Transplants: What was your biggest culture shock?

Here are my thoughts from someone whose lived in 8 states, with 4 being in large cities (NYC, Boston, San Fran, and Miami) * **Housing** * HOAs are all over the place...why? Fuck you * Houses are so close to one another, as if there's not enough land in TX for people to have privacy and land! Wtf * The alleyways behind houses, where peoples backyards are connected? ....ya that shit is fucking weird and whoever designed that sucks ass. Again, goes back to having lack of privacy * I'm not a fan of these housing communities where all the houses are built by the same company. It makes things boring and lack creativity. * The housing market has skyrocketed. I've benefited from it but damn it sucks for a lot of people and causes so many problems. All these new apartment complexes are an eye-soar and constant reminder of how unlivable this place has become. It's only going to get worse * **Weather** * The weather is a bit.....extreme. Summers are long and brutal and winters are surprisingly not much better. Over the past several years it hasn't been uncommon to see 30 degree weather during winter months. There've actually been a handful of days in the teens, too. I imagined 60s would be a normal winter with the rare day in the 50s. I was very wrong. * We do not have the infrastructure or public services needed to handle harsh winters and it seems that harsh winters may become more common in the future. People here have no idea how to or if they even SHOULD drive in certain winter conditions. Black ice, let alone regular ice, is not a fucking joke. * **Homelessness** * Homeless people not "confined" to one area like in other cities. They're just all over the damn place. At every major intersection. Stop giving them fucking money! Wtf do you think your $2 is going to do for them? It aint going to change their life. Gtfo * **Drivers/Transportation** * The U-turn system at highway underpasses is not a common thing in most places. Pretty cool * The highway system in general though... Wtf is going on there??? Why are some interchange ramps like fucking rollercoasters??? 200ft in the air and shit wtf * People suck at driving in large cities, that's a given in ANY city....but people here are STUPID drivers. In other cities, there are more aggressive drivers but here people are just fucking DUMB....big difference * Because destinations are so spread out and lanes are so wide here, people feel the need to and are able to drive fast here and I feel like there's such a lack of police presence on the roads that the aggressive speeders get away with it a lot * I fucking hate how people take advantage of service roads and on/off ramps to by-pass highway traffic. Smart? sure maybe but it's an asshole move * It seems almost criminal that these Dart bus stops don't have proper shade.....Tons of bus stops don't even have a bench, let alone proper seating and a roof for shade. Brutal as fuck for those who use public transportation * Fuck these toll roads * **Food** * The food scene is pretty good. There are a lot of taco places, which I love. I'm frugal with spending so I haven't spent a lot of time trying new places so this category is hard to comment on * Here it goes...TX BBQ is not that great. I've been to a few highly recommended places and I haven't been blown away * **People** * The cultural diversity is a lot more than I though. The Indian population shocked me. * Where are the cowboy hats and boots? I wish more people wore those * Here it goes again...there aren't many attractive people here compared to other places I've lived * Southern hospitality does not exist in cities. I'm shocked by the comments because I thought that was common sense. People migrate to large cities from other places. However people here definitely *are* nicer here than in some other cities...abso-fucking-lutely * In my experience, there seems to be more open bigotry and "closet" racism here, from conservatives. They seem to feel more comfortable expressing their disgusting opinions, I guess? Maybe they see that I'm white and think that we must think alike??? No fucking clue * **Other** * Energy companies seem so shady here. * Politics seem more split down the middle in this city. In other places, political lean was a lot more one-sided * The gun scene is not that crazy here....definitely not what most out-of-staters would imagine. * Crime.....This one's tough and the only correct answer would be to refer to official data. The only thing I'll say though is in the past 2 years I've heard a hell of a lot more sirens where I live than I did in all the years past. Noticeably more and I'm not a fan of it. * I knew this coming to TX but the lack of scenery is so depressing. I need some mountains and oceans back in my life. There's a psychological study that says that being near an ocean, forest, or mountains makes you happier. After living here for many years I think there's a lot of truth of it. * It blows my mind that schools think it's okay that kids play sport games and have practices outside in 105+ degree weather....Wtf??? * I wasn't aware of the hate Texans have towards Californian transplants but I completely understand it ​ All that said, I think it's fine here but I do not plan on staying in TX for that much longer. Life is too short to not have experiences in life.