Laws or oddities that are particular to TX/Austin that a new resident should know??? (San Antonio: camps, allergies)

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

-Austin is the allergy capital of the world. You have no idea how many different types of pollen we have that can mess you up.

Austin isn't even in the top 10 in the US.

Worst U.S. cities for spring allergies - CNN.com

America's sneeziest cities: 15 worst U.S. cities for fall allergies - Health - TODAY.com

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

In California, the freeways were originally named after places rather than using numerals which is a later accretion. For example, the Hollywood, Santa Ana, San Bernardino and Golden State. It made sense to preface them with "the" and it just carried over when they were numerically renamed. Do Texans omit "the" when referring to Sam Houston and Katy Tollways? Would Houstonians give a direction like "Take Beltway 15 miles"?

"If I could just get off this LA freeway without gettin' killed or caught"

I don't know about Houstonians, but in Dallas we did. And as far as roads having names, I don't say "take the Guadalupe" or "take the Lamar" in town, why would I do it for a highway?

I mean, do your friends refer to you as "the sanmiguel" when talking about you?

[sanmiguel]

Ok, you win. Jerry Jeff should have sung "....off LA freeway" omitting the article. :-;

[Tralfaz]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

And you will learn all about "frontage roads" which mystify those from other places!

Not folks from NY or NJ.. Plenty of frontage roads up there..

Now having a frontage road be 2-way with a fast offramp and an oncoming-traffic yield? THAT is pretty mystifying.

[Tralfaz]

-You now only need to take a four-hour class to legally carry a concealed weapon on your person. Next time you sit down at a restaurant, consider that probably half the people in there are carrying loaded weapons. You will never see them, but they're there. However, there are no shooting ranges inside the city limits. (If Red's South is in city limits, it is the only one grandfathered in).

Not quite, there's still a range requirement. Still, it's comforting to know there are law-abiding citizens out there who are taking personal responsibility for their safety. It's part of why I relocated from Newyorkistan, and got my CHL just as quick as I could, back with the longer class.

-No helmet laws in Texas for motorcyclists. But we do have seatbelt laws.

I appreciate this, though I wear a helmet because I appreciate my noggin more. Also, more organ donors.

-You may not know more about the Alamo other than Davey Crockett died there. But, in Texas, the Alamo is taken very seriously. Jokes about the Alamo do not go over well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHLoHou8uY

-We have snakes here. If you see a snake and it is not a rattlesnake, local custom is to leave it alone, because it is eating rodents. If you kill the non-poisonous snake, a poisonous one will move in to eat the leftover food.

LOL, my cat once ate a snake that snuck into my bedroom, just slurp'd 'im up like candy. She also likes mice and baby bunnies.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

Ok, you win. Jerry Jeff should have sung "....off LA freeway" omitting the article. :-;

The only definite article in English is "the". The only indefinite articles are "a" or "an". "That" isn't an article. It is a determiner.

[SickOfCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Austin isn't even in the top 10 in the US.

Worst U.S. cities for spring allergies - CNN.com

America's sneeziest cities: 15 worst U.S. cities for fall allergies - Health - TODAY.com

That list is based on allergen levels, number of local allergy prescriptions, and number of board-certified allergists in the area. Individual allergen levels may be higher in other places, but my guess it that most of those other places do not offer the wide array of pollens, weeds, and other irritants that are present in Central Texas. The other two factors don't matter to me (Austin isn't better for allergies if there are suddenly more/less board-certified doctors on hand).

There is no question that if you are moving to Austin, you have to consider allergies, even if you've never had them before. I think it's one of the top five things unique to this area.

[mamacatnv]

Originally Posted by Tralfaz

Not folks from NY or NJ.. Plenty of frontage roads up there..

Now having a frontage road be 2-way with a fast offramp and an oncoming-traffic yield? THAT is pretty mystifying.

Those are insane! Scared the crap out of me the first couple of encounters

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

Austin isn't better for allergies if there are suddenly more/less board-certified doctors on hand

You've got the cause-effect reversed. Austin isn't better for allergies if there are fewer doctors, but there would be fewer doctors if Austin was better for allergies. Or if Austin was worse, there would be more doctors. It's an indicator.

[mesmer]

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

-There is no dress code in Austin. I can think of only 2-3 restaurants in which you would be out of place in shorts and flip flops. In fact, I think I've seen those in there, too. People do not bother to dress up much. Casual appears to be mandatory.

Fancy fundraisers, job interviews, weddings, funerals and certain churches at holidays are excepted from the casual rule. That's about it.

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

I don't know about Houstonians, but in Dallas we did. And as far as roads having names, I don't say "take the Guadalupe" or "take the Lamar" in town, why would I do it for a highway?

"Take George Bush to 75" does bring a smile to my face though. You want me to kidnap a president?