Dallas straddles Dallas County but spills into Collin, Denton, and Rockwall Counties as its suburbs expand. Founded in the 1840s along the Trinity River, it rose from a trading post to one of America’s most influential business hubs. Today it’s a financial and tech powerhouse, home to AT&T, Southwest Airlines, and a fast-growing startup scene. Culturally, Dallas balances glass-tower modernism with neighborhoods rich in character—Deep Ellum’s murals and music, Uptown’s high-end dining, Bishop Arts’ boutiques, and Highland Park’s manicured mansions. It’s a city that reinvents itself constantly, yet its skyline remains symbolic of ambition. Housing varies wildly: downtown lofts, 1920s Tudors in Lakewood, contemporary townhomes, and sprawling estates in Preston Hollow or Frisco. Median homes sit around $380,000–$550,000, but luxury listings soar into the millions. Outlying suburbs in Collin County—Plano, McKinney, Allen—offer newer construction and family-centric amenities. Dallas ties to Fort Worth via a 30-mile corridor of interlocking suburbs, airports, and highways. It’s a cosmopolitan anchor for North Texas, mixing Southern hospitality with a relentless drive to grow bigger and bolder.