10 Stereotypes Everyone From Texas Has to Deal With

2. We live in a desert.

This is like assuming all Floridians live on a beach or all Washingtonians live next to a coffee shop. Texas is massive. There are places in Texas that are closer to Cuba than to the other side of Texas. So you can imagine the varied types of terrain going on within the nation’s second largest state (and the number of cool facts that must exist about how big Alaska is!). Basically, most Texans live in the eastern half of the state, which is classified as a humid subtropical climate — same as Tennessee, same as Florida, same as even Delaware.

Oh and for those of you who still doubt, Houston gets more inches of rain per year than even Seattle.

3. Everything’s bigger.

Honestly, this one is just plain true. Texas has bigger trucks, bigger hair, bigger houses, bigger schools, bigger football, and even bigger gas stations (the biggest in fact — in the world! Shout out to the Buc-ee’s convenience stores where you can use one of their 120 fueling stations, 83 toilets, and buy every Texas-themed knick knack imaginable). In summary, everything really is bigger in Texas.

4. Everybody listens to country music.

Beyoncé, Selena, Buddy Holly, Kelly Clarkson, Nelly, Meat Loaf, Demi Lovato, Chamillionaire and the list goes on — including an exceptionally large hip hop and rap scene coming out of Houston. Holla.

5. “Where’s your accent?”

Everyone the world over knows the Texan accent thanks to our former presidents, but there are plenty of Texans without the drawl. As with most places, the urban populations speak with a more generic American tongue. Some of this is due to the relatively recent population boom Texas experienced in the latter half of the 20th century. Many residents are descended from these domestic immigrants. Today there’s an even bigger influx of people relocating here — largely from California. Who knows, maybe one day the Texas dialect will include “y’all” and “dude” in the same breath.

6. We’re all Jesus Freaks.

You can’t drive down a street in Texas without spotting at least half a dozen churches per mile. 56% of Texans claim a religious denomination, which is about 7% above the national average. That said; there are plenty of non-religious folk here too… all those Californian migrants of course.

7. If Jesus isn’t your Lord, then you better worship football.

Texans take football very seriously. We pay our coaches more than our teachers, schedule weddings around Cowboys games, and have a football stadium that cost 60 million dollars — at a high school. As the great Tom Landry summed it up, “Football is to Texas what religion is to a priest.” Even though not every Texan is a die-hard football fan, it’s fair to say that most Texans would happily accept this stereotype.

8. We all voted for Bush and are extremely conservative.

While it’s statistically more likely that we voted republican in the last election, it’s certainly not a given. “Keep it weird” Austin is known for it’s liberal tendencies, Houston just recently had an openly gay woman as mayor, and overall seven of the eight largest Texas cities lean left. In 2012, 41% of Texans actually voted for Obama. So be careful who you start your next political rant with when in Texas, you can never be completely certain where they might stand — and if you’re standing in their yard they could legally shoot you with their gun (because we all own guns).

9. We all own guns.

We don’t. Only 44% of us do. Though probably more than that know how to shoot one.

10. We’re fiercely prideful.

Just because it’s a stereotype, doesn’t mean it isn’t true. With the most recognizable state flag in the country – and the only one that’s allowed to fly at the same height as the U.S. flag, the only state with a pledge of allegiance whose recitation is mandated daily in public schools, and probably the only state where you can buy Texas-themed absolutely anything — Texans love Texas. God bless Texas. (And He did by the way, on the 8th day, according to Texans.)