New yorkers still don't fit (Dallas, Midland: real estate, house, high schools)

[mgd323]

Ankhharu,

Do you recognize the following post? Don't you think that sounds kind of inflammatory? Don't you think it sounds like a biased opinion and is something that isn't helpful at all if someone is trying to decide to move here? Do you think you can understand why anything you say from this point on will be attacked as false? Criticism is one thing, but flat-out lies will make the natives restless.

"I am currently trying to move back to California. I will take California, whether it be SoCal or Northern any day of the week over any part of Texas. I have lived in Austin, all over Dallas from Plano to Arlington, and even El Paso over the past 13 years. There is a myth that everyone here is so nice, that hospitality is fake. Being a part of the bible belt, if you are not a christian, be prepared to be harrassed until you conform. Texas ideology here is "Texas is better" and they really wish they were their own country. Now that I have nothing tying me down to this state, i'm getting out of here as fast as I can."


And if you have a problem with the claims about the Trinity forest, than take it up with the Audubon society. I think I'd take their word for it over Wikipedia:
http://www.tx.audubon.org/Trinity.html (broken link)

[JavaJoy01]

Oh I know this all to well. I can honestly say that I am treated different when people hear me speak. My accent is still VERY strong, and it does make me stand out. There are many people who seem fascinated by how I speak while others get turned off by it. I def think that NY transplants can and will have a hard time fitting in, I know it's been a year and I'm still struggling to fit in and be a true Texan.

[lindaf]

I sympathize with your feeling like you don't fit in in Texas. We are currently
living in Vermont and I've never felt as strange as I do here. The 2 cultures (New England and Texas) are about as different as can be in the US. People up here don't get a lot of things that I took for granted in Texas. I have my list, but won't bore you with it. Instead I have coped by getting involved in as many things as possible and dispelling some of those many stereotypes people have up here about Texas and Texans. So I guess I writing this to let you know that I'm experiencing it too - a Texan not fitting into the New England culture. So it goes both ways!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by JavaJoy01

Oh I know this all to well. I can honestly say that I am treated different when people hear me speak. My accent is still VERY strong, and it does make me stand out. There are many people who seem fascinated by how I speak while others get turned off by it. I def think that NY transplants can and will have a hard time fitting in, I know it's been a year and I'm still struggling to fit in and be a true Texan.

That's sad. I (native born and bred) don't treat anyone who moves here any differently unless they are rude to me first. Most people that I know are that way.

I enjoy hearing different accents, though, and I work on mine....Texans tend to say "ah" for "I".....and I fight that every day, LOL!!

[blondie1]

maybe new yorkers shouldnt move to a place that there not gonna fit in with
they should know theres a diffrence in way of life between the south an north
and if they dont like it here then tough cause nobody told them to go to texas in the first place

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

enjoy hearing different accents, though, and I work on mine....Texans tend to say "ah" for "I".....and I fight that every day, LOL!!

Would that be for "ah", or against?

I read in a book about alll sorts of neat things about the South somewhere that Texans supposedly had the flattest sounding long "I" of any of the southern accents.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Would that be for "ah", or against?

I read in a book about alll sorts of neat things about the South somewhere that Texans supposedly had the flattest sounding long "I" of any of the southern accents.

I think it would be safe to assume Cathy meant against "ah." And that would go for mah, hah, mahl, smahl, hahgh, tah, and the list goes on. Remember "ah" is really a long "I". I know what she means. When I first moved here, I had a really hard time understanding the new language to which I was introduced.

[TughillTina]

I just love to hear southern accents.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Would that be for "ah", or against?

I read in a book about alll sorts of neat things about the South somewhere that Texans supposedly had the flattest sounding long "I" of any of the southern accents.

That would be against "ah." I just HATE it, LOL!!!

And...I might add...a Texas (especially those native to West Texas and the Panhandle areas) accent is not really a southern accent, IMHO. Deep East Texas is where I really start noticing the southern sound!!! This is not meant as an insult; it just doesn't sound the same to me at all. Maybe it's just me.

I lived in MS for awhile......lordy, talk about southern.....ditto LA, AR, GA, AL, etc. I practically went to sleep waiting for them to finish a sentence, LOL!!!

I like the more clipped/precise speech of the Midwest myself.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

That would be against "ah." I just HATE it, LOL!!!

And...I might add...a Texas (especially those native to West Texas and the Panhandle areas) accent is not really a southern accent, IMHO. Deep East Texas is where I really start noticing the southern sound!!! This is not meant as an insult; it just doesn't sound the same to me at all. Maybe it's just me.

I lived in MS for awhile......lordy, talk about southern.....ditto LA, AR, GA, AL, etc. I practically went to sleep waiting for them to finish a sentence, LOL!!!

I like the more clipped/precise speech of the Midwest myself.

So most people in West TX don't really sound that way?
I thought I heard somewhere West TX was famous for a more "twangy" accent, compared to elsewhere in TX.

I'm familiar with how George W. Bush sounds and with his flat "I" sounds and a few other vowel pronounciations, he sounds distinctly southern, yet not a very southern, usually.

Clipped/precise speech?
That's the standard here too, though I usually prefer hearing whole sentences or even whole paragraphs that sound spoken on a single breath like my pal from NC.

Of the cartoon characters on King of the Hill, I like Dale Dribble's accent/speech delivery style the best. "Boomhauer" is very entertaining and cool sounding, but it's quite hard to understand. (so I wouldn't try to copy it, except for fun )