Texas not that different from other states (Northeast) (Dallas, San Antonio: house, subdivisions)

[Sweden America]

I always thought of Texas being very different from rest of America, especially from the Mid-Atlantic Northeast. I went to San Antonio, Austin (incl. drove thru the suburbs) & drove thru Fredricksburg and the Hill Country. To be honest not much different than driving in Upstate NY and the Northeast. Same roads, same people (except Southerners being friendlier and the cool Southern accent), but the famous BBQ can also be found elsewhere, same roads, and basically not that much different. I expected Texas to be very different but it wasn’t really. I could have been like I said in anytown, USA. One thing I noticed though was the beautiful Texas flags everywhere unlike any other state I’ve been to (reminded me being in Quebec province where Quebec flags are flown sometimes more than the Canadian).

My favorite was San Antonio... lots of things to see/do, and that river walk just breathtaking

[lonestar2007]

Makes me wonder what you had in mind in being "very different". Different how? The architecture? The businesses? The people? I mean really, what your definition of Texas being very different. Did you think everyone was a cowboy wearing a 10 gallon hat, chaps, boots and spurs riding a horse to town? That we traveled in covered wagons? Roads were actually just more or less cow trails? Wild Indians on the war path?

I disagree with your analogy of Texas and Upstate NY and the Northeast, but then again, I live here, not just driving through, but even so there are noticeable differences, not that it matters a hoot I guess.

I'm sure you're fishing for some outraged responses, so let's sit back and see what you get.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Makes me wonder what you had in mind in being "very different". Different how? The architecture? The businesses? The people? I mean really, what your definition of Texas being very different. Did you think everyone was a cowboy wearing a 10 gallon hat, chaps, boots and spurs riding a horse to town? That we traveled in covered wagons? Roads were actually just more or less cow trails? Wild Indians on the war path?

I disagree with your analogy of Texas and Upstate NY and the Northeast, but then again, I live here, not just driving through, but even so there are noticeable differences, not that it matters a hoot I guess.

I'm sure you're fishing for some outraged responses, so let's sit back and see what you get.

A rep, could not rep, other than this way, too often trying to rep you. But, yep, let's see what will develop, lol More likely expecting: West Texas, cactus, dust, tumbleweeds, cattle, oil derricks, desert, flat plains, isolation, still, millions in America, think this, I meet them over and over.

[ChristieP]

Anytime I travel overseas, people find out I'm from Texas and they ask if I own an oil well and ride my horse to work. They really think that Texans are all like JR Ewing. It just blows my mind...

No, true Texas BBQ can't be found elsewhere. If you are a foodie, you'd know that BBQ is a regional food, and there are very distinct regional types, with Texas style being one. If you go north, you get Kansas City style with wet sauced pork ribs. If you go east along the coast, you get Alabama style white sauce on chicken. If you want Texas style with dry rub and beef brisket, then you'll really only find that here.

[RJ312]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Anytime I travel overseas, people find out I'm from Texas and they ask if I own an oil well and ride my horse to work. They really think that Texans are all like JR Ewing. It just blows my mind...

The original series run of "Dallas" was from 1978-1991. It has been nearly 3 decades since the final episode. A lot has changed about both Dallas and Texas since 1991. In 1991, Texas was pretty populated and people were not riding horses a lot in the major cities.

Originally Posted by Sweden America

I always thought of Texas being very different from rest of America, especially from the Mid-Atlantic Northeast. I went to San Antonio, Austin (incl. drove thru the suburbs) & drove thru Fredricksburg and the Hill Country. To be honest not much different than driving in Upstate NY and the Northeast. Same roads, same people (except Southerners being friendlier and the cool Southern accent), but the famous BBQ can also be found elsewhere, same roads, and basically not that much different. I expected Texas to be very different but it wasn’t really. I could have been like I said in anytown, USA. One thing I noticed though was the beautiful Texas flags everywhere unlike any other state I’ve been to (reminded me being in Quebec province where Quebec flags are flown sometimes more than the Canadian).

My favorite was San Antonio... lots of things to see/do, and that river walk just breathtaking

The friendliness reputation is just that reputation. It's not really reality. I find that people outside the Northeast are generally indirect and don't have guts. The great thing about the Northeast is that people are known for not holding back and speaking their minds. In a lot of situations, it is useful. My perceptions might be skewed since I am a Millennial, often dealing with Millennials, who have poor social skills in general, and do the majority of their interactions behind electronic screens. It's easy to be a coward and rude behind an electronic screen when you never have to face a person.

I don't see the parallel between Texas Hill Country and Upstate New York. I have not eaten barbecue everywhere, but Texas is known for it, so I'm thinking this is a little bit of sour grapes.

[BobTex]

Such a cute post comparing the view through your ocular lenses.

Texas is a state of mind. What separates Texas is the Texans.

(I've lived in the Northeastern US ... IMO it's pretty damn easy to tell I'm not in Texas and I'm not even reminded of my beloved home state). Opinions and perceptions .... most of us have them.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by RJ312

The original series run of "Dallas" was from 1978-1991. It has been nearly 3 decades since the final episode. A lot has changed about both Dallas and Texas since 1991. In 1991, Texas was pretty populated and people were not riding horses a lot in the major cities.


.

People were not riding horses in the major cities in 1978, either. I was there. Yes, there were a few riding stables still hanging on here and there, but I can guarantee you the only time you would see someone riding a horse down the street in Dallas in 1978 would have been a mounted police officer on crowd control duty, or in a parade.


And Texans know that the house used for exterior shots in "Dallas" is about 25 miles from downtown Dallas, in Parker or Wylie or Murphy (can't remember which municipality off the top of my head). It certainly isn't characteristic of any house in the actual city of Dallas, not even back in '78.


I remember at one point there was some TV show that purported to be about "Mesquite, Texas" which showed tumbleweeds drifting down the main street of Mesquite. Obviously the producers were so caught up in their fantasies of what Texas is that they couldn't even be bothered to look at a map of Dallas to find out that Mesquite is a close-in suburb of Dallas, filled with subdivisions, strip malls, and industrial parks.


And don't forget the saguaro cacti, never mind that there's not a saguaro cactus within 400 miles of Texas.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by turf3

People were not riding horses in the major cities in 1978, either. I was there. Yes, there were a few riding stables still hanging on here and there, but I can guarantee you the only time you would see someone riding a horse down the street in Dallas in 1978 would have been a mounted police officer on crowd control duty, or in a parade.

Exactly. I did own a horse when I was a teen and young adult, but I only rode him at arenas, trails, pastures and along roadsides. The Mesquite Rodeo Parade was the only time I ever rode my horse in town!

If you wanted to see horses on the streets of downtown Dallas, you'd need to go back to historical photos taken before the car was invented in the late 1800s.

Originally Posted by turf3

I remember at one point there was some TV show that purported to be about "Mesquite, Texas" which showed tumbleweeds drifting down the main street of Mesquite. Obviously the producers were so caught up in their fantasies of what Texas is that they couldn't even be bothered to look at a map of Dallas to find out that Mesquite is a close-in suburb of Dallas, filled with subdivisions, strip malls, and industrial parks.

There is another Mesquite, although it is out near Lubbock and it's not an actual incorporated town. But yeah, in all my years of living in Mesquite as a kid, I never saw a single tumbleweed.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

If you wanted to see horses on the streets of downtown Dallas, you'd need to go back to historical photos taken before the car was invented in the late 1800s.
.

Well, I would think horses and mules were used as draft animals probably pretty well into the 1930s, so you would have seen the occasional team pulling some kind of wagon. By 1978? or even 1958? Nope.

[KathrynAragon]

Right - my husband and I quit watching the miniseries Texas Rising mainly because it was so full of terrible "landscapes" which didn't even remotely resemble the locales it was supposed to be set it. (It was filmed in Mexico.)

And don't get me started on the other stereotypes and misrepresentations, by the History Channel no less. I can't believe that miniseries actually won some awards. Wait, yes I can, because apparently people actually do believe this stuff.