The thing is- we *know *what state Arlen is in, we don’t even know that about the Simpsons’ Springfield
I lived in Greenville from 1986 until 1998. Incredibly depressing town, isn’t it?
“Office Space” was clearly set in Dallas. The opening highway scene is a stretch of I-635 about 2 miles from where I worked. The main character’s neighbor mentions he’s doing some work in Las Colinas, which is part of Irving (one of Dallas’s suburbs).
There are a couple of local lawyers who have obnoxious ads on local TV in the Dallas area. The repeating lawyer character in ‘Beavis and Butthead’ has one’s first name and the other’s last name.
I got the impression from both ‘Beavis and Butthead’ and ‘King of the Hill’ that the setting was inspired by Dallas suburbs in the 1980s. When I lived in Mesquite in 1983, it was not nearly as urban as it is today, and looked a lot like both Arlen and B&Bs home town. I know both series have modern elements, I think Judge is combining elements of his childhood and teenage years with his modern setting.
I recall one episode of King of the Hill where they mention that it is a two hour drive to Dallas, and there’s the previously mentioned episode where we find it’s a 3 hour commute to Houston. If you draw a circle with a two-hour drive radius around Dallas and one with a three-hour drive radius around Houston, you can narrow the location down to two areas - near Austin or near Tyler. The terrain doesn’t seem to fit the Tyler area, but Tyler is a lot like Arlen - about 60,000 people, lots of chain restaurants, at least one mall, and lots of rednecks.
Let’s be honest though. We have a fair share of rednecks in every quarter of this fair state! 
A 15 hour drive from Springfield.
Isn’t Tyler still “dry”? I don’t think Hank and friends would live in a dry county. Of course, since Arlen is fictional it need not correspond precisely to any one particular place.
My mother is from a small town not far from Dallas, and according to her King of the Hill is a pretty accurate (if comedic) depiction of the lifestyle and people of that area.
In tonight’s episode, Arlen High Football played against Killeen (between Waco and Austin), Duncanville (a large exurb southwest of Dallas), and Denton (an exurb NW of Dallas).
Whoever made the Marlin/Arlen connection has it in the right ballpark.
I mentioned this thread to my mother and she offered her expert opinion. She says Arlen looks nothing like Tyler, which has far more trees. She says the landscape looks a lot like Beeville, but would place it in the Dallas area – probably Arlington. (Which begins with “Arl”, just like “Arlen”.) She doubts there would be a Tom Landry Middle School anywhere outside the Dallas area.
Oh, since someone mentioned Denton, I like to think the Denton in The Rocky Horror Picture Show is Denton, TX. There’s nothing in the film to support this except that Brad and Janet met in college and Denton is home to the University of North Texas. However, the sort-of sequel to RHPS, Shock Treatment, does show the people of “Denton, Denton, Denton USA” wearing cowboy hats.
It was also “clearly” filmed here in Austin. I remember clearly the traffic jam scene that Judge and his crew created here, on Braker Lane, for the opening scene.
I’m a transplanted Yankee and didn’t like the movie all that much, so I don’t make this claim with any special pride.
(Hijack)
The guys at allmovie.com seem to think Office Space was set in Houston. I’m not sure why; I’m from Houston and didn’t see anything in the movie that seemed an obvious reference thereto. Just from what I can remember (it’s been a while since I saw the movie) I would think it’s more likely Austin or Dallas, or possibly (like Arlen, Springfield, etc.) a nonspecific location.
I think you two are in agreement.
As for the location of Arlen, I have two datapoints to offer:
In the episode where Hank takes his mother two Port Aransas to collect miniatures on what ends up being spring break, there is mention that Port Aranasas is 4 hours away.
There was an episode on here just recently where a weather report was given over the radio, giving some sort of severe weather watch or warning for “Heimlich and Travis counties.”
This would put Arlen in the Austin area.
Additionally, there is an episode where a light snowstorm causes widespread panic. This is likely to happen in south and central TX, but in North Texas (the DFW area), snow occurs about once a year, so I’d expect less panic.
I don’t watch the show religiously, but I lived in Austin for much of the 90s, and I remember a first-season episode that featured a music-store owner who was clearly a tribute/parody of an actual music store owner in South Austin. And if you give me a minute, I could remember the name of the store too. (OK, I’m getting old and forgetful.) I was amazed that Judge would waste 30 seconds on a joke that a tiny percentage of viewers would get, but there you go.
There are neighborhoods in Austin with alleys. Clearly Judge wants Arlen to be Everytexas, and will make Dallas or Mexico close by at a whim.
I was afraid this thread wouldn’t get a nibble. After my last attempt at King of the Hill speculation didn’t get any bites, I thought I might have been the only fan! 
HA HA HA
HA
HA HA
You obviously have never been IN North Texas during a snow shower. OMG WE HAVE TO GO TO WALMART AND BUY MILK AND TOILET PAPER RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE FINE POWDERING DUSTING OF SNOW THAT THE WEATHERMAN PREDICTED IS GOING TO MAKE US SNOWED IN AND WE WON"T BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE FOR SIX WEEKS OH GOD THE HUGE MANATEE
I have. And it was far more calm than anything here in central TX, where the roads are closed and all four channels have weathermen standing outside reporting live every five minutes on the arrival of our impending doom.
Good call.
If snow were common in Arlen, surely Asst. Manager Hank Hill, Strickland Propane would have had more of a contingency plan in place to make sure their isn’t a disruption in the distribution of the propane and propane accessories.
They got 'em all over Amarillo too. I know it’s not geographically in the right place, but Arlen always “felt” like Amarillo to me.
As a prime example of this, take a look at the license plates in the movie’s opening rush-hour scene.
I know what you mean. I got a Lubbock vibe from Arlen.
Even though “evidence” points elsewhere, I always got a somewhat, West Texas buzz from the show.
Yup. Last season, in the episode titled “Après Hank, le Deluge:”