What's so great about Texas?

I'm guessing that you didn't learn to spell in that massive amount of the country. Hey, congratulations for driving the width of the state, Einstein. Did you bother to stop and look around? Did you leave Interstate 10? As for some of our lakes being manmade, did you ever think that our CLIMATE does not favor natural lake formation? Yes, dipstick, a manmade lake IS a lake. I've lived here for 33 years, having moved here in high school. No, it isn't Oregon, but Oregon isn't Texas either. Ever seen our Piney Woods area, tubed down a river, gone to South Padre, seen the prairie out west of Fort Worth, gone to the Llano Estacado? Probably not. Yes, our women (not girls) are hotter and the people friendlier, EVEN WHEN YOU TRASH OUR STATE. We're not whiny panty-waisted liberals who think that everyone else owes us something. We're independent, work hard, and have actual PRIDE in ourselves and our state. Every place is different. So you don't like it here. Fine. Go HOME. We don't like whiners here.

True, if you're used to the lanscape of the Northwest, you're going to find Texas boring. However, you can't eat landscape and Texans often travel to NM or Colorado to get into the real hills and mountains. After all, they're only an hour or two away by air. The job market is better here in TX and real estate prices are much lower than in the West or NE. I'd rather have a good job, live in a beautiful home in a gorgeous neighborhood (yes, with a man-made lake!), send my children to a good university at a reasonable cost (UT, A&M), fly to CO for skiing every winter....than living in the West coast, pay through the nose for a house and the kids' college tuitions. Hurrah for Texas, y' all! (or is it ya'll?)

2 DYNAMO FAN - What about the California Republic? It was an independent nation prior to joining the union as well (Hawaii was too). Incidentally, Californians a friendlier, better looking, and apparently orders of magnitude more educated than Texans. Texan girls are cute in their early 20s, but they turn in to fat housewives overnight. Its sad, really. Austin and San Antonio really are kinda cool, though nothing amazingly special. Houston is the worst city I've ever been to - it's smoggy, sprawling, and boring with god-awful weather.

Man-made lakes are still lakes, honey. As for the landscape being crap, you don't say where you're living, so I can't address that. I would suggest you travel to our many, many State Parks before you make any snap judgments about the landscape. This is one big state, and has a lot of different "landscapes". So until you've experienced all of Texas, you might want to reserve judgment. And, after seeing it all, if you still think it isn't so great just remember...the same road that brought you here, will sure as heck take you right back where you came from. Welcome to Texas.

Keith, if you are so bent on not seeing the good in Texas, then honey-child guess what... YOU WON'T. I also came to Texas from somewhere else. Texas has rich history, her own rugged beauty and a vast diversity which Oregon cannot claim. We, after all were once our own country. We have our own brand of natural beauty. We are bigger than the entire nation of France including her overseas departments! Our placement on both the Gulf Coast and the Great Plains means our topography is NOT going to be like what you have on the Pacific rim with 10K foot mountains. But then that means we don't get earthquakes of any size! At our latitude, we are NOT going to have the same climate, flora, and fauna to which you have grown accustomed in the Pacific NW, but that does not mean that what we have is not beautiful. There are citrus trees in about half of the backyards in my neighborhood and it is nothing to see a 10 foot tall hibiscus which never freezes back or a 15 foot tall stand of blooming ginger. You NEVER see that up there without it in a hot house. I will tell you one thing we have with absolute certainty. Based upon what I have seen in the behavior from you and others calling the Pacific NW home, the people in Texas have you folks beat hands down when it comes to friendliness and generosity.

I honestly don't know what everybody sees in it. As far as the sayings and all - they were probably something spawned by the more outdoorsy types, or the kind of people who like seeing miles and miles of nothingness, even in larger cities. Or people who enjoy hideously hot weather year-round. I know, I know, I'm going to get corrected over and over about the Panhandle being cold and all that - it doesn't matter, the vast majority of this state is pretty much hell on earth, heat-wise. I live in a small South Texas town - I've seen snow once in 18 years of life. I've been in shorts and a t-shirt, outdoors, on Christmas, and in a lawn chair in the same type of clothes on New Year's Eve. I think one of the only better things about this state is the friendliness of the people, but that doesn't even matter much anymore. The drivers have gotten so unbearably rude that I can hardly stand it - and there's nothing I can do about that. There's no way for me to walk 20+ miles to and from school and work, and make it on time, so driving is my only option. Public transpo doesn't come out this far. Plus, the friendliness thing has given way for lots of weirdos to start wondering around. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, this isn't a leave-your-doors-unlocked state, by any means. And the hot girls? No such thing down here, not to sound like a lesbian. The obesity crisis didn't fall short of Texas, but that doesn't stop the ladies from wearing short-shorts and tank tops. The close-mindedness of this place is what gets me the most. That and the rednecks. Just not my type of people. I guess I should say a few good things, though. The air pollution is a bit less harsh, at least where I'm at - I suppose it IS nicer to not have negative degree temperatures for half the year - and some parts of the hill country can be nice. It's always nice to happen across those older-designed towns, too. :) Sorry to cut this off mid-thought, but it's getting a bit long. Texas is basically like every other place in the U.S. - it's just overrated by people's pride.

Travel around and see the rest of the state. Then wait for Spring Break and see what you think. Not everyone is cut out for Texas since it's more than location, but also a state of mind. But if you can't handle being away from Oregon you just feel free to head on back if your wife lets you.

Wow Keith. You sound so negative. I've been all over Texas and have always had fun. There are millions of things to do that are not on the interstate. Get off of the interstate and look around but then again, maybe it's just you.

Nothing is great about Texas. You can't blame Texas for the natural landscape. It's the people that make Texas suck. Texans are not friendly like some would like you to believe.