nortex: I like ya, but you’ve got some very odd ideas about how Downtown Dallas is these days. You thought there was going to be massive rioting there when the Mavs won the NBA championship and there just wasn’t - as I’d predicted.
As someone who is out in downtown after dark on a regular basis for work and social reasons, I can tell you that the idea that the place getting overrun with goons is quite outdated. True, the more southerly parts of downtown aren’t as safe as they could be but there has been a wave of gentrification and HUUUGE enforcement efforts from Dallas PD that have overtaken the area in the last decade-plus. You can now travel from the West End to Deep Ellum as safely as in Fort Worth or most other well-policed American cities. Dallas has been making enormous strides on making downtown a cultural and residential center as it is in Fort Worth - CCW has had a large role to play in that. Redevelopment of old buildings into residences and retail businesses is the order of the day there. No huge mobs of thugs, illegals, etc., in downtown anymore. Homeless is still a problem, but that’s the case in most cities.
However - as things go, most of the attractions in Dallas for the older set only operate during the day. Younger persons like myself are what the nighttime attractions cater to - nightclubs, bars, concert venues, what used to be called discotheques. I would suggest visiting downtown Dallas during the day - not because of safety issues any more, but simply because you probably wouldn’t be interested in anything that goes on there after dark.
Spktyr:
Indeed, I think you're right and have nailed it just as you were correct on the lack of rioting when the Mavericks claimed the NBA crown, which I thought was inevitable.
It's likely a generational difference to a large extent. Younger people, such as yourself, are more agile -- and dare I use this word, in its best sense -- tolerant of we older folks see as bizarre. Our agreements are probably in the range of the 90th+ percentile but I know we veer off into quite different paths when it comes to things like music. And you'd probably be comfortable in a club setting, with its modern music and "adult beverages" whereas I wouldn't as a non-drinker with tastes along the lines of the Happy Goodman Family and the Gaithers. I guess it really boils down to the old saw, "if it's too loud, you're too old..." :-)
Thanks for the response and for a reality check from the younger side. Plus, if you had to deal with a thug, you'd plug 'em in no time, while I'd still be fumbling with the gun and getting my glasses adjusted to even see the miscreant!