Dear Dallas: I’ve Got a Crush on You

Dear Dallas,

Valentine’s Day is here and I got to thinking about crushes. It’s been a while since I’ve had a crush on a city. I lived in one town in the Bay Area for thirteen years, spent six months in Washington D.C. and before there, a university town the best wine program in America calls home(you’re welcome.) Basically, I’ve never lived anywhere more than an hour away from where I was born.

Until we moved to Dallas eighteen months ago.

I had visited you many times before, my husband was born and raised here. I’d been to visit friends in Uptown and experienced Greenville Avenue. Felt the summer heat (the pool feels good at eighty-nine degrees) admired the Christmas lights in Highland Park. It was all fun but what I’m seeing these days is living somewhere, starting a new chapter somewhere, is the only way anyone can ever really understand any city or place.

Duh, you’re probably thinking.

Which is totally right, not too much of an aha moment, but for me, it’s a big deal because I’ve come a long way in falling into crush with you Dallas. See, I’d always been starstruck by Los Angeles, passionate about New York, but a crush?  They don’t happen unless I’m getting to know a place, feeling familiar, friendly. Which is exactly what’s happening and I like it; so here’s a toast to you, Dallas.

You’re a city about to be off the hook.

Dallas is booming and it’s fun to be a new resident. There are Grand Openings every week, parks being built, DART rails being connected, trails being preserved and creative events being planned, all of which are on my rapidly growing list, BTW. (Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Trinity Groves…I’ve got my eye on you for our next adventure!)

The family nickname thing is freakin’ adorable.

OK, I know it’s more of a Texas thing in general, but bubba and sissy? It’s so crazy cute. Of course, to me, it sounded weird at first and especially because my husband didn’t call his siblings by those terms.  I’ll admit it, I tried to resist but these days I can’t help myself and it sounds so cute when my daughter calls her brother bubba.  

The support systems around here are crazy amazing.

From family to moms groups, churches, sports, even online, I feel there is a strong feeling of support in this community. Personally, I have been so fortunate to have family in town, right down the road. I’ve seen moms organize months worths of meals for other moms in need. I’ve seen teams practice and play together every weekend, all year long. Being a contributor to Dallas Moms Blog and seeing a community of women–writers and readers both–who support one another, it’s amazing!

The beer scene is booming.

I love craft beer. I worked for a microbrewery for almost 10 years. So I was and still am delighted to have discovered a thriving beer culture around the DFW area. It’s a small community of folks dedicated to making good beer. When we moved I was five months pregnant, so only recently have I been able to sample.  I look forward to finding more gems, there’s already a handful of classics, Peticolas Velvet Hammer, Revolver Blood and Honey, Community Wit, Deep Ellum IPA.

I get to eat Tex-Mex.

Okay this is also a Texas thing but Dallas is in Texas, right?! At first I wasn’t too sure about Tex-Mex, how it was different, or if it was just a less-authentic version of Mexican food. Not. Even. Close. It’s so much better, like someone took the Mexican food I knew and glammed it up a little…which is Dallas all over. So thank you.

There is nature in Dallas (you just have to know where to look.)

From White Rock Lake to the Trinity River Audubon Center to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary , and of course, the crown jewel that is the Dallas Arboretum, there is more than enough open space to raise a few free-range kids. You just have to be willing to find it(or ask someone who knows!) For more awesome spots to experience nature, check out Dallas Moms Blog post on Nature Centers in DFW. Spring is a real season here and the wildflowers make everything so beautiful! And speaking of nature, the sunsets here are breathtaking, It’s a thing of beauty. Dallas, did I mention I have a crush on you?  

You make it easy to call home.

After eight months in Dallas, the most amazing thing happened. We bought a house. A fantastic, unique, house, ginormous by my standards. It’s everything we ever wanted and it didn’t cost five gazillion dollars(looking at you San Francisco). I tried to push away my feelings for you Dallas, because, I am was homesick. I guess it’s because I’d never really lived anywhere else, I’d never known another home. But now I’m seeing it’s okay to have a crush on another place, enjoy it’s bits and pieces coming together to make it unique. I can call both places familiar, I can call both places home.

Why do you love living in Dallas? Share with us in the comments!