Just two weeks after The Dallas Express reported that YouTube host Caleb Hammer had described Downtown Dallas as “desolate, boring, and pathetic” in a viral post on X that garnered over 670,000 views, he seems to have changed his stance.
Hammer is now proclaiming that Texas will be the future of the American economy and has identified Dallas as the state’s upcoming financial hub.
However, Hammer wrote a scathing review of Downtown Dallas on November 2, saying, “Explored Dallas today for potential move. What that city did to their downtown should be outlawed nation wide. I have never seen a more desolate, boring, and pathetic downtown of a major US city in my life. Now uptown on the other hand, that’s a good start.”
Earlier this week, Hammer appeared to change course, as the financial guru took time to compliment the city’s bright future, specifically in the finance sector.
“Texas is the future of the US economy,” Hammer posted on November 16 on X. “Dallas will own finance, Austin tech, Houston medical, and San Antonio… puffy tacos or something. If you can handle 3 months of extreme heat, this is where you should come build a business.”
The Austin-based creator of the Financial Audit channel, which has nearly 2 million subscribers, did not mention his earlier critique of Downtown Dallas in the new post, and the shift comes as the city continues to fight crime, homelessness, and other problems, such as office-vacancy issues downtown.
Office vacancy in Downtown sits near 25%, more than double Uptown’s rate, and big employers such as AT&T have yet to commit to staying long-term, as reported extensively by The Dallas Express.
Even still, Hammer’s recent positive comment on Dallas adds to the growing national attention on Texas as a preferred business destination.
As DX previously reported, Coinbase – the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange – officially reincorporated in Texas earlier this month, citing ongoing frustrations with Delaware’s corporate legal system. The company pointed to Elon Musk’s relocation of Tesla, SpaceX, and X headquarters to the Lone Star State last year – a move driven by Musk’s frustrations with California’s regulations – as direct inspiration for its own choice to reincorporate.