DFW? Dallas and Fort Worth Are Two Entirely Different Cities

Let us be very clear: there is a difference between Fort Worth and Dallas. These two cities - separated by several other towns (shout out to Arlington, Grand Prairie and Irving) - are often melded together into the phrases "Dallas/Fort Worth" or "DFW", or the even more ambiguous "Metroplex".

I have grace for anyone outside of Texas who blurs the lines between Fort Worth and Dallas. If you're not a resident of the area, there's really no need to put any of your mental energy towards differentiating. And if you've ever driven I-30 or I-20 from the outer edge of Fort Worth to the outer edge of Dallas, you know the area is truly one big blob of metropolis (hence the "Metroplex"). If that's been your only experience with DFW - or you've never visited at all - you're allowed to assign it all the same moniker.

It's when Texans themselves don't differentiate between Fort Worth and Dallas - with 32 miles between their city halls, mind you - that vexes me. Recently I saw a headline mentioning a car chase that had happened in "Dallas", but when I clicked into the story, the video of the chase was clearly marked as taking place in Fort Worth. Let each city own their own drama, I say.

Like most towns on planet earth, Fort Worth and Dallas each have their individual differences and distinct cultures (generally speaking, of course). Fort Worth is more down-to-earth country kid; Dallas is more upper-crust country club kid. Fort Worth is Billy Bob's and the Stock Show & Rodeo; Dallas is the Cowboys and the Galleria. Fort Worth's highways are more streamlined and navigable. Dallas highways? Let's just say I've never heard anything complimentary about that brouhaha.

I live in West Texas, so I'll give you one guess to which city I'm most partial. If you guessed, the one where you don't have to drive through the entirety of the Metroplex, you'd be right. I am a fan of all things Fort Worth, for myriad reasons. It might have a little something to do with my parents and all my nieces/nephews living there too.

Whether you're a Fort Worth fangirl, a Dallas diva, or could not care less, remember...two different cities. To each their own.