re: The DFW metroplex is fascinating to me

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Houston is a more urbanized area while Dallas is more of a suburbanized area. There’s way more Dallas suburbs than there are Houston suburbs. The city of Houston just kept taking over areas that would have otherwise been their own city. Dallas doesn’t do that.

Houston is also much more of an international city. Especially within 610. Way more international influence in Houston than there is in Dallas. At least in my experience

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Houston doesn't have many suburbs that are actually incorporated cities because of the massive growth in the early 80s when oil boomed and people fled the industrial north. Cities couldn't afford to provide services like water and sewer for all those new developments so the builders created MUDS (Municipal Utility Districts) to issue bonds to build infrastructure. So many of us in Harris Co don't live in a city at all. In Cypress, somewhere around 200k population, we are in "unincorporated area" of Harris Co.

Houston is supposedly the most diverse city in the US. I've seen lots of stuff that says we passed NYC. It certainly makes it more interesting than DFW. We have real Chinatown, Asian markets, huge Mediterranean/Middle Eastern markets, and more. I've lived in both and Dallas seemed very generic to me. Houston is definitely grittier...even the suburbs have more diversity, in a good way.