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moving to texas
how is it like there? in your info thingy it said that you live in texas. im going to move to dallas.. and im a 13 year old girl. like what cool things can you do there? are there beaches near dallas? amusement parks? how hot is it in the summer/winter? how are the kids and people like? are most people like cowboys and suff or have accents and like horses? because im not really into that.. since i live in hillsborough, new jersey now. how nice are the houses? do people smoke alot? are there alot of fashion malls such? are there like festivals in spring and stuff? haha im just asking. even if you dont live in dallas.. maybe you've gone there? or just tell me generally how texas is like. :) thanks!
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Hey. Yeah, I live in Houston area, though I just moved here 2 years ago. I think Dallas is about 3-4 hours' drive from here, but I've never been there. I don't even know why I would go there. ;) I've been to San Antonio and to Austin and even driven across the state to El Paso. Texas is a very big state (used to be its own country) and it has many geographical areas. Just over an hour Southest of me is the Gulf Coast and Galveston Island. It's nice for a Colorado girl who's never been many places, but it's not San Diego beach. It's kind of murky from the tides, dirty from pollution, and crowded. About 2 hours farther south is Corpus Christi, which is a spring break desination and is supposed to be lovely. There are canyon areas in the west, near El Paso. There are the plains in the panhandle. There is the gulf coast area, some grassland areas, and what Texans adore and call "the Hill Country." That's an area near San Antonio where they have some rolling hills and a few rivers. It's cooler there than here next to the Gulf. It's less humid. Texans love to go there to hunt, tube down the rivers, camp, fish, and party. I've been there a couple of times. I like Texas.
Have you ever heard of a children's book called _They Have Gila Monsters at the Airport_? It's a book about how someone moves from a city to Texas and what his expectations are. Houston is actually very cosmopolitan. There are odd Texas things, like everybody serves a dip made from Velveeta and Rotel (canned tomatoes and green chiles) and in the winter, the fine ladies bundle up in their furs when the temp drops below 50 degrees. When they say "It's FREEZING," it's literally about 32 degrees. A Jersey girl like yourself will probably shrug that off. Dallas is very big as well, but I can't tell you much about what it's like because I've not been there. In Houston, there are so many nationalities of people I feel like I've met a great variety and have been exposed to many different cultures. One thing you don't want to get involved in is a struggle between those who are Horns (University of Texas Longhorns) and those who are Aggies (Texas A&M Aggies). Those are rival college teams and their disputes can rival the Hatfield and McCoy fights. Football means a lot to some people here, especially in the smaller towns. I don't know about amusement parks. There's a 6 Flags in San Antonio and there's Sea World San Antonio. There is an amazing waterpark called Schlitterbahn down in the Hill Country. Austin is the beloved State Capital and has very respected Universities. It's also the home of SXSW (The South by Southwest Music Festival). Houston has medical schools and a world-class medical center. Dallas has a reputation for being a very worldly city with great fashion and shopping opportunities and fine restaurants. Ask your parents about the 80's T.V. show "Dallas." There are a great number of wealthy Texans who call Dallas home. You will probably like the houses. For the money your parents are spending, they are likely to get a much better house than they could afford in New Jersey. Just tell them I'm warning them about the property taxes. Texas has no state income tax, but the property taxes can be another 50% of your mortgage payment on a monthly basis. There are a lot of festivals everywhere. Houston has about 4 million people in it, so there's always something going on somewhere! I really can't say anything about smoking. I don't know. What I do know is that Dallas has a very big problem with traffic. You will likely meet some people who dress like cowboys, but most of the agricultural people live away from the cities in the surrounding farmland. Most people might have a pair of cowboy boots and a hat just for fashion. Another weird thing about Texas is that the people are just COO-COO about it. They have a grocery chain called H.E.B. I recommend it. Get their Texas-shaped crackers and corn chips. Delicious. Texans love the shape of Texas, the history (REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!), the flag, and the children pledge allegiance to the Texas flag every morning in school. The overpasses often have a state seal or a lone star on them. Texans are crazy about Texas. You will run into some people with accents, but from my experience, most of them speak very close to my Colorado accent. Those likely to have accents are those raised in the country or native-born Texans or girls who are flirting.
Regarding the heat, some people like it and I happen to be one. When I get cold, my hands get painful due to a medical condition, so I don't mind the heat. It gets over 100 degrees here and when the humidity is 99%, it can get oppressively hot and sticky. Those are the times Texans stay indoors. They crank their air conditioners (many two-level houses are built with two air conditioners). It's the worst time of the year for the electrical bill (which may also take your parents by surprise). It's sweater time for me because every mall, theater, restaurant, etc. that I go into has the A/C cranked up so much I shiver until my teeth almost fall out. So I wear shorts and keep a sweater tied around my waist. Yeah. It gets hot. But you should hear the people talk when in the winter the overnight low dips below freezing. You'd think they were witnesses to a truly amazing event. Even at Christmas, there will be ads in the paper stating that people should plant their Christmas pansies outdoors at that time. It's interesting. So winters are mild. In Houston, at least, I hung up my Colorado winter wool and instead got a light rain jacket for winter and several hoodies. Those work well for outdoors in the winter time most of the year. The schools down here even closed down one day this year when there was a freezing rain. They were afraid the roads would be slick. *rolling eyes*
If you want to know more about the experience, there are a couple of books I'd recommend you check out from the library. One is called _So You're Fixin' to be a Texan_ and the other is called _The Yankee Chick's Guide to Texas_. Here's a website for the author.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
It's a mixture of factual statements and humor.
I would be honored if you were to message me when you get down here and tell me how your experiences go! I hope you enjoy it. I would rather live in a different neighborhood right now, but I wouldn't want to leave Texas at this point. I never thought before my husband got transferred here that I'd be saying that!
Best Wishes,
Sabine
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