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Old 05-09-2012, 12:32 AM
 
1,366 posts, read 4,488,200 times
Reputation: 1494

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soviet View Post
I remember how off-putting it was for me when I first moved here & random people would strike up am extremely comfortable conversation with me at the drop of a hat. And now I'm used to it & even partake in it. With discretion, of course.

Funny how things work out.
DH and I are both native SA'ers... We are the type to hold the door open for people, strike up conversations, we smile at everyone that makes eye contact with us and 9 times out of 10 we will say "HI" or "How ya doin'"?... We also wave Thank You to people on the access roads who let us in or wave HI to people when we are driving on a lonely hill country road...

It's just what we do, what we have always done... We always know when we are "just being ourselves" with other SA'ers/Texans or when we are "just being ourselves" with transplants...

The other Texans will smile back at us, talk to us, answer how they are doing, etc... The transplants, they look at us weird, don't answer us, or just walk thru our opened door without a Thank You or a smile or even a look in our eye...

We don't get mad though, we just figure that sooner or later the newbies will get with the San Antonio hospitality program...

Welcome to Texas... I truly hope the move goes well for you and your family...
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Old 05-09-2012, 01:43 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
4,287 posts, read 8,030,653 times
Reputation: 3938
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrstxcop View Post
DH and I are both native SA'ers... We are the type to hold the door open for people, strike up conversations, we smile at everyone that makes eye contact with us and 9 times out of 10 we will say "HI" or "How ya doin'"?... We also wave Thank You to people on the access roads who let us in or wave HI to people when we are driving on a lonely hill country road...

It's just what we do, what we have always done... We always know when we are "just being ourselves" with other SA'ers/Texans or when we are "just being ourselves" with transplants...

The other Texans will smile back at us, talk to us, answer how they are doing, etc... The transplants, they look at us weird, don't answer us, or just walk thru our opened door without a Thank You or a smile or even a look in our eye...

We don't get mad though, we just figure that sooner or later the newbies will get with the San Antonio hospitality program...

Welcome to Texas... I truly hope the move goes well for you and your family...
I was DEFINITELY the "wary transplant" when I first moved here from NYC. People just seemed weird. They were TALKING to me unsolicited, but they didn't look homeless or like drug addicts! Why on earth would they do that?!

Took a while to get with the program, but now I understand it, more or less.
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Old 05-09-2012, 10:04 AM
 
70 posts, read 168,186 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soviet View Post
I was DEFINITELY the "wary transplant" when I first moved here from NYC. People just seemed weird. They were TALKING to me unsolicited, but they didn't look homeless or like drug addicts! Why on earth would they do that?!

Took a while to get with the program, but now I understand it, more or less.
Same here, coming from LA. Whenever someone was friendly to me I just wondered... "OK, what does this person want from me?" It's different all right!
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Old 05-09-2012, 09:28 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
1 posts, read 1,178 times
Reputation: 12
Move here to SA a few years ago from California Sud and live on the South Side near Brooks City Base. Dallas and Austin are very metro. SA is very old and it feels that way. The Missions were founded in the early 1700's and many of the buildings downtown near La Villia and the Alalmo date not long after that. Slow down.Take life easy. Give yourself time. San Antonio lifestyle is much slower than California. Relax and enjoy life.

Bronco_6
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Old 05-09-2012, 10:34 PM
 
890 posts, read 1,849,893 times
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SoCal is laid back. San Antonio is laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiddd baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack
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Old 05-10-2012, 02:37 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
8,399 posts, read 22,989,445 times
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Just got back from a week in SoCal (LA and Anaheim) and it was pretty nice. Some things I noticed from San Antonio that will take some adjusting will be the weather (it's 20+ degrees hotter here, but less haze), driving (I was amazed that driving there was much more civil, mainly a lot less chronic lane changes), the cost of living (gas, housing, food are all considerably cheaper here) and while we might not have as many palm trees, there's less of the concrete expansion here (I was on the 19th floor of the Marriott, and as far as the eye could see there was nothing by roads and buildings. Here we have some rural areas surrounding the city and easily within a half hour's drive from almost anywhere in SA).

Things did see a little cleaner there (e.g. less litter) but we were accosted by more panhandlers than I expected (surprisingly since we were in a touristy area, near Disney Land).

I gotta admit I liked the cooler weather and how neat everything was (despite all the concrete), but when I stopped by a Big 5 and saw the ridiculous firearms laws the state has, I suddenly remembered why I prefer Texas so much more than California. It's a nice state, with some beautiful scenery; but the politics/government of the place have gotten way out of hand. One of my buddies who was on the same trip went to a "gentlemens' club" and told us there were squares painted on the stage about six feet from the audience that the "performers" had to "perform" in. Really? The state has to regular where a stripper has to dance in a gentlemans' club?!?

Cheers! M2
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Old 05-10-2012, 07:49 PM
 
231 posts, read 814,053 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john ruiz View Post
Hello there.
We're moving from Los Angeles to San Antonio.

I heard Cultural Shock? Please explain...

I'll be there May 15 to find a home and go back to get my family on mid June. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
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the slow pace of life here in SA, the maniac drivers, the lack of education , the lack of job opportunities, the conservative nature of the city, the closed mindedness of a large percentage of the population, the summer weather, the unhealthy eating habits of many of the locals, the lack of diversity, the friendly nature of the natives
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Old 05-10-2012, 08:54 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
8,399 posts, read 22,989,445 times
Reputation: 4435
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasGuy22 View Post
the slow pace of life here in SA, the maniac drivers, the lack of education , the lack of job opportunities, the conservative nature of the city, the closed mindedness of a large percentage of the population, the summer weather, the unhealthy eating habits of many of the locals, the lack of diversity, the friendly nature of the natives
Sorry, but I didn't notice any considering increase in education or job opportunities in SoCal when I was there.

And you speak of the conservative nature of the city as it was a negative. Sorry, but many of us prefer it to the so-called liberal attitudes of California.

I will give you the nod on weather, it was nicer in SoCal but what about all that haze? Is it still smog? It didn't smell bad, but you couldn't see very far.

As for a "healthier diet," that's probably correct; but some of the stuff people were eating there just didn't seem like it was actually food in my book! Honestly, tofu, seaweed and soybeans? About as appealing as soylent green!

And for the most part I did find folks friendly there. Not Texas-friendly, but friendly enough; and much more so than many of the Californian transplants I have met here in Texas. Maybe we're just getting a large influx of their jerks, but for some reason I cannot fathom a bunch of people who love California decided to move here to tell everyone how wonderful it is, which obviously when combined with their criticisms of Texas goes over as well as a fart in church!

Overall, I enjoyed my week in California. I still wouldn't move there, due to some draconian laws; but it went much better than I expected. That negative expectation was probably the result of some Californians I have encountered in recent history...

Cheers! M2
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Old 05-10-2012, 09:10 PM
 
4,307 posts, read 9,556,254 times
Reputation: 1858
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xymox View Post
Same here, coming from LA. Whenever someone was friendly to me I just wondered... "OK, what does this person want from me?" It's different all right!
Born and bred Los Angeleno. Lived in many places before coming to Texas, so not a direct transplant. I open doors, am chatty to strangers, am a not-just-self-described cheerleader/friendly greeter for my neighborhood and the city. The environment in LA just not lend itself to that sort of friendly interaction. SA does, at least in my neck of the woods.
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Old 05-10-2012, 09:42 PM
 
70 posts, read 168,186 times
Reputation: 79
Quote:
Originally Posted by majormadmax View Post
Sorry, but I didn't notice any considering increase in education or job opportunities in SoCal when I was there.

And you speak of the conservative nature of the city as it was a negative. Sorry, but many of us prefer it to the so-called liberal attitudes of California.

I will give you the nod on weather, it was nicer in SoCal but what about all that haze? Is it still smog? It didn't smell bad, but you couldn't see very far.

As for a "healthier diet," that's probably correct; but some of the stuff people were eating there just didn't seem like it was actually food in my book! Honestly, tofu, seaweed and soybeans? About as appealing as soylent green!

And for the most part I did find folks friendly there. Not Texas-friendly, but friendly enough; and much more so than many of the Californian transplants I have met here in Texas. Maybe we're just getting a large influx of their jerks, but for some reason I cannot fathom a bunch of people who love California decided to move here to tell everyone how wonderful it is, which obviously when combined with their criticisms of Texas goes over as well as a fart in church!

Overall, I enjoyed my week in California. I still wouldn't move there, due to some draconian laws; but it went much better than I expected. That negative expectation was probably the result of some Californians I have encountered in recent history...

Cheers! M2
SA has some fine restaurants, and Central Market is awesome, but overall the food is better in California. The people are definitely healthier and overall more attractive. Walk around Santa Monica... the sheer concentration of lookers has no equivalent in SA. The weather is possibly the best in the world. But the politics are insane, the cost of living ridiculous, yes there is still smog and it's horrible, and the taxes really kill it. True, TX has high property taxes, but values are lower and anyway you can control that somewhat by living in a cheaper house. The only way to keep your income taxes down is to not make money.

So, I do miss it there, sometimes, but at least I can cry all the way to the bank. And anyway SA does have a lot going for it too. I'm still here. I think economists would call that "revealed preference."
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