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Comment by peytn | Hacker News Reader

DFW is another such megacity. The construction happening there reminds me of parts of China.

The problem is, from my perspective (and having lived there), the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is neither resilient nor a megacity. Outside of the 635 and 820 loops, it is just suburban sprawl that gets scorching hot in the summer and everyone who lives there has to be reliant on a car.

DFW is going to be in a world of hurt when the water runs out and that day is coming somewhat soon. There are already places in central Texas where the aquifers are dry and the lakes don't refill during the formerly-rainy season. North Texas is reliant on a set of manmade lakes that are already slower and slower to refill, with more and more taps being added every year.

I came from DFW (technically one of its suburbs). You're either in the suburbs, or you're living in a sea of hot concrete. Unless you retreat to one of the less-wealthy (read: genuinely middle-class) suburbs, everything from the restaurants to the billboards is steeped in corporate pretension and wealth-signaling. And then you're still, well, in the suburbs.

In my first round of interviews out of college I interviewed with a company in Dallas. It was going well, but towards the end of the day I was frank with my interviewer and told them I simply didn't want to live in DFW. I didn't have another offer yet, but I found one in Austin and moved there.

No kidding, I grew up there as well! The not-wanting-to-ever-return feeling is very relatable. I wouldn’t have re-explored DFW were it not for the current state of life in the Bay Area. As it stands, things have changed a lot in the past 10 years, or perhaps I’ve grown up. There’s a lot going on in DFW, and as an adult having explored all over I’m comfortable giving DFW another look.

I guess my question is why DFW given its flaws, for better or worse? Why not NYC or Boston or Chicago or LA or DC, to name a few?

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