How bad are the attitudes and unfriendliness in TX? (Houston: live in, restaurant)

[casimpso]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Parts of east Texas people can be some what rude but the rest of the state is really friendly

I agree. Our family of six once took a weekend trip to Lufkin and found ourselves in Nacogdoches at lunchtime. We saw what looked like a good place on the main drag--parking lot full of cars and trucks, busy place. The instant we walked through the door, I swear every eye in the place was on us. (And five of six are Republicans!) No long hair, no tattoos, no wild clothing--just family folks looking for a good place to eat.

What an unwelcome, nosey vibe that was. Through the entire meal.

[tomchard]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

well you know the story, how were people where you come from?? how were they????, were they ugly, mean, nasty, rude and unkind?
the next place you pick will be like that. fill in the blank.
i love texas.

Your comments seem to lean a little toward saying that: "No matter who you are, your previous 'conditioning' will dictate your perception of where you're goin'-to" - "That ain't necessarily so," however.

My personal belief has always been that, if you "put your best boot forward," people will respond accordingly.
Okay, sure ...maybe not in Manhattan (NYC) or the middle of San Francisco (CA) or somewhere like that, but generally they will.

Again, generally, if you're friendly , and even a little outgoing, people will respond to your friendliness with at-least a smile, and maybe even a conversation. Ain't nuthin' wrong with that!

It's the same, just-about everywhere ... If you do your best to assimilate to the culture y'all are livin' in, you'll have a lot-better-time livin' your life. If you insist that you're not gonna behave like 'them', then you're likely in for a rough(er) time in your new location.

FWIW - Some of the most friendly people I've known live in small-town Texas. When we get back there, we won't be dealin' with all the issues many of y'all folks on this "Texas board" are discussin'; they'll be moot. Folks in small towns are/can-be a lot friendlier.

And ... Of course ... YMMV. --- Thanx! TC

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I can't speak for Van Horn, but in Temple or Killeen, you were probably the victim of non Texans.

Very true, or could be also the fact that some people just want to be rude. Either way I'm about to move out of the Temple Killeen area for better opportunities in which I have narrowed down several places in Texas as well as other states. Btw thanks for the pictures and info that I needed when I do go to England. Plans have been pushed back a little but well worth the wait.

[Shock]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Most of the folks I've encountered in Texas are nice - especially the natives. San Antonio seemed a little less hospitable than DFW, but I'm guessing that might have something to do with dealing with idiot tourists year round.

not sure where you're getting that from but SA has been consistently ranked among one of the friendliest cities in America.

[shyguylh]

Having lived in east TX for 8 years, my observations. And yes, my posting is long.

Texans can be bad at times, at least it seems this way, about not being able to take gently-toned suggestions on different ways of doing things in particular situations, they seem touchy about thinking someone is "trying to enlighten us like we're a bunch of ignorant rednecks," and often-times it's not that way at all. They also don't seem to accept others being different from them, even when such persons aren't necessarily trying to change anyone else around them, they're only just being themselves.

I'm a unique person, I think, in that I prefer rural living vs city living in terms of being left alone and the quiet, but I've noticed city people seem to relate to my thoughts and personality better in these ways I speak of, strangely enough. I suppose I'm a weird mix of city and country, not clearly one or the other, so in some ways I don't totally fit in to either environment, and that by itself may explain a lot. Also, I don't get into things people around here do, such as football or Dr. Pepper. I in fact DISLIKE the sport of football, I instead like basketball, and I have even vocalized that I think it's wrong for people to be glued to a TV set watching a football on Thanksgiving Day instead of actually TALKING and visiting with family, and on occasions that we've hosted Thanksgiving Day, the television is off. (For the record, I say the same thing regarding NBA games on Christmas Day.) I also dislike Dr. Pepper, and intensely so. At the same time, I don't disparage those who do like those (naturally many here do), I just don't embrace those activities/food etc just because everyone else does, that's all.

I deal with this somewhat in that I like hobbyist photography, which apparently is unusual for most males around here, apparently the norm is for males to be into tools, 4 wheel drives, guns, dogs, and hunting. For the most part I'm not into any of that, yet I don't disparage those who are. However, in taking photos in public, many times people stare at me and even ask what I'm doing, and they don't seem to do that as much when I observe women doing the exact same thing. I even was once asked to leave a lake (privately owned but publicly accessible to anyone who paid) because the sunbathers didn't like me snapping scenic landscapes of the lake, and no, I was NOT zooming in on young girls' rear-ends or chests etc. Where do they think those "things to do in Texas" photographs or those landscape photos on the calendars come from?

In like manner, I'm an office/clerical/administrative person by trade, and I've had a hard time obtaining such jobs, even though I'm well qualified. I could be mistaken, but it seems that most such jobs are filled by women around here. I don't know if it's because guys like a cutie in the office, or if they think "that's women's work" and I should be out in the oilfields or sweating it out in a factory. Those jobs simply aren't me, and I refuse to do them--heck, I CAN'T do them when I've tried, and why should that be a bad thing that my job skills are in the office realm and not the factory/oilfield realm? That's my perception anyway, it's entirely possible that it's wrong.

I also think they're wrong with regards to dog behavior being a nuisance to neighbors, people just accept it. Any number of persons I've talked to speak of how they are unable to do things like read on their patio due to a neighbor's dog barking all the time at them, one person had his pool destroyed by a neighbor's dog trespassing onto his land and jumping in his pool wildly. When I asked why they didn't hold their neighbor accountable for their dog's behavior, they looked at me as if I was suggesting stripping in their church. Me: I don't care if that's a Texas thing, it's ridiculous that a person can't use their own patio due to a neighbor's dog flapping their gums and harassing someone minding their own business, and why is it okay for a dog to destroy someone's pool and no one be held accountable for it? That makes no sense to me, I don't care what region originates that line of thinking. If that's how they wish to be, that's their business, but don't look at me weird when I refuse to take it up the tailpipe in the same way.

It comes up in other ways, such as my refusal to say "y'all." I am not disparaging anyone or "acting superior," but I have always made a point to use proper grammar and spelling in most of my talking and writing, and "y'all" is not grammatically correct. In like manner I'm not prone to such statements as "I ain't got no time" etc instead saying "I don' have sufficient time to do as you've requested" etc. I DO NOT correct people, but when I speak that way some people seem to respond with a "vibe" of thinking that I'm trying to act superior to them. If I say "you guys" I risk someone saying "we say y'all around here" with me replying "I know, but I personally sway towards using proper grammar regardless of regional norms," and rather than it being acknowledged or accepted that I'm simply sticking to proper grammar, they can be prone to thinking I'm trying to change the region or talk down to someone, when such is not the case. It's simply a matter of that I take pride in proper grammar and such, I don't modify it based on acceptable "slang talk" applicable to ANY region, culture or race.

(Edit, note: since posting this, I read on the "y'all" topic and apparently even "you guys' is also improper grammatically in the formal sense. If I read the articles correctly, one would use "you" when referring to multiple people, but how would one tell if you are referring to one person or several that way? More reading to do.)

Besides, I've been through this before, I lived my 1st 27 years in eastern NC, and they were much the same way, but once I learned in school that words such as "y'all" were grammatically incorrect, I stopped. I wasn't trying to act like I was smarter than anyone else, I was simply applying what I had learned. Understand: I am not PERFECT in regards to this (after all, in my subsequent reading I learned that "you guys" is just as informal as "y'all"), but such is what I LEAN towards.

I risk stereotyping here, but such behaviors and thinking I've seen, they seem more prevalent in the rural "trailer trash" crowd more than anyone else, although not always. I've seen people in nice houses running for city council or mayor being the same way as well. However, the more educated the people you are talking to, the less I notice such tendencies.

All of that said, there are great things about east TX, many aspects of which also were the case in eastern NC as well. I like how you can get a house in a rural area and then live pretty much how you want, without homeowner's associations and their neighbors being all up in your business. I like how people in such areas practice "shoot, shovel, and shut up" with nuisance animals, vs having a bunch of tree huggers scold you telling you that those animals have more rights to the land than you who are PAYING for it. (They just need to understand the same goes for someone else's dogs causing you problems also.) You also, at least in the rural areas (not sure about larger cities), are more likely to get a helping hand in the event of a disabled car situation than what I've seen in other places.

[War Beagle]

As others have said, people here are generally friendly and relatively well-mannered. It's more likely that certain cultural traits of regions might rub you the wrong way. Personally, Dallas is too fancy and uppity for me. Too much dressing up and keeping up appearances for my tastes. While I like Austin, the hippies and beggars get on my nerves after a while.

Keep in mind there is nothing at all wrong with the people in Dallas or Austin. I just don't gel with them like I do with people from other parts of the state.

[Granny Fats]

West Texas = extremely polite and friendly. Let you into traffic, polite on the street, wave, etc.

East Texas, I did not find as polite and friendly. Just my experience.

[KathrynAragon]

Wow, I just don't get all the east Texas hating going on on this thread, or in real life. I moved to East Texas twenty years ago and these are among the most friendly people I've ever met on the face of the earth, and that's saying something since I've lived in nearly every southern state and several other states, as well as Europe and Asia.

Of course, that's just my experience - but it's a lot of experience.

Last year my husband and I went to south Texas on vacation and some of the natives there were actually being rude to us about being from east Texas. They were talking east Texas down - I can't even remember the specifics because they were so stereotypical (and stupid, frankly) that I just dismissed them immediately. Frankly, I was a bit shocked that fellow Texans would actually sit around talking smack about Texans from another region - to our face in fact - in just casual conversation. I have literally never heard anyone from east Texas disparage Texans from west or south Texas, so this was surprising.

East Texas is TEXAS. It's just as TEXAN as west or south Texas. My personal experience has been that Texans from every region are friendly - except apparently for that bunch of local yokels we ran into in south Texas.

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Granny Fats

West Texas = extremely polite and friendly. Let you into traffic, polite on the street, wave, etc.

East Texas, I did not find as polite and friendly. Just my experience.

It seems like I never see friendly drivers in the Petroplex.

[tx09]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

It seems like I never see friendly drivers in the Petroplex.

me neither. my main complaint about the Petroplex...that and the trash.