Everything Really Is Bigger in Texas... Even the Stories
Think you really know Texas? It's a state dotted with Buc-ee's megastores so big they could eat Rhode Island for breakfast, a world-record-holding colony of bats on Congress Avenue in Austin that you'll have to see to believe, and BBQ brisket culture so deep and delicious that it makes vegetarians reconsider their life choices. Let's run through the facts, stats, and armadillo trivia that show off what makes Texas's big-hair legends irresistible.
Francesca, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Francesca is a Texas native who somehow lived in five countries, four states, and 12 cities before admitting that no place does it quite like Texas. Her moving record is so long she stopped counting at 30, although the low point was definitely the time an airline flew her overseas but left her dog behind (it took some foreign dog treats, but he eventually forgave her). When she’s not devouring Tex-Mex, she’s in the yard gardening, in the kitchen baking, or in the garage rebuilding a motorcycle that definitely did not need another wrench taken to it. At Snappy Scout, all that wanderlust and Texas rootedness helps her guide newcomers in the right direction.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Makes Texas Texas?
The weird, useful, and surprisingly relevant facts that shape everyday life here.
Common nicknames for Texas
The Lone Star State; Tejas; the Armadillo State
Local Reality Check
Sweltering cowboy deserts? Try humid cities and rolling green Hill Country full of secrete swimming holes.
You're most likely moving from
California, New York, or some other cold climate, high-tax state
Strangely large concentration of
Buc-ee's megastores, H-E-B devotees, taco trucks, and kolache bakeries
Music scene
Austin's live stages and megafestivals, Houston rap, San Antonio Tejano, Red Dirt country everywhere else
You'll have to see it to believe it
Austin's Congress Avenue bats, 1.5M takeoff at dusk every night like a cloud of smoke
Unique Geography
Gulf beaches, Hill Country, Piney Woods, Panhandle plains, Chihuahuan Desert
Texas is home to
NASA's Johnson Space Center, The Alamo, Whataburger, SXSW, Dr Pepper
Well known for its
Brisket, bluebonnets, oil fields, rodeos, Friday Night Lights, big trucks, & bigger skies
Fun history fact
Independent republic from 1836–1845 before joining the U.S.
Celebrity sightings
Matthew McConaughey at UT games, Simone Biles around Houston, Erykah Badu out and about in Dallas
Noteworthy Census stat
fastest-growing large state this decade
Most interesting sub-culture within Texas
Rattlesnake roundups—entire festivals centered around the venomous snake, including food, music, and snake wranglin' demos
Population
2nd largest state in terms of both population and land size
Texas is roughly the same geographic size as
France
Locals Know Best
The New Years Day Polar Bear Plunge at Barton Springs: an invigorating, inspiring, hilarious way to start each year.
— Francesca Hernandez-Singer
Local Texas Expert
Ready to See If Texas Fits You?
Compare cities, check the routes, or head back to the full Texas guide for the bigger picture.