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6 Things Every Visitor to Texas Should Know

Texas
by Turner Wright Aug 1, 2017

1. You can’t see everything in one trip

Texas is BIG; from Dallas to El Paso would take you a full day of driving with no stops along the way… and you’d want to stop somewhere for our chicken fried steak. It’s not as though you can’t see a few of the more notable sights on a road trip, or fly in for a few days and get a sense of the state, but you’re not going to be able to say you’ve seen it all during one Lone Star State vacation.

2. You will most likely gain weight

Even if you’re taking a cross country cycling trip and are prone to eating healthily, food in Texas will compel you to try it all — and challenge your metabolism. From Tex-Mex to BBQ, our food is greasy, fattening, and downright delicious. Fun alternative fact: half of the residents of Texas originally just came for lunch, but after that meal, they decided to move here.

3. You might as well get drunk

There’s never been a more fun hangover than one you’ve experienced in Texas. With the right combination of cheap beer and tequila in many forms, drinking in the Lone Star State is an experience any tourist — unless they know they have a booze problem — should add to his or her itinerary.

4. You might not see a horse, so don’t be disappointed

If you’re the type of visitor who flies into Tokyo expecting to see a geisha on every corner, you might be disappointed when you land in Dallas and there’s not a horse in sight. In fact, you’d probably have better luck exploring Central Park in New York to see police on horseback. Of course, we Texans have experience riding, but it’s usually reserved for summer camps and ranches. Horses are not roaming the streets of Austin, and even if they were, their riders might not even be wearing cowboy hats.

5. Best time to visit

October, the same as everywhere else in the world. The Texas heat known the world over won’t stop until mid-September, and we get plenty of rain in April and August. Besides the Texas State Fair comes to town in October with Big Tex, corn dogs, and carnival games.

6. We’re comfortable with small talk

You could very well meet your future best friend while waiting in line for the movies. Or shooting the breeze as you’re shopping. Chatting up the bartender. It’s not as though Texans have exclusive rights to small talk, but it’s something international visitors and those from big cities may not necessarily appreciate or understand.

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