Difference between East Texas and other Southern States (Tyler, Longview: city hall, house)

[george777M]

What are the differences between East Texas and other Southern states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama when it comes to being "Southern".

I mean especially cultural as well as some geographical differences. Imagine East Texas would be its own state. Forget about other parts of Texas for the sake of this topic.

[Gunion Powder]

More Spanish/Creole/Cajun influence in East Texas than the Atlantic South (which is more British and African), along with more of a ranching culture. I find few significant differences between East Texas, Arkansas, western Tennessee, Mississippi, and most of Louisiana. Food is spicier out here. Summers are a bit drier, unless you're down by the Gulf.

[KathrynAragon]

It's hard to find boiled peanuts in east Texas.

Not impossible, but pretty challenging.

Mega Man also hit the high points. You wont be waking up to the Livestock Report in Alabama or Georgia.

[Midessan]

East Texas has more southwestern influence than the other southern states.

[shyguylh]

I lived in eastern NC, the differences I have noted (you will find me preferring NC to TX, I'm not saying NC is BETTER, just that I LIKE NC better in these ways):

(1) NC is more into basketball (especially college), TX is more into football. Frankly, as a former North Carolinian, I find it annoying hearing about freaking football all the time, and I even don't allow the Thanksgiving Day game to be shown on the TV in my house on that day because I think Thanksgiving Day should be about being THANKFUL not watching a durn game (not even a basketball game).

(2) NC has more cornfields and homes where you also find things like collards etc growing. Eastern TX has much less of that, and features more oil fields.

(3) Eastern NC especially has that (wonderful to me) vinegar-based barbecue, and it features sides like Brunswick Stew and corn sticks. I don't know what they think they're doing around here with barbecue (although the brisket is OK). I make my own sauce to help feel more at home.

(4) One key difference I've noticed, and it really bugs me (sorry for being so negative)--in TX, even small towns with 500 people become incorporated, they get city police, and their city limits may stretch 5 miles from the city hall area etc to where you THINK you're living in the country yet you are in fact living in city limits. I have no idea why in the world they do that. It sure puts a cramp in the "living out in the boonies where I can be left alone" goal or being able to drive more casually on deserted roads. Fortunately where we are at I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about being incorporated and we are very much left alone.

In eastern NC you typically won't be in the city limits until you're maybe a mile from the city hall and you start seeing tons of businesses etc, even barely a mile from such and you are not in the city limits.

[NoClueWho]

The biggest difference is in East Texas, you see more Texas flags flying than Confederate battle flags.

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

I lived in eastern NC, the differences I have noted (you will find me preferring NC to TX, I'm not saying NC is BETTER, just that I LIKE NC better in these ways):

(1) NC is more into basketball (especially college), TX is more into football. Frankly, as a former North Carolinian, I find it annoying hearing about freaking football all the time, and I even don't allow the Thanksgiving Day game to be shown on the TV in my house on that day because I think Thanksgiving Day should be about being THANKFUL not watching a durn game (not even a basketball game).

(2) NC has more cornfields and homes where you also find things like collards etc growing. Eastern TX has much less of that, and features more oil fields.

(3) Eastern NC especially has that (wonderful to me) vinegar-based barbecue, and it features sides like Brunswick Stew and corn sticks. I don't know what they think they're doing around here with barbecue (although the brisket is OK). I make my own sauce to help feel more at home.

(4) One key difference I've noticed, and it really bugs me (sorry for being so negative)--in TX, even small towns with 500 people become incorporated, they get city police, and their city limits may stretch 5 miles from the city hall area etc to where you THINK you're living in the country yet you are in fact living in city limits. I have no idea why in the world they do that. It sure puts a cramp in the "living out in the boonies where I can be left alone" goal or being able to drive more casually on deserted roads. Fortunately where we are at I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about being incorporated and we are very much left alone.

In eastern NC you typically won't be in the city limits until you're maybe a mile from the city hall and you start seeing tons of businesses etc, even barely a mile from such and you are not in the city limits.

It sounds like you're not familiar with Deep East Texas.

East Texas is about the size of South Carolina. I think people forget how large it is and that it is far from being a uniform place. Tyler isn't the same as San Augustine and Lufkin isn't the same as Kilgore.

[mrfoe]

Seen plenty of corn Fields in southeast central Texas by Hearne.

[KathrynAragon]

Just got in from the Tyler Farmer's market and bought a big ol' bag of corn grown in Chandler, Texas.

[soletaire]

Depends on what part of East Texas...places like Deep East Texas (Huntsville, Lufkin, Jasper, Woodville) along with Marshall and Longview really dont differ that much from other Deep South regions like Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and parts of Mississippi. However Tyler, Palestine, Athens, Paris and Chandler visually look very much like upper Mississippi, Arkansas and western Tennessee. Lastly, Southeast Texas is basically a Tex-Mex infused version of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.


The main visual difference I noticed between East Texas and some other areas of the southeast, is the scarcity of Kudzu. Its there in East Texas, in pockets, but in some of the other deep south states it practically canvases the terrain. Also, as mentioned by others, boiled peanuts and those red hot links arent exceptionally common in East Texas. Red hot links arent hard to find in East Texas, but in the southeastern states they are practically sold in every gas station.