Thinking about moving from Massachusetts, some cultural questions (Houston, Dallas: transplants, house)

[glenn01]

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me.

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw?

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent?

4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single.

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters?

6. How conservative? I'm more on the liberal side, I just want an atmosphere where the idea of individual opinions is respected, and not attacked.

Thanks!

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by glenn01

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me.

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw?

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent?

4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single.

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters?

Thanks!

Ive lived in Dallas and Houston in Tx. Dallas has a better climate for getting out and doing things that Houston most of the year and I find walkers and joggers in my neighborhood daily keeping up the fitness. The ladies in Tx make an effort to look good so it can be a mecca for an intelligent gentleman. I must admit I have to wonder where the info on Texas is coming from.... sounds like a political parody in some ill informed east coast paper. You wil find all kinds of accents, Dallas and Houston are two of the most diverse cities in the US, there is a study documenting this if you want to see the evidence.

Texas economically is doing great.. compared to the rest of the country in this tough economic environment.

You will find its hot out in the summers but I play golf year around something you cant do in the NE. Summer is the off season but the other 9 months are nice with a taste of 4 seasons but not a long nasty winter like NE.

[synchronicity]

One big thing - Dallas is much NEWER than Boston. An "old" house here is from the 90's - yes, the 1990's, not the 1890's or 1790's. It's growing much quicker, so it's got a lot of suburban-ish sprawl.

Culturally, it's different, but not in some stereotypical "Southern" way. Lots of little things. Be aware that the drivers here are (IMHO) WORSE than in Boston. No, I'm not kidding. Think similar to LA - very spread out, lots of roads. Regular roads are often 3 lanes each way, freeways/tollways usually 3 or more lanes each way.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by glenn01

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me.

I won't lie, people here are shockingly fat.

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw?

No.

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent?

Depends on your definition of 'decent' but you can count on several months per year of uncomfortably high temperatures.

4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single.

No idea.

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters?

6. How conservative? I'm more on the liberal side, I just want an atmosphere where the idea of individual opinions is respected, and not attacked.

Thanks!

I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. Texas is more conservative than Massachusetts, but you won't be ridden out of town on a rail if you vote Democrat.

[ReppingDFW]

Originally Posted by glenn01

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me.


Yes, there are a good number of fat people. However, there are also a good number of people who exercise. Plenty of gyms.

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw?

Some natives have accents. However, there are a ton of transplants and natives without accents (such as myself) here, so while you might hear a Texan accent from time to time, a normal American accent is more common.

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent?

March, April, May and October


4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single.

There are colleges here, but it's spread out. The biggest ones are SMU in University Park, UNT in Denton and UT Dallas in Richardson. I count UT Arlington as being more Fort Worth.

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters?

Very diverse. You won't find racism unless you head to a rural area. The high school I graduated from was around 20% Asian, 10% Hispanic and 10% African American and it was in a nice suburb... Dallas-Fort Worth is about 38% non-white and the Dallas side is more diverse than the Fort Worth side.


6. How conservative? I'm more on the liberal side, I just want an atmosphere where the idea of individual opinions is respected, and not attacked.

The area leans conservative, but there are liberals here. I'm a liberal atheist and I've never really been given too much trouble for my political and religious views.

Thanks!

Replies in bold.

[txgolfer130]

Originally Posted by glenn01

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me.

First, Dallas (and the metroplex) is a very "image" oriented city. Are there fat people? Sure. But there are fat people in Mass as well.

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw?

Yes...and No. Hopefully you won't be coming here w/ the CAAAARRR. Is that stereotypical enough for ya?

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent?

Most months are very nice...but if you think 90* is not fun to get out in, then you should probably go no further than NC. North Texas temps are in the 90's from mid/late May till mid/late Sept., and sometimes (like the outlier last year) until mid Nov. But then again, 104* in August still didn't stop me from shooting a nice cool 71 before 11am @ Cowboys golf club.

4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single.

You'll be just fine.

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters?

Pretty diverse. But while there are no banjo's in the background playing or scene's from Deliverance need to be dancing in your head, there can still be some sketchy people. But those are few and far between...at least on the outside.

6. How conservative? I'm more on the liberal side, I just want an atmosphere where the idea of individual opinions is respected, and not attacked.

Face it. It's Texas. It WILL BE Conservative. And even those who label themselves "liberal" are still from Texas, so they may not mesh with your "liberal" label. But overall you can rely on the John Wayne principles outlined in 'The Shootist'. ~“I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." But again, it's Texas. If someone's got an opinion they're gonna share it. But since you'll be here as well...it's "God's" free will and country to let you share your's right back.

Thanks!

Welcome to Texas. Answers in blue.

[synchronicity]

One other thing to note re: temps - Dallas is MUCH less humid than Boston. So when you hear "90 degrees for 5 months" you're probably thinking "oh my god, I'm gonna DIE", but seriously, 90 here is more tolerable than ~85 there (maybe even 82 or so).

Granted, when it gets over 100 it's pretty awful, but when it gets over 90 in Boston it's pretty awful, and 100 here is probably like 90 there.

Re: liberal vs. conservative, most people don't talk a whole lot about politics. You'll mainly see it in overall governing approaches - more services privatized rather than administered directly thru government, more "user fees" (lots more toll roads here which are rather pricey, unlike just the Mass Pike), stuff like that. It shows up in lots of little subtle ways and takes some getting used to. I find that more of an issue to adjust to than some blowhard opining on why anyone who thinks X is awful. You can find blowhards everywhere. If anything, Texas does seem to have a "live and let live" bent - if you're a good neighbor and keep your business to yourself, they don't care overly much what your beliefs are.

THBS, I have been asked once or twice if I've found a church yet, which is asked politely (because they want to recommend theirs and bring you in), but is something I never heard before I moved down here. Again, different. Twice in over a year is hardly all the time, but it is twice more than I'd been asked previously.

FYI- I'm a recent relo from Chicago (here for just over a year) who lived for a year in Boston about 20 years ago. My wife grew up near Boston. which brings up one other point - Dallas has LOTS of transplants. Population has grown by ~25% over the last decade in the Metroplex (greater Dallas-Fort Worth area), and most of those people are from Somewhere Else, so it's very common to meet people who moved here within the last 10-15 years.

[BoxCar Willie]

Originally Posted by glenn01

Hi, the family and I are seriously considering moving to Dallas from Massachusetts. We are looking at some job opportunities in a real city, and also prefer a warmer climate.

so first
1. I hear Texas is one of the fattest states in the country. How is that in Dallas? I like to follow a healthy lifestyle and honestly seeing a bunch of obese people will just depress and discourage me. If looking at someone else makes you depressed because they are bigger then YOU think they should be, I don;'t think even Boston would make you happy

2. How is the accent/dialect? Is there a lot of the Texas stereotypical yeehaw? Now if an accesnt is gonna bother you then stay in Massa chewsits YOU are the problem not anyone else.

3. How many months are actually nice in terms of weather? Obviously 90-100 degrees won't be very fun to get out, so how many months are actually decent? Give it a yr or two and you won't even notice the temp except you'll notice come january you aint up to your butt is a snowbank.

4. How is the college scene? I know it might not be as big as Austin, but still are there enough young people around? How are the girls? I'm 24, recently out of college and single. You'll find em of all ages, or did you really think Dallas was made up of old farts in wheelchairs?

5. How diverse is it? And any racist encounters? More diverse then Bahstan and equally unbiased. IF that is your main worry, STAY HOME!!!

6. How conservative? I'm more on the liberal side, I just want an atmosphere where the idea of individual opinions is respected, and not attacked. If you start talking about what Massolechewsits does you'll get told where to go. Sit back shut your piehole and listen Don't spout off.

Thanks!

Let me put it to you this way I'm a damn Yankee from Maine. I'm quite settled in here I cling to my guns and my religion I live in a neighborhood with blacks,hispanics,orientals,and muslims,as well as other whites. we all get along.

[ReppingDFW]

Originally Posted by BoxCar Willie

Let me put it to you this way I'm a damn Yankee from Maine. I'm quite settled in here I cling to my guns and my religion I live in a neighborhood with blacks,hispanics,orientals,and muslims,as well as other whites. we all get along.

Muslims aren't a race.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by ReppingDFW

Muslims aren't a race.

he/she didnt say or even imply they were. And neither are "Orientals";things are Oriental people are Asian...But we know what they meant. Get over it.