Yee haw, partner! Saddle up boys and girls, you are in for a treat. This pretty young thang made a trip to none other than Houston, Texas. Home of the cowboys!
How come? To see my gay bestie, Dillon, DUH! Aka my partner in crime from back in Australia! (You can read all about our Australian adventures together on blondiedownunder.com)
If you’re anything like me, you probably think Texas is just filled with redneck, blue-collared hillbillies that wear cowboy boots. And that they’re all god-worshipping Republicans. And that all the girls have teased hair that’s a mile high, with accents just like the movies.
WRONG!
Houston, Texas is wayyyyy different than my stereotyping-self thought it would be. WAY DIFFERENT! So after my brief adventure to Texas, this is what I learned about Houston:
IT’S BOUJEE
I thought San Diego was boujee, but Houston is damn well even more boujee. Like everyone out here is seriously rich. Giant houses, luxury cars, and hundreds of high-end clothing stores to shop at! I LOVE IT! I seriously almost white girl cried when I was inside The Galleria Mall – BOUJEE STORES GALORE! AND it even had an indoor ice rink. Like whaaaaat!
PEOPLE’S ACCENTS AREN’T THAT THICK
Was kind of disappointed about this. I was expecting a bunch of “howdy“s, “Y’all“s and “partner“s – like how they talk in all the southern movies – but this wasn’t the case at ALL! Besides a slight southern drawl, Texans talk like normal American folk (or at least the Texans I talked to).
SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY IS A THING
Everyone was so hospitable and nice! True southern charmers, if I do say so myself. The Cali boys could really learn a few manners from the Texan ones…
IT’S HUMID
My hair was NOT a fan of this. FRIZZ CITY HONEY! No wonder the girls tease their hair so much… by the end of the day, that shit goes flat. Whenever I walked outside, it straight up felt like I was walking through a steam room! But hey, the humidity is GREAT for your skin.
THERE’S A LOT OF HEALTHY FOOD OPTIONS
There were gluten-free, organic and vegan options everywhere I turned! My go-to spot was Local Foods – food is BOMB!
AND NOT EVERYONE IS FAT! Another stereotype I learned to not be true. Honestly, the people in Houston were just as in shape as every other city I’ve been… HUGE SHOCKER!
Although, I might be the one getting fat after eating some gluten-free cupcakes from Sprinkles and gelato from Amorino…
EVERYTHING IS BIGGER
You know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas. And I mean everything. Especially the buildings and houses! They were HUGE! Made the places in San Diego look like shoeboxes… But hey, there is a lot more space out in Texas.
IT’S DIVERSE
Wayyy more diverse than San Diego. I anticipated Texas it to be super white-washed – it wasn’t! I saw people from almost every culture! After all, Houston is the third largest city in the States (fun fact that I didn’t know).
PEOPLE STAY INSIDE A LOT
And EVERYWHERE IS SUPER AIR CONDITIONED!!! It makes sense though: everyone is just trying to escape the hot, humid weather outside.
THERE ARE PALM TREES
Much to my surprise, there are palm trees lining some of the streets of Houston. YUPP! YOU HEARD ME! MOTHERF*CKING PALM TREES IN TEXAS! This confused me. I was like, “wait, am I still in California?!”
IT LOOKS LIKE THE MOVIES
Think of The Notebook: there are Southern Live Oak trees and white gazebos EVERYWHERE! It is beautiful.
THERE AREN’T A LOT OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
It was GREAT! Especially coming from downtown San Diego where the streets are FILLED with bums. I literally didn’t see any bums at ALL! Maybe it’s because the cost of living is so much lower?
MORAL OF THE STORY
Go to Houston, Texas! It’s a beautiful city!
PSA
I was only in Houston for 3 days and my gay bestie showed me around – so my take on the city might be a lil biased. But hey, this is MY BLOG AND MY OPINION BITCHEZ.
Xx
