Am I going to have culture shock in TX? (Dallas: house, middle school)

[SpaghettiMonster]

I grew up in NY, but have lived the past 8 years in Michigan, now moving to the Dallas area. I'm very happy to move but just wondering what things might be dramatically different? Besides the weather of course Anyone else from the north and make the same large relocation and what were the biggest differences/challenges?

[DitsyD]

Kinda depends on what area you live in now. UP? Mackinac Island? Suburban Detroit?

The Dallas area is HUGE. Bigger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Lots of people.

Few apple and cherry trees.

Besides the Cowboys and Rangers, Arlington has a GM manufacturing plant.

No pasties, but lots of Tex-Mex food.

No Holiday Lights in Greenfield Village, but there is Candlelight at Dallas Heritage Village.

[BeenThereDunThat]

Just a bit of advice on driving in bad weather in DFW. You being from Michigan, you know how to drive when things freeze or when the snow hits the pavement. But in DFW... they don't... they keep speeding or they don't know how to apply the brakes easy... just watch the Weather Channel for all the action-cam shots of cars skidding off the highway or worse. And while the DOT crews do their best to keep things clear...there's just too much highway to manage when the weather gets bad.

So be careful.

[Beaching]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

Just a bit of advice on driving in bad weather in DFW. You being from Michigan, you know how to drive when things freeze or when the snow hits the pavement. But in DFW... they don't... they keep speeding or they don't know how to apply the brakes easy... just watch the Weather Channel for all the action-cam shots of cars skidding off the highway or worse. And while the DOT crews do their best to keep things clear...there's just too much highway to manage when the weather gets bad.

So be careful.

You do realize that the majority of the people that live in DFW are not from Dallas much less Texas.


Snow is different than the ice we get here. I've driven in blizzards thru the Midwest, Colorado, Nevada, etc.
Thing is, here we get ice, it melts in the day than refreezes at night when temps fall. It's way different.
I do slow down when it is icy. It's the idiots that are behind me that get mad, start honking, whip around me and I see their out of states plates. I later see them wiped out, sliding, etc.

[Beaching]

Originally Posted by SpaghettiMonster

I grew up in NY, but have lived the past 8 years in Michigan, now moving to the Dallas area. I'm very happy to move but just wondering what things might be dramatically different? Besides the weather of course Anyone else from the north and make the same large relocation and what were the biggest differences/challenges?

Most residents of the Dallas area are not Native Dallasites or Texans.
I will say, it is what you make it. Be willing to explore. Don't be limited to just Dallas. Venture all over Texas and the area. See that it is not all "plain" or "flat". There are a lot of activities to get involved in that can make a difference in ones experience, no matter where they live. Every sinlge place is different, take advantage of the differences.

[deenie1]

I wanted to come for the past few years since I have family here and less and less family in the northeast. I was also getting sick of the snow! Unfortunately my husband is doing a 3x/month commute since he just accepted a new job over the summer but we already decided to list our house and get the kids settled in if it sold. Well, it sold to the first family who saw it and we've been scrambling to find a house ever since the spring. We moved into an apt. for a couple of months while we looked. I figured I needed a safety net, especially with my husband gone during the week. We drove in mid-July and finally found a house in Sept. and closed in Oct.

Overall, it's been a good experience. Sometimes when I sense the kids are missing something about NJ, I ask them if they want to go back and they quickly say no! I miss my friends and I'm finding it harder to meet neighbors but I've been so busy, I haven't been putting myself out there except for walking the dogs. I've met some very nice people out and about though. I've always considered people in NJ/NY to be very friendly but people are more engaging here. They not only say hi but they also have a conversation with you.

We're in Plano since my kids are in middle school and they seem to have a solid school system here. It's close to my sister and my niece is in Frisco with her family. Things are centrally located to where we are and it's never more than a 15 min drive to get just about anything. Tex Mex is top notch but Italian food is spotty. Also, we were dying for some soft-serve ice cream but had a very hard time finding something like Rita's, Ralph's or The Lighthouse out here!

The people are crazy drivers though. As nice as they are outside of their cars, they'll run you off the road if you're in the way. The wide thoroughfares take some getting used to. They're expansive an sometimes they'll put a little 4 way stop sign. But, everyone approaches and waits their turn - those things go amazingly well.

The one thing I've noticed is that women are TALL here. I mean older women too. I was used to being one of the tallest in my group (at 5'8"). Now I'm not overly tall but our kids are always the tallest in their grades every year. They're still up there but they have a lot of company! I was just shocked when I saw an elderly lady who had to be close to 6 ft tall. I don't think I ever noticed that before. I thought it was a fluke but I've since seen many, many more. Strange but I find that fascinating.

There's a lot of state pride. carwashes on every corner, no mailboxes....there are probably more but I can't think of any right now. Definitely different but in a good way.

[Beardown91737]

Regardless of whether someone originally came from Louisiana, California, the Pacific NW, Latin America, overseas, or .. Texas, they don't have the winter driving skill of Midwesterners, Northeasterners, or Canadians.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by deenie1

We're in Plano since my kids are in middle school and they seem to have a solid school system here. It's close to my sister and my niece is in Frisco with her family. Things are centrally located to where we are and it's never more than a 15 min drive to get just about anything. Tex Mex is top notch but Italian food is spotty. Also, we were dying for some soft-serve ice cream but had a very hard time finding something like Rita's, Ralph's or The Lighthouse out here!

There is one Rita's in West Plano and one in Allen.
www.ritaswestplano.com
Welcome to the Twin Creeks Rita's in Allen, TX 75013!

[SpaghettiMonster]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

Kinda depends on what area you live in now. UP? Mackinac Island? Suburban Detroit?

The Dallas area is HUGE. Bigger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Lots of people.

Few apple and cherry trees.

Besides the Cowboys and Rangers, Arlington has a GM manufacturing plant.

No pasties, but lots of Tex-Mex food.

No Holiday Lights in Greenfield Village, but there is Candlelight at Dallas Heritage Village.

We are moving from Ann Arbor, MI. College town

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Beaching

You do realize that the majority of the people that live in DFW are not from Dallas much less Texas.


Snow is different than the ice we get here. I've driven in blizzards thru the Midwest, Colorado, Nevada, etc.
Thing is, here we get ice, it melts in the day than refreezes at night when temps fall. It's way different.
I do slow down when it is icy. It's the idiots that are behind me that get mad, start honking, whip around me and I see their out of states plates. I later see them wiped out, sliding, etc.

Me too. I was born and raised here, but I know how to drive on ice and in snow. They're not the same thing by a long shot!

When I'm out driving in winter weather, I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about the other drivers. I see a lot of idiotic things going on, often with cars sporting out of state plates.

Plus, a lot of people from up North don't seem to realize that we A.) have a different kind of pavement on our roads here...that is more prone to getting VERY slick...B.) we don't put winter or all-weather tires on our cars in winter, and C.) roads here are usually not treated with sand, salt, etc....or if they ARE treated, they're not treated properly.

If you're able, it really is more sane to just stay home. It doesn't mean we're a bunch of blithering idiots. It means we don't really have the infrastructure here to efficiently deal with the handful of days per year that we have ice or snow on the roads.