As I've always enjoyed reading blogs from my fellow black women bloggers out there I have decided to finally write one of my own about living in the City of Dallas, TX. This is just an opinionated entry about my likes and dislikes as well as suggestions to black women, especially the single sistas, looking to call the City of Dallas home.
I moved to Dallas in June of 2008. So I have lived here now approaching five years. Wow. How times flies. I relocated to Dallas from another state that was hit hard by the great recession. I had been laid off my job and my home was in foreclosure. As a single woman, I had no other source of financial help. As a woman with no kids, I was also not inclined to stay where I was. I wanted to leave and start over. So I chose Dallas.
So in a nutshell here are my likes and dislikes, as well as my suggestions and warnings to my fellow black sistas looking to call this city home.
1. There are Jobs, Jobs, and oh yeah.. Jobs
Dallas, TX at present has a 6% unemployment rate. Although that is not the lowest to be found (I have heard North Dakota has a 3% unemployment rate) it is certainly not near the highest unemployment rate in this country. So you have a much better chance of finding employment here and anywhere in the State of Texas. Side note: Texas leads the country for the creation of jobs. It has FOUR cities on the Best Economies list of the Top 10 places to find work. They are Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.
* Although Dallas has many Fortune 500 Companies that call this City home and many smaller, private employers as well, it has been my observation that many of these companies have a high reliance on temporary or contract work. They also consistently flip their workforces for some reason. I have seen and heard many first hand accounts of companies routinely terminating large portions of their staffs only to quickly refill the positions two to three times a year.
* Texas has a large number of Employers that I find engage in very dubious, underhanded behavior in regards to their workforce. Especially when that workforce is primarily made up of blacks. I have personal experience in employers suddenly changing the terms of pay in the middle of an employees tenure, for no reason. Terminating employees for no reason. As well as lying to the unemployment office to fight any and all unemployment claims through the use of Cost Control Law Firms they have hired,usually which are out of state.
For that reason, many people are constantly moving from company to company here. Sadly I have to state that Employers in Texas seem to be exceptionally dirty and cutthroat which is why the majority of blacks work for the Government in some capacity. Many here do not trust private industry and for good reason. Blacks in Dallas face a very strong racial "Bias" in everything from Housing to Employment.
However, the Employers will hire a black person who is new to Dallas far quicker than those who are from here originally.
* Due to the lack of private black owned businesses and industry in Dallas (Don't believe Ebony and Black Enterprise when they say otherwise.. They LIE) and the overwhelming number of black minorities here working in low wage jobs or government positions that don't pay what their private industry counterparts pay, their is a wealth imbalance that is apparent. Blacks have ceded a lot of territory not just to Caucasians but other races when it comes to building personal wealth. I'll get to that a little bit later.
2. Dallas is Very Spread Out and Very Segregated....
When I first moved to Dallas, I noticed immediately how segregated much of the City was. If you are fortunate enough to be able to move into areas that are even moderately middle income or upper lower income (with it being taken as understood higher income areas are included in this) you will find that you will mostly be residing around everyone BUT black Americans. Where I currently reside is considered a "white area" per my friend from Dallas.
A "White" Area? Really?
By no means am I someone of financial wealth (Not at this time at least) but it kind of took me aback for my older male friend to visit and classify my area, a quiet, suburban area, as a "white" area. However, I can understand somewhat because again Dallas is VERY segregated.
You have the high powered, executive blacks who live out in Plano, Frisco and various upper class communities of North Dallas, but in my personal opinion they lead a "Very" bleak existence. I was driving through one such community in Plano just the other day and it was so "cookie cutter". Every house, though large and grand, looked almost completely the same. Every shrub and tree placed almost identical to that of the house beside it. No one was out. (It is like this in Dallas for some reason. Even where I live. Folks rarely come out to talk to neighbors. They don't come out for anything really except to go to the mailbox or walk to their car). Driving through the community and admiring these homes, I thought, it must be so lonely out here. So empty.
I really doubted any of the residents really knew or had relationships with their neighbors at all. The upper class communities of Dallas, (even my own middle class community as well) lacked "Soul". Nothing ever "happens". No functions. No get togethers. No nothing. Everyone practically lives in their cars or they are Hermits.
* I imagine the black women who live in the communities I referred to are especially having a much harder time living out in upper class white areas. Unlike black men who seem to quickly take to their environments (usually through dating and marrying a white woman - Let's just be honest. When brothers get money like that and are surrounded by white people they start to date them); black women may find it harder to do the same. I suggest you google and read the D Magazine Article "Why Young Black Professionals Are Wary of Dallas". Link is Below:
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2012/May/Why_Young_Black_Professionals_Are_Wary_of_Dallas.aspx
* In my own community I have struggled to meet fellow blacks who I can spend time with and form a social bond with. There simply are not that many. The very few who live around me simply are homebodies. They go nowhere. They do nothing. Not even fellowship with others.
3. Dallas Lacks a Strong and Vibrant Black Cultural Centre...
Unlike Harlem, Chicago, Atlanta, and to some extent Houston, TX... There is no black community (as in "Where my People At"..lol) in Dallas. We are spread out from Garland to Mesquite, Plano to Greenville; in super small, sparsely located communities. Usually surrounded by many others of various races. There is no black shopping centre per say outside of the Desoto, TX and Lancaster, TX areas. I have been informed that the vast majority of black people who want to live around others who are culturally similar to us move out to Desoto, TX and Lancaster, TX. Those are majority black communities and I have heard that are pretty nice. Nice big homes, affordable properties, jobs, and all have a dominant black centre of activity.
However, outside of those two areas, you will rarely encounter a black cultural centre. So if you are one of the sistas (or brothers) who decide to integrate into a non black community in Dallas you will be pretty BORED. As I stated there is not much socializing even amongst blacks, but far less amongst whites/hispanics and blacks.
* I feel it's important to mention that when I say black cultural centre, I am also referring to a black business centre. I have driven through communities in Dallas that have a pretty large number of blacks and there are literally no black businesses or you may find one.. If you look hard enough. Unlike Chicago, Atlanta, New York, there is not a strong cultural movement in Dallas to create black businesses. Not sure why.
* The lack of black cohesiveness in Dallas has led to a lackluster existence in so many ways. Now that I think about it, there is a reason why so many powerful and strong black movements have come out of the North and out of Atlanta. Those Cities have an entirely different vibe. There is more social togetherness with the blacks than you will find in Dallas. No one wants to make any waves. No one wants to challenge the system here that has pushed the majority of blacks through racism and ill treatment onto the welfare rolls by breaking their spirits while the whites here enjoy all of the high paying corporate jobs. No one wants to shake things up. And that is by design I guess.
4. The Dating Scene in Dallas is LETHARGIC.. Especially if you are a single black woman.
Why?
Well, simply because brothers here in Dallas all have a major case of "Jungle Fever". I have never seen black men chase the fat, white (and hispanic) women like these guys do here in Dallas. And these women chase them.. IF they have a job.
There is so much self hate here it is unbelievable.
And this is why there has never been a strong black cultural movement out of Dallas. Instead of the brothers fighting the power structure to ensure more black upward mobility, they are too busy bedding the power structure.
* I have figured out there are two different kinds of black men in Dallas. There are the gay ones who are looking at the hairy man standing behind you or the ones who are only into white/hispanic chicks or the totally ignorant, uncouth, loud, disrespectful, ex-felon, dope dealing, multiple baby momma having, unemployed black men who seem to be all over South Dallas where the majority of my people are located. These are the types you really have to ask yourself, Do I really want to be with this disease carrying flea bag or am I better off by myself?
* Trust me.. You are better off "by yourself". Especially since Dallas, TX leads the state of Texas for the number of new HIV cases amongst black women. Yes.. You really want to think about sleeping with that brother.
5. The 100 Degree PLUS Dallas Heat
In the summer months Dallas has weeks on end of 100 Degree plus heat. The kind of heat that will make a person pass out honestly. And on those days you don't see anyone outside. People jog at night. It would get so hot that the rubber on my steering wheel would literally rub off on my hands. Unbelievable. Parts of my dash had started to melt. And that's when I started to cover my windshield with a cover.
6. The Boredom
Dallas is sooooo boring. Even with many friends. The culture here is super conservative. Super bland. Super boring. It was created by old, ultra conservative, white folks so yeah.. that's probably why.
Without doubt, the most boring place on earth, and I have travelled extensively, is Dallas, TX. They have taken suburbia to its ultimate extreme and like American cheese, have pasteurised and sanitized it to such an extent that it is bland, boring, disappointing and almost intolerable.
And if you move here you will find that you will not feel bad that your life is boring because you will soon discover everyone else's life is super boring too. Just work. And home. And Cook for the kids. And bed. And repeat that 365 days a year and yeah.. you have it. That is Dallas. Chain Stores, Cookie Cutter Suburban Neighborhoods, and Franchise Restaurants. Trust Me. There is NOTHING unique about Dallas..But the Drive out I have heard.
7. The Drug Addicts....
One thing that stands out is the high number of blacks on drugs in Dallas. Now, Dallas isn't the first city I've lived in and I certainly know that every city has a problem with Drugs. However, I was shocked to see just how much a problem with Drug Addicts dallas has.
* I have wondered what is making so many of my people turn to drugs here. Not selling them. But USING them. And they are using hard drugs. The kind that grips your mind and never releases it. The shit that makes them crazy. For good. If you go downtown Dallas as well as out by Martin Luther King Blvd in South Dallas that is all you will find. Nothing else. But druggies. People so stoned, So high, they are completely gone mentally. The City has pushed these people to the outskirts of town. They are poor. Mostly black (yeah.. it's our people who make up the majority of the druggies even though we are clearly NOT the majority in Dallas) and these people have literally been thrown away. Many are homeless. Cycling out of The Bridge Homeless Shelter and Austin Street Homeless Shelter for years since these places have no time limit. Many have come to call these places "home" which is so sad.
Where the hell are the black churches? Oh yeah.. that's right. trying to grow the church enough to afford pastor that million dollar home. So sad.
8. Lack of Access to Health Care
I was laid off my job several months ago and I lost my health insurance and I became sick. Very sick. I could not for the life of me find a doctor who would see me. Even those with insurance have month waits. Literally five and six month waits to see doctors such as an ENT Doctor or a Dermatologist. I have never seen anything like this and I can only counter it has something to do with the many people moving to Dallas and the doctors offices are all booked up.
The only doctors who are available are the ones who work in the pop up, for profit, medical centers around town and I couldn't even think of going to those without insurance. Plus, I had gone to one before at Care Now and received such inferior, substandard service I said I would never go back. The doctor informed me I need two arm braces because I was suffering from carpal tunnel and she sold me two at $60.00 a piece. Yet I was walking through walmart two days later and found a pair that were only $15 dollars for both of them. I could have saved $100 dollars and the damn doctor didn't tell me that Walmart also carried them.
And the other doctors I called want to be "paid on the spot"for any and all services. They do not bill. You can't simply pay a portion of the bill. You have to pay the entire thing. On the spot. So if you are without funds you are assed out of luck.
9. The Traffic
The traffic in Texas is terrible. But that goes without saying.You will spend an hour on the expressway to drive what should have taken just 10 minutes of your time.
10. The Racism
I was raised in a Christian home. I have never been raised to harbor ill feelings about anyone and I didn't move to Texas become a racist. But if I ever leave, I will damn sure leave being one. I have not seen anywhere in all of my 30+ years white folks get away with pulling the truly evil, dirty shit they pull on blacks here. To say that the majority of the employers are bigoted, rednecks who should be sued for pulling the dirty shit they pull on not just blacks but all minorities is an understatement. I have had jobs that paid blacks far below whites for doing the same work, who had equal experience and in many cases the blacks had more experience and they overwhelmingly slotted the whites for promotions when clearly the blacks were working harder and pulling more numbers.
I have also witnessed Overt Racism. More than what I care to go into. That would be an entire other blog. The vast majority of AA's in Dallas end up constantly fired and rehired. Simply because of racism. They end up constantly shuffled from job to job. I saw this first hand in my last position. A smart black female manager was constantly harassed and intimidated into letting the white associates get away with not doing their jobs. She was over white women and they just refused to submit to her authority. She was eventually transferred as they all conspired to set her up.
She came to me. I too had witnessed what was happening. I put my statement with hers. But she was still transferred. And she was not a middle manager. She was a very high manager. Yet when it came to power, her far lower white subordinates held far more power.
I had one position where it was told that the blacks had to all have years of experience AND a college degree. Yet when we were hired, they were simultaneously hiring white guys for the same positions who at times did not even have high school diplomas. It was required for us to have good credit but many of my white male coworkers would speak openly about their bankruptcies and their foreclosures.
We had a policy where we could not leave until all the work was completed or else we would be terminated. Time and time again my white coworker would get angry and suddenly leave without ever asking permission. The managers would all walk by and wonder where he was. I would say he had left. They would bring me his work to complete. The next day he would be right back at work.No problem. They wouldn't say a thing and eventually ended up promoting the guy. He never stayed late. Ever. And being one of the few white males in an environment of blacks he got away with it.
During this same time frame a black male coworker was called a Nigger by a white manager. Guess who lost the job and who is still there. Yep. The white manager.
So the racism is definitely a downside to living and working in Dallas.
Hope you enjoyed the blog. I will be making further additions to this list in the future.So please feel free to check back in.
