So Amarillo Aint Really Texas Huh? (San Antonio, Austin: insurance, loans, live)

[doctorjef]

I never thought of Amarillo as anything but genuinely Texas, but during my year of living in Beaumont I always thought of that particular bit as an annex of Louisiana and not really Texas at all.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND

Well it seems like Amarillo not getting any big credit as far as being a Texas powerhouse, dont yall think Amarillo is a strong as other cities in Texas? I wanna hear more about the truck stop of america, and the drugs, and prostitution issues. Come on Amarillo yall wanna be quiet or yall just dont like Amarillo?

Amarillo may not be a powerhouse, but it's the "real Texas," at least that's what the tourist poster says. I love the Panhandle, and I love that Texas has different regions: west, cost, central plains, hill country, east tx, etc so there is no 'real Texas' because it's ALL Texas, just different kinds that make up one fabulous state. God Bless Texas! I can't wait to get back to you!!

[catman]

I'm not sure what "strong as other cities in Texas" means, but there is no doubt that Amarillo is genuinely Texan. It's not groing as fast as Fort Worth/Dallas, but that is to its credit.

[jabbit]

You all talk sometimes like you've never experienced the rio grande valley part of texas. The polar extreme of the panhandle and still texas. Real texans? WTF is that supposed to mean?

[doctorjef]

Funny, I'd say the Piney Woods is more like the polar opposite of the Panhandle. The Valley is dreadfully flat, just like the Panhandle, and most of the natural vegetation in the Valley is scrubby and ugly.

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Funny, I'd say the Piney Woods is more like the polar opposite of the Panhandle. The Valley is dreadfully flat, just like the Panhandle, and most of the natural vegetation in the Valley is scrubby and ugly.

when defining the polar opposite in that situation im automatically referring to a land in texas thats like the panhandle but the people and culture are different and still texas. perhaps polar opposite isnt such a good term for this now reading your post. i totally agree with you about the piny areas and the valley land being scrubby.... as for ugly... that falls under preference issues. There is certainly a majesty to it... depends how you look at it. Sometimes the stereotypical majestic and or scenic parts of the u.s. can be plastic and corporate and not raw. Sometimes the ugly duckling has a personality that isn't tainted by a mainstream superstructure which makes it more appealing. I call that area scorched earth.... mad max and the tunderdome meets tex-mex. Certainly, for me, more exciting then some overly exposed tourist destinations.

[doctorjef]

I agree that the Panhandle has a raw majesty to it. I spent enough time living in Lubbock and driving through the upper Panhandle when I lived in Colorado to recognise that. I have a hard time saying the same thing about the Valley, although my experience with the Valley has been driving through when going to South Padre. I like the airport at Harlingen BTW, and the Marine academy there. But the Valley as a whole seems to be outside the mainstream of Texas as commonly defined -- much the same as the Southeast Triangle of Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange (as I said before, more like an annex of Louisiana than a proper part of TX).

[jabbit]

my guess is its b/c we come from different cultures. i've lived both in lubbock and the valley... valley being a longer. but i never would have known of some of the things that make lubbock attractive to some folks if i hadn't lived there. i agree with you about the outside of the mainstream of texas bit when referring to the valley. Sometimes south texas/rio grande area just seems more like north mexico... But this lays credence to the view that Texas is the most diverse state in the U.S. in terms of geography and culture. sorry dont meant to hijack this thread.

[Fraghawk]

Amarillo is a city as illustriated by this picture:

[slalinh]

I agree....Amarillo is a sleeper and I am afraid the secret is almost not a secret anymore. The nicest friendliest people live in the Panhandle.....been there lived there and have family there. It is pure conservative Republican....part of the Bible belt. Real estate is holding there. Good medical......no traffic problems....only problem is flat lands and bad weather.....tornadoes, lots of strong winds, dust storms and cold icy winters.....but everybody there loves it. I do too......