Dallas Travel Forum

Hi!
I'm planning to travel to Dallas on august to take a 5 week course.
I'll be in Fort Worth, and, tho im traveling to study, im looking for good places to shop and to party, considering that i LOVE electronic music (not rap, hiphop or R&B), is there any place where i can hear electronic all night? do ALL the bars in Dallas close at 2:00am?
Another issue is THE WEATHER!, i live in the Caribbean BUT i've been warned about the weather back in TX. Is its reaaallyyy that hot????
I'm not the museum type of person, so are there any other things to do other than museums?
Thanks for your help! :)
Adidi

The weather is really that hot. It is not merely unpleasant; it can kill you. Here are three clips from various news sources on the web:

1) In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the temperature reached 106 degrees on July 7, 1996, at least 12 deaths were attributed to the heat. An additional 54 people were admitted to emergency rooms in Dallas with heat-related illnesses, officials said.

2) DALLAS, July 15, 1998: A scorching heat wave across Texas has left 21 dead, officials said today. Two of the deaths in the Dallas area were reported yesterday after five deaths on Sunday, when temperatures reached a record 44 degrees celsius, the third-hottest temperature ever recorded in Dallas.

3) In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, high temperatures exceeded 100°F for 69 days between June 23 and September 6, 1980. Dallas/Fort Worth reached an all-time high on June 26 and 27, soaring to 113°F (45°C) on both days. 17 people died.

I survived the 1980 heat wave in Dallas. We had air conditioning. We put foil over all the west- and south-facing windows. It was barely tolerable at the afternoon peak.
I was working nights back then. We still had to run air conditioners at full blast at 4:00 am.

Yep, it's really that hot.

I lived in Houston in 2001 when it hit 108. My car at the time had no a/c and my apartment had one wall unit for 600sf. I spent a lot of time at work, but also in coffee shops, shopping malls and other peoples houses. It was bad, yes.
But, that's the minority of summers, it should be better by the end of August. It's typically July and early August that's really bad.
You can't buy alcohol at bars after 2am, but some bars stay open. They call them "after hours" clubs. Honestly, a lot of them are just bad: lots of drunk, underage kids, but Dallas may have some good ones.
A year or so old, but I found this through Google: http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-afterhours_1205gl.State.Edition1.1ef713d.html
Also, Fort Worth is a very different scene from Dallas. It's also a fairly long drive between the two. There's a train connecting them, but it only runs during the day. The only bar area that I know of in Fort Worth is the Stockyards, but I doubt that there are any after hours clubs there.

Yes, Dallas and Fort Worth are different. Dallas is the Texan's attempt to imitate New York. Fort Worth is their attempt to make the world's largest cowtown. Both have succeeded disasterously, IMHO.

A further note about weather-related deaths and hospital visits: most were people in their 70's or 80's, or people with prior respiratory problems. A few were young partiers on ecstasy who let themselves get dehydrated.
Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone in a bar playing electric music all night will try to give ecstasy or similar to a attractive young lady, but it could happen.
In that case, just drink lots of water and gatorade, then spend the next day relaxing in a museum - they usually have good air conditioning.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
I dont think weather would kill me, since im young and im not into drugs either. But we're talking about SERIOUS summers huh... not even a lake near Fort Worth?
I didnt know Fort Worth was appart from Dallas... curious thing.
So nightlife ends at 2:00am... (always remember: no alcohol.. no fun) ughh.. any of you know good night clubs? bars?
Hey, where can i square dance in Fort Worth?? haha, IM DYING to do that!!!
again, thank you!
Adidi :)

Your best bet to country dance is at Billy Bob's Texas. I am sure over the course of 5 weeks there will be a couple square dances, but I am sure you meant Line Dancing. If you are looking for an electronic scene, I would look somewhere around TCU (Texas Christian University) on University Avenue, as one of their local bars might have something similar for their crowd. As mentioned before, the general public of Ft. Worth would not have that interest.