Texas! How is it?

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And, of course, everyone knows that Texas is the only state in the Union that was once its own country. 👍

I LOVE my state!!! :yeah_me:
 
pnewton said:
I guess I never thought of that perspective, but that means Texas spans one third the distance across the United States, from ocean to ocean, and half the width, from Mexico to Canada.
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And yet if Alaska were divided in half, Texas would become the third largest state.

(Not to mention Alaska is both the easternmost and westernmost state ;))

(Nevertheless, I would choose Texas over Alaska as my home.)
 
pnewton said:
Do you notice how maps always downsize Alaska (and upsize Hawaii) in the insets?
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That’s to a) save space and b) make places in HI visible.

I’ve seen a map superimposing AK on the “48.” It’s impressive, stretching equivalently from Cal. to SC and MN to AZ.

Since 1959, TX boasting rights are indeed rather passé. 🙂

ICXC NIKA
 
tomarin said:
What about Hawaii?
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Not to forget Vermont, either.

But VT never had foreign embassies. The French Embassy in Austin still stands. :)🙂

The TR Also had a navy, which in 1840 at Campeche, pulled off the only victory of sail over steam ships! 🙂

ICXC NIKA
 
Beryllos said:
And yet if Alaska were divided in half, Texas would become the third largest state.

(Not to mention Alaska is both the easternmost and westernmost state ;))

(Nevertheless, I would choose Texas over Alaska as my home.)
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After spending some time this morning researching Alaska thanks to this thread, I’m thinking it sounds pretty nice! Probably wouldn’t settle in Barrow, but the more densely populated areas aren’t bad climate-wise…not to mention that the so-called “densely populated areas” aren’t that dense after all. 😉
 
pensmama87 said:
After spending some time this morning researching Alaska thanks to this thread, I’m thinking it sounds pretty nice! Probably wouldn’t settle in Barrow, but the more densely populated areas aren’t bad climate-wise…not to mention that the so-called “densely populated areas” aren’t that dense after all. 😉
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Alaska - the perfect state if you agree with Sartre that “l’enfer, c’est les autres” ('hell is other people").
 
tomarin said:
Alaska - the perfect state if you agree with Sartre that “l’enfer, c’est les autres” ('hell is other people").
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Ha!

I think for me it’s more “good fences make good neighbors” - which means we have to be far enough apart to be able to build a fence. 😉

I like small cities. Big cities are fun to visit, but I’ve found much smaller ones can have similar benefits without the accompanying hassles. Of course, some residents of those large cities would claim that’s just my country bumpkin-ness talking. 😛
 
pensmama87 said:
Ha!

I think for me it’s more “good fences make good neighbors” - which means we have to be far enough apart to be able to build a fence. 😉

I like small cities. Big cities are fun to visit, but I’ve found much smaller ones can have similar benefits without the accompanying hassles. Of course, some residents of those large cities would claim that’s just my country bumpkin-ness talking. 😛
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Texas is big on fences.
When we moved to Omaha for a year, our neighbors were quite insulted that we put up a fence. Different areas, different norms.
 
pensmama87 said:
Ha!

I think for me it’s more “good fences make good neighbors” - which means we have to be far enough apart to be able to build a fence. 😉

I like small cities. Big cities are fun to visit, but I’ve found much smaller ones can have similar benefits without the accompanying hassles. Of course, some residents of those large cities would claim that’s just my country bumpkin-ness talking. 😛
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What do you consider a ‘small’ city?
 
pianistclare said:
Texas is big on fences.
When we moved to Omaha for a year, our neighbors were quite insulted that we put up a fence. Different areas, different norms.
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Are there no deer in Omaha? (Or other large, meddlesome creature that will eat everything and leave lots of “presents”?)

That’s interesting. I’ve never lived anywhere where someone would have thought twice about building a fence. But I grew up mostly in newer-growth suburbs and a lot of our neighbors were transplants just like us, so there wasn’t a really strong sense of “culture” anywhere. This is the first place I’ve lived that isn’t like that, and everybody builds fences to keep the deer out. (or the kids out of the street, or both.)
 
pensmama87 said:
Are there no deer in Omaha? (Or other large, meddlesome creature that will eat everything and leave lots of “presents”?)

That’s interesting. I’ve never lived anywhere where someone would have thought twice about building a fence. But I grew up mostly in newer-growth suburbs and a lot of our neighbors were transplants just like us, so there wasn’t a really strong sense of “culture” anywhere. This is the first place I’ve lived that isn’t like that, and everybody builds fences to keep the deer out. (or the kids out of the street, or both.)
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It was more about having all the backyards run together to make a park for the many children. The neighbors liked that anyone could watch the kids out of their kitchen window.
Kids regularly played in the back of the houses like it was a giant football field. Big lots. Lots of sodded yards.

Beyond the subdivision was miles of cornfields.
 
tomarin said:
What do you consider a ‘small’ city?
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Probably one million people or fewer (metro area). So that includes some cities that are still “big,” but way smaller than, say, New York.

I’m aware that classifications for cities could include places that are under 100,000 or even 50,000. My parents technically live in a “city” but it’s a suburb of a major city in the Pacific NW.
 
pianistclare said:
It was more about having all the backyards run together to make a park for the many children. The neighbors liked that anyone could watch the kids out of their kitchen window.
Kids regularly played in the back of the houses like it was a giant football field. Big lots. Lots of sodded yards.

Beyond the subdivision was miles of cornfields.
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I wonder if topography plays a role in that. Almost nobody fences in their front yards here, and kids will play several yards across (my kids do with the neighbor kids), but it’s so hilly that it’s not possible for more than 3-4 houses.
 
pensmama87 said:
I wonder if topography plays a role in that. Almost nobody fences in their front yards here, and kids will play several yards across (my kids do with the neighbor kids), but it’s so hilly that it’s not possible for more than 3-4 houses.
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Well, it’s very flat in Omaha. Very flat.

New Mexico is flat, but the lots are very small. Everyone has an adobe fence, patio, enclosure, whatnot. For privacy.
 
pianistclare said:
Texas is big on fences.
When we moved to Omaha for a year, our neighbors were quite insulted that we put up a fence. Different areas, different norms.
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True story. Ike knocked over a lot of my fence (wood picket). I live on a corner and share a fence with five neighbors. One did nothing and I fixed that section. One only had a little big in common with me, and he fixed that section. Of fixed and hung a gate (required because of a right-of-way issue) and I fixed the fence. The other said his back wouldn’t let him do much. I dug the holes and set the posts. Before I could get out there and do more, he had already bought the extra materials and laid out all the runners. The final guy, realizing I had lost a lot of fence, just fixed our section and refused to even take money for half the materials.

So yes, we do build fences, but they are seldom a point of division. And the debris, we all pitched in and helped each other for several days.
 
pensmama87 said:
Probably one million people or fewer (metro area). So that includes some cities that are still “big,” but way smaller than, say, New York.

I’m aware that classifications for cities could include places that are under 100,000 or even 50,000. My parents technically live in a “city” but it’s a suburb of a major city in the Pacific NW.
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So on the borderline of being able to support a major professional sports team? The smaller end of ‘small market’?
 
pnewton said:
True story. Ike knocked over a lot of my fence (wood picket). I live on a corner and share a fence with five neighbors. One did nothing and I fixed that section. One only had a little big in common with me, and he fixed that section. Of fixed and hung a gate (required because of a right-of-way issue) and I fixed the fence. The other said his back wouldn’t let him do much. I dug the holes and set the posts. Before I could get out there and do more, he had already bought the extra materials and laid out all the runners. The final guy, realizing I had lost a lot of fence, just fixed our section and refused to even take money for half the materials.

So yes, we do build fences, but they are seldom a point of division. And the debris, we all pitched in and helped each other for several days.
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Yup. Our Omaha neighbors thought we were being snobbish. We just had big purebred dogs to worry about. 🤷
 
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