North Vs. South

So the other day at work, the mailman found out that I was from New York and he asked "Tell me three things that are different between NY and Texas..." Well, I'm blatantly aware of how very different these states are, but I've never specifically noted the differences. So this morning as I'm driving to work, I'm noticing, and I figured I would share!

Here I go...


-New Yorkers only dress Cowboy-ish on two occasions: 1. Halloween 2. When we go to Country Fest in which we pose as if we're country. Here, they wear cowboy attire any chance they get.
-The common car in Texas is as big of a truck as you can find, where as in New York people generally drive cars, occasionally some SUV's but RARELY a jacked up F250 turbo, or whatever they're called :)
-People look at me like I have three heads when I order unsweetened iced tea and sweet n' low, you would have thought not drinking sweet tea was a sin!
-There are TONS of mega churches and most of the people here claim Christianity. Up in New York, it's almost epic when you find out someone is a Christ follower.
-Vacation to Texans means go skiing, vacation to New Yorkers means going somewhere/anywhere warm!
-Now Texans, don't get offended on this one... but quite a few Texans use improper English. For example: "I don't have nothing" or "She don't know I'm coming". It makes me giggle inside because for whatever reason, you never hear people speak like that up north.
-Yes it's true, people in the south ARE nicer than people up north.
-Texan's have this crazy Texan-pride thing going on. There are Texas flags EVERYWHERE, I mean does anyone even know if New York has flag??
-Both states enjoy dancing, however when referring to dancing, both are on entirely different ends of the spectrum. Going dancing in Texas means getting your cowboy get-up on, and going to Two-step, Polka, and occasionally some Hip Hop songs, going dancing in New York means dressing very slinky for girls, and very preppy for boy, and bumping and grinding until the wee hours of the morning. There is no "two-step", unless of course it's Missy Elliott style.
-Texas certainly enjoy their fried food... fried okra, fried tomatoes, chicken fried steak... I have to pass on this one :)
-When going out to eat in Texas the restaurant choices are the following: Gringos, Las Hadas, Border Grill, Taqueria, Casa Ole', On the Border, Bullritos, Chipotle'... I mean do you see a theme? If you don't like tex-mex, you won't survive here. Up in the north, we're a bit more diversified in our eating habits.
-When you drive down the road in Texas it is very common to see signs in Spanish, up in the North we prefer the native language of English.
-Ever heard the quote "The bigger the hair, the closer you are to heaven?". Well women most definitely live by that quote here! But I love it, I love me some volume and hairspray :)
-Where I live in Texas, EVERYONE works for some Oil & Gas company. The first time Travis introduced me to a group of guys it went like this... "This is Bob he works for Shell, this is Frank he works for Chevron, this is Andy he works for Lubrizol, this is Peter he works for BP". I'm thinking, is there any other kind of work here! Up in the North I wouldn't say that one sector of business is dominate, it's much more diversified.
-Texas is flat, and to my utter amazement the first time I visited here I learned they have palm trees! New York has seasons and mountains, and trees, lots of trees!
-Texas has the Rodeo, which is absolutely fabulous, and Texans flock to it every year. Pre-Texas I didn't even know rodeo's were real...
-In Texas people love to hunt and shoot things. They have things called "deer leases" in which they set out every weekend and prowl around on some acreage and look for deer to kill. In New York we might go away into the wilderness for the weekend too, but its generally to watch wildlife and soak in the beauty, not so much to seek and kill it. :) (But yes, I do like shooting guns!)
-Texan's say "ya'll", while New Yorkers say "You guys".
-You can drive all day long in Texas and still be in...well Texas. You can drive a day in New York and be two states away.
-It's very common to walk into a Texas household and see some animal hanging up on the wall, up in New York that is virtually unheard of.
-Texas has AMAZING sunsets.

I think that's a pretty good list for now... I'll add more as I notice more.


And at the end of the day, I love them BOTH! It's wonderful to be able to experience such different styles of life!