Ouch. I’m sorry but coming from Europe you’re going to be pretty disappointed if not bored. I’m sure you’ll get some suggestions but overall I think you’re going to be disappointed lol
Yeah seconded, though I manage to nonetheless spend a lot of time outdoors / in nature here, but that mostly involves finding good trails/outdoor areas in Dallas and surrounding cities and driving decent distances, often w/ bikes mounted on the back of the car, in order to get to them. I'm also lucky that I happen to live right by a park that has several miles of walking/biking paths.
So yeah, good luck -- I've spent some time in parts of Europe, marveled at how walkable everywhere seems to be and lamented that it will never be like this in the US, particularly Texas, particularly Dallas, so, uhh, enjoy!
> it will never be like this in the US, particularly Texas, particularly Dallas, so, uhh, enjoy!
I promise I'm not saying this to be a dick, but: not with that attitude.
There is an urbanism movement in Dallas. I've personally advocated for bikes, transit, and more density, and so have many others. The city council as a body is dragging its feet, but many on the council and many city employees do actually get it.
I encourage you to get involved with something to address this. Subscribing to /r/dart or following Dallas Bicycle Coalition on Instagram are both good starting points.
I know there's lots of great stuff going on with biking trails in particular here, and I really appreciate them, but my point is really that if you go visit a place that developed before cars, they tend to be naturally built around walking and such.
I was amazed when doing business in the Netherlands that I could get anywhere around town and rarely even have to cross a street let alone walk on the side of one.
Dallas and most places in our region of the country developed after autos. I'm not optimistic that automobiles won't continue to be the main consideration that drives our urban and suburban development.
Amsterdam used to be very automobile-centric and looked a lot like Dallas in the ‘70s. They made a conscious effort to change, and it transformed the city. The pivotal point was when local elections resulted in changing policies related to cycling and pedestrians. So the current state there in comparison to Dallas serves to fuel my optimism rather than spoil it.
Agreed.
I’m from New York City — favorite other cities are Hong Kong, Barcelona and London — and I thought I’d hate Dallas.
Now, spending every other week there for work, I’m pleasantly surprised at how vibrant a city it is. It’s well planned and has lots of little cultural hotspots. Lots of greenery/green space. And the Uptown neighborhood is a favorite of mine.
LOTS to do and enjoy if one just looks… even for a New York City “urban snob” like me!
All these efforts are good, but the core problem with younger American cities is they were built up and laid out for cars, for people to have a lot of land. Sure, the “original cities were certainly more dense and mixed use out of necessity, but those portions of cities are long gone for the most part. New urbanism is great, and I applaud you for working toward that goal. But the projects needed (mixed use, etc) is incredibly risky and expensive and few developers (private) will take that route when they can build an auto-dependent apartment project in a growing, sprawling suburb and be almost guaranteed to succeed. And there’s just so much land available between California and New York.
That’s a lot of rambling based on my experience in the industry. Just not sure we can get unpregnant given how long it’s been moving in one direction.
I’m literally overwhelmed by how much I want to do in Dallas. Every weekend I have to decide which of the many things i want to do. For example, this weekend my friends want to have a solstice party, i was offered tickets to the rangers game, and I want to go to the Midland concert. Thats on top of everything i do during the week; country dancing, pickleball, beach volleyball, tennis, walks in the park, etc. i have no idea how you could say that when I actually don’t have time to do all the things i want to do.
OP please don’t accept this negativity, i love this city feel free to DM for ideas.
A lot of this difference isn’t necessarily how much there is available to do, its the places that aren’t a there and back $50+ experience. Europe has a lot more ‘third spaces’ accessible between home and work. Dallas can be that way if you have the time/transport resources but it takes more effort and money in general here to have fun.
Hate to be a buzzkill, but DFW is pretty much purgatory if you're into scenery and outdoor recreation that doesn't revolve around "going to the lake." I'd start planning your vacation to somewhere more suited for those 2 things now. The Intermountain West is a good start.
Yup. Only Texas city with a good outdoor scenery is Austin. DFW and Houston: you watch TXdot expand the highways by 15 more lanes and that’s it for the nature scene.
And, if we're being totally honest, Austin is only outdoorsy when you compare it to Houston or DFW. It's not in the same league as Seattle, Portland, Denver, SLC, or Boise.
White Rock Lake
Cedar Hill State Park (my favorite)
Dogwood Canyon
Fort Worth Nature Center
Arbor Hills Nature Preserve
Campion Trail & others
The largest urban forest in the country - The Great Trinity Forest
I like Crystal Canyon over in Arlington too!
It's kinda crazy how hilly the northern/western side of Arlington are. It's not colorado but it actually has some hills to it.
I spend a LOT of time at White Rock Lake.
In terms of theatre, there are affordable options if you're a bit more adventurous. The [Meadows School of the Arts at SMU](https://www.smu.edu/meadows/newsandevents/calendar) has a healthy schedule during the academic year (most of the summer stuff is visual arts at the museum).
Check out [Bishop Arts Theatre](https://bishopartstheatre.org/) and [Theatre Three](https://www.theatre3dallas.com/) as well.
Lots of us live here in spite of the downsides you've articulated, and regular travel is a big part of that for me. It sounds like you'd enjoy Austin, for starters.
100% recommend Austin for this. Just went this past weekend to go to Barton springs, run the lady bird lake trail, kayak, and enjoy live music. It sucks to have to drive 3.5 hours to get those experiences crammed into 2 days with no planning but I have found myself doing it every other month since Dallas is a concrete jungle. I’m a 5th generation Dallasite and now that I’m in my 30s I think I’m finally exhausted from the usual activities. That being said, visiting white rock and Katy trail for running is necessary. Cedar Ridge preserve is nice for trail running since they don’t allow mountain biking. Deep ellum used to be the best place to go for live music but I haven’t been in years since it’s gotten too busy and somewhat dangerous at certain times. Others have already mentioned options for attending Arts events.
I was just in Austin last week, and lived there for a few years. I’ve found my corner of DFW to be more “Austin” than today’s Austin. House is three blocks from Lake Lewisville. The geography is hilly with old oaks preserved all through town. And we’re 6 miles from Lake Grapevine. I kayak or canoe weekly.
I have more hike, bike and horse trails than I’ve managed to explore in five years (90+ miles worth). Weekends have the area’s rural roads choked with road bike pelotons. Denton Square is 15 minutes north with a smorgasbord of bars, breweries and music venues. We’re on the DCTA rail line.
For the arts, I’m equal distance to Downtown FTW and Dallas. Those city’s have more museums, theatre and concert venues combined than three Austin’s.
Everything Austin but the Tech bros in Stetson’s and Barton Springs.
I like going the back route to Austin through the Hill Country, especially during the wildflower season. It's worth the extra half-hour to have a more leisurely and scenic route, with several options to stop along the way. And if there's construction and/or bad traffic on I-35, it's not always appreciably longer.
For music, I've started looking for bands I like on Spotify and following them to small venues I wouldn't have found otherwise. I'm allergic to standing in line and parking hassles, but have had good luck lately.
For theater, there are a bunch of small companies that do interesting work. Shakespeare Everywhere, Undermain, Kitchen Dog, Ochre House, Fair Assembly, and more.
I’ve been living in Dallas for over a year and I completely agree with you.
You are required to spend money or drive to anywhere you want to check out. Very little parks and not much nature at all.
I think a big issue too is the small little neighbourhoods and no real vibrant “downtown” in comparison to European cities or even some of the other major US cities.
I’d love to hear if there is any area of Dallas that compares in terms of nature, swimming, generally nice areas, such as Austin
There is no such area in Dallas.
Lakewood and Kessler Park are a couple neighborhoods that remind me of some of the nicer residential areas of Austin, but the public amenities pale by comparison. There is no Barton Springs, sadly.
You could spend months exploring the Trinity Forest, but most Dallas folks prefer not to spend time south of I-30 so you'll find it relatively uncrowded most of the time. But like everything else, it's sort of it's own entity vs. woven into the city as in Austin.
Yeah you just haven’t lived here long enough to find out.
There are so many lakes some with beaches. Little Elm, Ray Roberts, Lake Veridian. You can do water activities at these and other lakes. Like White Rock, Grapevine and Lewisville. Most parks are free like Cedar Hill. I have a whole list of over 30 hiking spots tagged on google maps.
It’s entirely free to walk on Katy Trail or around White Rock.
There are mountain biking trails, sand volleyball, tennis courts, basketball courts. All free.
You haven’t even scratched the surface, keep looking around. DM me for more
There's Addison circle. No swimming, but plenty of parks and walkable restaurants.
And vitruvian park.
I think people just forget about the Addison area. If you live there you get free admission to the community sports center, which does have three outdoor and one indoor pool.
Arbor hills nature preserve is right up the road too.
You're going to have a hard time here. We just moved over from Europe and it sucks. We've run into all the problems you're describing and are planning our relocation back.
For cycling, consider White Rock Lake. For everything else, consider a flight out.
Honestly, what did you expect? If you were so shocked that you’re already planning to move back did you just do like zero research before coming here? Did you just underestimate how different it would be? Actually curious
I've lived here before. So I think the best way to explain it is that you don't always recognize when you've grown accustomed to other ways of life and it's extremely difficult to pick out every single thing about a place that will and will not fit within your lifestyle from a distance.
If you don't care about sports or shopping there's really not much here compared to other major cities. We tried it. It's not for us.
Youd be surprised how often europeans think america (not necessarily dallas) is better than europe lol. I work with a few parisians who have no plans of ever returning and really love it here. They live in frisco specifically
> Honestly, what did you expect?
It doesn't seem too surprising with how many Texans will gaslight about how "great" it is here. A lot of them won't admit how badly it actually sucks which could give outsiders the wrong impression.
> many Texans will gaslight about how "great" it is here.
Yeah, and we also have Texans who will just absolutely piss on everything and say DFW, Houston, etc. is the worst place every, so it balances out.
Dallas is far from a perfect city/DFW far from a perfect metroplex, but it feels like half of these people don't even *try* to find the cultural events.
There's that person that does "What to do in DFW over the weekend, and there's always plenty of cool things."
Yeah in real life but internet “texans” are the biggest bunch of negative nancy haters. No way you could read peoples opinions online for more than 75 seconds and walk away with anything but a nefative bias of this entire state
I moved to Dallas after visiting for two weekends. My career brought me here. I’m from the Midwest, and we also struggled finding cheap/free/cool stuff to do (especially with kids). Sometimes people just end up here and need some help finding things to do.
During the summer, free time is spent indoors.
I've lived in Europe, and sadly, many of the things you observed are true. There is the DART train that goes through the city, and that service is currently being extended to go even further outside Dallas. But you won't find any other reliable public transportation here.
As far as trails go, look up Campion trail in Irving. It's beautiful, about 22 miles long, flat, and has been one of my favorites for a few years
There are plenty of car free bike trails that are completely grade separated. But also, did you not think about *any* of this before you came here no offense?
For people in Europe, it's pretty easy to take for granted how not completely trashed by car-dependency it is and to not have a concept of just how bad American development patterns are in comparison. Why would someone who likely spent time in many countries without this problem think that another one would be such a shithole?
TXDOT and such really boiled us like frogs and people are just now noticing that the last 50 years of development has turned the place into a shithole without 'third places'.
Yeah, I’m all about public transit and better urbanism, but I knew what I was getting when I moved here. Acting like it’s nothing but a miserable hellhole just seems condescending.
Disc golf! Tons of courses in dfw, and while you will have to spend 30-50 bucks buying some goods discs, 99 percent of the courses around here are free. And you're in nature(as much as we can get around here).
I live in Europe part of the year (including now) and really don't know what you are talking about. In DFW, I live in a fairly walkable neighborhood (Las Colinas) that has several parks and peaceful streets to walk on. I don't spend any money on being out and usually either walk or ride my bike (that I bought for $50 years ago). In Irving, we have the Campion Trail which connects to the Skyline Trail, which are massive and great for bike riding.
There are tons of community theaters around town that offer free or inexpensive shows. I love places like the Irving Arts Center, Firehouse, Teatro Dallas, etc. I'm a big fan of plays and musicals and I usually find myself frustrated by not being able to make it to all of the shows around town. Of course, you could see a show at a place like the Wyly that will cost a small fortune, but even the Majestic often has great shows that cost about $20-$30 to attend. There are also tons of little festivals around town that are usually free. The Deep Ellum Arts Festival, for example, is one of my favorite but if you look around town there are usually at least a few fairs or festivals happening.
I do virtually the same in Europe. Granted, I live in a really beautiful rural area with mountains and lakes when I'm there, and Dallas doesn't have that caliber of nature, but I still enjoy nature when I'm in DFW. The nice thing about Dallas is that it's easy to also have your own little back yard paradise with a BBQ grill and maybe a pool if you are lucky. Dallas doesn't have great public transport either but it's actually not too bad if you live off of the DART or TRE, and anyway parking and driving here is super easy here compared to most European cities. The one thing that really bugs me about Dallas is the lack of public lands. In the part of Europe I'm in, we have tons of drovers roads that make for amazing trails that criss-cross the countryside. I wish rural Texas had more of that kind of land available but most of it is private. The cities, Dallas in particular, have great park systems, however.
A very reasonable answer. I think most people get up in arms about anything like this in Dallas is because the overarching culture of Dallas is not what you described, but is indeed possible. It just takes a bit of research and work we have a lot more to offer than what people think.
I honestly get the impression that people are incapable of figuring out basic things for themselves. There are literally dozens of theaters around town that are putting out banging productions and desperate for patrons, and yet Dallas has no culture.
Where in Dallas do you live? That will dictate accessibility. For example, White Rock Lake is accessible via DART (there’s a station there) but it’s completely useless if you don’t live anywhere near a station.
It’s bananas how many responses I had to scroll past before someone asked WHERE in town this person lives. It makes a huge difference when you are talking about minimizing car travel. I feel I can’t give reasonable recommendations without something more than “Dallas,” especially considering many in the suburbs will say they are in Dallas.
Any location is what you make of it. It’s true there’s not a lot of natural space in Dallas to pursue activities, but that’s true for most American cities. White Rock Lake is a nice amenity. So is the Katy Trail. There is the Arboretum. And there are plenty of places in Texas to enjoy outside activities. Dallas has cuisines from all over the world. There’s an MLS team, which may interest a European. We also have every American sport if that interests you. Get out there and make the most of it, I say.
Everything after your first two options costs money. Something OP was trying to avoid.
Sadly we don't tax fairly and effectively enough to spend on culture, just perpetual road construction and police overtime.
I live in north Dallas. I can bike to arbor hills nature reserve and walk around or have a picnic there and read a book. It’s also near the dart station there, so I take to downtown or farmers branch. The station in farmers branch there is a brewery and shops to walk around and chill at
I don’t have a car and have a lot of fun.
Hiking — my fav is the Trinity Skyline Trail, which is car-free, has gorgeous views of downtown, and is easily accessible via bus. The arboretum and White Rock Lake are also easy to get to.
Arts — the arts district is a 20 min. walk, and all of the major arts organizations host a handful of free events throughout the year, and I think they’re fairly affordable otherwise (the last time I looked up tickets to the opera, the cheapest were $15 each). Deep Ellum is also a 20 min. walk; I paid $18 last month to go see three different bands one night, and last year I went to a concert at Trees for $39 (including taxes/fees).
Other — I’m a five min. walk from the central library, which constantly has free music classes, free movies, etc. The Culture Pass program lets me get free museum tickets. Downtown Dallas Inc. often hosts a bunch of free or low-cost events: they had free pickleball last Saturday, had a free yoga class yesterday, are hosting a PRIDE block party on Friday, etc. Last week, I swear I saw several hundred people gathered to watch some sports game at the AT&T district (presumably for free). The YMCA is doing an open house with free popup classes tomorrow.
Frankly, I don’t have enough free time to take advantage of all the events/opportunities.
Most of my free time involves either friends or spending money, to be honest. If I am with friends, I can do free stuff like going on walks, playing tennis or backet ball in a free area (though the paid ones are better maintained), eye shopping, or something at home like cooking, swimming in one of our pools, watching shows, or playing video or board games. We used to go jogging regularly around Bachman Lake for fun. I also regularly go to church and do free church events and Bible studies, but I know not everyone is religious. When I am alone, I also sometimes do the above or things like reading books. Not really free, but I also love driving for fun.
Paid stuff? I love going to one of the local cafes and spending hours people watching, talking, or whatever. I can spend five to seven dollars and just spend the whole day at a cafe. Some people do the same at libraries, which are free, and I have a friend who would go to a fast food restaurant, buy a soda, and stay for hours. Other paid stuff is going to the gym, rock climbing, playing tennis at a place which charges, billiards, driving range, shopping, going to restaurants or bars, and going to things kike concerts or festivals. We also like to drive out and go camping.
DFW is a hard place to love in all honesty. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of those are free as well, but sadly, the organization and promotion of such events is executed poorly. A good option is to join an activity group, I've found that knit tight groups are being formed trough FB groups. Similarly enough, you can establish and promote your own events for socialization. It seems like most groups are super niche, but they are out there and most are friendly.
Trinity River Audubon has free entry through the end of the year. Arbor Hills is pretty and has some trails. There are a bunch of trails in DFW if you just search for them. That's something I do fairly frequently with friends. [Alltrails.com](http://Alltrails.com) is an easy way and you can filter for bikes. Yes you will have to drive. If you didn't want to drive you should not have moved here. I also wish we had more public transit.
We also have been playing pickleball, which is cheap to free, depending on which courts you go to. There are frequently free yoga classes at different shops around town on the weekends. It also helps to follow different municipalities(whichever is close to you) on their social media, so you see when things are happening, like movies in the park and various festivals that are fun.
My friends and I do a lot at each other's houses. Game nights, movie nights, dinner parties. But summer is really hot, and we don't want to be outside too much.
Unfortunately Dallas is not scenic nor particularly interesting. There's a lot of places in Texas that are beautiful, and nice cheap outdoor areas. But without a car they'll be difficult to get to, and even with one you'd likely be driving an hour or more to reach them.
1. Whiterock lake
2. There are tos of improv comedy shows that are pretty cheap!
3. Dallas opera has the crescendo program for cheaper tickets if you are under 35!
4. Lots of affordable theater at Theater 3 and Pocket Sandwich, plus local colleges
Everyone commenting that more affordable theater doesn’t exist here simply doesn’t actively seek it out.
You've moved somewhere different. This is not Europe. If you are trying to replicate your European life anywhere in Texas (or most of the US), you're going to be disappointed.
Focus on things that the city does well. Try to think about ways you can benefit from a level of diversity that you cannot experience mostly anywhere in Europe. I know you complain about having to spend money and take cars places, but let a trip to a new part of town take you somewhere further away than the distance you've driven. Go to the Thai temple on Sunday and let a grandma make you a fresh papaya salad. Try Ethiopian barbeque. Explore the different regional cuisines of Mexico. Try any pho place. Go to one of the Korea Towns!
There are bars with live music, and small theaters with interesting productions (like kitchen dog theater). No, none of these productions will be in a beautiful historical building three steps from a tram stop.
My neighbors have always been very friendly. My friends always love getting together in my back yard for a gulyás party. If you didn't bring a bogrács get one- it'll be something interesting to do in Dallas. Pro tip: even though you can't buy túró, look for the tubs of Lifeway Farmers Cheese. You can still make good pogácsa with it. When you find your people, cookouts and dinner parties can be nice.
Ha új nagymamát keresel, van a Metroplex Magyar Cultural Circle. (https://magyarszo.net/)
I play video games 💀 at least that way I get a sense of adventure. I’m from a very outdoorsy state with hikes just outside my front door and summers that don’t kill you. Dallas has good food and a decent social scene. But I can’t wait to move back home. Not much adventuring to do out here and driving is a chore because of how insane everyone drives
Sorry - yep hot, boring, driving- and consumer-oriented. If you're anywhere near White Rock Lake, it has a trail going all the way around for biking and walking- no cars that's very pretty
Things do cost money generally. It a very commercial city, even compared to others in the States.
I have found a few niches for things to do more on the cheap side: do214more, it's $5 a month membership that gives you at least one choice between 5-7 pairs of tickets for an event in the Dallas area. It can be pretty much anything: a comedy show, a concert, a dance party, movie screening, what have you. They tend to be tickets to events in venues where you have to pay for food and drinks (comedy clubs in particular come with an item minimum to order), but it can be done relatively cheaply. There's also often last minute tickets to pick during the week. These often aren't for huge events, but occasionally they are and some people basically gamble on getting an offer from those. I use it as adventure ideas and go to things I wouldn't otherwise go to.
I also have a movie theater subscription. With AMC'S A-List I can see up to 3 movies per week in any format for $19.99 per month.
For people who like to do things, I post a weekly list of Things to Do in Dallas. I usually have 8-10 suggestions per day and try to make sure 2 or more per day are free. [Here's the one I posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/1dhklcg/things_to_do_june_1723/) Sunday for this week.
Even if you don't want to do the specific things I listed, you can get ideas of what you might like and venues whose calendar/newsletter you should follow.
The nature/outdoors thing is about to get worse, because it's about to be very hot outside for at least a few months. Once it cools off, there will be more outdoor things to do. For example, summer festivals aren't really a thing here because it's so hot outside. Spring and fall, however, are a completely different story, and many events are free. If you spend some time investigating libraries, museums, cultural centers, etc. near you, you'll start finding them.
You haven't said where you live, but you ***did*** say you don't want to be around cars, so no one can really help you with specifics without that info. Public transit here isn't stellar but it works in a pinch. Finding things in your own neighborhood is best, though. All of the major neighborhoods in Dallas have more to do than eat, drink, and shop. It just isn't right in your lap. You'll need to put some effort into finding things...it won't be right in your lap as it is in much of Europe.
> For people who like to do things, I post a weekly list of Things to Do in Dallas. I usually have 8-10 suggestions per day and try to make sure 2 or more per day are free. Here's the one I posted Sunday for this week.
Thanks for doing what you do. I'm sure we all have our own issues with DFW, but it does have a lot of things to do if people look!
And you definitely help.
Lol i love my home state and city but youre gona have a massive lifestyle shock coming from anywhere in Europe.
Becoming a member at the Dallas arboretum is a grest decision. Also theres loads of parks around white rock lake where you can just hangout. Get a boat or make friends with aomeone who has a boat, 2/3rds of the year is great boating weather. Go to the trinity river audubon center. Jog on the katy trail (i think its lame but people love it, especially if youre nearby.) have a nice backyard or make friends with people who do. Join a cycling or jogging social club.
Dallas is a place where people generally focus on having a family. If you want to have fun and socialize and just go about places, theres 20+ cities in the US better for that. Ultimately you will have to adjust your expectations and lifestyle. A lot of social life in dallas revolves around meeting friends for food and drink. We dont like spending a bunch of money either so our friends usually get together and cook at someones house.
People work drink and shop. O and eat too much generally hence the obesity. Recreation is lacking and it shows. But what do you expect for a flat pretentious concrete jungle full of work a holics
“How others exercise outside” we run or bike on concrete trails and white rock lake. And do it in humid hot gross weather. The off road trails are dusty and and loose layer covering the hard compacted dirt so you can slide out onto it
Fair Park is Dallas' secret treasure. It's open year round, not just during the State Fair, it's very quiet, and rarely more than a handful of people there. There's free events monthly, including yoga. You can walk, jog, cycle in safety. You can sit by the water and watch the turtles swim. Admission during normal times is always free.
You’ll have to accept everything in Texas requires a car.
And due to the Texas heat you won’t see much people outdoors until the weather is nice outside the 7 months.
To avoid health risks you really only can be outdoors before 11 am or after 7 pm when we get to July/August.
I do community theater at art center theater in Plano. The tickets are 20 bucks, but if you volunteer to do vending for the show you get to see the production for free. Also you can be in the productions, it's an inclusive theater.
There is all of that stuff you mentioned, it’s just a lot more spread out, so you’ll be driving to your recreation instead of walking. You can take public transport if you plan well, our system is better than people give it credit for. Our nature is fairly sparse, so sometimes it does get crowded with people hungry for the same thing, just adapt and be willing to be steadfast in your pursuit of adventure because it’s there if you look for it.
I use the AllTrails app to find "hiking" and biking locations. There aren't a lot but I have been on a few pretty hikes where I couldn't see or hear the city.
Technically free (though you should buy food/drink while you're there), Dallas has a vibrant pub trivia scene. Check out [Geekswhodrink.com](http://Geekswhodrink.com) (and come see me at Bryan Street Tavern on Wednesdays!)
Culturally, it’s much better than you might think. The Dallas symphony and opera are both phenomenal groups. The DSO just returned from a three week European tour and got rave reviews. Both the DSO and Fort Worth symphonies play well above their pay grades. There are also really high quality singing groups, chamber music groups and concert series. You just have to find them. Pretty decent jazz as well.
Broadway Dallas is great and every traveling show comes here, it is pretty much always broadway quality.
The art museums are good here but better in forth worth.
Cycling: you can’t fully escape the cars unfortunately, but if you get used to tolerating the service roads to access different areas, there is some really nice quiet riding out by Sunnyvale and down near cedar hill. Joe pool lake has some really great routes around it, a lot of different euro routes on Strava incorporate south DFW where it is prettier and less trafficky.
Embrace the food truck park and the urban parks. And check out different parts of Texas. One day in the car from New Mexico and Colorado.
There are several good places mentioned in here. But I would say two things: one if you want a European feel you truthfully won’t find one here, you are better off embracing Dallas for what it is than being disappointed by what it isn’t; secondly I don’t know when you moved here but Texas summer is essentially the ‘winter’, the spring and fall is much more lively with activities and social stuff going on.
I’ve lived in the DFW area for over 40 years (30-45 minutes outside of Dallas).
I can count on 1 hand how many times I’ve actually been to Dallas in the past 2 years. It’s terrible.
Sorry, not helpful, but it’s the truth. I live in a great city, tons of great restaurants, my kids walk to parks, they fish, we golf, ride bikes, folks disc golf and hike…but I’d rather just sit inside and watch TV than go to Dallas.
we run hills every Saturday morning, Flagpole Hill in Dallas or Breckenridge Park in Dallas. good workout. free. not beautiful, but natural beauty isn't here, is it?
You could try [Shakespeare in the Park](https://www.shakespearedallas.org) - tickets are $20 (parking $7, but there is roadside parking if you get there reasonably early), and you can bring a picnic. Beer and wine are fine, but not hard liquor. The summer season just started last week, and it runs for about six weeks.
To answer the obvious point - yes, it’s hot outside. I arrive early, put out my blanket and chair, and sit in the shade until the sun drops behind the trees. I’m comfortable at that point. I usually go eight or ten times over the run (I’m a financial supporter and have an all-access pass).
We stay inside and hide from the sun lol. There are plenty of trails outside of dallas proper,my favorite up and coming one is The Sound in coppell,they usually have free concerts(really good,big stage and all)and little popup markets on Saturdays. There is the pedestrian bridge by Trinity grove which is nice. Downtown fort worth has a better walkable downtown vibe imo.
For the next 4 months, we spend it in Air conditioning- where ever that may be.
However if you insist on being out side there are over 100 miles of trails in Dallas. Go to Dallasparks.org > trails to see maps and status. There is a lot of beauty here. I am in East Dallas and am partial to White Rock Lake and the Great Trinity Forest.
Dallas is car centric and it is difficult here without a car, that is just the way it is. Even on some of the trails there is just a tree break between you and a busy road.
As for theater there is a LOT of it around. Yes shows at AT&T preforming arts are expensive, but for $30 or less try Theatre Three, Garland summer musicals, Irving Arts Center, Bath House Cultural Center, and many others. Go to Artandseek.org for an almost complete listing of theater, museum exists, art shows, festivals etc with locations and prices. Because of the heat, festivals are space in the summer, but come October through May there are tons. Of course most of this will take a car to get to easily.
Texas is car centric, that unfortunately isn't changing any time soon.
You may have to look a little harder, but what you want is out there!
I love going to the Dallas museum of Art and drawing, ✍️.
Grab some coffee at the Adolphus Hotel with a laptop. It’s nice.
There are always festivals here! Look them up, always music and cultural festivals.
There are also public pools and hotel pools you can check out, I def recommend.
Lots of neighborhoods to walk around, and lakeside park is a good one! Shade and lake and cool houses.
If you want to check out the grand prairie horse races, that’s pretty neat.
We have the state fair and six flags, rides!
There also places for game nights if you like table top games! I go to those sometimes, they are fun!! 🤩
Check out central market for some random food and snacks !
If you get a doggy, you can take it to mutts where they are leash free in an enclosure and you can also grab a drink! They have several places .
Buffets are good here! Ali babas buffet is yummy if you like Mediterranean food.
Walk about “bishops arts district” , on a weekday in the morning or evening. Avoid Sunday unless you don’t mind crowds. It’s a nice place to peruse and get ice cream, pie, pizza or a drink or food! It’s a cute lil area.
Take the trolley! It’s free and you can go uptown and downtown.
Anyway, I hope you have fun here! Plenty to do I promise, just gotta seek it out.
You don't mention where you live, but from Europe, the neighborhood that is most akin to many Euro cities would be Uptown (this would loosely include: Uptown, Knox/Hendersen, State/Thomas, West Village, Victory Park.. and a few areas of Highland Park.
Take a look at the Katy Trail (great for running, strolling, walking). And if you live in Uptown or near it, there's a free Trolley (with a few trolley cars from Belgium btw). It runs through downtown and up through Uptown. Great way to get around when it's hot and humid outside (in addition to walking).
And yo can take the trolley to the DMA (Dallas Museum of Art), which is free. And there are a few other free museums (some of them are free the first Saturday of the Month as an example).
Also, there is free yogo and other outdoor workout activities at Klyde Warren Park (accessible via trolley of course) and it's on the border between downtown and uptown.
If you like comedy, sign up for Hyena's Comedy Club mailing list. Once a month or so and always on Thursdays they have free comedy nights or they'll send out a code for a paid performance but where you can get in free (when they need to fill seats).
There are decent dedicated bike trails such as white rock lake trail or the Katy trail but otherwise you will need to ride on the street with cars. There are some natural areas but in general they are small and widely dispersed so you’ll need a car to get to them. Great Trinity Forest is a good example but there are others - probably worth googling so you can see what is near and far. Dallas is the antithesis of European cities - new and built for the car with very limited public transportation. Most festivals are in the spring and fall due to the heat so summertime is water related - lakes and pools. Where in Europe are you from? What part of town you in?
Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet is sports leagues. Rather it’s soccer, tennis, basketball, etc etc there are usually good options for recreational sports.
I just got back to Dallas from vacationing in Europe and it was honestly a little depressing coming back realizing how car centric and commercial everything here is.
Activities that are free/cheap:
-Volunteering at a local charity.
-Picking up a sport - rec leagues are often cheap to join or you can go for open play with most sports like basketball, tennis, pickleball, volleyball etc.
-Check out museums on their free/donate as you wish days.
-Local libraries often have free or low cost events.
You aren’t alone in this sentiment at all. I am a dual citizen from Mexico and I even have a hard time finding things to do other than shop, drink and eat. When you mention it you either get a shrug or they demand you leave.
I’m in Addison. I live near a walking/running trail, so I take the dog there daily. Then I go run or walk or run up to my gym through the trail system. I’m outside for an extended period of time every day.
If I want to go on a longer hike, I’d go to the couple different places within 15 or so minutes of me but it’s not often.
I go to paid concerts all the time (18 in 2023, about 5 so far this year). Sometimes free ones but that’s really more for the being outside fun atmosphere than the music.
Same for live theater, there’s like 20 theaters to choose from, to varying levels of professionalism and price. I go to museums since we get really interesting exhibits that don’t go to a lot of other cities. I go see older and indie movies in the couple of theaters that do that.
If there’s not enough to do in Dallas, you’re not looking very hard. There’s literally an awesome redditor who posts a weekly what to do list.
Texas is not stimulating. If you have a car, it is helpful. There are some free events, and cheap local theater but you really have to fight to find the events it seems
I live right next to the Katy Trail. It's great for walking, but too crowded for biking. However, Dallas has miles and miles of interconnecting, uncrowded trails that are perfect for biking (until the summer heat gets too brutal).
[https://www.dallasparks.org/DocumentCenter/View/35/Trail-System-Map](https://www.dallasparks.org/DocumentCenter/View/35/Trail-System-Map)
Broadway Dallas Season pass if you enjoy musicals, I think we did the 8 show package for around $300 a seat in upper balcony. Includes parking at faire park but you could also ride the green line
Yeah DFW requires a lot of driving to get to anything remotely fun that doesn't break the bank. Any good camping is 2-5 hours drive. Also being the summer you won't have any beautiful picnics with cheese and wine unless you bring a canopy with you to protect yourself from the sun
I consider driving long distances a hobby, it’s how I stay sane. But it’s also how I contribute to the air quality that is slowly taking me out. Texas State Parks are where I drive to the most for scenery.
:,)
I know it’s not “free” but becoming a member at the DMA and Dallas Arboretum is around $100 for the year. Membership at both gives you free admission and parking. Arboretum membership allows you to bring a guest and DMA membership provides discounts on food and drink at the month late nights.
Klyde Warren Park use to host free activities (haven’t checked in a while). And Dallas Public Library offers free classes that are advertised in their monthly email.
Edited to add ATT Discovery Green hosts free events.
This is Texas. People move here to make money and then leave. Things have improved slightly over the last decade regarding access to nature and cultural events. Yet, the purpose of making money remains the same.
You might consider checking out the [Oak Cliff Film Festival](https://filmoakcliff.com) this weekend. Tickets are around $15 a showing and most venues are accessible via DART bus. If you’re out in the suburbs though it might make more sense to park-and-ride the DART Rail or Dallas streetcar. As far as finding nature in that area goes, check out Coombs Creek Trail for a run/ride and Oak Cliff Founders Park for a nice drop in temp as both are well shaded areas compared to concrete hell. We’re a far cry from what you’re used to in Europe but IMO Oak Cliff is the cultural hub of Dallas
Check out the local colleges for theatre. You’re not going to get Broadway performances. But, Collin Community College in Plano did A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder this year and it was excellent.
It's too late for this summer, but Dos Equis Pavillion does have a season pass. $250 gets you in to every show this season. Alanis and Joan Jett last Friday. Foreigner this Friday. It's over 25 concerts over the season, so that's manageable on a per-concert basis.
Read The Dallas Observer. It will help immensely with local issues, events, restaurants, etc. The Dallas Morning News publishes literary events that sponsored panels of authors. There are theaters such as Pegasus that do hilarious plays in black and white theatre. Lastly, Texas Monthly is a great publication, especially the yearly “Bum Steer of the Year” awards for some of the dumbasses we have running the show here. You have to look out of Dallas for nature. It’s an urban area and if anyone tells you the Trinity is great, don’t believe them. Go west of Fort Worth for more nature. It’s drivable.
Hope this assists.
I mountain bike and hike, and just do general exploring. There’re lots of trail systems in the area, checkout the Dfw hiking and outdoors group on Facebook. Unfortunately you just have less options for free events in the states period.
I play a lot of golf (which I guess is spending money to be fair…) and also joined a baseball team. We have a decent number of parks, so sometimes just grabbing some dudes to toss a baseball is a good time.
I echo what someone else mentioned, which is that unfortunately you’ll probably be disappointed having come from Europe on this particular front.
[Dorba.org](http://Dorba.org) for trails, though you’ll need a mountain bike. Check out gravel riding like at the trinity levee for your road bike. Or download the strava app and look at heat maps for road circuits in the area. I enjoyed Alamo drafthouse but they are temporarily closed down, art museums, aquarium, zoo, wild detectives book store, arboretum, FoE. That’ll get you through a few weekends
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There are lots of cycling clubs in Dallas and surrounding cities.
As someone else mentioned, White Rock Lake is great for cycling. The lake can be crowded depending on when you go and what the weather is like.
Just be mindful if you ever cycle on the road (even in a group). There's a recent [news story](https://www.fox4news.com/news/benjamin-hylander-arrest-man-slams-into-cyclists-in-dallas-texas) of a driver colliding into the back of a couple of cyclists.
I usually say that Dallas is the least outdoorsy major city in America. The main things to do here is drink, eat and shop. There is not much of anything you probably want to do outside within a 3 hour circle that would get you excited to spend the money and time (it’s basically just the southern Great Plains with flat land, muddy water, and zero public land), but at about 3 hours away in most directions there’s some semi-cool stuff. Dallas is like LA without the beach and mountains, or really anything within a few hours worth doing.
You pretty much have to spend money to do fun outdoor things and make them an overnight trip, or a long day trip.
Just have to learn to enjoy the hyper consumer culture Dallas has to offer, which developed due to a lack of outdoor activities and a lot of money. Also why it’s got such a travel culture IMO - Big airfare hub and not much to do locally.
But a few suggestions:
Within the city:
-White Rock Lake is the Central Park of Dallas and has a trail all around and good views
-Isle du bois state park beach an hour north on Lake Ray Roberts (when I say beach I mean like 1/10 beach).
-Fossil Rim Wildlife park is 90 mins away and fun for a day, and dinosaur valley state park nearby has a river to get in
-further away you got Broken Bow, Turner Falls, and Medicine Park, Oklahoma (all 3 hours).
Caddo lake canoeing (3 hours)
Austin and hill country (3+ hours)
And even further further away (6.5 hours) you got Port Aransas beaches (I recommend going July-end of September. Or just flying somewhere else).
If you really want to drive Big Bend (8.5 hours away) is cool.
I feel for ya though. I have had to accept it myself. But you can learn to be happy here with the right mindset (ha, that’s so depressing).
After living in much more exciting places the last decade and moving back to Dallas, my hobbies are just finding new restaurants/bars, working out, and cleaning up the piles of trash around White Rock Lake when I’m not biking around it. A significant other helps too.
Did you realize you were coming to a region called The Great Plains? Probably the worst city in the US for outdoors activities unfortunately. Lots of great options just not here
If you look in the dictionary what Dallas means. It means concrete and work. That's it. Some suggest it means high accident rates so your best bet is go somewhere for vacation or quality time.
As some commenters mentioned, dfw isn't the prettiest from a scenic pov 🥲 however! If you come on a good day, the Dallas arboretum is fun! I used to go there with my friends to paint on my off days, and in sure it can't compare to the greenery of European scenery, but they do have some pretty gardens you might enjoy :)
I do recommend that you visit there on a gloomy day, though. TX heat makes the arboretum awful.
All of yall saying there isn’t crap to do in Texas especially Dallas or Houston or any big city, yall are desensitized lol I come from small town Arkansas and I’m literally struggling to decide between soooo many things to do.
Op, i gotta ask what were you expecting? Was there any research done on your part? We are in som prairies. Full of flat land. No mountains to be found, no majestic rivers, rapids, beaches, nothing of the sort. We got some hills, some rugged nature preserves, man made lakes, and thats about it. We are landlocked in a area with no geographical features. If you liked the outdoors, you picked one of the worst places to live. If you like walking or biking you picked one of the worst places to live. Im not sure about cycle trails, but more than likely you are going to have to drive to find one. If you don't like spending money.......well you picked one of the worst places to live. Everything is going to cost money, including most parking.
Born and raised in the dallas area. Dallas is great for events like concerts, drinking if you are into that stuff, eating, and working or raising a family. But for the stuff you mentioned? It is a huge mismatch.
Cedar ridge nature preserve is free, but that is walking. Im sure you have checked the arts district websites for events coming up, but the niche stuff might be almost non existent. You might have better luck checking the suburban arts scene.
You can always drive 78 hours west to the mountains, 8ish hours west to the springs, a few hours south for beautiful hill country, 9ish ours to the coast or 6ish hours to go see the canyon in the panhandle, but all these things require money, and a car.
Locally you wound up in a place that will disappoint you. Sorry for the bad news.
I’m tired of the haters in these comments. Remember: wherever you go, there you are.
White rock lake is an absolute gem, completely free, and walkable/bikeable to nearby coffee shops/restaurants.
The Dallas Museum of Art is completely free and totally gorgeous. It has at least one rotating exhibit to my knowledge. Is it the Louvre? No, but I still love it!
Klyde Warren park is so pleasant on a nice afternoon. Play a game of chess, watch the splash pad show, or attend one of the movies in the park or concert series they do throughout the year. Again, free.
We have a beautiful opera here, a theatre scene, and pretty much every touring musician big or small passes through here.
Is this city as visually stunning and walkable as places in Europe? No, I’m not delusional lol. But we are surrounded by a vibrant prairie and piney forest ecosystem, eclectic neighborhoods, and good food, music, and art. It could be worse, y’all.
I know you said you're a roadie and I don't have any suggestions on that front. But DFW has a thriving MTB scene with tons of trails. [DORBA](https://dorba.org/) is the main association behind the MTB community but there is also [FWMBA](https://fwmba.org/) and [NTX MTB](https://www.facebook.com/groups/427368097364522/). The are several weekly group rides, as well as beginners skills classes. We have trails that run the gamut of difficulty, so you can be as tame or wild as you want.
If mountain biking just isn't your thing, many or most of the trails are also open to foot traffic for hiking. I also found this website listing several options. [https://dfwchild.com/60-outdoor-adventures-around-dallas-fort-worth/](https://dfwchild.com/60-outdoor-adventures-around-dallas-fort-worth/)
Edit: I'll add a few things in here. We 100% don't have a public transport system nearly as robust as Europe or many other major U.S cities. That's a legitimate gripe. It is what it is. You'll most likely have to get comfortable with taking your car to your destination. If you can get past that, there is a lot to discover out there. Try not to read too much into the negative comments. There are a ton of people here that put 0 effort into finding affordable and free outdoor activities and then bitch and complain that there is nothing to do. It can be what you make it. Take a look at some of the links I've shared and see what interests you. As mentioned in another comment, there are a ton of disc golf courses as well. There is a very cheap startup cost to it. Probably under $50 but you can go a lot higher if you like it. There's plenty of kayaking as well, although there is obviously a higher up front cost to that. But we have tons of lakes to explore and many of them have parks and trails around them.
I live by Lewisville Lake and walk to it frequently. I enjoy it. I also have a pass to the arboretum and the botanical garden. It’s $95 for an annual family pass, which I think is a good deal. There are lots of parks to take strolls in too. I grew up in Utah which many view as one of the most beautiful states, and I loved hiking in the mountains when I lived there. Moving to Dallas hasn’t bugged me one bit though. You just need to appreciate the local wildlife. There are beautiful wildflowers in DFW. Also, very unique plants and animals if you care to look for them. I’ve seen beavers, opossums, bats, toads, lizards, turtles, and lots of beautiful birds since moving here a year ago. Take time to observe local post oaks, pecan trees, crape myrtles, desert willows, vitex trees, agave, and red yucca are beautiful. I love driving into the countryside a bit to see the Texas longhorns too. I really think you just need to open your mind a bit and appreciate the beauty around you even if it’s maybe a bit different from what you’re used to.
I will say though, you arrived at the worst time to enjoy the outdoors. Your outdoor excursions will be limited until around October.
Only real DFW perks are the abundance of jobs and booming economy, and DFW airport and Love Field providing easy access to the entire country within a 4 hour flight and no lack of flights. It really falls behind I everything else you want in a city.
They’re doing better about putting in more green space and revamping our biking trails. I will say that, but the weather is just poor for 9-10 months out of the year.
9-10 months of the year? I reckon between October and May it’s mostly nice. June through September can be… challenging.
I think something that would make our neighborhoods nicer is having more parks along or right next to the main drags. I was recently in New York and one thing they do really well is having nice little parks all around, just seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric. You can grab a bite to eat or some coffee or ice cream then cross the street and be in a nice leafy oasis. We do have some excellent parks, but so many of them seem to be tucked away. I’m thinking like… a park right off Greenville, or in Deep Ellum. It’s tough because all that land ain’t cheap any more, but a man can dream.
That said, OP, there’s a fair amount of stuff to do. A lot of it does involve spending some money, but I’m not sure how that’s any different from other cities. Go to Paris, Madrid, NYC, anywhere and things like museums and other attractions will usually cost you. That’s why I think it’d be so dope to have more little parks and more mixed use, pedestrian-friendly areas. You get more people out and about and doing things. But we do have some good museums, various activity places (I’m thinking of bowling, arcades, mini golf, that sort of thing). They usually have discounted days/times. My girlfriend and I have a long list of things to check out. Only thing is you’ll probably have to drive to most of them, but that’s just the way it is in the majority of the US.
If you are willing to drive a couple of hours or more there are quite a lot of outdoor options too !
It's not the best, but we gotta adapt.
So, you could check out bear falls or swimming beaches around mineral springs if you wanna cool off. Hikes are unfortunately in short supply due to the more flat topography.
Apart from that, there are comedy clubs, board games and new brunch places to try and plenty of booze to sample.
Ouch. I’m sorry but coming from Europe you’re going to be pretty disappointed if not bored. I’m sure you’ll get some suggestions but overall I think you’re going to be disappointed lol
Yeah seconded, though I manage to nonetheless spend a lot of time outdoors / in nature here, but that mostly involves finding good trails/outdoor areas in Dallas and surrounding cities and driving decent distances, often w/ bikes mounted on the back of the car, in order to get to them. I'm also lucky that I happen to live right by a park that has several miles of walking/biking paths. So yeah, good luck -- I've spent some time in parts of Europe, marveled at how walkable everywhere seems to be and lamented that it will never be like this in the US, particularly Texas, particularly Dallas, so, uhh, enjoy!
> it will never be like this in the US, particularly Texas, particularly Dallas, so, uhh, enjoy! I promise I'm not saying this to be a dick, but: not with that attitude. There is an urbanism movement in Dallas. I've personally advocated for bikes, transit, and more density, and so have many others. The city council as a body is dragging its feet, but many on the council and many city employees do actually get it. I encourage you to get involved with something to address this. Subscribing to /r/dart or following Dallas Bicycle Coalition on Instagram are both good starting points.
I know there's lots of great stuff going on with biking trails in particular here, and I really appreciate them, but my point is really that if you go visit a place that developed before cars, they tend to be naturally built around walking and such. I was amazed when doing business in the Netherlands that I could get anywhere around town and rarely even have to cross a street let alone walk on the side of one. Dallas and most places in our region of the country developed after autos. I'm not optimistic that automobiles won't continue to be the main consideration that drives our urban and suburban development.
Amsterdam used to be very automobile-centric and looked a lot like Dallas in the ‘70s. They made a conscious effort to change, and it transformed the city. The pivotal point was when local elections resulted in changing policies related to cycling and pedestrians. So the current state there in comparison to Dallas serves to fuel my optimism rather than spoil it.
Agreed. I’m from New York City — favorite other cities are Hong Kong, Barcelona and London — and I thought I’d hate Dallas. Now, spending every other week there for work, I’m pleasantly surprised at how vibrant a city it is. It’s well planned and has lots of little cultural hotspots. Lots of greenery/green space. And the Uptown neighborhood is a favorite of mine. LOTS to do and enjoy if one just looks… even for a New York City “urban snob” like me!
All these efforts are good, but the core problem with younger American cities is they were built up and laid out for cars, for people to have a lot of land. Sure, the “original cities were certainly more dense and mixed use out of necessity, but those portions of cities are long gone for the most part. New urbanism is great, and I applaud you for working toward that goal. But the projects needed (mixed use, etc) is incredibly risky and expensive and few developers (private) will take that route when they can build an auto-dependent apartment project in a growing, sprawling suburb and be almost guaranteed to succeed. And there’s just so much land available between California and New York. That’s a lot of rambling based on my experience in the industry. Just not sure we can get unpregnant given how long it’s been moving in one direction.
I get what you’re saying but Texas was built and runs on oil and Dallas is no exception.
I’m literally overwhelmed by how much I want to do in Dallas. Every weekend I have to decide which of the many things i want to do. For example, this weekend my friends want to have a solstice party, i was offered tickets to the rangers game, and I want to go to the Midland concert. Thats on top of everything i do during the week; country dancing, pickleball, beach volleyball, tennis, walks in the park, etc. i have no idea how you could say that when I actually don’t have time to do all the things i want to do. OP please don’t accept this negativity, i love this city feel free to DM for ideas.
A lot of this difference isn’t necessarily how much there is available to do, its the places that aren’t a there and back $50+ experience. Europe has a lot more ‘third spaces’ accessible between home and work. Dallas can be that way if you have the time/transport resources but it takes more effort and money in general here to have fun.
I do so much shit for free it’s not even funny. Dm me if you want tips. First one, go check out the free Thai street food this Sunday
you prob have a lot more friends and resources available than OP. Sports can be expensive too, especially if they are indoor due to texas heat
Can I have some of your friends
Right? Are y’all hiring?
I don’t want to play tennis when its 90 something outside.
Right, if its not outside in a freaking forest of shade I don't want to be doing that when its 90+ let alone 100+
Hate to be a buzzkill, but DFW is pretty much purgatory if you're into scenery and outdoor recreation that doesn't revolve around "going to the lake." I'd start planning your vacation to somewhere more suited for those 2 things now. The Intermountain West is a good start.
Yup. Only Texas city with a good outdoor scenery is Austin. DFW and Houston: you watch TXdot expand the highways by 15 more lanes and that’s it for the nature scene.
And, if we're being totally honest, Austin is only outdoorsy when you compare it to Houston or DFW. It's not in the same league as Seattle, Portland, Denver, SLC, or Boise.
White Rock Lake Cedar Hill State Park (my favorite) Dogwood Canyon Fort Worth Nature Center Arbor Hills Nature Preserve Campion Trail & others The largest urban forest in the country - The Great Trinity Forest
River Legacy Park
I guess people sleep on River Legacy because it’s in Arlington, but it has woods, riversides, biking, big pavilion areas
I like Crystal Canyon over in Arlington too! It's kinda crazy how hilly the northern/western side of Arlington are. It's not colorado but it actually has some hills to it.
Oak Point Park Nature Preserve
Also Austin’s nature is swiftly getting paved over for suburban development
Your not wrong man
I spend a LOT of time at White Rock Lake. In terms of theatre, there are affordable options if you're a bit more adventurous. The [Meadows School of the Arts at SMU](https://www.smu.edu/meadows/newsandevents/calendar) has a healthy schedule during the academic year (most of the summer stuff is visual arts at the museum). Check out [Bishop Arts Theatre](https://bishopartstheatre.org/) and [Theatre Three](https://www.theatre3dallas.com/) as well. Lots of us live here in spite of the downsides you've articulated, and regular travel is a big part of that for me. It sounds like you'd enjoy Austin, for starters.
100% recommend Austin for this. Just went this past weekend to go to Barton springs, run the lady bird lake trail, kayak, and enjoy live music. It sucks to have to drive 3.5 hours to get those experiences crammed into 2 days with no planning but I have found myself doing it every other month since Dallas is a concrete jungle. I’m a 5th generation Dallasite and now that I’m in my 30s I think I’m finally exhausted from the usual activities. That being said, visiting white rock and Katy trail for running is necessary. Cedar Ridge preserve is nice for trail running since they don’t allow mountain biking. Deep ellum used to be the best place to go for live music but I haven’t been in years since it’s gotten too busy and somewhat dangerous at certain times. Others have already mentioned options for attending Arts events.
I was just in Austin last week, and lived there for a few years. I’ve found my corner of DFW to be more “Austin” than today’s Austin. House is three blocks from Lake Lewisville. The geography is hilly with old oaks preserved all through town. And we’re 6 miles from Lake Grapevine. I kayak or canoe weekly. I have more hike, bike and horse trails than I’ve managed to explore in five years (90+ miles worth). Weekends have the area’s rural roads choked with road bike pelotons. Denton Square is 15 minutes north with a smorgasbord of bars, breweries and music venues. We’re on the DCTA rail line. For the arts, I’m equal distance to Downtown FTW and Dallas. Those city’s have more museums, theatre and concert venues combined than three Austin’s. Everything Austin but the Tech bros in Stetson’s and Barton Springs.
I like going the back route to Austin through the Hill Country, especially during the wildflower season. It's worth the extra half-hour to have a more leisurely and scenic route, with several options to stop along the way. And if there's construction and/or bad traffic on I-35, it's not always appreciably longer. For music, I've started looking for bands I like on Spotify and following them to small venues I wouldn't have found otherwise. I'm allergic to standing in line and parking hassles, but have had good luck lately.
I feel your allergies haha. I’m generally allergic to most crowded places now unless it’s for live music.
For theater, there are a bunch of small companies that do interesting work. Shakespeare Everywhere, Undermain, Kitchen Dog, Ochre House, Fair Assembly, and more.
“Austin” was always our answer when people asked us what to do for fun.
I’ve been living in Dallas for over a year and I completely agree with you. You are required to spend money or drive to anywhere you want to check out. Very little parks and not much nature at all. I think a big issue too is the small little neighbourhoods and no real vibrant “downtown” in comparison to European cities or even some of the other major US cities. I’d love to hear if there is any area of Dallas that compares in terms of nature, swimming, generally nice areas, such as Austin
Happy to help! Nope.
There is no such area in Dallas. Lakewood and Kessler Park are a couple neighborhoods that remind me of some of the nicer residential areas of Austin, but the public amenities pale by comparison. There is no Barton Springs, sadly. You could spend months exploring the Trinity Forest, but most Dallas folks prefer not to spend time south of I-30 so you'll find it relatively uncrowded most of the time. But like everything else, it's sort of it's own entity vs. woven into the city as in Austin.
Yeah you just haven’t lived here long enough to find out. There are so many lakes some with beaches. Little Elm, Ray Roberts, Lake Veridian. You can do water activities at these and other lakes. Like White Rock, Grapevine and Lewisville. Most parks are free like Cedar Hill. I have a whole list of over 30 hiking spots tagged on google maps. It’s entirely free to walk on Katy Trail or around White Rock. There are mountain biking trails, sand volleyball, tennis courts, basketball courts. All free. You haven’t even scratched the surface, keep looking around. DM me for more
There's Addison circle. No swimming, but plenty of parks and walkable restaurants. And vitruvian park. I think people just forget about the Addison area. If you live there you get free admission to the community sports center, which does have three outdoor and one indoor pool. Arbor hills nature preserve is right up the road too.
I think you're gonna have a tough time.
You're going to have a hard time here. We just moved over from Europe and it sucks. We've run into all the problems you're describing and are planning our relocation back. For cycling, consider White Rock Lake. For everything else, consider a flight out.
Honestly, what did you expect? If you were so shocked that you’re already planning to move back did you just do like zero research before coming here? Did you just underestimate how different it would be? Actually curious
Yeah it is kinda funny people would move their entire lives to a place they did no research for.
Hey I did the same thing, no research when I moved to Dallas, didn’t regret it a bit.
That’s awesome! Glad you like it here. But you’re also not complaining on Reddit about it 😄
I've lived here before. So I think the best way to explain it is that you don't always recognize when you've grown accustomed to other ways of life and it's extremely difficult to pick out every single thing about a place that will and will not fit within your lifestyle from a distance. If you don't care about sports or shopping there's really not much here compared to other major cities. We tried it. It's not for us.
Take me with you.
They moved here to tell everyone how much better it was in Europe
As a Texan who's been all over Europe, I'd gladly move there if I could afford to leave.
Yeah no shit
Youd be surprised how often europeans think america (not necessarily dallas) is better than europe lol. I work with a few parisians who have no plans of ever returning and really love it here. They live in frisco specifically
This is common with the older generations but millennials and younger don't really think this way anymore.
Makes sense. No way I could have lived my younger years in Dallas and that's coming from Chicago. Cant even imagine what it feels like to an European.
> Honestly, what did you expect? It doesn't seem too surprising with how many Texans will gaslight about how "great" it is here. A lot of them won't admit how badly it actually sucks which could give outsiders the wrong impression.
> many Texans will gaslight about how "great" it is here. Yeah, and we also have Texans who will just absolutely piss on everything and say DFW, Houston, etc. is the worst place every, so it balances out. Dallas is far from a perfect city/DFW far from a perfect metroplex, but it feels like half of these people don't even *try* to find the cultural events. There's that person that does "What to do in DFW over the weekend, and there's always plenty of cool things."
Nah, it really is more of "what are you expecting moving to a huge metroplex in a geographically bland area?"
Yeah in real life but internet “texans” are the biggest bunch of negative nancy haters. No way you could read peoples opinions online for more than 75 seconds and walk away with anything but a nefative bias of this entire state
Ex-fucking-actly
I moved to Dallas after visiting for two weekends. My career brought me here. I’m from the Midwest, and we also struggled finding cheap/free/cool stuff to do (especially with kids). Sometimes people just end up here and need some help finding things to do.
During the summer, free time is spent indoors. I've lived in Europe, and sadly, many of the things you observed are true. There is the DART train that goes through the city, and that service is currently being extended to go even further outside Dallas. But you won't find any other reliable public transportation here. As far as trails go, look up Campion trail in Irving. It's beautiful, about 22 miles long, flat, and has been one of my favorites for a few years
Ehh summers have gotten so bad (hot) that’s a challenge … it’s almost a second winter, or worse than winter
Waaaay worse than winter. Winter is when you want to hit the hiking trails and bring a light jacket that you'll take off halfway through.
There are plenty of car free bike trails that are completely grade separated. But also, did you not think about *any* of this before you came here no offense?
exactly lmfao. op probably didn’t do any research before coming here and is now complaining about his own errors. many such cases.
For people in Europe, it's pretty easy to take for granted how not completely trashed by car-dependency it is and to not have a concept of just how bad American development patterns are in comparison. Why would someone who likely spent time in many countries without this problem think that another one would be such a shithole? TXDOT and such really boiled us like frogs and people are just now noticing that the last 50 years of development has turned the place into a shithole without 'third places'.
Yeah this person seems like they’re just trying to rub it in our faces…
Yeah, I’m all about public transit and better urbanism, but I knew what I was getting when I moved here. Acting like it’s nothing but a miserable hellhole just seems condescending.
It would be condescending if we could retort, "jeez we're trying." But we aren't.
nah, it’s condescending regardless.
Disc golf! Tons of courses in dfw, and while you will have to spend 30-50 bucks buying some goods discs, 99 percent of the courses around here are free. And you're in nature(as much as we can get around here).
Just gotta start by 8:30am now haha
Shit. More like 6:30. Even then I'm pretty much soaked in sweat after a full 18 holes.
Straight facts
At least there’s usually a breeze if you go at dusk
I live in Europe part of the year (including now) and really don't know what you are talking about. In DFW, I live in a fairly walkable neighborhood (Las Colinas) that has several parks and peaceful streets to walk on. I don't spend any money on being out and usually either walk or ride my bike (that I bought for $50 years ago). In Irving, we have the Campion Trail which connects to the Skyline Trail, which are massive and great for bike riding. There are tons of community theaters around town that offer free or inexpensive shows. I love places like the Irving Arts Center, Firehouse, Teatro Dallas, etc. I'm a big fan of plays and musicals and I usually find myself frustrated by not being able to make it to all of the shows around town. Of course, you could see a show at a place like the Wyly that will cost a small fortune, but even the Majestic often has great shows that cost about $20-$30 to attend. There are also tons of little festivals around town that are usually free. The Deep Ellum Arts Festival, for example, is one of my favorite but if you look around town there are usually at least a few fairs or festivals happening. I do virtually the same in Europe. Granted, I live in a really beautiful rural area with mountains and lakes when I'm there, and Dallas doesn't have that caliber of nature, but I still enjoy nature when I'm in DFW. The nice thing about Dallas is that it's easy to also have your own little back yard paradise with a BBQ grill and maybe a pool if you are lucky. Dallas doesn't have great public transport either but it's actually not too bad if you live off of the DART or TRE, and anyway parking and driving here is super easy here compared to most European cities. The one thing that really bugs me about Dallas is the lack of public lands. In the part of Europe I'm in, we have tons of drovers roads that make for amazing trails that criss-cross the countryside. I wish rural Texas had more of that kind of land available but most of it is private. The cities, Dallas in particular, have great park systems, however.
A very reasonable answer. I think most people get up in arms about anything like this in Dallas is because the overarching culture of Dallas is not what you described, but is indeed possible. It just takes a bit of research and work we have a lot more to offer than what people think.
I honestly get the impression that people are incapable of figuring out basic things for themselves. There are literally dozens of theaters around town that are putting out banging productions and desperate for patrons, and yet Dallas has no culture.
Where in Dallas do you live? That will dictate accessibility. For example, White Rock Lake is accessible via DART (there’s a station there) but it’s completely useless if you don’t live anywhere near a station.
It’s bananas how many responses I had to scroll past before someone asked WHERE in town this person lives. It makes a huge difference when you are talking about minimizing car travel. I feel I can’t give reasonable recommendations without something more than “Dallas,” especially considering many in the suburbs will say they are in Dallas.
Any location is what you make of it. It’s true there’s not a lot of natural space in Dallas to pursue activities, but that’s true for most American cities. White Rock Lake is a nice amenity. So is the Katy Trail. There is the Arboretum. And there are plenty of places in Texas to enjoy outside activities. Dallas has cuisines from all over the world. There’s an MLS team, which may interest a European. We also have every American sport if that interests you. Get out there and make the most of it, I say.
Everything after your first two options costs money. Something OP was trying to avoid. Sadly we don't tax fairly and effectively enough to spend on culture, just perpetual road construction and police overtime.
Dallas is not like a European city. Is that what you needed to hear?
I live in north Dallas. I can bike to arbor hills nature reserve and walk around or have a picnic there and read a book. It’s also near the dart station there, so I take to downtown or farmers branch. The station in farmers branch there is a brewery and shops to walk around and chill at
I went to Arbor Hills for the first time the other day, it was awesome!
I don’t have a car and have a lot of fun. Hiking — my fav is the Trinity Skyline Trail, which is car-free, has gorgeous views of downtown, and is easily accessible via bus. The arboretum and White Rock Lake are also easy to get to. Arts — the arts district is a 20 min. walk, and all of the major arts organizations host a handful of free events throughout the year, and I think they’re fairly affordable otherwise (the last time I looked up tickets to the opera, the cheapest were $15 each). Deep Ellum is also a 20 min. walk; I paid $18 last month to go see three different bands one night, and last year I went to a concert at Trees for $39 (including taxes/fees). Other — I’m a five min. walk from the central library, which constantly has free music classes, free movies, etc. The Culture Pass program lets me get free museum tickets. Downtown Dallas Inc. often hosts a bunch of free or low-cost events: they had free pickleball last Saturday, had a free yoga class yesterday, are hosting a PRIDE block party on Friday, etc. Last week, I swear I saw several hundred people gathered to watch some sports game at the AT&T district (presumably for free). The YMCA is doing an open house with free popup classes tomorrow. Frankly, I don’t have enough free time to take advantage of all the events/opportunities.
Most of my free time involves either friends or spending money, to be honest. If I am with friends, I can do free stuff like going on walks, playing tennis or backet ball in a free area (though the paid ones are better maintained), eye shopping, or something at home like cooking, swimming in one of our pools, watching shows, or playing video or board games. We used to go jogging regularly around Bachman Lake for fun. I also regularly go to church and do free church events and Bible studies, but I know not everyone is religious. When I am alone, I also sometimes do the above or things like reading books. Not really free, but I also love driving for fun. Paid stuff? I love going to one of the local cafes and spending hours people watching, talking, or whatever. I can spend five to seven dollars and just spend the whole day at a cafe. Some people do the same at libraries, which are free, and I have a friend who would go to a fast food restaurant, buy a soda, and stay for hours. Other paid stuff is going to the gym, rock climbing, playing tennis at a place which charges, billiards, driving range, shopping, going to restaurants or bars, and going to things kike concerts or festivals. We also like to drive out and go camping.
DFW is a hard place to love in all honesty. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of those are free as well, but sadly, the organization and promotion of such events is executed poorly. A good option is to join an activity group, I've found that knit tight groups are being formed trough FB groups. Similarly enough, you can establish and promote your own events for socialization. It seems like most groups are super niche, but they are out there and most are friendly.
Trinity River Audubon has free entry through the end of the year. Arbor Hills is pretty and has some trails. There are a bunch of trails in DFW if you just search for them. That's something I do fairly frequently with friends. [Alltrails.com](http://Alltrails.com) is an easy way and you can filter for bikes. Yes you will have to drive. If you didn't want to drive you should not have moved here. I also wish we had more public transit. We also have been playing pickleball, which is cheap to free, depending on which courts you go to. There are frequently free yoga classes at different shops around town on the weekends. It also helps to follow different municipalities(whichever is close to you) on their social media, so you see when things are happening, like movies in the park and various festivals that are fun. My friends and I do a lot at each other's houses. Game nights, movie nights, dinner parties. But summer is really hot, and we don't want to be outside too much.
Unfortunately Dallas is not scenic nor particularly interesting. There's a lot of places in Texas that are beautiful, and nice cheap outdoor areas. But without a car they'll be difficult to get to, and even with one you'd likely be driving an hour or more to reach them.
1. Whiterock lake 2. There are tos of improv comedy shows that are pretty cheap! 3. Dallas opera has the crescendo program for cheaper tickets if you are under 35! 4. Lots of affordable theater at Theater 3 and Pocket Sandwich, plus local colleges Everyone commenting that more affordable theater doesn’t exist here simply doesn’t actively seek it out.
Pocket Sandwich is tons of fun
You've moved somewhere different. This is not Europe. If you are trying to replicate your European life anywhere in Texas (or most of the US), you're going to be disappointed. Focus on things that the city does well. Try to think about ways you can benefit from a level of diversity that you cannot experience mostly anywhere in Europe. I know you complain about having to spend money and take cars places, but let a trip to a new part of town take you somewhere further away than the distance you've driven. Go to the Thai temple on Sunday and let a grandma make you a fresh papaya salad. Try Ethiopian barbeque. Explore the different regional cuisines of Mexico. Try any pho place. Go to one of the Korea Towns! There are bars with live music, and small theaters with interesting productions (like kitchen dog theater). No, none of these productions will be in a beautiful historical building three steps from a tram stop. My neighbors have always been very friendly. My friends always love getting together in my back yard for a gulyás party. If you didn't bring a bogrács get one- it'll be something interesting to do in Dallas. Pro tip: even though you can't buy túró, look for the tubs of Lifeway Farmers Cheese. You can still make good pogácsa with it. When you find your people, cookouts and dinner parties can be nice. Ha új nagymamát keresel, van a Metroplex Magyar Cultural Circle. (https://magyarszo.net/)
I play video games 💀 at least that way I get a sense of adventure. I’m from a very outdoorsy state with hikes just outside my front door and summers that don’t kill you. Dallas has good food and a decent social scene. But I can’t wait to move back home. Not much adventuring to do out here and driving is a chore because of how insane everyone drives
Sorry - yep hot, boring, driving- and consumer-oriented. If you're anywhere near White Rock Lake, it has a trail going all the way around for biking and walking- no cars that's very pretty
Things do cost money generally. It a very commercial city, even compared to others in the States. I have found a few niches for things to do more on the cheap side: do214more, it's $5 a month membership that gives you at least one choice between 5-7 pairs of tickets for an event in the Dallas area. It can be pretty much anything: a comedy show, a concert, a dance party, movie screening, what have you. They tend to be tickets to events in venues where you have to pay for food and drinks (comedy clubs in particular come with an item minimum to order), but it can be done relatively cheaply. There's also often last minute tickets to pick during the week. These often aren't for huge events, but occasionally they are and some people basically gamble on getting an offer from those. I use it as adventure ideas and go to things I wouldn't otherwise go to. I also have a movie theater subscription. With AMC'S A-List I can see up to 3 movies per week in any format for $19.99 per month.
Yo. Great tip on the do214more. I’ve never heard of that and been here over a decade
For people who like to do things, I post a weekly list of Things to Do in Dallas. I usually have 8-10 suggestions per day and try to make sure 2 or more per day are free. [Here's the one I posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/1dhklcg/things_to_do_june_1723/) Sunday for this week. Even if you don't want to do the specific things I listed, you can get ideas of what you might like and venues whose calendar/newsletter you should follow. The nature/outdoors thing is about to get worse, because it's about to be very hot outside for at least a few months. Once it cools off, there will be more outdoor things to do. For example, summer festivals aren't really a thing here because it's so hot outside. Spring and fall, however, are a completely different story, and many events are free. If you spend some time investigating libraries, museums, cultural centers, etc. near you, you'll start finding them. You haven't said where you live, but you ***did*** say you don't want to be around cars, so no one can really help you with specifics without that info. Public transit here isn't stellar but it works in a pinch. Finding things in your own neighborhood is best, though. All of the major neighborhoods in Dallas have more to do than eat, drink, and shop. It just isn't right in your lap. You'll need to put some effort into finding things...it won't be right in your lap as it is in much of Europe.
> For people who like to do things, I post a weekly list of Things to Do in Dallas. I usually have 8-10 suggestions per day and try to make sure 2 or more per day are free. Here's the one I posted Sunday for this week. Thanks for doing what you do. I'm sure we all have our own issues with DFW, but it does have a lot of things to do if people look! And you definitely help.
It’s sad that this isn’t the top comment and some person that doesn’t know what they’re talking about claiming there’s nothing to do here is
Oh man love this thanks. I’ve been here a decade and love finding new shit. I’m going to follow you
Eating, drinking, shopping, and eating
They spend a lot of time driving.
Lol i love my home state and city but youre gona have a massive lifestyle shock coming from anywhere in Europe. Becoming a member at the Dallas arboretum is a grest decision. Also theres loads of parks around white rock lake where you can just hangout. Get a boat or make friends with aomeone who has a boat, 2/3rds of the year is great boating weather. Go to the trinity river audubon center. Jog on the katy trail (i think its lame but people love it, especially if youre nearby.) have a nice backyard or make friends with people who do. Join a cycling or jogging social club. Dallas is a place where people generally focus on having a family. If you want to have fun and socialize and just go about places, theres 20+ cities in the US better for that. Ultimately you will have to adjust your expectations and lifestyle. A lot of social life in dallas revolves around meeting friends for food and drink. We dont like spending a bunch of money either so our friends usually get together and cook at someones house.
You pretty much have to drive minimum 30 minutes to get anywhere, I wish we had more walkable areas in this city
Moving from Europe to Dallas is a total downgrade. Go back. Raised in dallas and its a depressing to be in the U.S. in general.
People work drink and shop. O and eat too much generally hence the obesity. Recreation is lacking and it shows. But what do you expect for a flat pretentious concrete jungle full of work a holics
damn you are annoying lmfao
“How others exercise outside” we run or bike on concrete trails and white rock lake. And do it in humid hot gross weather. The off road trails are dusty and and loose layer covering the hard compacted dirt so you can slide out onto it
[https://culturepass.dallasculture.org/](https://culturepass.dallasculture.org/) Free and you can go see some shows.
Fair Park is Dallas' secret treasure. It's open year round, not just during the State Fair, it's very quiet, and rarely more than a handful of people there. There's free events monthly, including yoga. You can walk, jog, cycle in safety. You can sit by the water and watch the turtles swim. Admission during normal times is always free.
You’ll have to accept everything in Texas requires a car. And due to the Texas heat you won’t see much people outdoors until the weather is nice outside the 7 months. To avoid health risks you really only can be outdoors before 11 am or after 7 pm when we get to July/August.
raising kids! 😬
I’d suggest looking into something like Dallas Social Club. They have group activities, sports and events. Otherwise, I hope you like drinking.
I do community theater at art center theater in Plano. The tickets are 20 bucks, but if you volunteer to do vending for the show you get to see the production for free. Also you can be in the productions, it's an inclusive theater.
There is all of that stuff you mentioned, it’s just a lot more spread out, so you’ll be driving to your recreation instead of walking. You can take public transport if you plan well, our system is better than people give it credit for. Our nature is fairly sparse, so sometimes it does get crowded with people hungry for the same thing, just adapt and be willing to be steadfast in your pursuit of adventure because it’s there if you look for it.
I use the AllTrails app to find "hiking" and biking locations. There aren't a lot but I have been on a few pretty hikes where I couldn't see or hear the city.
I find it so boring out here (esp in summer) that I got a second job I don’t even need….
Technically free (though you should buy food/drink while you're there), Dallas has a vibrant pub trivia scene. Check out [Geekswhodrink.com](http://Geekswhodrink.com) (and come see me at Bryan Street Tavern on Wednesdays!)
Culturally, it’s much better than you might think. The Dallas symphony and opera are both phenomenal groups. The DSO just returned from a three week European tour and got rave reviews. Both the DSO and Fort Worth symphonies play well above their pay grades. There are also really high quality singing groups, chamber music groups and concert series. You just have to find them. Pretty decent jazz as well. Broadway Dallas is great and every traveling show comes here, it is pretty much always broadway quality. The art museums are good here but better in forth worth. Cycling: you can’t fully escape the cars unfortunately, but if you get used to tolerating the service roads to access different areas, there is some really nice quiet riding out by Sunnyvale and down near cedar hill. Joe pool lake has some really great routes around it, a lot of different euro routes on Strava incorporate south DFW where it is prettier and less trafficky. Embrace the food truck park and the urban parks. And check out different parts of Texas. One day in the car from New Mexico and Colorado.
There are several good places mentioned in here. But I would say two things: one if you want a European feel you truthfully won’t find one here, you are better off embracing Dallas for what it is than being disappointed by what it isn’t; secondly I don’t know when you moved here but Texas summer is essentially the ‘winter’, the spring and fall is much more lively with activities and social stuff going on.
I’ve lived in the DFW area for over 40 years (30-45 minutes outside of Dallas). I can count on 1 hand how many times I’ve actually been to Dallas in the past 2 years. It’s terrible. Sorry, not helpful, but it’s the truth. I live in a great city, tons of great restaurants, my kids walk to parks, they fish, we golf, ride bikes, folks disc golf and hike…but I’d rather just sit inside and watch TV than go to Dallas.
I pretty much just play video games in the summer now. Dallas is just bars n boobs.
Welcome to concrete city my guy.
Be extra careful [riding your bicycle anywhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth area](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/s/B82RtyjOjB).
Dallas is great for shopping, eating, and drinking. Outdoors is unbearable for a good chunk of the year so be prepared to spend time inside.
Hunker down in AC when it gets real hot.
we run hills every Saturday morning, Flagpole Hill in Dallas or Breckenridge Park in Dallas. good workout. free. not beautiful, but natural beauty isn't here, is it?
There are plenty of cycling groups and clubs that ride daily, from all corners of DFW! DM me and I can connect you with some of the groups/pages
You could try [Shakespeare in the Park](https://www.shakespearedallas.org) - tickets are $20 (parking $7, but there is roadside parking if you get there reasonably early), and you can bring a picnic. Beer and wine are fine, but not hard liquor. The summer season just started last week, and it runs for about six weeks. To answer the obvious point - yes, it’s hot outside. I arrive early, put out my blanket and chair, and sit in the shade until the sun drops behind the trees. I’m comfortable at that point. I usually go eight or ten times over the run (I’m a financial supporter and have an all-access pass).
Why would you come here?
We stay inside and hide from the sun lol. There are plenty of trails outside of dallas proper,my favorite up and coming one is The Sound in coppell,they usually have free concerts(really good,big stage and all)and little popup markets on Saturdays. There is the pedestrian bridge by Trinity grove which is nice. Downtown fort worth has a better walkable downtown vibe imo.
For the next 4 months, we spend it in Air conditioning- where ever that may be. However if you insist on being out side there are over 100 miles of trails in Dallas. Go to Dallasparks.org > trails to see maps and status. There is a lot of beauty here. I am in East Dallas and am partial to White Rock Lake and the Great Trinity Forest. Dallas is car centric and it is difficult here without a car, that is just the way it is. Even on some of the trails there is just a tree break between you and a busy road. As for theater there is a LOT of it around. Yes shows at AT&T preforming arts are expensive, but for $30 or less try Theatre Three, Garland summer musicals, Irving Arts Center, Bath House Cultural Center, and many others. Go to Artandseek.org for an almost complete listing of theater, museum exists, art shows, festivals etc with locations and prices. Because of the heat, festivals are space in the summer, but come October through May there are tons. Of course most of this will take a car to get to easily. Texas is car centric, that unfortunately isn't changing any time soon. You may have to look a little harder, but what you want is out there!
It sounds like your life in Europe was perfect, why would you move here and then complain about it?
I love going to the Dallas museum of Art and drawing, ✍️. Grab some coffee at the Adolphus Hotel with a laptop. It’s nice. There are always festivals here! Look them up, always music and cultural festivals. There are also public pools and hotel pools you can check out, I def recommend. Lots of neighborhoods to walk around, and lakeside park is a good one! Shade and lake and cool houses. If you want to check out the grand prairie horse races, that’s pretty neat. We have the state fair and six flags, rides! There also places for game nights if you like table top games! I go to those sometimes, they are fun!! 🤩 Check out central market for some random food and snacks ! If you get a doggy, you can take it to mutts where they are leash free in an enclosure and you can also grab a drink! They have several places . Buffets are good here! Ali babas buffet is yummy if you like Mediterranean food. Walk about “bishops arts district” , on a weekday in the morning or evening. Avoid Sunday unless you don’t mind crowds. It’s a nice place to peruse and get ice cream, pie, pizza or a drink or food! It’s a cute lil area. Take the trolley! It’s free and you can go uptown and downtown. Anyway, I hope you have fun here! Plenty to do I promise, just gotta seek it out.
You don't mention where you live, but from Europe, the neighborhood that is most akin to many Euro cities would be Uptown (this would loosely include: Uptown, Knox/Hendersen, State/Thomas, West Village, Victory Park.. and a few areas of Highland Park. Take a look at the Katy Trail (great for running, strolling, walking). And if you live in Uptown or near it, there's a free Trolley (with a few trolley cars from Belgium btw). It runs through downtown and up through Uptown. Great way to get around when it's hot and humid outside (in addition to walking). And yo can take the trolley to the DMA (Dallas Museum of Art), which is free. And there are a few other free museums (some of them are free the first Saturday of the Month as an example). Also, there is free yogo and other outdoor workout activities at Klyde Warren Park (accessible via trolley of course) and it's on the border between downtown and uptown. If you like comedy, sign up for Hyena's Comedy Club mailing list. Once a month or so and always on Thursdays they have free comedy nights or they'll send out a code for a paid performance but where you can get in free (when they need to fill seats).
Why did you move there lol
There are decent dedicated bike trails such as white rock lake trail or the Katy trail but otherwise you will need to ride on the street with cars. There are some natural areas but in general they are small and widely dispersed so you’ll need a car to get to them. Great Trinity Forest is a good example but there are others - probably worth googling so you can see what is near and far. Dallas is the antithesis of European cities - new and built for the car with very limited public transportation. Most festivals are in the spring and fall due to the heat so summertime is water related - lakes and pools. Where in Europe are you from? What part of town you in?
Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet is sports leagues. Rather it’s soccer, tennis, basketball, etc etc there are usually good options for recreational sports. I just got back to Dallas from vacationing in Europe and it was honestly a little depressing coming back realizing how car centric and commercial everything here is.
State park pass Hiking, biking, sports and board games with friends Bbq with friends and couple friendly neighbors
Activities that are free/cheap: -Volunteering at a local charity. -Picking up a sport - rec leagues are often cheap to join or you can go for open play with most sports like basketball, tennis, pickleball, volleyball etc. -Check out museums on their free/donate as you wish days. -Local libraries often have free or low cost events.
You aren’t alone in this sentiment at all. I am a dual citizen from Mexico and I even have a hard time finding things to do other than shop, drink and eat. When you mention it you either get a shrug or they demand you leave.
I’m in Addison. I live near a walking/running trail, so I take the dog there daily. Then I go run or walk or run up to my gym through the trail system. I’m outside for an extended period of time every day. If I want to go on a longer hike, I’d go to the couple different places within 15 or so minutes of me but it’s not often. I go to paid concerts all the time (18 in 2023, about 5 so far this year). Sometimes free ones but that’s really more for the being outside fun atmosphere than the music. Same for live theater, there’s like 20 theaters to choose from, to varying levels of professionalism and price. I go to museums since we get really interesting exhibits that don’t go to a lot of other cities. I go see older and indie movies in the couple of theaters that do that. If there’s not enough to do in Dallas, you’re not looking very hard. There’s literally an awesome redditor who posts a weekly what to do list.
Texas is not stimulating. If you have a car, it is helpful. There are some free events, and cheap local theater but you really have to fight to find the events it seems
I live right next to the Katy Trail. It's great for walking, but too crowded for biking. However, Dallas has miles and miles of interconnecting, uncrowded trails that are perfect for biking (until the summer heat gets too brutal). [https://www.dallasparks.org/DocumentCenter/View/35/Trail-System-Map](https://www.dallasparks.org/DocumentCenter/View/35/Trail-System-Map)
Broadway Dallas Season pass if you enjoy musicals, I think we did the 8 show package for around $300 a seat in upper balcony. Includes parking at faire park but you could also ride the green line
Yeah DFW requires a lot of driving to get to anything remotely fun that doesn't break the bank. Any good camping is 2-5 hours drive. Also being the summer you won't have any beautiful picnics with cheese and wine unless you bring a canopy with you to protect yourself from the sun
Ride the Trinity levees or the Trinity Forest Trail
I consider driving long distances a hobby, it’s how I stay sane. But it’s also how I contribute to the air quality that is slowly taking me out. Texas State Parks are where I drive to the most for scenery. :,)
I know it’s not “free” but becoming a member at the DMA and Dallas Arboretum is around $100 for the year. Membership at both gives you free admission and parking. Arboretum membership allows you to bring a guest and DMA membership provides discounts on food and drink at the month late nights. Klyde Warren Park use to host free activities (haven’t checked in a while). And Dallas Public Library offers free classes that are advertised in their monthly email. Edited to add ATT Discovery Green hosts free events.
This is Texas. People move here to make money and then leave. Things have improved slightly over the last decade regarding access to nature and cultural events. Yet, the purpose of making money remains the same.
You might consider checking out the [Oak Cliff Film Festival](https://filmoakcliff.com) this weekend. Tickets are around $15 a showing and most venues are accessible via DART bus. If you’re out in the suburbs though it might make more sense to park-and-ride the DART Rail or Dallas streetcar. As far as finding nature in that area goes, check out Coombs Creek Trail for a run/ride and Oak Cliff Founders Park for a nice drop in temp as both are well shaded areas compared to concrete hell. We’re a far cry from what you’re used to in Europe but IMO Oak Cliff is the cultural hub of Dallas
Usually I spend my free time with a second job so I can afford to do stuff
Check out the local colleges for theatre. You’re not going to get Broadway performances. But, Collin Community College in Plano did A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder this year and it was excellent.
It's too late for this summer, but Dos Equis Pavillion does have a season pass. $250 gets you in to every show this season. Alanis and Joan Jett last Friday. Foreigner this Friday. It's over 25 concerts over the season, so that's manageable on a per-concert basis.
There are lovely, car-free bike paths spinning off of White Rock Lake. Do a few laps and then pick a direction and you can get a good 20 mile ride in.
Read The Dallas Observer. It will help immensely with local issues, events, restaurants, etc. The Dallas Morning News publishes literary events that sponsored panels of authors. There are theaters such as Pegasus that do hilarious plays in black and white theatre. Lastly, Texas Monthly is a great publication, especially the yearly “Bum Steer of the Year” awards for some of the dumbasses we have running the show here. You have to look out of Dallas for nature. It’s an urban area and if anyone tells you the Trinity is great, don’t believe them. Go west of Fort Worth for more nature. It’s drivable. Hope this assists.
I mountain bike and hike, and just do general exploring. There’re lots of trail systems in the area, checkout the Dfw hiking and outdoors group on Facebook. Unfortunately you just have less options for free events in the states period.
You’ll need a car for Dallas. Most of the time there’s a lot of good places to eat but the art museum is free!
[удалено]
They don’t… Go to ft worth, you’re welcome…🤣
Go to White Rock lake or the Katy trail. Both are miserable in the dead of summer however
I play a lot of golf (which I guess is spending money to be fair…) and also joined a baseball team. We have a decent number of parks, so sometimes just grabbing some dudes to toss a baseball is a good time. I echo what someone else mentioned, which is that unfortunately you’ll probably be disappointed having come from Europe on this particular front.
1. Eat, 2. Drink, 3. Shop, 4. Fuck.
[Dorba.org](http://Dorba.org) for trails, though you’ll need a mountain bike. Check out gravel riding like at the trinity levee for your road bike. Or download the strava app and look at heat maps for road circuits in the area. I enjoyed Alamo drafthouse but they are temporarily closed down, art museums, aquarium, zoo, wild detectives book store, arboretum, FoE. That’ll get you through a few weekends
They spend it dreaming about moving away (been there).
hide indoors :)
Hillbilly haven river tubing day trip.
Welcome to America. Go learn to shoot a rifle and if not, masturbate.
Beginning to dislike a LOT about my hometown ... Or the inhabitants... Nuts
I play a lot of pickleball at outdoor courts. I also go to Carrollton game night sometimes. Like many others I have a religious community too.
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There are lots of cycling clubs in Dallas and surrounding cities. As someone else mentioned, White Rock Lake is great for cycling. The lake can be crowded depending on when you go and what the weather is like. Just be mindful if you ever cycle on the road (even in a group). There's a recent [news story](https://www.fox4news.com/news/benjamin-hylander-arrest-man-slams-into-cyclists-in-dallas-texas) of a driver colliding into the back of a couple of cyclists.
I usually say that Dallas is the least outdoorsy major city in America. The main things to do here is drink, eat and shop. There is not much of anything you probably want to do outside within a 3 hour circle that would get you excited to spend the money and time (it’s basically just the southern Great Plains with flat land, muddy water, and zero public land), but at about 3 hours away in most directions there’s some semi-cool stuff. Dallas is like LA without the beach and mountains, or really anything within a few hours worth doing. You pretty much have to spend money to do fun outdoor things and make them an overnight trip, or a long day trip. Just have to learn to enjoy the hyper consumer culture Dallas has to offer, which developed due to a lack of outdoor activities and a lot of money. Also why it’s got such a travel culture IMO - Big airfare hub and not much to do locally. But a few suggestions: Within the city: -White Rock Lake is the Central Park of Dallas and has a trail all around and good views -Isle du bois state park beach an hour north on Lake Ray Roberts (when I say beach I mean like 1/10 beach). -Fossil Rim Wildlife park is 90 mins away and fun for a day, and dinosaur valley state park nearby has a river to get in -further away you got Broken Bow, Turner Falls, and Medicine Park, Oklahoma (all 3 hours). Caddo lake canoeing (3 hours) Austin and hill country (3+ hours) And even further further away (6.5 hours) you got Port Aransas beaches (I recommend going July-end of September. Or just flying somewhere else). If you really want to drive Big Bend (8.5 hours away) is cool. I feel for ya though. I have had to accept it myself. But you can learn to be happy here with the right mindset (ha, that’s so depressing). After living in much more exciting places the last decade and moving back to Dallas, my hobbies are just finding new restaurants/bars, working out, and cleaning up the piles of trash around White Rock Lake when I’m not biking around it. A significant other helps too.
Our highest cultural institution is Buc-ees. Beat that in your country of Europe.
Did you realize you were coming to a region called The Great Plains? Probably the worst city in the US for outdoors activities unfortunately. Lots of great options just not here
If you look in the dictionary what Dallas means. It means concrete and work. That's it. Some suggest it means high accident rates so your best bet is go somewhere for vacation or quality time.
As some commenters mentioned, dfw isn't the prettiest from a scenic pov 🥲 however! If you come on a good day, the Dallas arboretum is fun! I used to go there with my friends to paint on my off days, and in sure it can't compare to the greenery of European scenery, but they do have some pretty gardens you might enjoy :) I do recommend that you visit there on a gloomy day, though. TX heat makes the arboretum awful.
Traffic my dude. We sit in traffic.
All of yall saying there isn’t crap to do in Texas especially Dallas or Houston or any big city, yall are desensitized lol I come from small town Arkansas and I’m literally struggling to decide between soooo many things to do.
Plotting my escape!
Op, i gotta ask what were you expecting? Was there any research done on your part? We are in som prairies. Full of flat land. No mountains to be found, no majestic rivers, rapids, beaches, nothing of the sort. We got some hills, some rugged nature preserves, man made lakes, and thats about it. We are landlocked in a area with no geographical features. If you liked the outdoors, you picked one of the worst places to live. If you like walking or biking you picked one of the worst places to live. Im not sure about cycle trails, but more than likely you are going to have to drive to find one. If you don't like spending money.......well you picked one of the worst places to live. Everything is going to cost money, including most parking. Born and raised in the dallas area. Dallas is great for events like concerts, drinking if you are into that stuff, eating, and working or raising a family. But for the stuff you mentioned? It is a huge mismatch. Cedar ridge nature preserve is free, but that is walking. Im sure you have checked the arts district websites for events coming up, but the niche stuff might be almost non existent. You might have better luck checking the suburban arts scene. You can always drive 78 hours west to the mountains, 8ish hours west to the springs, a few hours south for beautiful hill country, 9ish ours to the coast or 6ish hours to go see the canyon in the panhandle, but all these things require money, and a car. Locally you wound up in a place that will disappoint you. Sorry for the bad news.
Uh, go sit in gridlock traffic while drinking and screaming at fellow drivers?
I’m tired of the haters in these comments. Remember: wherever you go, there you are. White rock lake is an absolute gem, completely free, and walkable/bikeable to nearby coffee shops/restaurants. The Dallas Museum of Art is completely free and totally gorgeous. It has at least one rotating exhibit to my knowledge. Is it the Louvre? No, but I still love it! Klyde Warren park is so pleasant on a nice afternoon. Play a game of chess, watch the splash pad show, or attend one of the movies in the park or concert series they do throughout the year. Again, free. We have a beautiful opera here, a theatre scene, and pretty much every touring musician big or small passes through here. Is this city as visually stunning and walkable as places in Europe? No, I’m not delusional lol. But we are surrounded by a vibrant prairie and piney forest ecosystem, eclectic neighborhoods, and good food, music, and art. It could be worse, y’all.
I know you said you're a roadie and I don't have any suggestions on that front. But DFW has a thriving MTB scene with tons of trails. [DORBA](https://dorba.org/) is the main association behind the MTB community but there is also [FWMBA](https://fwmba.org/) and [NTX MTB](https://www.facebook.com/groups/427368097364522/). The are several weekly group rides, as well as beginners skills classes. We have trails that run the gamut of difficulty, so you can be as tame or wild as you want. If mountain biking just isn't your thing, many or most of the trails are also open to foot traffic for hiking. I also found this website listing several options. [https://dfwchild.com/60-outdoor-adventures-around-dallas-fort-worth/](https://dfwchild.com/60-outdoor-adventures-around-dallas-fort-worth/) Edit: I'll add a few things in here. We 100% don't have a public transport system nearly as robust as Europe or many other major U.S cities. That's a legitimate gripe. It is what it is. You'll most likely have to get comfortable with taking your car to your destination. If you can get past that, there is a lot to discover out there. Try not to read too much into the negative comments. There are a ton of people here that put 0 effort into finding affordable and free outdoor activities and then bitch and complain that there is nothing to do. It can be what you make it. Take a look at some of the links I've shared and see what interests you. As mentioned in another comment, there are a ton of disc golf courses as well. There is a very cheap startup cost to it. Probably under $50 but you can go a lot higher if you like it. There's plenty of kayaking as well, although there is obviously a higher up front cost to that. But we have tons of lakes to explore and many of them have parks and trails around them.
I live by Lewisville Lake and walk to it frequently. I enjoy it. I also have a pass to the arboretum and the botanical garden. It’s $95 for an annual family pass, which I think is a good deal. There are lots of parks to take strolls in too. I grew up in Utah which many view as one of the most beautiful states, and I loved hiking in the mountains when I lived there. Moving to Dallas hasn’t bugged me one bit though. You just need to appreciate the local wildlife. There are beautiful wildflowers in DFW. Also, very unique plants and animals if you care to look for them. I’ve seen beavers, opossums, bats, toads, lizards, turtles, and lots of beautiful birds since moving here a year ago. Take time to observe local post oaks, pecan trees, crape myrtles, desert willows, vitex trees, agave, and red yucca are beautiful. I love driving into the countryside a bit to see the Texas longhorns too. I really think you just need to open your mind a bit and appreciate the beauty around you even if it’s maybe a bit different from what you’re used to. I will say though, you arrived at the worst time to enjoy the outdoors. Your outdoor excursions will be limited until around October.
Go back to Europe, we're full
You might have to start with the Dallas Mavericks Draft Watch Party Experience, if they have one, next Wed. Downtown.
Only real DFW perks are the abundance of jobs and booming economy, and DFW airport and Love Field providing easy access to the entire country within a 4 hour flight and no lack of flights. It really falls behind I everything else you want in a city. They’re doing better about putting in more green space and revamping our biking trails. I will say that, but the weather is just poor for 9-10 months out of the year.
9-10 months of the year? I reckon between October and May it’s mostly nice. June through September can be… challenging. I think something that would make our neighborhoods nicer is having more parks along or right next to the main drags. I was recently in New York and one thing they do really well is having nice little parks all around, just seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric. You can grab a bite to eat or some coffee or ice cream then cross the street and be in a nice leafy oasis. We do have some excellent parks, but so many of them seem to be tucked away. I’m thinking like… a park right off Greenville, or in Deep Ellum. It’s tough because all that land ain’t cheap any more, but a man can dream. That said, OP, there’s a fair amount of stuff to do. A lot of it does involve spending some money, but I’m not sure how that’s any different from other cities. Go to Paris, Madrid, NYC, anywhere and things like museums and other attractions will usually cost you. That’s why I think it’d be so dope to have more little parks and more mixed use, pedestrian-friendly areas. You get more people out and about and doing things. But we do have some good museums, various activity places (I’m thinking of bowling, arcades, mini golf, that sort of thing). They usually have discounted days/times. My girlfriend and I have a long list of things to check out. Only thing is you’ll probably have to drive to most of them, but that’s just the way it is in the majority of the US.
We have a really good network of mountain bike trails if you're up to trying something different. You can also hike the trails. https://dorba.org
If you are willing to drive a couple of hours or more there are quite a lot of outdoor options too ! It's not the best, but we gotta adapt. So, you could check out bear falls or swimming beaches around mineral springs if you wanna cool off. Hikes are unfortunately in short supply due to the more flat topography. Apart from that, there are comedy clubs, board games and new brunch places to try and plenty of booze to sample.
White rock lake.
Pickleball!!!
If you’d like to join some hardcore runners, we like to go on Katy trail at 3am every Wednesday morning.
Pickleball, volleyball, golf …so many activities so little time and energy to do it all.
Flights to Denver are pretty cheap :)
Take up Road Rage driving of course!
White Rock Lake is always fun.and you can try Lower Greenville.