# West Texas **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2001, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170 "2001-11-19T07:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/21 "2001-11-20T06:49:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > \*\*As a citizen of Abilene, I always say I live in Central Texas. I consider West Texas to start around Midland/Odessa. The drive from Abilene to Ft. Worth is rather pleasant I’d say. I’ve lived in this area all my life and have made that drive (and ride) dozens of times. It’s only a couple of hours. The drive to Austin is worse to me since there’s no Interstate. It takes about three hours, and is very dull. Of course when you’re done, you’re in Austin, which is a pretty cool town. I lived there for about a year, a couple years ago. The drive to El Paso is mindless tedium. It’s 450 miles of not much. Especially the last hundred miles to El Paso. I seriously don’t think there’s more than about two towns out that way (est. pop. 500). \*\* **Genseric** , where were you when I lived there? 🙂 Robin ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/22 "2001-11-20T09:03:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slithy Tove \* > \*\*Is the OP question “where does the South become the West?” (and Texas just happens to be where this occurs on the map) > > How 'bout “where the cotton gives way to cattle?” \*\* if you drive on the interste, you’d have no idea. plus, you’ll see various cattle the whole way. and as for Oregon, oh yes, it is beautiful I am sure. Not negating the beauty of tress. I am just saying the desert has its own beauty. The sunsets are marvelous out there. The colors are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/23 "2001-11-20T17:17:58Z")
I noticed several EP/WTexas dopers–any plans for a DopeFiesta out here soon? (Sorry about the double post.) ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/24 "2001-11-20T18:04:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > **As a citizen of Abilene, I always say I live in Central Texas.** You might say that, but you don’t. Sorry. You live in North Texas. So does anyone in the general Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The Panhandle is not North Texas, it is the Panhandle. Lubbock is definitely in the Panhandle. Central Texas is basically Austin and the Hill County. A case might be made that Waco is in Central Texas, I suppose. San Antonio is on the border of South Texas. East Texas starts around or just past Bryan/College Station. West Texas starts where the Hill Country ends, right around Junction. I’m a 6th generation Texan, with family all over the state, so that’s the map of Texas that I’ve grown up with. It also seems to follow meteorological charts that news casters use for the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/25 "2001-11-20T20:32:03Z")
Good question raised back there… how many Trans-Pecos Dopers are there, anyway? I’m sure that with the exception of me, however, you’re all in El Paso. As a 6th generation Texan myself, I kinda go along with **Demise’s** boundaries… kinda… Waco is the northeast corner of Central Texas; San Antonio is the southeast corner. Waco is bounded to the north by North Texas (which is anchored by the metroplex) and to the east by East Texas. San Antonio is bounded to the south by South Texas. Houston is also at the boundary between South and East Texas; I-10 from Houston to San Antonio is a close approximation of the South Texas-East Texas “border”. So, the eastern boundary of Central Texas is approximately I-35 from Waco to San Antonio. The southern boundary is approximated by Highway 90 from San Antonio to Uvalde (although many will, no doubt, find this to be a definition very generous to Uvalde and may prefer to take it as I-10 from San Antonio to Junction, placing Uvalde–and Bandera, too–in South Texas, but I digress). The western boundary of Central Texas runs up Highway 83 from Uvalde to Junction to Menard (I hate Menard!). The northern boundary of Central Texas becomes a bit trickier; go from Menard to Brownwood to Comanche to Hamilton to Gatesville, and then back to Waco. Obviously, anything south of Central Texas is South Texas; anything east is East Texas; and what lies _immediately_ north is North Texas. This still hasn’t resolved the West Texas issue, though. And I’ve still got a problem with it, since I place Brady at the northwestern corner of Central Texas when, in fact, Brady lies damn near the geographic center of the state! Let me think some more; I’ll come back… ---
**Author:** ![jaimest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@jaimest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaimest)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/26 "2001-11-20T22:37:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payne N. Diaz \* > \*\*I noticed several EP/WTexas dopers–any plans for a DopeFiesta out here soon? > > (Sorry about the double post.) \*\* If it’s at Queretaro, who could say no? Ever go to Casa Jurado? ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/27 "2001-11-20T23:05:20Z")
Never been to Casa Jurado–but I should go; it’s not that far from my house. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/28 "2001-11-20T23:18:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > \*\* > > You might say that, but you don’t. Sorry. You live in North Texas. So does anyone in the general Dallas/Ft. Worth area. > > The Panhandle is not North Texas, it is the Panhandle. Lubbock is definitely in the Panhandle. > > \*\* That’s just what I was going to say. I’ve always considered North Texas to be Dallas/Fort Worth/Sherman/Denton. The Panhandle is a whole 'nother animal. So they don’t have a cool geographic name; just because they’re further north than “North Texas” doesn’t make 'em North Texas. Think you just about nailed it on the head, **Demise**. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/29 "2001-11-21T05:35:10Z")
I always considered Abilene to be in the northwest edge of Central Texas, but it’s not like I really care either way. I’ve never seen an _official_ Texas Division Chart, so it seems to be a matter of opinion for the most part. If you run a line down Texas, equidistant from El Paso and say, Texarkana, then Abilene is in the western half of the state, therefore it’s West Texas. I think of North Texas as the D/FW area and points north. I don’t consider Abilene to be part of that area. **MsRobyn** , well I’ve lived in Clyde and Abilene for all of 26 years except Sept. '98-Aug. '99, when I lived in Austin. So I was probably right here. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/30 "2001-11-21T05:51:30Z")
Question–where would you say the Coastal Bend lies? When I was growing up, I would always say I was from South Texas and people would wonder how far away I lived from Brownsville. So is or isn’t this area considered to be South Texas? (FTR, I lived in a tiny town about 85 miles north of Corpus, along the Coastal Bend.) While I was not sorry to move away from said tiny town, I sure do miss the bluebonnets. I haven’t seen them since before I moved to another state when I was 17. Sorry for the mild hijack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/31 "2001-11-21T06:51:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > **Central Texas is basically Austin and the Hill County. A case might be made that Waco is in Central Texas, I suppose.** The Hill Country _is_ Blanco County and the seven counties that surround it. My guess is that this might have been LBJ’s congressional district. Waco is on the Blacklands (ok, Central Texas…), and Junction is… well, I guess it’s on the Western edge of Central Texas with Ozona on the far Eastern edge of the Trans-Pecos. [Here](http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/images/tx-eco95.gif)’s how Texas Parks and Wildife breaks the state down by ecoregion. Take it or leave it. I do. An argument could be made that Texas can be divided (_very_) roughly into East and West halves along I-35. Rain levels and geography change at the Balcones Escarpment, and this was roughly the limit of Anglo settlement during the days of the Republic. **Mayflower** , I’ve always considered Brownsville to be in the Valley, but Port Isabel is on the Coast. That may be MHO though. After all, I was BOI (Born on the Island, Galveston) but spent my first six years in LaMarque, which was very much on the Mainland though only fifteen miles away. Now, I’ve got a question: does anyone besides me refer to the land from Indianola to the Hill Country as “German Texas”? This was the path that German and Czech immigrants took to get to their land grants, with a lot of them deciding to stop and settle down along the way. As of 1980 at least, German and Czech were the third and fourth most common languages in Texas, and they’re doing a good job of keeping their heritage alive.\* \*[sub]Jak se Mas! I’m not from those parts, but extra points to whoever replies to that, no fair cheating.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/32 "2001-11-21T07:03:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > **define West Texas.** [Halfway](http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=&city=West&state=TX&slt=31.775200&sln=-97.106102&name=&zip=&country=us&BFKey=&BFCat=&BFClient=&mag=6&desc=&cs=7&newmag=5&poititle=&poi=) between Waco and Hillsboro. 😃 Carry on… ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170/33 "2001-11-21T07:40:24Z")
Boo, **Earthling**. Boo… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hazel-rah \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > you shoulda been here this weekend when the Austin Stereotype Trio came into town–and just as I was about to cut that town some slack… > > What exactly is the Austin stereotype?\*\* Yeah, was this a band, a pack of slackers or three dot-commers looking for jobs? > [@](#): > > And I’ve still got a problem with it, since I place Brady at the northwestern corner of Central Texas when, in fact, Brady lies damn near the geographic center of the state! **Pantellerite** , Brady is both. It probably has to do with Austin being in the “center” of the state, an idea that seems to have come from when they moved the capitol from Houston. I think that Mirabeau Lamar headed the move in order to force a war with the Commanches, but I’ve been skimming my copy of [Lone Star](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306809427/qid=1006328246/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_6_1/107-3834703-8108540) for the past twenty minutes and can’t find the page… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-texas/94170.md?page=1)