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First time I visited the US it was Houston, Texas. My host was perplexed because I laughed out loud while we were driving. Experiencing highways and those mass
by nabla9 2y ago
First time I visited the US it was Houston, Texas. My host was perplexed because I laughed out loud while we were driving. Experiencing highways and those massive gas stations felt like someone had made a state that mocked America by taking prejudices we have about the American traffic and making them 200% larger in real life. My mind was blown.
- bravetraveler 2y agoI grew up in Appalachia and moved to Texas as an adult. Very similar experience, ride-laugh and all. This place is both amazing and ridiculous.
- hoten 2y agoHouston native here. I still guffaw when I see a massively lifted truck (but with a pristine bed, no scratches - so not even a work truck). Everything's bigger in Texas, including egos.
- psunavy03 2y agoThe best analogy I've heard for explaining Texas to non-Americans is that Americans view Texans the same way the rest of the world views Americans.
- hoten 2y agoI'll accept that. Somehow I forgot to mention truck nuts. Car culture is something else entirely in Texas.
- throwup238 2y agoTruck nuts? https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/trucknuts-1.jpg https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/...
- hoten 2y agoYeah...
- skylurk 2y agoI prefer the xl hex nut version. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/7977898649_342f5462ba.jpg https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/7977898649_342f5462ba.jp...
- rickydroll 2y agoSo you're telling me that these big macho guys from Texas did gender reassignment surgery on their vehicles?
- Slow_Hand 2y agoYup. If you add nuts to your truck and it didn't come out of the factory with them, then your truck is trans.
- fuzztester 2y ago>Americans view Texans the same way the rest of the world views Americans. Reversing some of the substrings in that string would also result in a very good analogy.
- fuzztester 2y agoLike: Texans view Americans the same way Americans view the rest of the world - derisively, but it is those viewers who should be derided, and often are, by the groups that they deride.
- Zircom 2y agoMy partner got me this shirt and I love wearing it, not because of any sort of state pride just because I think it's absurdly hilarious. https://hivemill.com/products/smbc-texas-shirt https://hivemill.com/products/smbc-texas-shirt
- jackstraw14 2y agothanks for wearing it ironically but it's not helping.
- gonzo 2y ago30 years ago I had one that said, “Fuck you, we’re from Texas.”
- dreamcompiler 2y agoEvery country has a Texas. In Canada it's Alberta. In Germany it's Bavaria.
- fuzztester 2y ago[flagged]
- fuzztester 2y ago[flagged]
- deegles 2y agoTexas is the America of America.
- fooqux 2y agoFor me, this will always be Las Vegas. Walking the strip my first time while at a conference was enlightening. Seeing all the American tropes that I'd seen in foreign media within a square kilometer and with my own eyes left me speechless.
- thanksgiving 2y agoI wish we had free public transit everywhere like they do on the strip.
- kagevf 2y agoPublic transit isn’t free on the strip except during New Years Eve and possibly some other special occasions. The monorail from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio is free, but it isn’t public transit.
- LorenPechtel 2y agoNot only is it not free, but fares on the strip buses are higher than the fares everywhere else. I think this is a result of subsidies for public transit not going to the tourists.
- jimt1234 2y agoTo be clear, The Strip is nothing like living in Las Vegas. Nothing. Las Vegas, outside The Strip, is basically Phoenix, except there's video poker machines in the grocery stores.
- gonzo 2y ago… and the C-stores, and the bars (which are open 24/7).
- TrainedMonkey 2y ago> Everything's bigger in Texas, including egos. Crucially, Texans are highly aware of "everything is bigger in Texas" trope and take pride in it. My favorite example is that everyone knows that Texas State Capitol is taller than United States Capitol (92.24m vs 88m)... But nobody will ever tell you that Texas State Capitol is only 6th tallest state capitol. Source: lived in Austin for 2 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Capitol# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Capitol#
- anothername12 2y agoFun to ride on with motorcycle
- gonzo 2y agoUntil the wind blows you over the side. https://www.kxan.com/news/motorcyclist-killed-after-falling-100-ft-off-flyover-identified/amp/ https://www.kxan.com/news/motorcyclist-killed-after-falling-... She was nice. Worked at a local Taco Deli.
- anothername12 2y agoYes I remember that accident. I live and ride in that area. I wonder what happened.
- next_xibalba 2y agoTexan here. My experience has been quite different. I lived in Austin for 7 years and I had no idea about this fact. Whenever the whole "everything is bigger in Texas" comes up, everyone smiles and rolls their eyes. I now live in Houston and its the same. People here think its kind of a joke. Though Texans definitely do take pride in Texas. I just don't think they take themselves as seriously as your comment suggests.
- otteromkram 2y ago[flagged]
- crest 2y agoEverything except that shriveled little thing that drove the buying decision.
- otteromkram 2y ago[flagged]
- bravetraveler 2y agoState vehicle: pavement princess
- satiated_grue 2y agoWhat if Alaska were split in half, and Texas would become the third-largest state by area?
- geophph 2y agoWe call them gender affirming care. Or emotional support vehicles.
- NautilusWave 2y agoIt's like American pastiche
- Keyframe 2y agoFrom european drivers perspective, what surprised me the most (aside from peculiar traffic rules - some actually good) was concrete highways instead of black asphalt. I was especially careful during rain, it "looked" slippery; Later I was told it does actually have some asphalt in it.
- anonym29 2y ago6-year Texan who grew up in New England here. Yes, those roads do get more slippery than regular ones. Unfortunately, many Texans drive worse in light rain than most New Englanders drive in the snow... and don't even get me started on how Texans drive in the snow, lol.
- bmitc 2y agoTexas doesn't have winters.
- arrowsmith 2y agoJust snowpocalyses.
- rurban 2y agoTexas highways will get very hot in summer, and with cheap asphalt it will last max. 5 years. Proper concrete will last 20 years. Also asphalt is more slippery than concrete. It will spill out oil. Only poor cities will do asphalt, and they are in constant reconstruction.
- Keyframe 2y ago...that's kind of almost all backwards.
- LorenPechtel 2y agoAs someone who has lived pretty much all of my life in the desert I look with considerable caution towards high speed asphalt. The road concrete is roughened, you have good traction even in less than ideal weather. And concrete lasts an awful lot longer under heavy traffic. Smooth concrete would be like you are worried about, but the high speed roads aren't smooth concrete. Asphalt is a hydrocarbon product and can sweat. But worse is the oil from cars. Drip, drip, drip--since it's on a hydrocarbon base it loosely bonds with it and simply accumulates. When the rain does come along the roads will be very slippery until there has been enough rain and cars to wash them clean. Until then, hydroplane accidents galore. Be especially careful around gas stations.
- swozey 2y ago[flagged]
- anonym29 2y agoMaybe for late 90's, but major metro areas like ATX, DFW, Houston, and SA have grown much more progressive in the last quarter century. Also, statistically speaking, you're less likely to be shot in a Texas LGBTQ-friendly venue than a Colorado LGBTQ-friendly venue.
- undersuit 2y agoKOTH was 90+ miles from Houston apocryphally and a very liberal town even by today's standards. "Hank shows homophobic behaviors, but it doesn't seem out of malice." The malice is unfortunately why I think you're being downvoted. That's definitely increased in both Texas and Colorado.
- consteval 2y ago> major metro areas like ATX, DFW, Houston, and SA have grown much more progressive in the last quarter century While true, and while these places being by far the most population dense, they don't actually have any influence over the laws. Funny how that works. And those laws do matter.
- swozey 2y agoDid you seriously just explain to someone who said they lived in Texas that the cities in Texas are progressive? ... I lived there, man. I even lived in those cities. I even said I recently escaped, not a quarter century ago. I was 8 in the "late 90s" dude. How old do you think people on HN are? Texas fucking sucks, even if you're in Austin, Houston or Dallas. Especially post-2020.
- Jordanpomeroy 2y ago> massive gas stations I presume you are referring to [Buccee’s](https://buc-ees.com/about/world-record-holder/ https://buc-ees.com/about/world-record-holder/)
- 1659447091 2y ago> ...and those massive gas stations... Buc-ee's is the Trader Joe's of Texas, find all kinds of weird things that are actually good, or at least novel. Also, cleanest public restrooms you'll probably ever experience. Decent breakfast tacos too "I'm from Texas, what country are you from?"