater, I’ve felt much more a part of the community of Dallas than I thought possible. It’s fun to know the behind-the-scenes information of the DFW metroplex.
So while Dallas isn’t my #1 place to live by any stretch of the imagination, it feels like home to me now. I like it here.
In three or four months, I will have lived in Dallas just as long as I lived in Austin. In fact, if you subtract the six months that I was in India, I have already been in Dallas longer.
How did this happen? When did this all come about? How can time have flown so quickly?
I was not happy to learn that we were moving here. I thought that Dallas was too big, too full of concrete, and too fake. I thought I would be lost and miserable in the urban sprawl. I knew Dallas was notoriously politically corrupt. I was really sad to leave my friends. I had known a lot of people who had grown up here or lived here, and they were all pretty negative about Dallas. So I figured that I would hate it too.
While my heart will always be in Austin’s corner, I have become quite accustomed to Dallas. In fact, I know my way around Dallas much better than I ever did in Austin. I was so often the passenger in Austin, riding with Mark, Ryan, and Victor, that I never truly learned the lay of the land beyond my neighborhood, frequent hangouts, and my commute to and from work. When we moved to Dallas, Victor started working immediately, and I had to rely on MapQuest to be my navigator. I feel completely confident driving in Dallas, even when we’re in unfamiliar neighborhoods. While I’m comfortable navigating the huge tangle of freeways that is DFW, I don’t think I’ll ever learn that mess of highways in south Austin.
Another reason I think I feel so comfortable in Dallas is that Victor and I have been very proactive about seeking out new restaurants, shops, etc. here. Maybe it’s because we have more money. It could also be that we have fewer friends to hang out with, so we are better at being adventurous in our exploration. Maybe it’s because it’s a bigger city; you end up covering a lot of territory just to check out the new hotspots.
A lot of my preconceptions of Dallas still hold true today. However, upon reflection, there are a lot of cute neighborhoods with real trees, real houses, and real people. There are great restaurants and shops. The arts scene is much better than I thought it would be. There is history here that has escaped the bulldozer, including beautiful architecture and interesting folklore. And while I am still uncomfortable with the emphasis here on "looking good" (especially for women), I have found that there are a lot more nice, genuine people here than I thought there would be. Victor enjoys reading about all of the political scandals, and we both feel fairly well-informed about what is going on here.
My new job has helped me feel more a part of Dallas, too. I’m required to network with area businesspeople and philanthropists, and it is my job to know what’s going on in the DFW business and cultural scene. In the short month that I’ve worked at the theater, I’ve felt much more a part of the community of Dallas than I thought possible. It’s fun to know the behind-the-scenes information of the DFW metroplex.
So while Dallas isn’t my #1 place to live by any stretch of the imagination, it feels like home to me now. I like it here.
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