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Renting an Apartment in Dallas
What You Should Know
Dallas is the third-most-populous city in the state of Texas and the
ninth-most-populous in the United States. The city is also large in geographic
area as it covers 385 square miles (997 km) and is the county seat of Dallas
County. Dallas is one of 11 U.S. global cities as it is ranked "Gamma World
City" by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network.
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Dallas population was 1.1 million (though a 2006
estimate placed the population at more than 1.26 million.) The city is the
main cultural and economic center of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington
metropolitan area (colloquially referred to as Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex),
which is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of
5.7 million in 12 counties. The 16-county metropolitan area designated by the
North Central Texas Council of Governments had a population of 6.2 million in
2006.
Dallas Neighborhood and Districts
The City of Dallas has many vibrant communities and eclectic neighborhoods. Major areas in the city include: Downtown, the center of the city and the epicenter of urban revival, coupled with Oak Lawn and Uptown Dallas, the shiny new urbanist areas thriving with shops, restaurants, and nightlife. East Dallas is home to Deep Ellum, a trendy arts area, the homey Lakewood, and Fair Park. North Dallas is home to mansions as palacial as Versailles in Preston Hollow, strong middle-class communities like Lake Highlands around White Rock Lake, and high-powered shopping at the Dallas Galleria, North Park Center, and Preston Center. South Dallas lays claim to the Cedars, an eclectic artist hotbed, and Pleasant Grove, a poorer section of the southeastern city. Oak Cliff is a gorgeous hilly area with beautiful old homes and schools and even entertainment districts like the Bishop Arts District. The city is further surrounded by tens of suburbs and encloses enclaves like Cockrell Hill, Highland Park and University Park.
The primary mode of local transportation in the city is the automobile.
Efforts to diversify including the construction of light rail lines, biking and
walking paths, wider sidewalks, and more efficient public transportation are
currently major priorities of the city and its residents. The city is much like
other United States cities developed primarily in the late 20th century — criss-crossed
by a vast network of highways which has led to and contributes to Dallas being a
very low-density city.
The city of Dallas is at the confluence of a large number of major interstate
highways — Interstates 20, 30, 35E, and 45 all run through the city. The city's
freeway system, as it has no major geographical inhibitors surrounding it, is
set up in the popular hub-and-spoke system, much like a wagon wheel. Starting
from downtown Dallas, there is the main downtown freeway loop, Interstate 635/20
Lyndon B. Johnson loop, and ultimately the tolled President George Bush
Turnpike. Inside these freeway loops are other partially-limited-access and
parkway-style loops including Loop 12 and Belt Line Road. Another beltway around
the city is planned upwards of 46.50 miles (70 km) from downtown in Collin
County. Radiating out of downtown as the spokes of the system are Interstates
30, 35E, and 45, US 75, US 175, TX Spur 366, the tolled Dallas North Tollway,
and further out TX 114, US 80 and US 67. Other major highways within the city
that do not serve primarily as spokes include TX 183 and TX Spur 408.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the Dallas area public transportation
authority, providing buses, rail, and HOV lanes. DART began operating the first
light rail system in the Southwest United States in 1996 and continues to expand
its coverage. Currently, two light rail lines are in service. The red line goes
through Oak Cliff, downtown, Uptown, North Dallas, Richardson and Plano. The
blue line goes through South Dallas, downtown, Uptown, North Dallas, and
Garland. The red and blue lines are conjoined in between 8th & Corinth Station
in Oak Cliff and Mockingbird Station in North Dallas. The two lines service
Cityplace Station, the only subway station in the Southwest.
Fort Worth's smaller public transit system, The T, connects with Dallas's via a
commuter rail line, the Trinity Railway Express, connecting downtown Dallas's
Union Station with downtown Fort Worth's T&P Station and several points in
between. The system of light rail transit, especially through downtown, has
skyrocketed land values and has sparked a residential living boom in downtown.
Although the system is increasingly popular, most people in the Metroplex still
choose to drive their vehicles rather than take public transportation.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport serves most passengers flying in and out
of the metroplex
Dallas is served by two commercial airports: Dallas/Fort Worth International
Airport (known as DFW International) and Dallas Love Field. In addition, Dallas
Executive Airport (formerly Redbird Airport), is a general aviation airport
located within the city limits, and Addison Airport is another general aviation
airport located just outside the city limits in the suburb of Addison. Two more
general aviation airports are located in the outer suburb of McKinney, and on
the west side of the Metroplex, two general aviation airports are in Fort Worth.
DFW International Airport is located in the suburbs north of and equidistant to
downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas. In terms of size, DFW is the largest
airport in the state, the second largest in the United States, and third largest
in the world. In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, third
busiest in the United States, and sixth busiest in the world. Love Field is
located within the city limits of Dallas, 6 miles (10 km) northwest of downtown,
and is headquarters to Southwest Airlines.
Dallas gets about 37.1 inch (941.1 mm) of rain per year, much of which is
delivered in the spring. The climate of Dallas is classified a humid subtropical
climate, yet this part of Texas also tends to get hot, dry winds from the north
and west in the summer. In the winter, strong cold fronts from the north pass
through Dallas, which often causes temperatures in the region to fall below
freezing. The average annual snowfall in Dallas is 2.5 inch (6.35 cm), with
snowfall seen on six days per year and snow accumulations seen two days per year
on average. Occasionally, warm and humid air from the south overrides cold,
dry air, leading to freezing rain, which usually causes major disruptions in the
city for a day or two if the roads and highways become dangerously slick.
Regardless, winters are relatively mild compared to the Texas Panhandle and
other states to the north. Dallas winters are occasionally interspersed with
Indian summers.
Spring and fall and the pleasant, moderate temperatures accompanying those
seasons are somewhat short-lived in Dallas. However short the seasons are,
residents and visitors appreciate the beauty of the vibrant wildflowers (such as
the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush and other flora) which bloom in spring and are
planted around the highways throughout Texas. In the spring the weather can
also be quite volatile and change quickly in a matter of minutes. The cliche
about volatile climates popular in various parts of the US—"if you don't like
the weather, wait a little while and it'll change"—applies well to Dallas's
spring weather. Many consider autumn, around late September and October, to be
the best time to visit the Metroplex. Yet many events are also scheduled for the
more volatile season of spring.
Dallas lies near the southern end of Tornado Alley, which runs through the
prairie lands of the midwest. In the spring, cool fronts moving from Canada
collide with warm, humid air streaming in from the Gulf Coast. When these fronts
meet over Dallas, severe storms are generated with spectacular lightning shows,
torrents of rain, large hail and, at times, tornadoes.
Tornadoes are perhaps the biggest threat to the city of Dallas. They are common
in the Dallas suburbs in the spring and summer, but the city itself is not
immune to being hit by a major tornado. Many experts fear a direct hit on
downtown Dallas by an F4 or F5 tornado can cause major devastation and kill
hundreds, perhaps thousands and leave a large part of the city in ruins. Dallas
was hit by a tornado on April 2, 1957 that likely would've registered as an F3
, but it luckily missed downtown. Next-door Fort Worth suffered a direct hit
from a tornado in 2000 causing great damage to many of the city's downtown
skyscrapers.
D/FW experiences a particularly acute springtime "monsoon" season every
year[citation needed]--around the middle of March--that rapidly feeds a unique
region-wide runoff that swells Johnson Creek (in Arlington and Grand Prairie),
as well as the West and Elm Forks of the Trinity River, onto several square
miles of flood plain inside the metro area, much of it inhabited. Annually in
this month, many neighborhoods in these cities have 4 or more feet of water
inside dwellings, and low-lying developed areas adjacent to the Stemmons
Corridor and Oak Cliff in Dallas experience severe flooding.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture places the city of Dallas in Plant Hardiness
Zone 8. Dallas has the 10th worst ozone air pollution in the nation according to
the American Lung Association, worse than Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and
New York City, but better than Los Angeles, Fresno, California, and Houston. In reality, much of the air pollution in Dallas, and the DFW Metroplex in
general, comes from a hazardous materials incineration plant in Midlothian, a
small town just south of Dallas, as well as many concrete installations in
neighboring Ellis County.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,628, and the median income
for a family was $40,921. Males had a median income of $31,149 versus $28,235
for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,183. About 14.9% of
families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including
25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over. The median price
for a house was $118,435, and the Dallas area has seen a steady increase in the
cost of homes over the past 5 years.
Dallas is a major center of education for much of the South Central United
States. The city itself contains several universities, colleges, trade schools,
and educational institutes. Several major Universities also lie in enclaves,
satellite cities, and suburbs of the city, including the University of Texas at
Dallas in Richardson, the University of Dallas in Irving, the University of
North Texas in Denton, the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington and the
Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie.
North Texas Colleges and Universities
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private, coeducational university in University Park, an enclave of Dallas. It was founded in 1911 by the Southern Methodist Church and now enrolls 6,500 undergraduates, 1,200 professional students in the law and theology departments, and 3,500 postgraduates.Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private, coeducational university located in the Mountain Creek area of southwestern Dallas. Originally in Decatur, it moved to Dallas in 1965. The school currently enrolls almost 5,000 students.
Paul Quinn College is a private, historically Black college located in southeast Dallas. Originally in Waco Texas, it moved to Dallas in 1993 and is housed on the campus of the former Bishop College, another private, historically Black college. Dallas billionaire and entrepreneur Comer Cottrell, founder of ProLine Corporation, bought the campus of Bishop College and bequeathed it to Paul Quinn College in 1993. The school enrolls 3,000 undergraduate students.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School is a prestigious medical school located in the Stemmons Corridor of Dallas. It is part of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, again one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. The school is highly selective, admitting around 200 students a year. The facility enrolls 3255 postgraduates.