Why Texas have Bad Image (Dallas, Austin: real estate, home, to buy)

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

And ya'll thought I wouldn't chime in.

First off, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS NOT A TRUE TEXAN!!!!!!!! He was born in Connecticut. Can we all get that one right for once. I'd LOVE to put that out in an ad in every single paper across the country. That man was NOT born here in Texas. If he would have been we woulda kicked his butt into shape a long time ago.

Well, I don't agree that G.W. is not a true Texan. He may have been born in Connecticut but moved to Texas when he was two years old and was raised in Midland and Houston. I think it would be safe to say that the majority of his life was spent in Texas. He may not be a native Texan, but children can't help where they were born. Living in CT when he was a baby did not make him a Yankee.

The quote above, "we woulda kicked his butt into shape a long time ago" reminds me well of the "Texan" statement he made when some felt like the conditions were such that our enemies can attack us in Iraq but his decision would changed. He answered with, "bring 'em on." Yep, he's a true Texan.

[lifertexan]

Bush is a Texan.I didn't vote for him,but being here from infanthood makes him one.I doubt 2 unremembrable years as an infant in CT overwhelmed his 50+ years in Texas.

[LastDallasNative]

LeeLee82 - So, when the Californians move in and the housing prices escalate and your children can't afford housing, then that is ok with you?

If thousands of us Texans moved to SoCal and changed everything for you, that would be OK with you? No complaints? Wow!

[lifertexan]

I agreed w/Scuba guy re: why does anyone care where you're from if you are a decent, productive citizen.

Very few people here do.It is the complainers,the "life was so much better back home" crowd that people don't care for.Those that make the effort to be a positive addition,or at least not a negative,whiny addition are always welcome.

[LeeLee82]

I agree wholeheartedly that one should NEVER go somewhere and start complaining, comparing w/ "home".

TY Lifertexan--I know we are a good addition--we love TEXAS and feel very welcome here. If I have complaints, I tell my mom back home, lol. It's never good manners to, in effect, go to someone's party and describe how another party was soooo much better. Every place has its debits and credits.

AND besides, I don't think these real Texans would give a hoot if I didn't like it. I just happen to like it. I do miss me my STARBUCKS, though.

[LeeLee82]

While I miss Starbucks, we do love our new church here--churches are easy to find in Texas! lol We are Methodists. I volunteer to teach Sunday school, help w/after-school programs, and we tithe 10%. Just puttin' out some "evidence" that we are good for the state. There's more, but, you get my message.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by lifertexan

Bush is a Texan.I didn't vote for him,but being here from infanthood makes him one.I doubt 2 unremembrable years as an infant in CT overwhelmed his 50+ years in Texas.

Amen!! As I said above, he's a Texan all the way.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by LeeLee82

I agree wholeheartedly that one should NEVER go somewhere and start complaining, comparing w/ "home".

TY Lifertexan--I know we are a good addition--we love TEXAS and feel very welcome here. If I have complaints, I tell my mom back home, lol. It's never good manners to, in effect, go to someone's party and describe how another party was soooo much better. Every place has its debits and credits.

AND besides, I don't think these real Texans would give a hoot if I didn't like it. I just happen to like it. I do miss me my STARBUCKS, though.

LeeLee,
Where do you live that there's not a Starbucks? There's a Starbucks on every corner here in the mid-cities of DFW.

[socketz]

While we're on the subject, I hear alot of native Texans project similar ignorant stereotypes about California; I often here that "we ought to run all the people out of CA and make it a national park". Everyone in Texas seems to think most Californians are lazing around during the day at thier job and sneaking off to the bathroom to do bong hits on breaks. They also think we Californians have money coming out of the woodwork and that we run around spending it like drunk sailors. They think that we see people like Brittany Spears or Lindsay Lohan in the supermarket on a daily basis. Or that we all drive Ferarris.

When in reality places like San Diego and Orange County have very low salary averages compared to the cost of living (lower salaries than Dallas for sure). Most people I know live to pay their mortgage and they hunker down and budget on alot of things like eating out or taking vacations. There appears to be MUCH more disposable income/disc. spending here in Dallas than in places like San Diego.

As for working in Socal, on top of the low salaries it is one of the most competetive job markets on the planet; the best from all over the world flock here and try to live just for the weather. Alot of folks in CA work well below their educational/training levels 'just to live in Socal' as well. This is the common complaint I hear from all my friends..."yea, the interview went well, but they only want to pay me x, which is 20k less than I'm making"....or "we've seen alot of resumes for this position and most of them have Masters/PhDs and will work for less, what do think about that?"

Socal is also the home to alot more conservatives than you may realize. Sure SF is ultra liberal, but the people in Socal complain as much about SF as everyone else does....

My point is that just about everyplace has ignorant stereotypes about other places....you ought to hear some of the stuff I was told when I moved to Dallas.

The biggest one is: "Have you lost your mind!"....you'd think I was telling people I'm taking my family over to Iraq to live.

Also.....

"did you know that the armadillos are mean out there and they will chase you - they think like rats"
"watch out for the snakes, they get on your roof and bite you when you walk in the door"
"Everyone is a redneck"
"From December to Feb is nothing but ice storms"
"there is no water, so nobody owns boats/jet skis"
"I know people that have seen a dozen tornadoes in Dallas"
"Summer is so hot that you can't even go outside, too hot to even swim" (this one may end up being true, we'll see)
"Homes out there never increase in value, so once you buy you will be stuck out there for the rest of your life"
"Everyone goes to church out there and you will be an outcast if you do not" (the jury is still out on this one)
"Everyone is fat because they only eat fried foods and meat"
"You can't eat healthy because people will laugh at you if you ask for your salad dressing on the side"
"Everyone is prejudice"
"Houses are dirt cheap and you can get a nice one for 100k"
"The schools are terrible, look at Bush, he can't even speak" (um, Bush is from Connecticut and went to Ivy League schools)

Then for those that know something they say....

"Places like Plano are out in the middle of nowhere"
"Plano women are evil and snort coke in the bathroom when they drop their kids off for school"
"All people in Plano are snobs and thier kids spoiled brats"
"All teens in Plano do drugs"

I could keep going, but I think you guys get my point. I think the problem is that people in both places are so proud, that they never step outside the box to think "if so many people live there, than h_ll, it must have some nice attributes, I'd like to check it out". I'm someone that can assimilate into just about any place on the earth, so I consider myself very fortunate in that I have seen/done things all over the world that most people would have never even imagined possible.

I think that what this did for me was provide me a mechanism by which I can view the world in a much more homogenous way and realize that most humans want the same things out of life, regardless of their color, ethnicity, economic background, continent....stereotypes are typically tools of the scared and ignorant used to justify their own lack of understanding and fear of change.

[lifertexan]

While we're on the subject, I hear alot of native Texans project similar ignorant stereotypes about California; I often here that "we ought to run all the people out of CA and make it a national park".

I've lived in TX all my life and have never once heard this said.All the people here I've been around in my 40+ yrs could care less about CA's that stay in CA.Very few Texans desire to move to CA,and the ones that do love it.It is only when CA's move here and start complaining that Texans think about them at all.