I can’t believe I’m writing this one today, this love letter to my adopted home town. It’s taken me 15 years of living here – and leaving, twice – to actually like it. Wait, love it. This city that I despised for so long has finally, completely, made me open my eyes, and for once in the past 15 years, I can finally say I’m happy to be here.
Before I begin with my love letter to Fort Worth, I need to share a little backstory. I’m an enneagram 4 (that declaration took me about 20 years to reach the conclusion of). Do you know what that means? If not, it means a lot of things, but the way that stands out the most to me in relation to this blog post is: I am never happy with where I’m at. The grass is always greener. I’m too good, or not good enough, for whatever situation I’m in. It’s never eclectic enough, and then it’s too eclectic. It’s never exciting enough, and then it’s too exciting. It’s this constant push-pull so no one around me knows what to expect when, including myself. There’s plenty of good sides of the enneagram 4, but I’ll focus on this massive negative side today.
Part 2 of this is that in order for me to love something, I have to hate something else. Are we all like that, or just me? It’s like this one part has to be wrong in order for this other part to be right. It’s very, very hard for me to hold both at once. I can do it when I take a step back and push my ego to the side, but that is not my default. Push/pull, right/wrong is my default. So I’m constantly having to check myself: is my ego present, or can I be open-minded, accepting, at peace? It all depends on the day, the mood, the situation, and boy is that frustrating.
So… how does this all apply to my love letter to Fort Worth?
Well, I just got back in town from Nashville, the city that my husband and I called home for over 5 years. The city, and neighborhood (East Nashville), that I clung to. The cool kids and the musicians and the artists and the vegetarians and the activists and the dog moms and the people who were not from Nashville lived in East Nashville. It was the best, so I thought. And I have lived with that opinion, ever since my husband and I moved to Fort Worth, in 2011. Fort Worth could never be as cool as East Nashville. Near Southside was no comparison. East Nashville was the best.
I’ve thought that for the past 15 years. During this time, I’ve been super bitchy about Fort Worth (it’s so small, there’s no good restaurants, there’s no diversity, it’s all MAGA voters, there’s a huge lack of creativity, the TCU mentality and football are all this city cares about, etc., etc., etc.). And then Landman, the most disgusting major television show of current time, was based here, and I just about threw an absolute feminist fit.
So hating Fort Worth has filled my brain, and guess what happens when something fills your brain? It’s all you see. So this is all I saw. For 15 years.
Then, I went back to my previous home, Music City, half fearful that I’d be looking at real estate the whole time, and after a long weekend there, flew back to town with…. a sense of relief.
I’m not going to go down the whole Nash-vegas rant, although OMG is that sorority/fraternity infestation there, but what I will say is, Fort Worth has Nashville beat by the longest shot possible. Oh my gosh how my eyes have opened. So this, this is my love letter to Fort Worth, after visiting the home I thought I’d always miss, starting with what I love the most.
My Love Letter to Fort Worth:
We’re Diverse.
This is a recent phenomenon, but a fantastic one. This city was mostly caucasian and republican when we got here, and it’s rapidly changing. Not that caucasians or republicans are bad, not that any race is bad. But when you have one race dominating, or one political party dominating, or one of anything majorly dominating, without other outlooks, viewpoints, appearances, experiences… you get a place that’s downright frightening. Fort Worth now has the greatest mix of all ages, all races, all sexual orientations, all economic backgrounds, all outlooks on life in this one, large, diverse, beautiful melting pot.
Tex-Mex is the Best Food and Culture
The next best, which really this could tie with the first, is that Tex-Mex culture is huge here. Our fantastic neighbor Mexico, one of my fave travel destinations, is right here providing us with some of the best people, food, spices, music, entertainment, and culture around. We are so lucky to be this close to that incredible country. Holidays in Texas are filled with tamales and salsa as much as they are with ham and cranberry sauce. Tejano music is just as fun to dance to as the popular country singer. Tex-Mex is Texas, and it’s huge here in Cowtown.
There’s Plenty of Vegan Options Here
Whether you’re vegan or not, or just want to eat healthy, Fort Worth has you covered. Our vegan restaurants and meals are some of the best I’ve found. There’s plenty to choose from for all price points, in all neighborhoods, and you typically will eat delicious, creative food that doesn’t leave you bloated or uncomfortable. Pictured above are my 3 favorite restaurants in Fort Worth: Cafecito, Don Artemio (dining room shot in the section above as well), and Cafe Modern. Many more great options are linked are the beginning of this section.
Art is King
Our art museums are some of the best in this entire country, from the Modern to the Kimbell to the Amon Carter. Our annual art festival makes my best-of list continuously, and art festivals are something that I know really, really well. We still do not have a really strong local art scene, but we’re getting bigger each year, with Near Southside’s Arts Goggle bringing many local artists together and highlighting the creativity in this vast city.
Our Downtown is the Cutest Downtown
I mean, truly. There’s no better downtown of a similarly sized U.S. city that I’ve ever seen. People actually hang out there, all day and night. There’s live music in Sundance Square many evenings each year, with a truly diverse range of entertainment. We have a great jazz club, a gorgeous performance hall, many fantastic restaurants, a few local art galleries, shops, coffee, really cool hotels, the water gardens… you name it. It’s a gorgeous, walkable, safe, friendly downtown.
Our Music Rocks
I mean, duh, Leon Bridges, but even way before Leon there was Townes Van Zandt and Delbert McClinton. Texas legend and prolific songwriter James McMurty was born here but most importantly drives up here from Austin often to perform in our intimate clubs. The Toadies lead singer is based here, running a cool jam room and still performing locally. My personal favorite, which I really thought Texas would have nothing on Nashville (and in many ways, let’s be honest, it doesn’t), but right after we moved here I was trying to find the radio equivalent of Lightning 100, the absolute best station in Nashville for independent music, and I found it with KXT 91.7, which immediately introduced me to my favorite artist of all time, Bob Schneider. I wonder if I’d ever heard of him if we’d stayed in Nashville? I’m so hooked I’ve now seen him over 50 times, throughout all of Texas’ best cities. The Texas music scene rocks.
The River Brings Us All Together
Any day during daylight, you’ll see people gathering along the river, either lounging at some of our delicious riverfront restaurants and cafes, walking, jogging, biking, practicing yoga, or shopping at the Farmer’s Market. Our river ties us together, featuring over 100 miles of trails with many scenic views of downtown, and lots of places to stop for a delicious bite to eat.
What Else?
For me personally, this city flipped my mindset: I became healthy when we moved here. I started drinking less, then not at all, became vegan (thanks to my husband), lost (and kept off) 70 pounds, started jogging, practicing (then teaching!) yoga, and practicing Pilates. I started this blog, I started a company (with my husband, yet again, my anchor AND north star). DFW airport is a short drive away and from there we can escape the heat (or the politics) at any point we want.
Fort Worth is truly the city I wanted, that I didn’t even know I had. Yes, it changed (thank goodness), but so did I (thank goodness). I stopped looking for something more unique, something more beautiful, something more special, and realized.. it’s right here. It’s been right here all along. Hello, Dorothy.
If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.
With love from Texas,
Jen