Top 10 Things I Love About Texas

I’ve read Stacey’s Top Ten Tuesday posts for a little while and today I had writer’s block, so I let this inspire me a bit.  So since I am a pretty recent transplant from Philly to Houston, I thought I would share with you the top ten things I love about living in Texas. 

1. The cost of living! It is amazing to me how much farther a dollar goes here in Katy than it ever did in Philly.  Our house, which is gorgeous, cost 36% less per square foot here.  Seriously, I am not even kidding.  Gas is cheaper, groceries are cheaper, daycare is cheaper…the list goes on.

2. The diversity.  I thought our Chester County/Montco neighborhood in Philly was diverse! On my perfectly manicured street I have Chinese neighbors, African American neighbors, Indian neighbors, Colombian neighbors, liberal neighbors, conservative neighbors, and good old native Texan neighbors.  And we all get along really really well, and our kids all play and go to school together. 

3. The sunshine.  There are pros and cons to this, but overall it is so much nicer having sunshine year round.  My mood is incredibly dependent on the weather, and I didn’t know that till I moved here.  I just need to buy stock in sunblock. 

4. The values.  Even though Houston is not as reflective of the “Bible belt” culture as many other places in the  South, waaaaaaay more people I know go to church every Sunday.  It is totally surprising to me, coming from a place where a lot of folks just enjoyed sleeping in on Sundays.  And not just protestants either, I have a bunch of Catholic friends and a few Jewish friends here and they ALL attend services and are actually involved in their church bodies.  I’ve never asked my Hindu or Muslim neighbors whether they attend religious services, now I’m kinda curious about that. 

5. Texas pride.  It’s everywhere.  It is pervasive and seriously contagious.  I come from a place where we take huge pride in the Revolutionary War and teach it every year in elementary school.  Here they take pride that Texas fought for its own independence from Mexico, and I get it. 

6. Culture.  Houston has unbelievable culture.  There are a TON of great museums here!  And we have our own world-class ballet, opera, and symphony.  I could go on forever about this. 

7. Social Media community.  I’ve written about some of the events I’ve attended recently, but the thing is, Houston’s SM community is amazing. Bigtime bloggers.  Events are planned almost every day of the week.  Tweetups of all sizes and shapes.  There is a tech boom going on here nobody outside of TX seems to know about.

8. Cowboys.  Enough said.

9. Schools. This is specific to where I live in Katy, but we have some of the top public schools in the nation.  The schools in my area are exceptionally competitive academically. 

10. Food.  We have fabulous Tex-Mex and BBQ.  Wonderfully fresh seafood.  And of course fantastic steakhouses.

Author: Sarah

Mom of three. Triathlete.

42 thoughts on “Top 10 Things I Love About Texas”

  15. hi from mbc! we’re in corpus and thinking of making a move to katy in the future – cinco ranch area to be more specific! too funny! and i agree with your list!

  16. hi from mbc! we’re in corpus and thinking of making a move to katy in the future – cinco ranch area to be more specific! too funny! and i agree with your list!

  17. hi from mbc! we’re in corpus and thinking of making a move to katy in the future – cinco ranch area to be more specific! too funny! and i agree with your list!

  18. hi from mbc! we’re in corpus and thinking of making a move to katy in the future – cinco ranch area to be more specific! too funny! and i agree with your list!

  23. Ohhhh r42k NO WAY! I’m from Philly, remember? I would refer to the NFL team as the CowGIRLS.

    alabaster cow, I live in Cinco Ranch. Feel free to ask any questions 🙂

  24. Ohhhh r42k NO WAY! I’m from Philly, remember? I would refer to the NFL team as the CowGIRLS.

    alabaster cow, I live in Cinco Ranch. Feel free to ask any questions 🙂

  25. Ohhhh r42k NO WAY! I’m from Philly, remember? I would refer to the NFL team as the CowGIRLS.

    alabaster cow, I live in Cinco Ranch. Feel free to ask any questions 🙂

  26. Ohhhh r42k NO WAY! I’m from Philly, remember? I would refer to the NFL team as the CowGIRLS.

    alabaster cow, I live in Cinco Ranch. Feel free to ask any questions 🙂

  27. I saw your comment on Her Bad Mother and just had to click over.

    I am in NY now and we’re looking to move (as soon as this darn house sells) to either Dallas or Austin. I have to ask, because you look like you have curly hair – what about the humidity??

    Thanks for your list!

  28. I saw your comment on Her Bad Mother and just had to click over.

    I am in NY now and we’re looking to move (as soon as this darn house sells) to either Dallas or Austin. I have to ask, because you look like you have curly hair – what about the humidity??

    Thanks for your list!

  29. I saw your comment on Her Bad Mother and just had to click over.

    I am in NY now and we’re looking to move (as soon as this darn house sells) to either Dallas or Austin. I have to ask, because you look like you have curly hair – what about the humidity??

    Thanks for your list!

  30. I saw your comment on Her Bad Mother and just had to click over.

    I am in NY now and we’re looking to move (as soon as this darn house sells) to either Dallas or Austin. I have to ask, because you look like you have curly hair – what about the humidity??

    Thanks for your list!

  31. All true. Texas and NYC have been called the most city/state-centric places in the country. Pretty easy to see why. 🙂

    I need to get more involved in the SM community – it’s almost like I forget there are REAL PEOPLE who LIVE HERE that like social media.

    How geek of me.

  32. All true. Texas and NYC have been called the most city/state-centric places in the country. Pretty easy to see why. 🙂

    I need to get more involved in the SM community – it’s almost like I forget there are REAL PEOPLE who LIVE HERE that like social media.

    How geek of me.

  33. All true. Texas and NYC have been called the most city/state-centric places in the country. Pretty easy to see why. 🙂

    I need to get more involved in the SM community – it’s almost like I forget there are REAL PEOPLE who LIVE HERE that like social media.

    How geek of me.

  34. All true. Texas and NYC have been called the most city/state-centric places in the country. Pretty easy to see why. 🙂

    I need to get more involved in the SM community – it’s almost like I forget there are REAL PEOPLE who LIVE HERE that like social media.

    How geek of me.

  35. I’m a Texan, transplanted to New Jersey!! We have family in Houston… and I miss all of the things on your list! Have you seen the wildflowers this time of year? They’re amazing! I’m glad you’re enjoying my home state. We fly in and out of Philly and have spent a few days poking around there. It’s a lot of fun, too!

  36. I’m a Texan, transplanted to New Jersey!! We have family in Houston… and I miss all of the things on your list! Have you seen the wildflowers this time of year? They’re amazing! I’m glad you’re enjoying my home state. We fly in and out of Philly and have spent a few days poking around there. It’s a lot of fun, too!

  37. I’m a Texan, transplanted to New Jersey!! We have family in Houston… and I miss all of the things on your list! Have you seen the wildflowers this time of year? They’re amazing! I’m glad you’re enjoying my home state. We fly in and out of Philly and have spent a few days poking around there. It’s a lot of fun, too!

  38. I’m a Texan, transplanted to New Jersey!! We have family in Houston… and I miss all of the things on your list! Have you seen the wildflowers this time of year? They’re amazing! I’m glad you’re enjoying my home state. We fly in and out of Philly and have spent a few days poking around there. It’s a lot of fun, too!

  39. Oh that’s cool! Yes I have several photographs of my boys in the awesome bluebonnets from last year! I do love Philly as well, but for now Texas is great.

  40. Oh that’s cool! Yes I have several photographs of my boys in the awesome bluebonnets from last year! I do love Philly as well, but for now Texas is great.

  41. Oh that’s cool! Yes I have several photographs of my boys in the awesome bluebonnets from last year! I do love Philly as well, but for now Texas is great.

  42. Oh that’s cool! Yes I have several photographs of my boys in the awesome bluebonnets from last year! I do love Philly as well, but for now Texas is great.

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