EATING OUT

One of the great things about Dallas is that there are so many cool things to do. Being from Louisiana (the fat capital of the US), one of my favorite things to do is EAT, and there are a ton of great places to do that in big D. There are awesome steak houses, great Italian restaurants, amazing down home cooking joints and everything in between. One thing I suggest is take advantage of this. Some of the places are pretty pricy, but it’s worth it. Eat on the cheap a few nights a week if you have to, but treat yourself to at least one good meal a month. Where I’m from, a great steak house is Outback and an awesome Italian place is Olive Garden. Nothing wrong with either of these (Still 2 of my favorite restaurants), but these are cookie cutter places that you can eat at when you go out of town so you know what you are getting. Ask around and find a really good restaurant and splurge once or twice a month. Not only will it help you grow culturally, but it will make your Dallas experience that much more memorable. Keep it real…

FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE

This could possibly be the biggest decision you make upon moving to Dallas. Everyone I know spends 95% of their time (outside of work) within a 2 mile radius of where they live. If you live in North Dallas, you will go out in North Dallas and your best friends will ultimately live there. Same goes for all the areas around town. I LOVE to go out, so one of the main criteria for me when choosing a place to live is I have to be within walking distance of a bar. I know, sounds kind of dumb, but I don’t drink and drive so I have to be within walking distance of at least a neighborhood bar and within a $5-$10 cab ride of places to go out. I lived in North Dallas for the first 3 years I lived here and I went out on Greenville about 3 times and downtown/uptown about 3 times in my entire first 3 years here, the majority of the other time was spent at Fox and Hound on Midway. Wherever you live, you will become friends with people that go the same places as you, which will ultimately live around you. When you look for a place to live, keep in mind what you like. If you are more of a homely person that doesn’t like to get out much and likes to be out of the way, then North Dallas/Addison area is a good fit. If you like to be in the middle of things and within walking distance to places to eat and bars, then Uptown/Downtown is a good fit for you. Choose an area of Dallas that has a personality like yours. Before you decide where to live, go out in different areas both during the day and at night to take in what they are all about. Ask people that live in those areas what they like and don’t like about it. Some places I recommend checking out before making a decision:

Knox/Henderson
Uptown/Mckinney Ave
Downtown/Main St
Addison/North Dallas
Greenville Ave
West Village

Make sure your place has a kick ass pool as well and ask about the pool scene when you look at apartments. This will be your biggest adversary to making friends during the summer. If your pool is a happening place, you will make friends. Just remember every area has advantages and disadvantages. Think about what you will be doing in most of your down time and live close to a place that has access to that. I love to run, go to events and go out, so I live in a place that I can walk to the Katy Trail, AAC and bars and restaurants. If you are on a tight budget and you can live in a place that has all the amenities around you that you want, but you may have to pinch pennies to live there, I’d say do it. In the long run your quality of life will be much better and you will be a happier person. Not to mention you will live around and meet people that like to do the same things you do. Think of it as an investment in your future. Keep it real…

JOIN A GYM

One of the first things you will notice when you move to Dallas is the people here look amazing. Where I’m from, when you turn 27, you are done. You’re usually married, have a few kids and could care less what you look like, pretty much just fat and happy. Here, people take care of themselves. 35 year olds are in better shape than 20 year olds, everyone looks good. A lot of people have help from surgeons, but there are also a lot of people that are just in shape. One of the smartest investments you can make upon moving to Dallas is to join a gym. I know to some people $40 a month is a lot of money, but think of it as an investment in your future and your social life. If you work out 3-5 times a week, not only will you look better, but you will also feel better. Your attitude will change and your self confidence will rise. You will notice people look at you different not only from the way you look, but from the way you carry yourself because of your new found confidence. One of the hardest things to do is make the time and put forth the effort to go work out and do something physical. It takes 3 weeks to form a habit and only a week to break one. Get regimented and go at the same time on the same days for 3 weeks to get into the routine. Even if you have a hard day at work and you are really tired, go for 15 minutes just to stay in the habit. Give yourself 3 months and I promise you will not only see a difference, but you will feel a difference mentally as well. Not to mention you will be ready to roll to all the kick ass pool scenes around town. Keep it real…