why do you live in texas? (Houston, Victoria: job transfer, school, living)

[lilypad]

I live up in the Panhandle, macdonald. It is sunny, higher elevation, drier when it is hot, good economy, friendly people, etc. etc.

[MaryS80]

I almost wasn't born here, my parents moved here in the summer of 1980 from Pennsylvania. It was the hottest summer on record, my poor mom was in the last trimester of her pregnancy unacustomed to such heat. But alas along comes summer 1980 and I was born at Medical City Hospital in Dallas. I've never lived more the 20 miles from the hospital I was born at. So far I've resided in Dallas, Rowlett, and Garland.

[Lakewooder]

I was born in East Dallas (I won't say how long ago) and still live here. My ancestors arrived in Texas from the 1830s to the 1880s and one straggler from 1902. I have traveled all over the world (nearly a million airmiles on AA alone) and there is no place like Texas.

We have the history and pride of our birth and revolution - we were once a country - not just another state!

[killer2021]

I don't live in Texas but I want to live there.

Main reasons:
Cheap real estate (main reason)
Lots of jobs
Wild west style of life (ie. guns)

[Guerilla]

I live in North Texas (Arlington) now, but we are moving back to Southeast Texas (Houston) this December.

[atxcio]

I was born on the East Coast, and have family on both East and West Coasts. To them, this is flyover country, and them visiting us is fairly infrequent. Perhaps that is why I'm still here

More likely, though, is the opportunity I've encountered here... it doesn't take long for you to feel at home. Even 17 years ago, when I moved to Austin, there were plenty of transplants and no "old money" feel. You could feel like you sort of owned the place, like it was your own, after not too long. During that period, I lived in Dallas and Houston as well -- there is more of the elite thing going on in those cities, but still much less than New England.. and not the pretentiousness of the west coast (California only, no experience with Washington or Oregon).

I love big cities, don't like winter, and honestly something in CA would be very appealing to me, were it more affordable and less over-the-top. It's hard to explain, but a big city doesn't bother me at all, if it's like NY -- where you may have huge amounts of people and density, but you still have a neighborhood feel (although your neighborhood may be blocks away from Times Square or something). CA doesn't have that, and neither does anyplace in TX. But the quick way TX grows on you, the feeling that you get that it is your place, not someplace where you are trying to "get in" to the clique of the longtime residents -- that comes REALLY close to what I ultimately want. And that's why I'm here.

[solidsquid]

I lived in Texas for most of my life. I wasn't born here but I grew up here. Over the past few years I've lived in a couple of different states Virginia and Washington and been to many others. I grew up in a small town on the coastal plains - Cuero. I spent most of my teen years cursing the small town and wanting to get out. I ended up going into the Navy after graduating high school and doing a year of college at a local community college. In the military I got to travel all over and visit many different places on the globe and something odd happened - I missed Texas, it was home.

All of the other places I've been and lived all had some great things about them and some not so great. Hell, south Texas has it's share of not so great things but, it was home.

I moved back after I was discharged and lived in Victoria for a several years and finished up my undergraduate degree there. I thought of the prospects I had for graduate school and moving from Victoria - once again I was eager to try someplace new. I moved up to Dallas to attend UT-Dallas where I am now. However, I'll be moving in a month to San Marcos as I am transferring schools. I've been here for almost a year and once again I find myself missing the Victoria area, it's home.

I plan on finishing up my masters work at Texas State University in San Marcos and hopefully go to UT-Austin to do my doctorate work. And once I finish college I'll probably move back to Victoria. Why? It's home.

That's why I live in Texas - it's home.

[Guerilla]

Because Texas is just raw. I love it here.

[Trainwreck20]

That's why I live in Texas - it's home.

I have a (completely unscientific) theory that people 'imprint' their surrounds when they are young children - if you grow up in the piney woods of east Texas, it will always feel 'right', no matter how beautiful CA or CO or where ever might be. I grew up in an area south of Houston that I cannot, for the life of me, call 'pretty', but if still feels very comfortable when I go there. I have spent quite a bit of time in Colorado and Minnesota, and both are incredible areas of the country - but they never feel quite like home.

Anyway, I think solidsquid nailed it - it is home, and no matter where I live it will be.....

Btw, solidsquid, you spend any time gar 'fishing' on the Guadalupe? I work the checkpoint for the Texas Water Safari that is located at the Hwy 236 bridge, and there is always someone dropping in a john boat there and coming back with some hellacious gar....

[solidsquid]

I think you may be onto something there. However, for me, I believe it's mostly because of family and friends. My parents, sister, brother with his wife and my niece and all my friends live in that area. I'm sure if they were up here I'd be perfectly happy. However, the feeling of comfort you have when being in a place you grew up - I don't know if that would subside or not if they weren't all there. It's an interesting idea to ponder.

I haven't been fishing on the Guadalupe in a long, long time - probably at least 10 years. When I did fish there, I didn't have too much luck - I never was very adept at fishing.