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| Matt Houston/AMN
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Intro to Dallas-Fort Worth
By
ELLEN KAMPINSKY
What do you call a sprawl? Dallas-Fort Worth? D-FW? The Metroplex?
Call it what
you will, sprawl it does. The five million plus population of the D-FW
area rolls over a 16-county area that gobbles up 12,800 square miles (which
is larger than nine states) and makes up one of the fastest growing regions
in the country.
Growth. Speed.
Size. Those are the characteristics of D-FW, a region that likes to think
of itself as smarter and more efficient — but also friendlier —
than those other cities its newest residents left behind.
What does
that mean for the visitor? It means that you'll fly into the third busiest
airport in the world (D/FW). You'll have a choice of eating at more than 10,000
restaurants, shopping one of the biggest malls in Texas (Grapevine Mills)
and doing business at the world's largest wholesale merchandise mart,
the Dallas Market Center.
It means
you can choose between visiting shiny-new Dallas, which takes its cues
from the East Coast and basks in its upscale restaurants, shops and homes,
and Fort Worth, which buffs its Old West image to postcard perfection.
Or you can stay right in the middle, in Arlington, the home of family
fun such as Six Flags Over Texas, The Ballpark in Arlington and Hurricane Harbor water park.
If you visit
in the winter, you'll be thrilled by the mild temperatures. Come in the
spring, and you'll see acres of bluebonnets (the state flower) blanketing
the highways. Fall is the time for the State Fair of Texas, the biggest
in the country. And if you take a trip in the summer ... well, you'll
understand why God made air-conditioning.
The Visitors
Guide is exclusive to GuideLive. © 2002 The Dallas Morning News
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