59 replies to this topic

[DrkLts]

what exactly makes people see FW as a more smaller town than the facts and figurs show? nearby and around my part of town, ya gots people looking like they in gangs, cops with thier lights flashing making stops on my street and others probably making some sort of arrest. graffiti on buildings, gas stations getting held up, and 1st time ever drive-by a few blocks away was reported...even tho i've heard gun shots before at night.
i dunno what fancy part of town the rest of ya guys live, but in my hood, i swear it don't feel like no laid-back town for sure. at least in a "town" you can feel safe walking at night to the corner store without getting mugged.
i guess it really depends on what part of ft worth you really live or work in. one side of the city may not be the same as the other. you gotta step back and look at the big picture. FW has all the qualities any other big city has, just a different personality

[Willy1]

^ I think that is a very good point. I think that FW is a very segmented city. The West and Southwest portion of the city feel very disconnected from the rest of the city, so I suspect that the people who are saying it feels small are in fact from the West, SW, and TCU area of FW. The far North reaches of FW might as well be Dallas or Oklahoma if you live on the West side. I know people on the West side who never even leave the West side of FW... It has everything they need and therefore they never go to the other parts of FW, muchless other parts of the Metroplex. I the same way that North Dallas and NW Dallas is cut off from South Dallas, I think the West/SW Sides of FW are cut off from the rest of FW.

I think that is the reason that FW feels like a small town to some - because they actively literally cut themselves off from the rest of the city, with the exception of Downtown. I grew up on the West Side of FW and growing up in FW, we never ventured anywhere outside of the West Side unless we ventured into the Pascal/TCU area. There was just no reason for us to go to the North Side, East Side or South sides of FW. The only time we went to the North Side was for entertainment because back then, there wasn't anything to do downtown. In fact, there wasn't much night life at all in FW prior to Sundance Square...

Anyone else agree that this might lend itself to the whole "small town" misperception of FW?

[safly]

^Well, you're more likely to be in a tornado here than in Kansas. Texas has more tornados per year than any other place on earth. And, if you don't believe that, believe me... I have experienced more than a couple. I got chased off a baseball field by one coming in off Benbrook lake as a kid. I went to Texas Tech and tornados are so common out there that they don't even interupt TV for tornado warning the way they do here. And, the BIG ONE that hit FW in 2000 hit my house in monticello before taking out the Cash America and Bank One buildings.

Maybe that's why FW is growing so fast --- people are fascinated by twisters. LOL

I believe more touchdown in Texas, solely due to the enormous span of the Lonestar State. But point taken.

[courtnie]

Fort Worth seems to be alot of little towns put together..Your right "what goes on on the North, South, West or East Side stays there". We have a walmart for each secton..sometimes more then one. We have every convience we could need at our doorstep...so traveling outside of our area isnt likely unless you drive 10 or more miles away from your house to go to work and even then..who wants to stop along the way..usually you wait till you get to your side of town..I have lived on the North, South and West sides..and personally..I like the downtown/west side because thats where I grew up and its where ive chosen to live...

[safly]

Iwas hoping for a BETTER reason than the last one.

[vjackson]

After growing up in the Houston area, and spending time traveling in the military, I got to spend two years in my midtwenties living in FW, and believe me... it seemed small... especially in regards to nightlife. Sundance Square's nightlife at that time seemed very small town to me. The coolest place was probally 8.0's. I love live rock music, dancing to hip hop, sometimes a little reggae, or having a drink at a cool bar with an eclectic crowd..black, white straight, gay, etc...you could not find that in FW, so needless to say, I was in Dallas all the time and that was a major factor in my decision to move here. Because of the population and proximity to Dallas, I had assumed Fort Worth's nightlife would be similar to Austin's...boy was I wrong. I have made it out to FW a few times ater I moved to go out at night and the nightlife situation has gotten a little better, but not much. I still meet tons of FW people out partying in Dallas, most say the bar scene in just doesn't compare to what you find in Dallas. That being said...I did love lots of things about the city. I used to say FW had nothing for the twentysomething crowd and I could see living there maybe in my mid thirties, but I'm 31 now and can't see living there unless I'm in my 40's. Nightlife is a major part of any big city, and FW has little to do at night. Its nightlife pales greatly when compared to Texas' other big cities ..Houston, Dallas, Austin and even San Antonio. I don't think it will ever be seen as a big city if they don't get some better nightlife going.

[Willy1]

^ I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH VJACKSON ON THAT ONE!

[mosteijn]

^ I think that is a very good point. I think that FW is a very segmented city. The West and Southwest portion of the city feel very disconnected from the rest of the city, so I suspect that the people who are saying it feels small are in fact from the West, SW, and TCU area of FW...I know people on the West side who never even leave the West side of FW... It has everything they need and therefore they never go to the other parts of FW, muchless other parts of the Metroplex.

Why would the S. of the Trinity/West of I-35 crowd consider FW small? That's where most of the (albeit sparse) fancy, urban development is going up. Also, considering the small number of jobs found in any one portion of the city (as compared to the city as a whole) there really is no part of FW that is truly self-sufficient in the sense of a small-town, too many of one area's residents must commute out of the neighborhood as the job options in central FW neighborhoods aren't enough to satisfy their working populations.

I would think the small perception is held by those in the suburban parts of the city, because those parts of the city used to BE small towns, and (to the residents) still retain some of that "charm". I'm almost positive that all of Fort Worth's central neighborhoods were never small towns swallowed up by the big city, even Arlington Heights, et al., which were founded to be bedroom communities and ONLY bedroom communities. If segmented neighborhoods are an indication of a "small town feel", then every large city in the WORLD has a small-town feel. There comes a point where the population of any one city is just too large to cooperate on a personal level, and different interests result in different areas. For example, you wouldn't hear a Brooklynite identify him/herself as a pretentious Manhattanite, nor would you hear a Manhattanite lower their status to that of a Brooklynite (going by word of mouth here, not personal opinions), yet to the wider world these people show no hesitation in declaring themselves "New Yorkers", thus showing that these areas, though with vastly different agendas, run relatively cohesively as a larger political unit. It really is no different in Fort Worth. No one identifies themself to other people as a "West Fort Worthian", they say Fort Worthian if they even bother to mention the Fort Worth aspect of their location at all (I'm sure at least this forum can agree that we are NOT Dallasites ).

[McHand]

Why would the S. of the Trinity/West of I-35 crowd consider FW small?  That's where most of the (albeit sparse) fancy, urban development is going up. 

Because these are the wealthiest parts of the city; of course they have everything they need within a few miles' radius; they have all the economic development.  They are also the more influential among us; when something happens on the West Side everyone talks about it.  They consider it small perhaps because many folks share friends and everyone knows someone who knows someone (as all communities are).

I would guess those in the poorer parts of town also feel like small-towners; they just don't have quite the influence so people unfortunately tend to forget about their needs.


I would think the small perception is held by those in the suburban parts of the city, because those parts of the city used to BE small towns, and (to the residents) still retain some of that "charm".  I'm almost positive that all of Fort Worth's central neighborhoods were never small towns swallowed up by the big city, even Arlington Heights, et al., which were founded to be bedroom communities and ONLY bedroom communities.  If segmented neighborhoods are an indication of a "small town feel", then every large city in the WORLD has a small-town feel.  There comes a point where the population of any one city is just too large to cooperate on a personal level, and different interests result in different areas.  For example, you wouldn't hear a Brooklynite identify him/herself as a pretentious Manhattanite, nor would you hear a Manhattanite lower their status to that of a Brooklynite (going by word of mouth here, not personal opinions), yet to the wider world these people show no hesitation in declaring themselves "New Yorkers", thus showing that these areas, though with vastly different agendas, run relatively cohesively as a larger political unit.  It really is no different in Fort Worth.  No one identifies themself to other people as a "West Fort Worthian", they say Fort Worthian if they even bother to mention the Fort Worth aspect of their location at all (I'm sure at least this forum can agree that we are NOT Dallasites  ).

Great point here. Can't think of how many times I've met someone who says, "I grew up in Fort Worth" and when I ask where they say "Crowley". But the point is they'd rather just say "Fort Worth" so you don't have to explain where Crowley is.

[McHand]

Oops!! Mess up on the quote. Mine starts with "because the wealthiest"....

yikes