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haven't been on here since we were relocating and you guys helped me choose a neighborhood.
Forgot my login --- had to make a new one.
But I remember there were many people relocating just like me and well, I wanted to check back in with you.
Are you happy?
I'm not trying to be a difficult one, but am just trying to figure out if it's me or what?
We've been in Texas a year and a half now, and when we were transferred here I kept hearing from so many people, "Oh You'll LOVE Texas"
I mean I was excited, what other state are people so proud of their state and brag about it and have their own state pledge that kids say in school?????
Anyway. I don't love it. I don't know why. I just don't. Will you let me vent for a minute? I really need to.
I don't see much that's special or unique, and well, I don't find people "Oh so friendly" like it was described to me.
I've lived in Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Washington State, Nevada, and Massachusetts. I fondly have memories of them all, (except maybe Mississippi)
Point is, I'm not just homesick, Our jobs have let to a many transfers.
Here. Well, It's hot, there's a million chain restaurants and no food with uniqueness or culture behind it, lots of new buildings very little character, lots of strip malls, builder homes that all look alike with brick and stone. I don't like football, and I'm not Baptist, and I ate Whataburger and quite honestly I don't understand the fascination.
What I wouldn't give for the old oak trees of Savannah, the cobblestone streets of Virginia, the architecture or New Orleans, the intelligent minds of Higher Ed in Boston.
Here my favorite thing is the proximity to the airport, so I can leave.
OK now that it's out of my system. What's your success? Where are all the nice friendly people I heard so much about? What are your favorite places to go and soak up something uniquely Texas? Where are the hidden gems of culture?
Something unique to eat other than smoked meat and mexican?
Tell me why do you LOVE it? Please help me find it! I want to LOVE it too, I'm pretty down in the dumps over here.
Wish you knew your old login, so I could see your situation before moving.
In many cases, people is what truly matters when determining how happy you are at a place. I don't know if you moved closer to family, if your in-laws are there, if you are alone or have a family, if the rest of the family like it and you don't, etc.
We're moving to TX in 3-4 months, from Norway. But my wife is Texan, so for her it's all joy and excitement for being closer to family. I don't get the insane patriotism many Texans have either, but during our visits it certainly is people (and family) that makes the trips enjoyable. I'll be moving away from magnificent fjords, closeness to incredible mountains and outdoors, 4 seasons of weather, safe life and economy - and I assume you moved away from many things as well? And if your happiness is tied to that, then maybe the move was not the best decision for you. For me, I'm confident that they are not defining of my happiness (at least not the the affect that my wife defines our family's happiness!).
I have also been here a year and half and feel as though I could have written your post. As much as I could go on and on and bag on the area, I don't think it's fair to do. So, I will say what I have enjoyed about the area is the extremely low cost of living, high wages, and being a plane flight away from everywhere stateside. As far as people go, it is hard to meet people here. The best of luck has been with other transplants who are also new to the area. The local friendliness seems to be based in manners more so than actual desire to connect with you and be friends.
haven't been on here since we were relocating and you guys helped me choose a neighborhood.
Forgot my login --- had to make a new one.
But I remember there were many people relocating just like me and well, I wanted to check back in with you.
Are you happy?
I'm not trying to be a difficult one, but am just trying to figure out if it's me or what?
We've been in Texas a year and a half now, and when we were transferred here I kept hearing from so many people, "Oh You'll LOVE Texas"
I mean I was excited, what other state are people so proud of their state and brag about it and have their own state pledge that kids say in school?????
Anyway. I don't love it. I don't know why. I just don't. Will you let me vent for a minute? I really need to.
I don't see much that's special or unique, and well, I don't find people "Oh so friendly" like it was described to me.
I've lived in Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Washington State, Nevada, and Massachusetts. I fondly have memories of them all, (except maybe Mississippi)
Point is, I'm not just homesick, Our jobs have let to a many transfers.
Here. Well, It's hot, there's a million chain restaurants and no food with uniqueness or culture behind it, lots of new buildings very little character, lots of strip malls, builder homes that all look alike with brick and stone. I don't like football, and I'm not Baptist, and I ate Whataburger and quite honestly I don't understand the fascination.
What I wouldn't give for the old oak trees of Savannah, the cobblestone streets of Virginia, the architecture or New Orleans, the intelligent minds of Higher Ed in Boston.
Here my favorite thing is the proximity to the airport, so I can leave.
OK now that it's out of my system. What's your success? Where are all the nice friendly people I heard so much about? What are your favorite places to go and soak up something uniquely Texas? Where are the hidden gems of culture?
Something unique to eat other than smoked meat and mexican?
Tell me why do you LOVE it? Please help me find it! I want to LOVE it too, I'm pretty down in the dumps over here.
Where did you move in the Metroplex?
Do you like Indian food? Irving has some of the best in the country, probably the world. That isn't smoked meats, actually, lots of it is vegetarian. Check out el salvadorian food. Tons of that as well. Dallas also has plenty of great Korean BBQ places and Sushi places.
You said you don't like football, do you like any other sport? Stars tickets are dirt cheap, most of the fans are transplants like myself.
What DO you enjoy doing? Do you play sports? Watch them? Build model trains?
Winter Sports, Hiking and Camping aside, DFW offers access to most hobbies.
Whataburger is overrated, thats true, it's a homer thing. I used to complain about it too, but after long enough here it tastes better or the full effects of the local water kicks in and now I find myself going there on occasion.
Idk where you live, but I've had no issue meeting smart, educated people in the area, but it all depends what circles you spend time in. It probably doesn't hurt that I went to University here and stayed friends with some of my professors and have become friends with higher ed folks though friends.
If you have the time, consider volunteering. It sounds cheesy, but it really is a great way to help a cause you care about and meet other like minded people. I noticed when I started doing that it helped me feel like I belonged more. IDK.
I'm a transplant to this area. While the area isn't perfect, there's a lot to like.
This is a place to come for career advancement. In the 7 years that I have been here, I have seen my career advance. There are some decent social opportunities as well.
Don't feel bad about not liking football. Watching sports is overrated. You should spend more time focusing on playing them.
As for playing sports, you can find sports leagues for pretty much any sport that you are into. I've participated in them. There are also so many gym choices. While some outdoor activities are lacking, there are enough outdoor options to keep the majority of people happy.
Not being Baptist or or other Protestant faith isn't a big deal. Lots of people either practice a different religion (there is a sizable Catholic population) or do not practice a religion at all. Religion in probably a bigger deal among residents of the Dallas suburbs than the city itself. In the city of Dallas itself, it's pretty easy to find non-practitioners of any religion.
I've never understood the Whataburger thing. It's ok. I'll maybe have Whataburger about once a year. In N' Out Burger tastes better. I don't like saying that because I'm not enamored with the California influence. Either way, I don't understand eating hamburgers/cheeseburgers out all that much. It's easy to make burgers at home. Hamburger patties are easy to find in a grocery store and it's not difficult to cook burgers.
Barbecue is a cuisine I will go to a restaurant to eat because it's more difficult to cook at home. Yes, there are some good barbecue options in DFW. Mexican food here has its good spots too, but there are other cities where the Mexican food stands out more. Mexican is reasonably easy to cook at home, so I'm less inclined to go out for that.
I've been impressed with the East and South Asian culinary options here. East and South Asian foods are more difficult for me to cook at home. I've tried before. Collin County is nearly 20% Asian, and even Dallas County has a decent sized Asian population. I'd recommend really delving into the East and South Asian cuisines here.
haven't been on here since we were relocating and you guys helped me choose a neighborhood.
Forgot my login --- had to make a new one.
But I remember there were many people relocating just like me and well, I wanted to check back in with you.
Are you happy?
I'm not trying to be a difficult one, but am just trying to figure out if it's me or what?
We've been in Texas a year and a half now, and when we were transferred here I kept hearing from so many people, "Oh You'll LOVE Texas"
I mean I was excited, what other state are people so proud of their state and brag about it and have their own state pledge that kids say in school?????
Anyway. I don't love it. I don't know why. I just don't. Will you let me vent for a minute? I really need to.
I don't see much that's special or unique, and well, I don't find people "Oh so friendly" like it was described to me.
I've lived in Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Washington State, Nevada, and Massachusetts. I fondly have memories of them all, (except maybe Mississippi)
Point is, I'm not just homesick, Our jobs have let to a many transfers.
Here. Well, It's hot, there's a million chain restaurants and no food with uniqueness or culture behind it, lots of new buildings very little character, lots of strip malls, builder homes that all look alike with brick and stone. I don't like football, and I'm not Baptist, and I ate Whataburger and quite honestly I don't understand the fascination.
What I wouldn't give for the old oak trees of Savannah, the cobblestone streets of Virginia, the architecture or New Orleans, the intelligent minds of Higher Ed in Boston.
Here my favorite thing is the proximity to the airport, so I can leave.
OK now that it's out of my system. What's your success? Where are all the nice friendly people I heard so much about? What are your favorite places to go and soak up something uniquely Texas? Where are the hidden gems of culture?
Something unique to eat other than smoked meat and mexican?
Tell me why do you LOVE it? Please help me find it! I want to LOVE it too, I'm pretty down in the dumps over here.
Texas is a great place, but if you move here for primarily financial reasons, you'll never be happy. There has to be something else that draws you in or you'll have permanent wanderlust.
Whataburger? In-N-Out makes a more consistent burger. Whataburger can be better but it really depends on the location and the cooks. They're both fast-food burgers....not sure that one is world's better than the other honestly.
There are lots of different kinds of restaurants but it seems like transplants move here and don't really look for anything but BBQ and Tex-Mex. There's Ethiopian, Indian, real Mexican, authentic (not Americanized) Chinese etc. Where you live does matter quite a bit though.
Austin doesn't have "the old oak trees of Savannah, the cobblestone streets of Virginia, the architecture or New Orleans, the intelligent minds of Higher Ed in Boston."
Austin could be good for the OP, but they haven't given us much besides that siplet to go on.
Insofar as 'homesick', be aware that places you've previously lived and loved have likely changed too with (over)growth, and wouldn't (/wont) be the same as they were before if you go back. We moved to DFW area from Austin; loved Austin for the 12y we were there, but could never go back- too crowded now and even the big-lakes are 'surrounded by apartments, etc' ( we cherish nature/outdoors but still being close to big-city civilization). Our solution here was to locate in small-community suburb nearby lake - acre/wTrees & older house (LOTS of them all around metroplex). Tying into a faith-community is important too - every option is available.
Boston higher-ed community? Savannah? Virginia Cobblestones? Everything the OP is pining for is a status indicator of having not just bucks, but buxxx.
Of course the suburbs aren't going to do it for him. Those cobblestones aren't where VA's working and middle class lives, and the things that make DFW really sweet (speaking as a transplant myself) aren't things that cater to the "lifestyle and locus-genii-has-sharp-character" community. It's how much easier it is to be a working-class dude/dudette and still have a really nice life here without needing a 40 minute commute just to hold down a dead-end job.
I love Irving's little Mom'n'Pops, and I love the fact that I can live in a part of town that's every bit as convenient for living as the Lakewood/HP/UP masters of the civic universe, but without having to be wealthy to do it. DFW isn't going to entertain you -- you'll have to go take care of that yourself, but there's plenty here to build a life around.
Last edited by happycrow; 11-07-2018 at 09:45 AM..
Reason: apparently a word I take for granted is considered offensive here, caught flat-footed by that
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