I like Dallas quite a bit, but I like Houston more.

I like Dallas quite a bit, but I like Houston more.

Must admit your the first person I've ever heard say that. I've been to Dallas and Houston several times, and I must say Houston is among the most least pleasant cities I've ever had to visit. Ironically, much of my wife's family has expressed a similar opinion, and some of them actually lived there some time ago. If, heaven forbid, circumstances forced me to make some sort of choice between those two alternatives, Dallas would win without a second's hesitation.

Must admit your the first person I've ever heard say that. I've been to Dallas and Houston several times, and I must say Houston is among the most least pleasant cities I've ever had to visit. Ironically, much of my wife's family has expressed a similar opinion, and some of them actually lived there some time ago. If, heaven forbid, circumstances forced me to make some sort of choice between those two alternatives, Dallas would win without a second's hesitation.

What is is about Dallas that you like so much better than Houston?

What is is about Dallas that you like so much better than Houston?

Houston is just such a "thrown together" place, and I never quite understood why I got that "vibe", "feeling" (whatever you want to call it) until I did some reading and found out that Houston has historically not had particularly strong zoning laws governing what kinds of things can be built in which kinds of locations. A guy I worked for many years ago had a very nice condo, but it was literally right across from a series of what couldn't be termed as anything but a slum. I asked him why they built areas like this side-by-side, and he basically affirmed what I had heard - you can build just about what you want where you want. I guess (?) the idea was that if enough other more affluent people built more condos that they'd necessarily push the slum area out? Don't know.

Guess the other big "whammy" was traffic. Yes, Dallas is its own kind of traffic malestrom, but Houston is a special kind of nightmare - seemingly (and I admit this is a subjective observation) a much more slipshod design of highways, unabashedly high-speed get-out-of-my-way driving mentality. I vaguely recall one of the guys I spoke with down there had indicated "yeah Houston traffic takes some getting used to."

Obviously lots of people like Houston, and that's great. To each their own. Just not my cup of tea at all.

Fair enough. I've spent much more time in Dallas than Houston, do I probably don't really have enough information for a fair comparison of the two. I do really enjoy the area of Houston around Rice and the medical district, but couldn't stand having to live out in the suburbs and commuting into downtown every day.

Most of Dallas just feels like endless suburbia to me, outside of a few areas around Highland Park and Uptown, I can't see anything particularly special about Dallas other than just the fact that it is big. Like you said, to each their own. Obviously both cities are doing something right to have the kind of growth they have been experiencing of late.

Interesting. To me Dallas feels more like a 'thrown together' type place where Houston has more of an authentic vibe. I think it has to do with individual experiences and preferences. If I had the option to move from OKC to Houston I would do it in a heartbeat. Houston traffic can be a nightmare but other than that, it's an awesome city.

Houston is just such a "thrown together" place, and I never quite understood why I got that "vibe", "feeling" (whatever you want to call it) until I did some reading and found out that Houston has historically not had particularly strong zoning laws governing what kinds of things can be built in which kinds of locations. A guy I worked for many years ago had a very nice condo, but it was literally right across from a series of what couldn't be termed as anything but a slum. I asked him why they built areas like this side-by-side, and he basically affirmed what I had heard - you can build just about what you want where you want. I guess (?) the idea was that if enough other more affluent people built more condos that they'd necessarily push the slum area out? Don't know.

Guess the other big "whammy" was traffic. Yes, Dallas is its own kind of traffic malestrom, but Houston is a special kind of nightmare - seemingly (and I admit this is a subjective observation) a much more slipshod design of highways, unabashedly high-speed get-out-of-my-way driving mentality. I vaguely recall one of the guys I spoke with down there had indicated "yeah Houston traffic takes some getting used to."

Obviously lots of people like Houston, and that's great. To each their own. Just not my cup of tea at all.

Its not that Houston has weak zoning laws. Houston has no zoning laws whatsoever. The only thing between you and your neighborhood being invaded by pawn shops, strip clubs, tire shops, etc. is deed restrictions and a very active property owners association. If you have 2 of those things, then your good (and most of the affluent neighborhoods do). If not, well, good luck. My relatives live in an area known as Mission Bend. As recently as 2000, it was a very nice area. Now, its crap. Recently, a massage palor type place opened up right behind their house, one of these rub and tug type places, with all sorts of weird people going in and out all day. They can't do anything about it because they live in unincorporated Harris County and their is no formal zoning code. Houston isnt't all bad, and the inner loop area has really progressed nicely. But outside that and the 1-10 Energy Corridor, that city is a mess. Coming into the city on 45 between the Woodlands and downtown is just one big, almost dizzying blast of decaying strip malls, auto dealerships, empty fields, and shady apartments. And I can write a novel on the traffic and climate there. I did a summer internship there while still in college in 2007 and I couldn't wait to get out.

Between that and pretentiousness of Dallas, I am frankly starting to sour on Texas (and I say this as someone who lived there for 8 years). Its just not what it used to be. I now only go down there for family visits. Last fall, I ventured up to Kansas City and was surprised how much I enjoyed myself. Definitely worth the 2 hours of extra driving vs a trip to Dallas.

If I were to move back to Texas and not the Central Texas or Port Aransas areas, I would choose Houston over the DFW area and I lived in Dallas for two years. There are nice areas of Houston and many not so nice but if I had my way I would probably live in the Clear Lake/Kemah area....but I have no desire to move back to Texas.

If I had to live in Texas I would pick the town of Texline. I would want to live as far away as I could from the rest of Texas. :)

Interesting. To me Dallas feels more like a 'thrown together' type place where Houston has more of an authentic vibe. I think it has to do with individual experiences and preferences. If I had the option to move from OKC to Houston I would do it in a heartbeat. Houston traffic can be a nightmare but other than that, it's an awesome city.

Houston is a day trip to and from Galveston; Dallas is in the middle of nowhere. Houston HAD the Oilers; Dallas HAS the Cowboys (for what it's worth). Houston is the capital of HUMIDITY and giant roaches; Dallas is just hot and miserable.

Given an ultimatum, I'd choose Dallas for its proximity to OKC.

I was in Dallas most of last week and spent almost all my time in the Arts District...I get why New Urbanism is such a big deal to some here now. It was really difficult to find food after 4 and I saw nearly no retail in the areas that I walked. I also got the sense that nobody really walks around down there, even when it's absolutely gorgeous outside.

Nice looking skyline and all, but just really impractical for anyone not in an office building to be in downtown Dallas.

Also very difficult to find a public restroom. These things are important to some people.

Houston is a day trip to and from Galveston; Dallas is in the middle of nowhere. Houston HAD the Oilers; Dallas HAS the Cowboys (for what it's worth). Houston is the capital of HUMIDITY and giant roaches; Dallas is just hot and miserable.

Given an ultimatum, I'd choose Dallas for its proximity to OKC.

Yeah I had to deal with the giant roaches when I lived in Charlotte. Not fun and I am glad there aren't very many of them in OKC.

Here is another coup for the Dallas area. They "constantly" get new headquarters from out of state and many states look to Texas as a low cost of doing business there! While I am growing weary of traffic in Dallas it amazes me they continually are able to attract nice high paying "White collar" jobs. Sure would be nice if OKC can land some of these nice high paying jobs! I know GE Research will be opening in the OKC area but other than that, the OKC Chamber needs to "agressively" attract high paying jobs to OKC!


Irving locks up 220 jobs with Trend Micro HQ relocation - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/04/12/irving-locks-up-220-jobs-with-trend.html)

Here is another coup for the Dallas area. They "constantly" get new headquarters from out of state and many states look to Texas as a low cost of doing business there! While I am growing weary of traffic in Dallas it amazes me they continually are able to attract nice high paying "White collar" jobs. Sure would be nice if OKC can land some of these nice high paying jobs! I know GE Research will be opening in the OKC area but other than that, the OKC Chamber needs to "agressively" attract high paying jobs to OKC!


Irving locks up 220 jobs with Trend Micro HQ relocation - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/04/12/irving-locks-up-220-jobs-with-trend.html)

Dallas makes sense for a lot of companies. If you are trying to attract and recruit young, educated professionals, Dallas is going to be far more attractive than OKC.

Another thing that hinders OKC from attracting high paying jobs is that we lack move-in ready Class A office space. Companies like places that they can just move to instead of going through the hassle of buying land and constructing a new building, saves a lot of time and money to move in a office building ready to go.

Dallas makes sense for a lot of companies. If you are trying to attract and recruit young, educated professionals, Dallas is going to be far more attractive than OKC. True. Just like Dallas is far more attractive than cities such as Charlotte, Little Rock and Houston.

Another thing that hinders OKC from attracting high paying jobs is that we lack move-in ready Class A office space. Companies like places that they can just move to instead of going through the hassle of buying land and constructing a new building, saves a lot of time and money to move in a office building ready to go. This is somewhat true, however I just don't believe that OKC "believes in itself to attract these types of jobs". I have stated many times, what makes a city highly successful in attracting great, high paying jobs are the residents and leadership of a city. MAPS has been a start, however I still hear how many OKC residents gripe and complain about MAPS and it's cost. To me, OKC has always been a "cheap" town.

Forget Dallas - pay attention to what can be learned from Kansas City. I'll be writing soon about how Kansas City influenced some of the most beloved design and planning efforts from the first 40 years of OKC history, and how we ended up with boring expansion when we switched to Dallas.

True. Just like Dallas is far more attractive than cities such as Charlotte, Little Rock and Houston.

Houston is debatable & Charlotte could be debated also somewhat depending on the person you're talking to. Maybe if you hadn't used the term "far more attractive" then it wouldn't cause me to jump up. I do agree will the idea of Dallas being high on the list of young professionals though.

Like I've said, I love Dallas, there are "that" group of people who think they're better than everyone else, but if you think Dallas, or Midland as has been suggested over in the Mystery tower thread, has a lot of them, you probably haven't been to L.A. or Miami. I can see why it wouldn't be high up on urbanist favs list, but I like it. It's a beautiful city and it has an amazing highway and road network, as does most of Texas, and has an increasingly better light-rail system.

Now Steve, please don't hate me for saying this, I'm not the biggest fan of KC. I haven't really explored the city in depth, so I might be wrong to form an opinion about them, from the photos I've seen, it looks like a cool place with some great projects and developments the would be awesome here in OKC. It just doesn't seem like the place I would want to live. It is a nice city though and I hope it does well. I don't see how OKC has modeled itself off of Dallas though. I think Nashville might be a good model too.

Like I've said, I love Dallas, there are "that" group of people who think they're better than everyone else, but if you think Dallas, or Midland as has been suggested over in the Mystery tower thread, has a lot of them, you probably haven't been to L.A. or Miami. I can see why it wouldn't be high up on urbanist favs list, but I like it. It's a beautiful city and it has an amazing highway and road network, as does most of Texas, and has an increasingly better light-rail system.

Now Steve, please don't hate me for saying this, I'm not the biggest fan of KC. I haven't really explored the city in depth, so I might be wrong to form an opinion about them, from the photos I've seen, it looks like a cool place with some great projects and developments the would be awesome here in OKC. It just doesn't seem like the place I would want to live. It is a nice city though and I hope it does well. I don't see how OKC has modeled itself off of Dallas though. I think Nashville might be a good model too. I have visited Kansas City on several occasions and the weather is just too cold for my liking. Bone chiling winds in the winter. P&L district was fun, however not any more so than BT. Westport was cool and fun. The plaza area and Ward Parkway are nice with decent shopping however, the buck stops there. Would have no desire to live in Kansas City lots of blight. It reminds me of a big "midwest" town not really a city. Just my opinion though.

If we need to look at any city to model ourself after, it should be Austin, just saying.

I have visited Kansas City on several occasions and the weather is just too cold for my liking. Bone chiling winds in the winter. P&L district was fun, however not any more so than BT. Westport was cool and fun. The plaza area and Ward Parkway are nice with decent shopping however, the buck stops there. Would have no desire to live in Kansas City lots of blight. It reminds me of a big "midwest" town not really a city. Just my opinion though.
Dallas has a lot of blight as well, nothing now to what it was back when I lived there 20 years ago.

What I think Steve is talking about is more of the origins of OKC, remember in the late 1800's to early 1900's Kansas City was the large city in this region. According to the 1900 census St. Louis was #4 (575,238) in population and Kansas City, Missouri was #22 (163,752) and Kansas City, Kansas was #76 (51,418), Dallas was #88 (42,638). KC was a train hub and architecture capital, Dallas was still pretty much a sleepy little town along the Trinity. It really didn't start becoming a major city until the 60's.

Census.gov - Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1900 (http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab13.txt)

Blue Dog OKC is on target - reserve judgment on what I said until you read my column on Tuesday and related posts at OKC Central.

I have spent lots of time in KC, and some time (not as much, admittedly) in Dallas. KC is more to my liking. Obviously, DFW is growing much faster, it's more dynamic economically and is more prosperous. But even people I know that live there don't think it has much of a sense of "place." Everybody in Dallas is from somewhere else, it's so big and sprawling and just so "new," once you get a few minutes from downtown it's just mile after mile after mile that looks exactly like any other suburban city. KC has a lot more charm, more history, more interesting urban fabric.

I don't understand why we compare ourselves to Dallas or try to emulate Dallas. Dallas is close to having 7 million people in there metro area, to our 1.3 million, there is no comparison, Dallas is in a league of their own. OKC will never get that big, not even in the next 100 years.

I've said it before and I'll it again, what I have been tracking for Austin is unbelievable. We need to be looking at Austin, that is more realistic! #EmbraceAustin

I've said it before and I'll it again, what I have been tracking for Austin is unbelievable. We need to be looking at Austin, that is more realistic! #EmbraceAustin

I would say Charlotte, Nashville, or Indianapolis are more realistic. OKC shouldn't try to emulate Austin. It will never be able to have the kind of 'cool' factor Austin has with the hipster demographic simply because like it or not our metro area is too conservative. Many people who move to Austin do it for the liberalism.

#HashtagOverload #ThisIsNotTwitterOrIG

:)

... #EmbraceAustin.

Hugs Austin ... there, there, Austin. It's true OKC metro landed the GE Global Research folk and you did not, but hey, you still have your cool bars.

All better now? Good.

I spent about 40 years in OKC and still consider it "Hometown" and proud of that. Living now in Plano/Mckinney area and we really love it. In the past 6 years, have only gone down to "Dallas" a handful of times. McKinney, Frisco, Allen & Plano areas are plenty busy - but retain some sense of a 'community' feel to them. I'm lucky in that I work in McKinney - so no long commute - otherwise I'm sure I'd think a little different - but so far the place is a nice place to be.

I spent about 40 years in OKC and still consider it "Hometown" and proud of that. Living now in Plano/Mckinney area and we really love it. In the past 6 years, have only gone down to "Dallas" a handful of times. McKinney, Frisco, Allen & Plano areas are plenty busy - but retain some sense of a 'community' feel to them. I'm lucky in that I work in McKinney - so no long commute - otherwise I'm sure I'd think a little different - but so far the place is a nice place to be. I am originally from OKC and now live in the Plano/Frisco area off of 121 & Preston. I am glad to see OKC finally gain momentum with their growth! The one thing I have to say though is DFW has far superior roads, much more cleaner and overall nicer development area. OKC, until just in the last 10 years never took pride in their appearance. Perception and appearance are very important in how a city looks.

I am originally from OKC and now live in the Plano/Frisco area off of 121 & Preston. I am glad to see OKC finally gain momentum with their growth! The one thing I have to say though is DFW has far superior roads, much more cleaner and overall nicer development area. OKC, until just in the last 10 years never took pride in their appearance. Perception and appearance are very important in how a city looks.

Agree with this.

For me, one of the most difficult things to adjust to about OKC moving from Charlotte has been the overall ugly appearance of much of the city. It's been discussed in numerous threads, but you can't blame the natural landscape of OKC for the ugliness. DFW has the same landscape and is far more aesthetically appealing. Even Edmond has gotten it right.

Underneath the ugliness however is an up and coming city that, providing the oil and gas economy doesn't collapse, will be a Charlotte, Nashville, or Indianapolis within 10-15 years.

I am originally from OKC and now live in the Plano/Frisco area off of 121 & Preston. I am glad to see OKC finally gain momentum with their growth! The one thing I have to say though is DFW has far superior roads, much more cleaner and overall nicer development area. OKC, until just in the last 10 years never took pride in their appearance. Perception and appearance are very important in how a city looks.You're not kidding about the roads. That is one thing I wish OKC would do is fix our roads and widen a few of them. I love the 6 lane roads they have in Dallas they flow so smooth for the amount of traffic they carry. Here in OKC it goes from 6 lanes to 4 lane bottle neck even on the highways as well. Dallas has an AMAZING highway network too.

You're not kidding about the roads. That is one thing I wish OKC would do is fix our roads and widen a few of them. I love the 6 lane roads they have in Dallas they flow so smooth for the amount of traffic they carry. Here in OKC it goes from 6 lanes to 4 lane bottle neck even on the highways as well. Dallas has an AMAZING highway network too.

I would like to see more roads with landscaped medians in OKC. The only road I know of in OKC proper that has attempted it is Classen. NW Expressway already has a median. I would love to see it beautified.

If we need to look at any city to model ourself after, it should be Austin, just saying.

If OKC needs a city to model itself after it is OKC circa 1940. We need look nowhere else except our own history.

I would like to see more roads with landscaped medians in OKC. The only road I know of in OKC proper that has attempted it is Classen. NW Expressway already has a median. I would love to see it beautified.

Yes! I have no idea why we don't have landscaped / better landscaped medians.

Yes! I have no idea why we don't have landscaped / better landscaped medians.

Probably it's regarded as an unneeded expense that would rob too much from trying to keep streets in repair. If we have started having intense heat and droughts every summer, much of the landscaping would just die off, if watering is restricted.

Probably it's regarded as an unneeded expense that would rob too much from trying to keep streets in repair. If we have started having intense heat and droughts every summer, much of the landscaping would just die off, if watering is restricted.

Fair enough.

I would like to see more roads with landscaped medians in OKC. The only road I know of in OKC proper that has attempted it is Classen. NW Expressway already has a median. I would love to see it beautified.Yes, that would be very nice, also if they would landscape our highways similar to the George Bush turnpike. . . Dallas really knows how to make their highways nice.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8651596734_fcd5769ebd_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8106/8650507841_3b44015852_b.jpg

This is also an interesting article I read in Dallas Morning News


Can Medellín teach Dallas a lesson about the Trinity toll road?


As Dallas debates the merits of building a toll road along the Trinity River, it may find some lessons from an unlikely city in South America: Medellín.
Colombia’s second-biggest city also has a large river running through its center. While Dallas plans to build a road along the Trinity, Medellín has been devising a way to hide the highway along the Aburrá. The city recently approved a bold project to bury several miles of roadway under an urban park so that its 2.4 million residents can reclaim one of their most valuable natural assets.

Read more here: Can Medellín teach Dallas a lesson about the Trinity toll road? | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sunday-commentary/20130405-can-medellin-teach-dallas-a-lesson-about-the-trinity-toll-road.ece)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8650510859_4962f7dde2_z.jpg

Nothing connects people more with their river than putting a freeway that divides the two.

Nothing connects people more with their river than putting a freeway that divides the two.


but but but ... the view is so pretty through the tinted windows. And with the music a playin' and the a/c afrostin' it's darn near heaven on earth.
:wink:

Nothing connects people more with their river than putting a freeway that divides the two.I actually agree with you on this one for sure. Dallas is also going to build a, I believe, around 8,000 acre park along the river. I think they're justifying building the highway because they're building a massive park right next to it and saying it will allow better access to the highway. I think they don't really need another highway here, this would be an excellent opportunity for them to build a nice boulevard here.

Yes, that would be very nice, also if they would landscape our highways similar to the George Bush turnpike. . . Dallas really knows how to make their highways nice.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8651596734_fcd5769ebd_b.jpg

Plupan, that doesn't look terrible, but it's hardly a model for how to landscape a freeway. It actually looks somewhat bare.

yeah, I was kind of hesitating to use that picture, but I couldn't find anything else, although I didn't look for that long. It would be nicer if they planted some trees or something in the bare spots.

Wow! Dallas is landing another major relocation! Big D is a huge city of commerce and an incredible city to do business and relocate a business! I hate that traffic is going to get worse with more new inhabitants! It truly dominates in that arena.



Kohl?s planning major office operation in Far North Dallas | Biz Beat Blog (http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/kohls-planning-major-office-operation-in-far-north-dallas.html/)

Explosive growth continues in Dallas-Fort Worth | Census | News from Fort Worth, Dallas,... (http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/14/4681578/explosive-growth-continues-in.html)

Moreover, even though Dallas was built around the automobile and is sprawled, their light rail system (DART) is ranked #6 in US for ridership, out of 33, thats pretty good.

Just researched they are only behind Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, and Philadelphia in light rail ridership. Dallas boasts 1,364 daily boardings per mile, nice.

Yes, that is very nice. Now, lets get OKC on that list, somewhere lol

Another corporate HQ move to Dallas Fort Worth area. It seems Big D is living up to it's reputation as a major city to do business and commerce. Only problem is more sprawl and horrendous traffic.




Accudyne Industries to move headquarters to Dallas - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/02/accudyne-industries-to-move.html)

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/02/raytheon-moving-california-hq-to.html

Yet another big announcement for the DFW area. Why can't OKC attract major relocations?




Trader Joe?s selects Irving for its Texas distribution center | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20130506-trader-joes-selects-irving-for-its-texas-distribution-center.ece)

Another corporate HQ move to Dallas Fort Worth area. It seems Big D is living up to it's reputation as a major city to do business and commerce. Only problem is more sprawl and horrendous traffic.




Accudyne Industries to move headquarters to Dallas - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/02/accudyne-industries-to-move.html)

Raytheon moving California HQ to McKinney - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/02/raytheon-moving-california-hq-to.html)


15,000 sq feet lease..........not much to talk about here - Accudine ???


The Raytheon division HQ is a bigger deal.

Yet another big announcement for the DFW area. Why can't OKC attract major relocations?




Trader Joe?s selects Irving for its Texas distribution center | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20130506-trader-joes-selects-irving-for-its-texas-distribution-center.ece)

Um, could it have anything to do with 7 million vs 1.3 million? And it does seem to make a little more sense to open up a distribution center in a state where they actually have stores.

Yet another big announcement for the DFW area. Why can't OKC attract major relocations?




Trader Joe?s selects Irving for its Texas distribution center | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20130506-trader-joes-selects-irving-for-its-texas-distribution-center.ece)

Because Dallas-Ft. Worth airport has many more non stop international destinations. That's very important, especially to companies doing business globally.

DFW is a much more attractive market in just about every way in my opinion. I don't think the size of OKC prevents it from attracting major relocations as much as the lack of a major airport as well as its more blue-collar nature. Charlotte, where I moved from, gets relocations frequently and its metro population is only 1.8 million. Charlotte's airport is a major hub and it also has a white collar, highly educated workforce.

It's starting to change though as made evident with the GE relocation.

Yet another big announcement for the DFW area. Why can't OKC attract major relocations?




Trader Joe?s selects Irving for its Texas distribution center | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20130506-trader-joes-selects-irving-for-its-texas-distribution-center.ece)


The recently announced GE Research Center for Oil & Gas came down to two metro areas.......OKC and Austin, Tx.
GE chose OKC, and this is a very big deal, much more so than a distribution center. Of the 6 or 7 GE Research Centers worldwide, the smallest is 800 highly paid white collar employees (scientist types). The Oklahoma center will be just as large if not larger when all said and done.....

So we do compete and occasionally score, and this time, at the expense of Texas.

The recently announced GE Research Center for Oil & Gas came down to two metro areas.......OKC and Austin, Tx.
GE chose OKC, and this is a very big deal, much more so than a distribution center. Of the 6 or 7 GE Research Centers worldwide, the smallest is 800 highly paid white collar employees (scientist types). The Oklahoma center will be just as large if not larger when all said and done.....

So we do compete and occasionally score, and this time, at the expense of Texas. Yes it does, however, Oklahoma will never have the business acumen and talent that Texas has. Oh by the way, looks like the wonderful city of Plano, my current place I live, just landed another major corporate relocation. See below... Texas seems to attract the "top" business talent.







NTT Data Inc. to move its North American HQ to Plano - Dallas Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/08/ntt-data-inc-to-move-its-north.html)

"Oklahoma will never have the business acumen and talent that Texas has."




What makes you so sure of that? I mean, never is pretty definite. You know something we don't? And explain what you mean by "business acumen"? The people of Oklahoma won't ever have the business acumen of the state of Texas? The state government of Oklahoma won't have the business acumen that Texas has? I just don't quite understand your comments and would like clarification.