Question To Michiganders About Texas (Detroit, Kalamazoo: high school, college, income)

balps · 07-08-2009, 05:00 PM

If you live in Michigan, but have been to Texas, what was it like? What were some noticeable differences?

Any help is much appreciated.

Bydand · 07-08-2009, 05:41 PM

Cold in the winter here, hot there in the Summers. No water to speak of there, and the trees are SHORT. If it slithers there, it is probably poisonous, get used to roaches. Better BBQ generally in Texas, and they are rabid about football - High School, College, Pro... as long as there is a football somehow involved it draws a crowd. I lived in Texas for a couple of years and you couldn't pay enough to get me to live there again. Some very nice people, but the climate and landscape just drained me.

This question was already closed once, Mods don't take to kindly to posting it again.

Sparrow_temp · 07-08-2009, 06:41 PM

Texas is large. What specific area where you interested in? Think about how different Detroit is from Marquette. Here's a large difference -- no state income tax. More job opportunities than MI. I think El Paso is the liberal enclave in the state. The climate in the more humid areas of the state would be an issue for some -- hot and humid is a bad combination when it can get over 100 degrees.

jeanniepep · 07-08-2009, 06:56 PM

We've just visited, but I have to say Dallas is WINDY, and San Antonio is a LOT of fun. What kind of info are you looking for exactly??

malamute · 07-08-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balps

If you live in Michigan, but have been to Texas, what was it like? What were some noticeable differences?

Any help is much appreciated.

Texas is huge. It's kind of divided into sections as far as the terrain, you've got the hill country for example and you've got the beaches and you've got the prairie-plains, you have south Texas where you could think you were in Mexico. Culturally there are many different parts of Texas also. You have the areas that are politically conservative, and the southern regions of the state are as liberal as liberal can be.

There are many noticeable differences. Not many places in Texas get snow and when they do it doesn't last but a few hours. You don't have autumns like in Michigan. Some of the lakes are nice but they're warm water lakes.

Without the 4 seasons, people have a different attitude. The typical Texan can be a nice as anyone can be but they're definitely proud of their state and many have their roots in the south so if you're from Michigan, you're a yankee. Other parts of Texas are more western and that makes a difference and then other parts are very Mexican and they'll see you as a gringo.

daddythreepointoh · 07-08-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malamute

Texas is huge. It's kind of divided into sections as far as the terrain, you've got the hill country for example and you've got the beaches and you've got the prairie-plains, you have south Texas where you could think you were in Mexico. Culturally there are many different parts of Texas also. You have the areas that are politically conservative, and the southern regions of the state are as liberal as liberal can be.

There are many noticeable differences. Not many places in Texas get snow and when they do it doesn't last but a few hours. You don't have autumns like in Michigan. Some of the lakes are nice but they're warm water lakes.

Without the 4 seasons, people have a different attitude. The typical Texan can be a nice as anyone can be but they're definitely proud of their state and many have their roots in the south so if you're from Michigan, you're a yankee. Other parts of Texas are more western and that makes a difference and then other parts are very Mexican and they'll see you as a gringo.

This is pretty much right on. I used to live in Bay City which is about eighty miles southwest of Houston and have also spent alot of time in Dallas, where I have alot of relatives. I have spent time in just about every part of Texas.

So, like others have said, it depends on where you are. The western part is more desert like, the eastern half is very green, and lots of prairie in between (as a generalization). It's a pretty state but the trees are much shorter and it is MUCH hotter than anything that can be dreamt of in Michigan!

For the heat factor alone, you couldn't pay me to live there again.

It's truly unbearable, IMO.

The people are generally friendly but you will get lots of ribbing, being a "yankee". The "proud Texan" thing can get irksome after awhile.

LOTS of poisonous stuff there...snakes, bugs, spiders, plants. Alot compared to Michigan anyway.

No fall to speak of and the winters are mild. The southern part of the state stays pretty warm in the winter, whereas places like Dallas and Amarillo get more snow... but nothing compared to here!

MonkeyButler7000 · 07-08-2009, 10:28 PM

I agree with Malamute. Texas is huge; driving across the state isn't like going from Detroit to Kalamazoo. It is a multi-day journey. I currently live in El Paso, which sometimes seems like a world away from the rest of the state. It is about 600 miles from Austin, the state capitol Physically, geographically, culturally, and economically, it has much more in common with New Mexico, Arizona, and perhaps even southern California than it does with the rest of Texas. It is not unlike the UP's ties to northern Wisconsin and Minnesota rather than than metro Detroit.

Weather-wise, El Paso is a typical desert. It is hot, dry, windy, and dusty. During the winter, it gets cold at night and in the morning but usually warms up to the 70s by the afternoon. It is windy all year, especially February-April. July and August is the rainy season. There are a lot of short, heavy rainfalls that can cause flooding in a very short time.

Giesela · 07-09-2009, 05:02 AM

I was there for a total of say 6 months, in the San Angelo area.
I liked that Texans seemed friendly. They would talk to you shopping in stores, in grocery store lines, etc. Much easier to strike up conversations than in Michigan. People would say something to me and I would look behind me ....LOL. Then I went back to Michigan and tried that out on Michiganders and got some "is something wrong with that woman?" looks.
I also liked that it is an unofficial "rule" that if you are driving on a road slower than someone behind you you pull over to the right and let them get by, often with a friendly wave. Of course I think Texas roads are a little more built for that but still.
Loved the whole 2 steppin bar thing and how everyone knows how to dance and everyone does. Families would come for a little while early and the kids were learning how to 2 step and do the cotton eyed joe.
Didn't want to move there or anything, there are negatives too in attitude, weather etc. but there were certainly things I liked.

Tiger Beer · 07-09-2009, 07:01 AM

I think a Michigan person would make an easy transition into Texas.

I'm from MI, and visited TX a few times...and while completely different...it isn't THAT completely different. I think it also depends on WHERE in MI to WHERE in TX.

sunshineann · 07-09-2009, 07:02 AM

I have traveled to many states and Texas was one i traveled to, but was not for me. Some places were nice, Its definitly hot there.
As for Michigan people not being easy to strike a conversation with....i find the opposite and thats one of the reasons we love it here in Michigan. Maybe its different in that part of Michigan but traveling up through Michigan we had no problems.