Longview, Texas and rednecks. (Houston, Dallas: real estate, crime rate, homes)

[SAtoDallas]

The area's I'm speaking of are Tyler,Longview,Mashall. Personally I don't consider the area's south of Huntsville East TX. I'll be in that area again next month for work, hopefully DPS won't pull me over again

[jetcitywoman]

Originally Posted by calvin9495

Okay.....I lived in Longview for 7 years when I was younger. I'm not even going to touch the whole "redneck" issue. :-)

However, I did want to point out one thing that I've experienced personally, as well as friends. True, there are warm, friendly people in Longview, but there's also the flip side, particularly among women. There are a lot of "cliques" in Longview, and many of them are comprised of people who've known each other since high school. They can be very unwelcoming to newcomers. Every person I know who has moved to Longview as an adult has experienced this. One of my good friends was finally "accepted" into her current group of friends (gosh, this sounds awfully "high school," doesn't it? And these people are all their 30s) after about 2 years of joining church and community groups. She says she still feels somewhat like an outsider, though, at times.

Just something to watch out for.

Thank you for posting this.
I moved into Longview a few years ago-and after living all over the world prior to our move, with no problems at all making friends...I can say without a doubt this place has been the hardest place to " be accepted" [I honestly cannot believe that after 7 years of college and a flourishing career I am actually talking about being " accepted"...It really is like High School] Anyway, yes for me too it's been the women....and it's been very hard to get used to.

I love my house here, but honestly there are alot of attitudes here that are completely "new" to me.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by jetcitywoman

[I honestly cannot believe that after 7 years of college and a flourishing career I am actually talking about being " accepted"...It really is like High School]

Unfortunately this high-schoolish attitude rules many small TX towns, and gives our state such a bad image to the rest of the world. Even in small college cities like Bryan/College Station you can find this. Did you ever wonder why so many small town Texans have a near-pedophilic obsession with high school football?? Being, or just knowing that high school "superstar" is the dream that stays alive from age 15 until death for some people.

As far as a education levels are concerned, there are multiple cliques of folks in these towns who couldn't hack it in community college. So they resort to the "God & Guns" mentality for most of the answers in life. It's a lot like that movie The Waterboy... except I could only imagine Louisiana is that much worse. God, guns and nooses. At least nowadays Texans are, for the most part, above that.

I'm sorry, but I would never suggest anyone with a 4-yr college education live in a small town in this state for very long. In at least one way you will find that a small part of you has slowly rotted away.

[revantone]

That is what I said to my wife (originally from a small town near Longview) when she first told me she was from Texas. I have been here going on 9 years now and I am only now beginning to see why people (like myself) are literally pouring out of places like California.

[wyomotomom]

MY FAMILY AND I ARE PLANNING TO BE MOVING OUT TO THE LONGVIEW AREA AND AT FIRST WE WERE THINKING OF THE TYLER AREA BUT AFTER READING THE FORUMS IT MADE ME VERY NERVOUS AND CHANGED MY MIND TO LEAN MORE FOR LONGVIEW BUT READING ABOUT THE "CLICKS" WITH WOMEN AND SUCH I WAS SORT OF PUT BACK BECAUSE IT SOUNDED SO "HIGH SCHOOLISH" OR EVEN "JR. HIGH" WE HAVE TWO SONS AND LIVE UP NORTH AND WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE BOTH OF THEM WILL BE ACCEPTED AND ENJOY GOING TO SCHOOL WITHOUT BEING SCARED AND WORRIED AS WE ALL KNOW THAT SCHOOL CAN BE A HARD PLACE TO GO AS IT IS. I HAVE BEEN HOMESCHOOLING OUR YOUNGER SON BUT WILL BE GOING TO 7TH GRADE AND HIS BROTHER IN 10TH, DOES ANYONE OUT THERE HAVE A SUGGESTION ON WHICH AREA OF LONGVIEW AND SCHOOLS WOULD BE GOOD FOR OUR FAMILY, ANY HELP OR SUGGESTIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED..

[ripley]

Spring Hill ISD, White Oak ISD & Hallsville ISD seem to be most popular with new families moving to the Longview area. All three are good choices.

Rural districts Harleton, New Diana, & Tatum have also experienced recent growth.

If you have any specific information you desire, feel free to ask.

[MissDarlene]

My niece is going to be living in Longview for at least 3 months. She is a traveling nurse and has taken a position at a local hospital there for the next 3 months. I sell safety programs to businesses, with my main focus being on the oil and gas industry. I work the Gulf Of Mexico region, and have only worked with the offshore drilling contractors and operators. I am wanting to come and visit my niece, but wanted to make it a business trip. Do you have any associations that meet regularly that I might could attend?

Thank you for any help you might could give me.

Originally Posted by BobR

Re. Longview and Rednecks -
Yes, indeed, there are 'Rednecks' out here in the Piney Woods of East Texas, and God Bless 'Em!
I don't think I could be considered as such, but 'my neck tends to that coloration just a bit, maybe'?
I'm not from here; I started out life as a mid-westerner, from the heartland of America (Illinois) - a 'damnyankee', if you will - and moved to Texas when I was 10 years old. I spent 30 years, on-and-off, on the South Texas coast (only a few Rednecks there), and then 17 years in West Texas, where there exists a 'type' of Redneck that is 'different' from the East Texas (or, South Texas) variety of Redneck.
I have met them, and, because I deal with people in the Oilfield, I work with them, and I like them!
They do tend to be from the lower to middle class, that is true. There are some Rednecks in the upper class, but they will try to 'hide' that heritage and be something they really aren't.
Rednecks are basically 'country types'; you're correct in that.
As to them being racist... well, maybe so, a bit.
But, then, look at the attitudes of many of those who aren't White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and you will find racism there, too!
And, I am convinced that we have LESS racism here in the South than exists in the North!
I constantly see people who could be labelled as Rednecks working and associating very well with co-workers and neighbors who are non-white.
We here in the South get a totally bad rap on this issue; the legacy of the Confederacy and the slave culture.
The Longview area is culturally diverse and is, by far and away, the most beautiful place I have ever lived or seen! This place is very, very different from California: I've been there, and I don't care for that place.
East Texas has some similarity to Northern California, except that it's much much more affordable and, generally, laid-back.
Longview has a vibrant and rapidly expanding economy (and, no, I don't work for the Chamber of Commerce, nor will they pay me for these positive comments!). In fact, it's expanding so much that I may not like the place in 5-10 years because it may be too 'crowded' for me!
I work for a state agency that oversees the safety of petroleum pipelines, and I've been out here, now, for almost three years, and I wish I'd been able to come out here sooner!
The climate is great out here (except that it does get just a 'tad' warm and humid in the Summer!), and the scenery is beautiful: lots and lots of trees, flowers, lakes, and a few low hills. The 'country' is within 10 minutes driving time from the middle of Longview.
I think you would find people just about anywhere who would have the 'you don't belong here' mentality, but I don't believe you would find that here, certainly not as a 'prevailing' attitude.
I think you should listen to your friend's encouragement and give some serious consideration to coming out here.
I believe you would be welcomed!

[Obsidian Flow]

First, I would like to clarify that I have had friends in the upper, middle and lower classes in Longview. I do not have animosity towards any of them. I am merely stating my perspective of the dynamics within the Longview community.

Having been born and raised in Longview, there are MANY things I could comment on. I love the trees. I love the trees. Did I mention, I love the trees. That is where it ends. If one is looking to enlighten themselves on a different way of life, Longview is an excellent study. Although there is some growth in businesses, the people seem stagnant. This is a town/city filled with old family names that remain. They have their way of life, and yes, their cliques. These cliques reach far into Longview's history. There is a distinct upper class, middle class, lower class, and yes, even lower than lower class. There seems to be an acceptable way of life for each class. There is a level of conformity expected within each class. Sure, we could say that of many places in the US, but to the degree I witnessed in Longview is what defines this town.

The problems associated with gaining acceptance from other women is an old one found in many small towns. There is something to be understood about a large population of the women in Longview. Trying to fit in is like engaging in an arena of competition. You are segregated by your household income, where you live, your family name, the church you attend, who you know, the handbag you carry and the clothes you wear. Sporting an "I'm better than you" attitude gives many a sense of moving up in the ranks at the expense of others. The hardest areas to penetrate are the women that come from generations of living in the Longview area.

As with anything, there are exceptions to the rule, and some very nice people can be met, with a willingness to befriend you, seemingly blind to the social barriers.

I cringe at the thought of what I would have become, or would not have become if I had remained there. A vast number seem to be oblivious to a life outside the Longview world. This statement is true of all the classes. It's very interesting.

I realize some of my comments are vague. It's is difficult to place few words to 20 years of experience. I have now had another 20 years outside of Longview, with visits to family and friends that remain there. They are still the same.
I have a sibling that has moved away, as I did. This sibling and I equally shake our heads at the bullet we dodged.

[CMDallas]

I would want to slap your Husband.
Texas is Minority Majority, yes there is racism... but not anymore then any other place...there racists everywhere.
Yes there are 'rednecks' but they're just Caucasian people with a funny accent... they're not necessarily racist..heck I'm not redneck...I'm not even Caucasian.
What is more so, East Texas has a big Black population...and all of Texas has a huge Latino Population.
You'll be fine, but if you really insist on staying away from the country then move to Austin, San Antonio, DFW, Houston, or maybe even El Paso.

[Eastender67]

“The origins of this term Redneck are Scottish and refer to supporters of the National Covenant and The Solemn League and Covenant, or "Covenanters", largely Lowland Presbyterians, many of whom would flee Scotland for Ulster (Northern Ireland) during persecutions by the British Crown. The Covenanters of 1638 and 1641 signed the documents that stated that Scotland desired the Presbyterian form of church government and would not accept the Church of England as its official state church.
Many Covenanters signed in their own blood and wore red pieces of cloth around their necks as distinctive insignia; hence the term "Red neck", (rednecks) which became slang for a Scottish dissenter*. One Scottish immigrant, interviewed by the author, remembered a Presbyterian minister, one Dr. Coulter, in Glasgow in the 1940's wearing a red clerical collar -- is this symbolic of the "rednecks"?
Since many Ulster-Scottish settlers in America (especially the South) were Presbyterian, the term was applied to them, and then, later, their Southern descendants. One of the earliest examples of its use comes from 1830, when an author noted that "red-neck" was a "name bestowed upon the Presbyterians." It makes you wonder if the originators of the ever-present "redneck" joke are aware of the term’s origins - Rednecks?”
. . . from Scottish History Online