Elena R.

Old Monk has been my bar for 10 years. Never changes, always great. The Belgian beers and the jukebox are all you need.

Saving this thread. Genuinely useful.

Piastri is going to surpass Norris within 2 years. Mark this post. His ceiling is higher.

Houston food > DFW food and I will die on this hill. The Viet-Cajun crawfish alone puts Houston on top. DFW is catching up though.

I live in Arlington which means both Dallas AND Fort Worth people look at me with pity.

The defensive driving course discount is automatic in Texas — insurers are REQUIRED to honor it. Take the $25 online course, save $150/year for 3 years.

UNT music school is world-class. The One O'Clock Lab Band won a Grammy. If you're a music major, there's nowhere better in Texas.

The water main shutoff tip is the most important thing in this thread. If your pipes freeze and burst while the water is on, you can flood your entire house. Know where that valve is TODAY.

This is why I check this community daily. Information saves lives.

SMU gives way more aid than people think. I got $35K/year in merit scholarships. Net cost was comparable to UTD with room and board.

Heritage Academy University Model is the best of both worlds. My kid gets classroom instruction 2 days and homeschool flexibility 3 days.

The Vikings at 0-4 in Super Bowls is uniquely painful. Getting there and losing is worse than never making it. Trust me.

Following this thread. Want to hear more takes.

The Grape was here before I was born. 48 years. My parents had their first date there. Dallas is losing its identity.

Merritt Rd bridge closure has been killing my commute. The Dalrock detour adds 10 minutes each way. August can't come fast enough.

Best advice in this post: drive the commute during rush hour. I fell in love with a house in east Rowlett and then drove to my office in Richardson during Monday morning rush. 55 minutes. Killed the deal. Drove the same route at noon — 22 minutes. Rush hour matters.

The Ennis Bluebonnet Trail in April is a core DFW experience. The fields of blue along the highways are genuinely breathtaking.

Midnight Rambler bartenders will make you an incredible non-alcoholic cocktail if you ask. Same care, same presentation, no judgment.

I'd rather live in a city with a lake and a DART station than a city with a theme park and toll roads to everywhere. Different priorities for different people.

Buc-ee's gas prices are elite but I always end up spending $30 on snacks inside so the savings are a wash.

DART is great if your commute is a straight north-south line. The moment you need to go east-west, give up.

The founding family names are everywhere when you know to look. Dalrock Road, Schrade Elementary, Merritt Road, Chiesa Road. These were real families who owned the land that became our neighborhoods. There's something grounding about that.

The "must accept credit card" rule is huge. Multiple DFW tow yards tried to force cash-only on me. That's a TDLR violation.

Been thinking about this all week. Good timing on the post.

No Steve Nash? He was a 2x MVP after leaving Dallas but his time here was significant.