Twenty-Nine Years In Texas/Two Months In Virginia

I have been here in the Commonwealth of Virginia for two months now--with a few excursions to Maryland and Pennsylvania.  I have made some observations about similarities and differences after living in Texas for the greater part of my life.  I don't know if this information will be helpful to anyone.  They are just observations.

Virginia is very much like Texas.  Virginians are a very proud bunch of people...and they should be.  The state is geographically diverse (much like Texas) and there is abundant scenic beauty.  The Southwestern part of the state is filled with lush mountains--part of the Southern Highlands and the Blue Ridge.  People there are generally pretty friendly.  Like rural Texans, they tend to lean politically on the conservative side but they throw a lot of southern hospitality in to make up for that.  I could say this is true for much of rural Texas.  Though I didn't often visit the rural areas in Texas, when I did I was generally pleased with the friendliness of people I met along the way.  So the mix of rural/city, blue/red, conservative/liberal is very similar to Texas.

Texas drivers are worse.  This is, in my book, an indisputable fact.  Though many people in Virginia drive just as crazy as their Texas counterparts, they almost always use their turn signals.  This makes them better crazy drivers.

There is a vast amount of "southern pride" with those who were born "in state" within each of these respective states.  With Texans, many of them will brag about the fact that they were born and raised "in the great state of Texas."  On my second week here in Virginia, I was taking photographs at the old city hall in downtown Richmond and the security officer there struck up a conversation with me.  After telling him that I'd moved from Texas to Virginia, and before I could tell him that I was born in Pennsylvania, I'd stated that I was glad to move to the northeast.  The smile on his face quickly vanished and I suspected he was getting ready to reach for his gun when he said, "We don't take too kindly to that kind of talk here.  We are definitely not the northeast.  We were both on the right side...the south."  At that point, I quickly begged his pardon and decided not to let him know I was a Yankee.  They are proud of being Virginians, too.  This "regional" or state pride never has made much sense to me.  We are supposed to be united.  I'm proud to be an American, but I can't say I've ever really had what one would call "Pennsylvania pride."

I will say that one of the strongest positives about Virginia--and Texas, Texans, should take note--is that here in Virginia, there is a stronger appreciation for all things historic and preservation of history is highly valued.  This is a refreshing change from Texas, where all too often (at least in Dallas/Fort Worth) I witnessed blatant disregard for historical structures and it was all to easy for developers to demolish buildings that were irreplaceable.  This is even sadder in Texas, given the fact that so few of these structures from the 1800s and early 1900s still exist.

Now, for the weather.  This is the surprising one--at least as far as summer is concerned.  It's just as damned hot here as Texas...maybe even more so because of the drenching humidity.  Air conditioning is essential if one is to survive a summer in this place.  But I hear that the autumn and winter seasons are simply wonderful.  I'm looking forward to it!