When most people visit a city like Dallas, arts and culture usually aren’t at the top of the list of expectations, but Dallas is a city that will always surprise you. The city comes with a huge gay and lesbian community and a very liberal leaning inside the city limits. There are also dozens of top museums and art galleries just waiting for people to explore them. Let’s check out just a few of the top museums located inside the Dallas city limits.

One of the most amazing museums in the entire country is the Sixth Floor museum at Dealey Plaza. It is in this very building that suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President Kennedy as he drove by in his limousine, and the city of Dallas has gone through great lengths to help recreate that terrible moment in time so that we may never forget it. Regardless of the personal politics you may have, visiting this sad and terrible museum is a must for all Americans.

The African American Museum of Dallas takes an honest and open look at the burden African Americans have had to shoulder over the last 200 plus years. The museum takes a frank and honest look at slavery and the time that has passed since then and gives credit to local Dallas activists who have worked long and hard for the rights African Americans have today. The museum isn’t all depressing; it serves as inspiration and as a cautionary tale to future generations to treat everyone with respect and kindness.

The Dallas Conspiracy Museum is a perfect place to check out the unseemly connections that many assassinations in the Dallas area and around the world may or may not have. The museum does a great job of pointing out possible conspiracies without trying to convert anyone to either side of thinking. For an interesting afternoon that is sure to get everyone talking, check out the Dallas Conspiracy museum.

When most people think of big time Dallas apartment employers, think of oil and energy companies. While it is true that those companies are big time players here, the Dallas area economy is far more diversified than many people think. There are tech jobs galore here and the hospitality industry is always hiring, as well. Let’s take a look at just a few of the best known Dallas area employers to see which ones should get a resume from you.

Even with gas prices at record levels, Americans love to travel, so why not explore a career with hotel and resort giant Wyndham International, which has their corporate headquarters right in Dallas. Even if you aren’t flush with customer service experience, a major corporation like Wyndham has thousands of jobs that need to be filled both behind the scenes and out in front interacting with vacationing guests.

One of the largest electronics companies in the world, Texas Instruments also has its corporate headquarters in the city of Dallas. Once known as the complicated calculator people, Texas Instruments has grown into a dominant force in the world of electronics. A company of this size is going to need people from every corner of the business world, so if a job here sounds like fun, check their corporate web page to see about any available positions.

One of the most respected department store names in the world, Niemen Marcus has their headquarters in Dallas, as well. Along with other high end department store giants like Macy’s, Niemen Marcus has been setting the standard for excellence in shopping for decades and now you can work directly for them at their corporate office.

Regardless of what employer you end up choosing, Dallas is flush with excellent jobs which is one of the reasons why so many people move here year after year.

One sacrifice that many apartment dwellers feel that they have to make is giving up gardening. While some cities do have shared green spaces that people can do some light gardening, they usually aren’t right next to where you live and it can be a hassle getting back and forth to where you need to go. The solution for many is window box gardening. A window box can be like a bright ray of sunshine that bursts through your window each and every day. You can grow just about anything in a window box with enough care, so let’s take a look at a few things you should do before you hit the stores in search of that perfect window box.

First off, you should check with your landlord to make sure that having a window box is within the rules. If you live on a high floor, your landlord may have a problem with you dumping soil on your neighbors below and you don’t want to go out and spend the money on a box, soil and seeds or saplings only to find out you can’t use them.

Once you’ve gotten the go ahead from your landlord, you have to decide what you are going to plant. While most people choose beautiful flowers that take a minimum amount of care, why not consider growing a spice garden. Imagine having your own fresh spices for your food right outside your window. One of the great things about most spices is that they grow like weeds and require very little in the way of care.

One other alternative you could consider is growing some veggies in your window box. Check with your local garden headquarters to find exactly what seeds will grow best in a window box. Imagine throwing a dinner party in the middle of Dallas with some veggies you grew yourself in your very own window box!

One of the great things about living in Dallas is all of the room you have to move around. Although the Dallas metro area does seem to go on forever, the city planners were smart enough to incorporate miles of walking and biking paths around the city and they are often in full use year round. The problem many Dallas area apartment renters have is where to store their bike when they aren’t using it. Here are a few common sense options you can look into.

Many major apartment buildings have a separate, locked utility room that is made especially for bike storage. The problem here is that most of the good spaces for locking up your bike may already be gone. Hopefully, your building manager will ask that all bikes be cleared out once a year so any old or leftover bikes can be tossed away and room can be made. Ask your building manager what options you have.

More and more people are simply keeping their bikes in their units, but having a bike parked in your living room can be unsightly. Many people are choosing to mount their bike on their walls, or even storing it under the bed. Bike wheels come off in a heart beat and once you get used to removing and attaching it, you won’t have any trouble doing it on a regular basis. This not only keeps your bike safe and sound in your unit but it also keeps it out of anyone’s sight.

Some apartment buildings have outdoor storage for bikes, although it is seldom guarded or even properly lit up at night. Be careful using any kind of outdoor lock up after sundown, especially if the lighting is poor. You will also likely need two locks, one on the body of your bike and another on your wheel, if you plan on locking your bike up outside.

It is a nightmare experienced by more and more apartment renters who find themselves having to settle for smaller and smaller spaces: not having enough room for your stuff. George Carlin routines aside, running out of room for your personal possessions isn’t funny, but it presents a whole new problem concerning what to do with your things. Every large city, Dallas included, has several public storage facilities that charge competitive rates to keep your things safe and secure, but before you shove yourself into a cubicle, there are certain things you need to look for first.

When shopping around for the perfect self storage facility, you need to look for one that is air conditioned or one that keeps all of its storage units at room temperature. The ravages of nature can still warp and fade wood furniture and precious keepsakes even if they receive no direct contact with the elements. Often times, public storage facilities that offer shed-like storage units are significantly cheaper, but they provide no real protection for your things.

A common fear at many public storage facilities is that of theft, so make sure that the one you choose offers 24 hour, around the clock security. As more and more public storage companies fight against this perception, it may actually be difficult to find one that doesn’t have their own security, but make sure you ask specifically, never assume.

Public storage can be an economical way to keep your belongings close by, but not all facilities are created equal.

For every person who has a positive story about using professional apartment, it seems that there are two or three others who have stories that would make your skin crawl. No matter how far you are moving, everyone, at one time or another, considers making a phone call and hiring professional movers, but is it really the right decision? Let’s take a look at a mental checklist you can go through to help see if professional movers are right for you.

Regardless of what you end up deciding, you will need to make an itemized list of everything that you are going to be moving from point A to point B. If you aren’t automatically going with a professional mover, you likely have a do-it-yourself option in mind. The question you have to ask yourself is do you really want to move everything on that list by yourself or with the help of friends. Do you need a team of people to make this happen? If you are a young adult just out of college, you probably don’t have a great deal of bulky furniture, and you can handle moving on your own, but if you are older, and you have managed to accumulate a great number of belongings, going with the professional choice is likely the best option. Cost should be the least important factor in your decision since it is almost impossible to put a price tag on knowing that all of your worldly possessions are insured and in the hands of professionals.

If you are like millions of Americans, you have a job that requires you to travel a great deal, sometimes for more than a week at a time. Depending on how generous your work is when it comes to getting a hotel room, you may be left with the option to rent an apartment for a month or simply staying in a hotel room for the same period of time. Many people may not realize it, but there are a whole host of apartments that are available for such short term leases and they can provide a much nicer place to rest your head than a cramped hotel room. Let’s look at just a few of the advantages of getting a short term lease on an apartment the next time you have to work away from home for a long period of time.

Since most short term rental apartments are furnished, for obvious reasons, you have a chance to enjoy a far more luxurious space than you would in any hotel room. While most hotel rooms have trouble fitting in a work desk in their cramped space, an apartment will have multiple rooms with all the space you could need. Depending on how much money you have to spend, you could easily end up with more space than you could use, even if you are there for weeks on end.

For many, the predominant reason why a furnished short term apartment is chosen over a hotel room is cost. In almost all cases, the apartment will offer significant savings over any hotel room deal one could get.

Trying to decide between renting and buying can be tough. Both sides have their positives but with the recent state of the real estate market in Dallas and throughout the country, more and more people have been abandoning the “dream” of owning their own home and opting for the far safer option of renting. Let’s take a look at just a few reasons why renting is a far superior option in this day and age to buying.

While mobility may be the most underrated part of renting, it allows an individual or a family the ability to always keep their options open. No matter what career you’ve chosen, the job market is always competitive, and by renting, you have the ability to live in an exciting new place every few years instead of being anchored to one spot for the rest of your life. If a once in a lifetime opportunity happens, you have the ability to go for it without having to go through the exhausting process of selling a home.

Depending on how handy you are, one of the biggest attractions of living in an apartment is the fact that if anything breaks or if something terrible should happen, all you have to do is pick up a phone and sit back and watch as your landlord or building manager pays for it. While homeowners live in constant fear of termites, broken pipes and a million other costly maladies, you can sit quietly at home and never even have to entertain such thoughts. That peace of mind is invaluable.

With so many close presidential elections occurring in recent memory, voter registration is at an all time high. Registering to vote is easy and in most cases, all you have to do is go down to city hall and talk to the supervisor of elections to do what you need to do. However, if you are short on time or if you are registered in another state, there may be some extra work for you to do. Let’s take a look at some alternate places where you may be able to sign up to vote.

Although it is not in place everywhere, the Motor-Voter bill allowed many Department of Motor Vehicles offices to register you to vote when you picked up your license. If you have moved to Dallas from out of state, it is a good idea to get your driver’s license changed over as soon as you can. Check to see if you can change over your address there or if you have to make a separate trip to city hall to do so.

If you were already a registered voter from another state, you may have to fill out an extra form either online or in person at city hall. It is illegal to vote in more than one precinct in one election, and it will help the local voter rolls in your old home town if you let them know that you no longer live there. You will likely have to present two forms of identification, such as a driver’s license, birth certificate or passport, to move your voter registration over to your new address. Make sure you put your change in at least a month before the next election as most areas do not allow people to register to vote or change their voting address on the same day as the vote is actually being held

One of the biggest drawbacks to living in a big city like Dallas is finding parking when you need it. If you have your eye on a sweet downtown apartment building, parking can become a daily frustration that has the potential to send you to the suburbs with clumps of your own hair in your hands. Every city has its own parking quirks and rituals, so the sooner you can have someone show you the ropes, the better. Here are a few easy tips you can follow.

In any downtown core, parking rates at various garages can vary drastically. This problem has gotten so out of hand in some metro areas that the city government has gone ahead and bought up all garages so prices can be uniform. Assuming this hasn’t happened by the time you read this in Dallas, it is a good idea to learn where the best parking values are in your city, and remember, even the shadiest garage is safer than parking on the street.

Sometimes, public parking spaces are hidden in the oddest places. Alley ways, businesses and even private residents can have public spots mixed in with their own with the only clue being a faded and bent sign. These spaces are worth their weight in gold so keep an eye out for the ones closest to you.

Finally, different parts of downtown often require different permits or stickers for unlimited, meter-free usage. These boundaries are often signified by a change in signage but sometimes, you’re simply supposed to “know.” Make sure you do since paying to have your car towed is never cheap.