The DallasβFort Worth Metroplex is a large area in the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas. With an estimated 2015 population of 7.1 million, it is the most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the South and the fourth most populous in the United States. Anchored on the east by the city of Dallas and on the west by Fort Worth, the Metroplex offers an entertaining array of Texana featuring everything from modern skyscrapers to old-fashioned cattle yards and everything in between. It is the home to many corporations, almost a dozen professional sports teams, a wide variety of nightlife, and a burgeoning arts community. The Metroplex is also the location of two award-winning zoos, a world-class aquarium, and several historically significant locations and museums.
Dallas/Fort Worth occupies a vast area of North Central Texas. Unlike the densely populated metro areas in the northern U.S., the Metroplex encompasses 9,286 square miles (24,100 kmΒ²), making it larger in land area than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.
Unlike Minneapolis/St. Paul and other twin cities, Dallas/Fort Worth has an odd rivalry, bordering on childish contempt towards residents of Dallas from the people of Fort Worth and its surrounding suburbs. Don't be surprised if you see bumper stickers that read, "If I die in Dallas, bury my body in Fort Worth". The cities are surprisingly different, in that Dallas has a relatively more progressive and metropolitan feel, and Fort Worth has more of a staunch conservative and religious attitude. Depending on who you meet and where you stay, the difference in politics can be as notable as the differences between California and Mississippi. Locals are fond of saying, "The software companies and science museums are in Dallas and the mega-churches and honky-tonks are in Fort Worth."
There is a very large population of Indian-Americans (from India, not American Indians) in the area, especially in Irving. You can find really great Indian cuisine, markets, theaters and clothing stores. There's even a Diwali festival (dead link: March 2023) every year. See the website for times and location.
The Dallas area is also home to a large number of immigrants from East Asia, most residing in the northern suburbs of Richardson, Plano, and Garland. When in this area, you will likely always be within 5-10 minutes of an Asian supermarket or grocery store.
Understand that money and power are flaunted in the DFW area more so than in other parts of the United States. The wealthy elite may not dress any different from common residents, but they will establish their rank in DFW society by owning extremely expensive vehicles and unbelievably huge houses. When driving around suburbs like Frisco or McKinney, you'll see several residents driving high end Italian sports cars, huge Cadillac SUV's or other expensive imports. So if you're in the mood and you have the means, don't be shy and go ahead and rent an expensive sports car and drive around like you're the cock-of-the-walk! Flaunt it like tomorrow isn't coming!
The ever-increasing Hispanic population has made Spanish the second language of DFW. The rapid influx of highly educated Indians and their Desi brethren have given DFW somewhat of third and fourth languages, Hindi and Punjabi. Although there are several dialects in India, most expats are from the south and will most likely speak perfect English, but you may run into an occasional Punjabi who may not speak English yet. Of course, the ubiquitous Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean and miscellaneous are spoken in DFW as well.
A word of caution. Not every Hispanic speaks Spanish and not every Desi can speak (insert one of hundreds of languages spoken in India). It's not considered rude to walk up to a Hispanic looking person and try to converse in Spanish. You might get some odd looks, however, as most Hispanics are third, fourth and fifth generation American and grew up speaking English only. This is becoming true with the local Desis since most of them are second and third generation. But if you meet a person of Indian descent and they have the accent and do the characteristic head bobble while swinging their hand, you may be able to strike up a conversation in their native tongue provided you can speak (insert one of hundreds of languages spoken in India).
The Metroplex is served by several airports. The largest one is the vast and perpetually busy Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport π (IATA: DFW) (colloquially known as "DFW Airport" or simply "DFW"), which offers flights to and from essentially anywhere in the world. Keep in mind that with the high traffic, delays are common, so plan well ahead and allow extra time for contingencies.
Those wishing to avoid the headache of DFW Airport might fly into the smaller Dallas Love Field π (IATA: DAL) which is located minutes north of Downtown Dallas. The schedule is not as varied as that of DFW, but it is far more simply laid out and navigable, and since its renovation feels more spacious and comfortable than most of DFW.
Love Field had been expected to cease serving scheduled passengers when DFW opened in the 1970s, but never did thanks to Southwest's continuous rapid growth since then. In addition to Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Delta, and Virgin America have a limited number of hub flights here.
For those traveling by bus, Greyhound operates large terminals in both Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as smaller satellite terminals in the surrounding suburbs. Be aware, however, that the Downtown Dallas station has long been known by locals as a trouble spot and tends to attract transients and vagrants. Panhandling is a common occurrence and while the perpetrators are rarely violent, a high level of vigilance is strongly recommended for anyone who may pass through the terminal. Megabus offers non-stop service to either Grand Prairie or Downtown Dallas from a number of cities in Texas and beyond.
The Metroplex is quite easily accessed by automobile. Interstate Highway 30 bisects the area west to east, and there are two branches of Interstate 35 that run north-south; I-35W through Fort Worth and I-35E through Dallas. In addition, Dallas is served by Interstate 45, which connects the area to Houston. The Metroplex is also served by several large US Highways and another score of Texas State highways.
Dallas and Fort Worth are served by Amtrak, with the Texas Eagle and Heartland Flier stopping in the area. The Texas Eagle runs from San Antonio to Chicago daily with stops in both Fort Worth and Dallas. The Heartland Flier runs from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth daily.
See Rail travel in the United States for more information.
DART or Dallas Area Rapid Transit, operates a light rail system in the Dallas side of the Metroplex, connecting Downtown to the suburbs. DART also operates a commuter rail service to Denton, and the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth. Both DART and the FWTA (dead link: December 2020) (Fort Worth Transportation Authority) also operate bus networks in their respective cities.
Most areas are not bicycle friendly and are extremely dangerous to anyone on two wheels! There are a few recreational bike trails in affluent areas, but that's pretty much it. Unless you know your way around and are a seasoned cyclist, seeing the DFW area on a bike is not recommended.
The Metroplex is notorious for its traffic congestion, so a traveler unfamiliar with the area should leave a significant time for error in learning the area. The worst times to be on the freeways in the D/FW area are the rush hour times, generally between 6-9AM and 4-7PM. Traffic on the weekends is usually fairly pain-free, but it does not take much to cause a significant backup. Pay close attention to local television and radio for backup information.
For those new to the Metroplex, the elaborate highway system can be a bit confusing. Fortunately, the DFW area has long had a tradition of naming numbered highways, e.g. U.S. Highway 75 as Central Expressway. The following is a fairly comprehensive list of the numbered freeways in the Metroplex and their corresponding names.
& The Dallas area is also served by two tollways: the Dallas North Tollway (colloquially known simply as "the Tollway") and the President George Bush Turnpike (generally referred to as "George Bush" or "the Turnpike"). These two tollways can sometimes provide a welcome respite from Dallas' famously bad traffic, though at other times they are just as bad as the rest.
Most residents of north Fort Worth still drive huge trucks and SUV's, and they drive them extremely fast and recklessly. So driving around in an economy sized vehicle, especially something like a Smart Car, is somewhat dangerous. If you rent a vehicle and plan to drive in north Fort Worth, it's best to rent something big. If you're on a limited budget and can only rent a small vehicle, look out for Texas road rage. Small cars in north Fort Worth are considered by some residents to be an affront to the American Way - some will call you a "socialist" if you drive anything smaller than a full-size pick-up.
The many man-made lakes around Dallas and Fort Worth provide most of the region's drinking water, flood protection, and recreational opportunities of its over 6 million residents. Fishing, swimming, and boating are especially popular during the scorching hot summer months, with the many state and city parks on the shores particularly crowded on the weekends from July to September. Some of the larger lakes like Lake Lewisville and Joe Pool Lake become so crowded with boaters that fishing becomes difficult. So, it is better to fish on quieter lakes like Lake Ray Roberts or Lake Worth. However, due to its proximity to current or former military bases, fish from Lake Worth and Eagle Mountain Lake should not be eaten. While most of the lakes are perfectly safe to swim, be careful of boaters on busy days. Also, due to the muddy river bottoms, most lakes have little visibility and are not ideal for scuba-diving.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area is home to many sports teams.
Major league teams include the Dallas Cowboys (NFL/American football), Texas Rangers (MLB/baseball), and Dallas Wings (WNBA/women's basketball) in Arlington, the Dallas Stars (NHL/ice hockey) and Dallas Mavericks (NBA/basketball) in Dallas, and FC Dallas (MLS/soccer) in Frisco.
Minor league teams include the Frisco RoughRiders in Frisco.
College sports teams with large followings include the SMU Mustangs (Southern Methodist University) in North Dallas, TCU Horned Frogs (Texas Christian University) in Fort Worth, UT Arlington Mavericks (University of Texas at Arlington) in Arlington, and North Texas Mean Green (University of North Texas) in Denton.
If you're a hockey player yourself, be sure to participate in a drop-in game at one of several ice rinks in town. Remember to bring your gear! There's ice time all year round.
A Diwali Festival is held every year in the fall.
The DallasβFort Worth Metroplex has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the United States.
As with any large metropolitan area, The DFW Metroplex has its share of "street crime." Safer areas include the more affluent areas including parts of west Fort Worth, most of Arlington, the northern suburbs, and the Park Cities of North Dallas. Areas that warrant some extra caution include South Dallas, parts of downtown Dallas, the areas close to Fair Park, as well as the East and Southeast parts of Fort Worth. Dallas, Fort Worth, and some other cities have interactive crime maps on their web sites.
Radio Stations
Local News Stations:
A huge portion of news broadcasts are reserved for local sports (Cowboys, Rangers and Mark Cuban's very own basketball team). The latter part of broadcasts are lengthy weather reports. Even though the local weather is usually hot and humid and there is really no need to provide any update, the local meteorologists spend a lot of time describing the intricacies of Doppler, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and other weather related terms over and over, again and again.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area lies roughly near the border between the forested eastern United States and the open prairie of the American plains, with areas east of Dallas being much more heavily forested than those west of Fort Worth.
The area immediately west, northwest, and south of the metroplex is referred to as the Cross Timbers. Listed below are some of the main attractions:
While the area south, east, and north east of the metroplex is referred to as the Blackland Prairie. A list of the main attractions: