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madbutnotmad
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20 Feb 2021, 1:35 pm

Hello
A friend of mine recently contacted me and told me that he had just found out that he had a mysterious half sister who lives in Texas. Being from London, UK, he is unsure as to what to expect with regards to his half sisters lifestyle.

Any idea what Texas is like?



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20 Feb 2021, 1:41 pm

A lot like California, except less weird and more mean.


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20 Feb 2021, 5:15 pm

Like most places, there is a huge range of people. Texas tends to be more liberal in the cities and more conservative in the rural areas, but liberals and conservative can be found in both places. Some people are religious, some not.

I would just contact these people and get to know them. Don't assume anything.



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20 Feb 2021, 5:28 pm

Whereabouts IN Texas?

The state is slightly bigger than France.

East Texas is part of the cotten Belt, the north is part of the prairie wheat belt, the west is part of the desert southwest, the south as tropical as Florida. Largely conservative and Bible thumping but there are enclaves of liberalism like Austin.Cajun culture spills over its eastern border with Louisianna, and Mexican culture spills over the Rio Grande from Mexico.



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20 Feb 2021, 5:39 pm

Yep I agree with naturalplastic and jiheisho. I live in Texas and have family all over Texas. Each area is very very different.

Anyway, if you know what area, I can a least give you a basic rundown of the culture in said area.


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20 Feb 2021, 5:46 pm

Yeah it's kind of saying what are black people like, or Chinese, or Swedish.
It makes little sense if you think about it.
That said, Texans seems to be freezing :(

/Mats


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Spunge42
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20 Feb 2021, 5:55 pm

mohsart wrote:
That said, Texans seems to be freezing :(

/Mats


Yes. Yes, we are. 8O


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20 Feb 2021, 6:17 pm

Actually, Texas and California are very much alike but are seen as very, very opposite. We have a few areas that are liberal, but once you get out of those areas, people get super conservative! They're also way bigger than most people can even begin to imagine 8O

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20 Feb 2021, 6:28 pm

I visited Texas once. I forget exactly where.

My main memory of the place I visited was that the air was very clean, but the water was absolutely awful.


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madbutnotmad
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20 Feb 2021, 6:37 pm

hello
Thanks for everyone's replies.

Yes, I am not exactly sure where my friends family member lives.
He just recently found that he had a half sister living in Texas.
His dad had a history before he met his own mother.

He's from London, and spent 10 years in the army, as a green jacket (which i guess is a bit like a red beret).
So being tough guy territory doesn't bother him, if anything, he will revel in it.
The thing that worries him the most is the religious influence.

He is keen to meet his new found family member, apparently she has offered to pay for him to get a flight over.
He is just being a bit cautious about what he's getting himself into.

He's a bit of a temperamental, having led various lifestyles in the past, which has fed his mental illness (anxiety, depression, problems with people - not unlike us ASD folk).

So, he is a bit cautious about getting a plane across the world, to end up walking into a world that he will find difficult.
Which i guess i can understand. I myself am cautious when it comes to people and not that keen staying with people or putting people out to entertain me, especially if i can't afford to return the favour.

I guess i will have to find out a bit more from my friend, when he has.
Think he is in the process of having online video calls with his new found sister.

All must be a bit of a shock for someone who has just turned 60! (oh btw I am your older sister!! !)



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20 Feb 2021, 7:10 pm

People from Texas are generally very friendly on the outside, especially if you're white. Many, but not all, are bible belters: tell yer mate that if anyone asks he's just converted to Southern Baptist :roll: But seriously though, just don't discuss religion or politics. Also, remember to smile and say "Hey!" (hello) to just about everyone you come across, they like that a lot, it's just part of being nice and a big, big thing to everyone down there.

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Mike_T
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20 Feb 2021, 7:46 pm

I've lived in Texas for 30 years and generally like it very much. Like the state itself, most people are independent and have a "can do" attitude. We feel happy here, isolated from what we think are more extreme views from the East and West Coast major cities.

Like others have said, there are more liberal elements in the large cities (Austin, Houston, Dallas) but the state is generally conservative in its views.

The sheer size of the state encompasses quite a lot of different environments: the Piney Woods of East Texas; the Coastal Plains stretching from Louisiana to Mexico; the desert Southwest around El Paso and Lubbock; the Great Plains in the northern Panhandle region; rolling hills of Central Texas.

Texas has some of the lowest housing costs in the nation, and no state income tax, so we are seeing a steady influx of tens of thousands of new residents each year, escaping the higher cost of living found in other states.

Plus, Texas has the best BBQ in the nation!! (a fact that will raise the ire of others that claim their state's is better)



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20 Feb 2021, 8:02 pm

Mike_T wrote:
Plus, Texas has the best BBQ in the nation!! (a fact that will raise the ire of others that claim their state's is better)


Good fer you Hoss, I do love me some good BBQ! :D But California, especially the SF Bay Area, has waaaayy better Mexican-food, Tex-Mex just ain't the same 8)

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kraftiekortie
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21 Feb 2021, 12:16 am

It takes a whole day to drive from Texarkana to El Paso.



OkaySometimes
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21 Feb 2021, 6:38 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
It takes a whole day to drive from Texarkana to El Paso.


Yes. Yes it does...
When I moved to CA, my parents helped me drive out. My part of the drive was Texas. I took the wheel just outside Ft. Worth at about 10am. I pulled into the state line Rest Area entering NM just past El Paso at about 2am and stayed awake just long enough to hand over the keys and crawl into the sleeping bag in the back. We had stopped for dinner, we had stopped for gas a couple times, but yeah. Texas is BIG.
I still remember the stars. So clear, so bright. I grew up in the country, but it still amazed me. I also remember seeing a flame and wondering what it was for quite a while. When I got close (over an hour later) I saw that it was a 25ish foot flame about maybe 30-40 feet up, on top of one of the vent pipes for an oil well. I had been seeing that flame and wondering what it could be for about 100 miles. Those are the things I remember about TX.
Sorry for the wandering, I was just remembering those things. 22 years ago in a couple weeks, but it's like yesterday. And like a million years ago at the same time...



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21 Feb 2021, 7:14 am

That’s our privilege here on WP: the ability to wander and reflect.