Here are things you need to know before moving to Texas. I hope they help you adjust quickly and love the culture and people. 

I love Texas; it’s my home state. And if you ask any Texan about this great state of ours, they will undoubtedly say it’s the best state in the nation. 

It’s also brimming with opportunity, so people are moving here in great numbers. But what if you’re from another country or across the U.S. and want to move to Texas?  Here are the things you will need to know before you move.

I hope this helps you prepare and relieve some of your culture shock. 

I have moved many times and haven’t visited the place I was moving to. But I wouldn’t do that now unless I had an incredible job offer or felt strongly that it was God’s will for my life. So my first tip is to, 

Visit before you move.

Moving to another country or across the country can be one of the best experiences, and it can also be one of the worst. So before you pack your Stetson (cowboy hat) and two-step (dance) your way to this great state, come for a visit. 

Experience a little bit of Texas’s culture, weather, and life before you move. If you visit in the Fall instead of the summer, please know it’s not comparable. Texas heat in the summer is hot—not a little hot, burning hot. 

Visit the city or town you want to move to. Texan culture is different in small towns, and even Dallas’s and Fort Worth’scultures are different and they are close to each other. So you will want to make sure you can adapt and be happy. 

Understand Texas is Ginormous.

Texas is huge! 

Texas Monthly did a great job of explaining it in this article. A right of passage in Texas is to drive from one side to the other, and it takes anywhere from 12 to 16 hours of driving at 75 miles per hour. It will be the longest drive through one state you have ever made. 

I live in Fort Worth, and going to Dallas takes about one hour at minimum. So, for work, I will drive just over an hour and drive home over an hour. 

When you come, be prepared to drive; if you plan on taking an Uber or shared rides, it will get expensive because of the distance.

Texan’s drive everywhere.

As an experiment with a friend, we took public transportation. It took us two hours to get downtown via bus, which is five-mile car ride from where we started. Then we took the train to Dallas. It was three hours one way.  

Dallas does have a decent transportation system if you live and work within the right areas.  

Now, some places have better public transportation than others, but Texans’ main way of travel is by car or truck. Which leads me to the next thing you need to know before moving to Texas.

Budget for a car.

This is pretty much a non-negiociable in Texas. Almost everywhere you live you will need a car.

Buying a car in Texas.

Here is helpful information: if you get an electric vehicle, your tags and registration will cost $400 for the first year, then $200 yearly there after. If you do not have an electric vehicle, it’s around $60.00 a year. I am not sure why; a newer law passed in 2023 charging electric vehicles more.

You might be thinking that’s crazy? Why would any state make a ridiculous law like that? The answer is Texas did. 

This is a good time to say the next thing you need to know: “Don’t talk trash about Texas!”

If you want to move here and come talking trash about the weird laws we make and how we need to have different gun laws, Texans will not like it. 

This leads me to the most important thing about visiting or moving to Texas. 

Don’t talk trash about Texas!

Texans like to compare. 

We do it with almost everything, starting with Barbecue. A long-standing debate has been BBQ sauce or no sauce. People will have strong opinions about this in Texas. But one thing I can guarantee, Texans do not like people moving here and telling us how they did it back home. We don’t care how you did it back home. And like I mentioned above we compare everything. 

It offends us, and although we will be polite, generally, we will think, “Bless your heart, ” which isn’t good.

Our highways are crazy.

This is something you will have to experience once you get here. Every time I get in the car and have to get on the highway, I say, “Welcome to the Thunderdome!” Our roads are insane; go right to go left and left to go right. You might have only 200 feet to get four lanes across with people driving 70 miles per hour. 

A word of advice: If a Dually truck is behind you, get out of its way. It’s the tank of Texas. They go fast, have six wheels, and don’t like people driving in the fast lane (left) going the speed limit!

The left lane is for passing and not lingering. The other is some of our highways I-35 has been under construction for generations. The only people I know who buy homes off I-35 are not from Texas in my area. 

Football is big in Texas

If you are from another country, football is soccer in every other country in the world. But in the U.S., football is not soccer, it’s Football.

Fans are serious, and Friday nights in smaller towns are about football games and winning. 

Much like the World Cup in all other countries, we take football, high school, College, and professional very seriously. It is a billion-dollar business in Texas and can make or break colleges. Even the little legue football teams have a Super-bowl, these are kids elementary school age. 

In Fort Worth, my hometown, the TCU football team generated over 71 million dollars in one year. That is a lot of money for the College. It also helped generate money for Fort Worth. So embrace the football culture of Texas and you will have a foot in the door to the heart of the Texan. 

Texas weather is unpredictable. 

Our weather is insane. Just the other day, it was 39F in the morning and 90 F five hours later. You need to be prepared for crazy weather. 

In the Spring, we will more than likely have insane storms. If we hear a tornado siren, it’s like hearing an ice cream truck to most Texans. We will go outside and take videos with our phones. But if the sky turns a dark green color and everything gets quiet, move as fast as you can to a tornado shelter, it’s more than likely big. Don’t wait for the sirens to start. 

If you are driving and you know there are storms or Tornado watch listen to the radio and take the necessary precaution.

Severe storms happen mainly in the Spring, from April to June. 

Cold weather comes a few days out of the year.

If you bought a house or condo, if it’s going to freeze you need to wrap your pipes outside. Our systems are not made for the cold. Replacing things can cost a lot of money because you didn’t take this step.

The next tip on moving to Texas from another country is to understand, 

Everyone has a Gun

Not really, but most Texas households have a gun. You are better off assuming that people are “packing,” meaning they have a gun, than not. Even the 70-plus-year-old Grandma going to the prayer meeting is probably packing a handgun in her purse, and she knows how to use it. 

On that subject do not tresspass in Texas. This is a fast track to get in big trouble or get shot. We have a right to defend our property, so if you are not asked to be on it, don’t go on it.

Purple strip law

As I stated above, “Do not trespass.” But in Texas, we have a purple strip law. So if a fence post or a tree has a vertical purple stripe, it means “Do not trespass.” 

This is an easy way to make large areas of land.

Now some of the main reasons to visit Texas. We are very welcoming and have a food and drink culture. We love inviting people to Dinner or out to Dinner. 

If you respect Texas and Texans you can make life long friends that will support you. Texas has amazing oppertunities for enterprenauers. We are business friendly and love people who work hard and add value to our great state. 

Conclusion if you follow these steps I think your visit or move will be fairly easy. Texas is a friendly state who likes to welcome those who adapt to our culture and way of life.

If you want to check out some fun places to visit check out this post “Places to visit in Texas.”