Info to Transplants (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: fit in, living in, cabins)

[cBach]

There have been a few threads about people moving from the Northeast to Austin and why they don't seem to have an easy transition. Then, we have hords of Californians that fit right in. Let me provide a little historical background that may help explain things.

NYC, Boston, Philly, and other NE cities have very strong Italian American and Irish American influence. The dialect of Brooklyn reflects a lot of that. Oddly enough, there is a similar dialect in New Orleans, called "yat speak" and the people down there speak very similar to the people in Brooklyn. That's because New Orleans, like NYC, was a large port city with lots of immigrants from Ireland and Italy. The muffaletta sandwich, and even the poboy, are sandwiches that the Italians fortunately allowed the city of New Orleans to incorporate into their regional cuisine. There is a part of New Orleans called the Irish Channel as well, where the Irish immigrants lived in New Orleans.

What I found living in New Orleans was that New Yorkers, Bostonians, and others from the Northeast instantly fit into the culture. They could identify with the Italian influence in the cuisine and the Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day celebrations, among other things. The African American population was larger than what they were used to, but even NYC has large African American populations in Harlem/Bronx/etc...

Now New Orleans also has architecture and history, although its history is starkly different from the Northeast. The Northeast was settled by the British whereas New Orleans was settled by the French, with later Spanish influence. However, numerically, the original populations were quickly overwhelmed by the immigrants, whether you be in Boston, NYC, or New Orleans. So the culture there is more similar than you may imagine, although vastly different at first glance.

Yankees also fit into South Florida quite well, but for totally different reasons. It is simply a numbers game, there are so many yankees that it feels like NYC South.

Now enter Austin. It was settled by Spaniards originally, then Mexicans, Texans, and people from Germany and the Czech republic. It was basically settled by the same groups of people as California, except that CA didn't get the Germans/Czechs but got many more Asians, especially when the railroads were first built. Numerically, those differences are negligible, however. The whole Southwest region is very similar in culture and ways of life.

So when someone moves from California to Austin, they are moving from one Spanish influenced region to another. Sure, the climate may be different, the scenery, and political points of view (I won't go on that tangent), but the basis of the culture is very similar.

When a New Yorker moves to Austin, everything they know about cities is untrue here in Austin. So it can be a bit unsettling to them. Sure there are Hispanics in NYC, but they don't have the influence they do in Texas. Italian food is not a staple here, it's a cuisine just like Chinese is elsewhere, something to be sampled now and then. St. Patrick's Day is not real big here, but Mardi Gras is.

It's even harder for a New Yorker here than in Dallas and Houston, and let me explain why. Dallas and Houston are trying to be in the same league as NYC and so develop amenities they think a city their size should have. But there is no sense of place there, because they are going against their history and culture. Houston is a little more authentic, because at least it has recognized its Cajun influence, but it still doesn't have a sense of place. But Austin and San Antonio are what they are. In other words, they don't deny their heritage or who they are, even as they both take their own different direction into the future.

Anyway, I hope this helps some people that are thinking about moving or are trying to adjust.

[twenty1]

This read was quite insightful...and something I believe could go much deeper.

thanks

[jobert]

Well done. I don't know if you plagerized, but it was spot on. I think the lack of amenities and the libertarian attitude go hand-in-hand as well.

[subiedude]

Where do Ohioans fit in this, lol?


--Good read by the way, thank you

[cBach]

Originally Posted by subiedude

Where do Ohioans fit in this, lol?


--Good read by the way, thank you

About people from the Midwest, I found that they generally blend in well. The whole Ohio Valley was originally French, so the influence there was a bit different than the Northeast, and they didn't get a lot of immigrants either. Ohio was mostly settled by Americans fleeing the Northeast. Folks from NY/MA/CT/PA/etc moved to OH for abundant cheap land and good fertile land originally.

Chicago, on the other hand, had many Irish (I mean they paint their river green) and also Italians, so Chicagoans have much trouble here as well. Oddly enough though, Chicagoans seem to adapt to Houston extremely well, and I have my reasons for that as well.

So someone from Ohio when they move to Texas is basically following the historical patterns of their ancestors of moving to newer places where they can improve their lot in life.

The Midwest is harsher in weather than the Northeast (colder winters, hotter summers) so the adjustment to the heat isn't very difficult for people from the Midwest. But they seem to love the mild winters. Everyone I've met from the Midwest (except Chicago/Detroit for the reasons above) here seems to enjoy it.

Also, the Midwest has a history of BBQ as well (especially KC) and so they have that in common with TX. BBQ was a slow cooking method handed down to us from the Native Americans and is just as important to our history and culture as Italian food is to the Northeast.

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by subiedude

Where do Ohioans fit in this, lol?


--Good read by the way, thank you

Like California, Texas is the land where the rich are richer and the poor are poorer. Also, people show their wealth here. Not a lot of midwestern modesty or caucasian corn boys joining the army.

"Americana" here died in the 1970s!

[passionatearts]

You made some great points, cBach.

One thing you didn't mention that also has a lot to do with the regional differences is the time periods in which the regions were settled. The Eastern Seaboard was first settled by European immigrants in the 1600's (with a large second wave coming in the mid 1800's - early 1900's), while the first European immigrants didn't arrive in Texas and California until the mid 1800's.

The mentality of the Texas immigrants also shaped the way Austin and other Texas cities developed. When Mexico was giving land grants to white immigrants to settle in Texas, land was extremely cheap, and most of the settlers were encouraged to live with as much space between them as possible. Add to that a more libertarian attitude toward government and land usage, and it's not surprising that most Texas and western cities lack the dense European-like development of cities that developed in the northeastern U.S.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

You made some great points, cBach.

One thing you didn't mention that also has a lot to do with the regional differences is the time periods in which the regions were settled. The Eastern Seaboard was first settled by European immigrants in the 1600's (with a large second wave coming in the mid 1800's - early 1900's), while the first European immigrants didn't arrive in Texas and California until the mid 1800's.

The mentality of the Texas immigrants also shaped the way Austin and other Texas cities developed. When Mexico was giving land grants to white immigrants to settle in Texas, land was extremely cheap, and most of the settlers were encouraged to live with as much space between them as possible. Add to that a more libertarian attitude toward government and land usage, and it's not surprising that most Texas and western cities lack the dense European-like development of cities that developed in the northeastern U.S.

That also explains why New Orleans, which grew fast in the 1700's and 1800's is about the only Southern city with an extremely compact core. New Orleans was the 3rd largest city in America when Houston was a backwater swamp and Dallas was just a few cabins...

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

You made some great points, cBach.

One thing you didn't mention that also has a lot to do with the regional differences is the time periods in which the regions were settled. The Eastern Seaboard was first settled by European immigrants in the 1600's (with a large second wave coming in the mid 1800's - early 1900's), while the first European immigrants didn't arrive in Texas and California until the mid 1800's.

The mentality of the Texas immigrants also shaped the way Austin and other Texas cities developed. When Mexico was giving land grants to white immigrants to settle in Texas, land was extremely cheap, and most of the settlers were encouraged to live with as much space between them as possible. Add to that a more libertarian attitude toward government and land usage, and it's not surprising that most Texas and western cities lack the dense European-like development of cities that developed in the northeastern U.S.

I take it you don't consider Spain to be part of Europe?

[AK123]

Originally Posted by cBach

It's even harder for a New Yorker here than in Dallas and Houston, and let me explain why. Dallas and Houston are trying to be in the same league as NYC and so develop amenities they think a city their size should have. But there is no sense of place there, because they are going against their history and culture. Houston is a little more authentic, because at least it has recognized its Cajun influence, but it still doesn't have a sense of place. But Austin and San Antonio are what they are. In other words, they don't deny their heritage or who they are, even as they both take their own different direction into the future.

Also Houston is a large port city, similar to New York and New Orleans in this regard. And Galveston used to be a port for many new immigrants. I don't see Houston as "trying" to be in a league or going "against" anything... it's a mix of lots of different cultures and has been for a long time... residents know that, even celebrate it, and this unique mix is the "sense of place" for the most part.