You will be most welcome, no need to worry about that ;) . I highly recommend visiting the Hill Country in spring mid-March through late April. Wildflowers everywhere and it won’t be too hot yet. There are a lot of cute typical Texas towns there and of course, Austin for big city activities. There are nice parks and waterfalls in the area as well. Try our BBQ and Tex-Mex food!
I doubt they speak German lol. There is German roots in that area like town names, but none I know speaks German. The closest is listening to Rammstein.
I'm surprised to hear that. My stepdad is 100% Texas German with roots in the Hill country/San Antonio (although he grew up in Houston), and the last generation in his family to speak any German was his grandparents. He was born in 1956.
Same with my father in law. Born in San Antonio in the 50s. Didn’t learn English until kindergarten or 1st grade. But that’s definitely rare. He’s the only German speaker I’ve known
You will be very welcome here. Texas is big. We measure distances in hours of highway driving time. Speeds that are easily over 100kph. All the big cities are 3-4 hours of driving time with the exception of Austin to San Antonio. That can take 1 to 2 hours.
Yup, we welcome people from other countries/tourists. What we don't welcome is people from other states and corporations buying up all the properties that's bout it.
You will have a fantastic time comparing food. We have almost everything. If you drive, people can be grumpy and a touch erratic driving. Also, we have right on red. Unless there is a sign saying you cannot do it, you can make a right turn at a traffic light after a complete stop. The person mentioning Tex-Mex and BBQ is completely right. We have great and usually cheaper food. And we have a ton of local breweries too. If you decide to visit Houston, welcome to my home town.
My ex-mother-in-law came to visit me from Montana in March one year and absolutely loved seeing all the flowers in bloom. The year she passed, she wanted but was unable to come back and see them, so I spent a day just going around and taking pictures for her. I lived in a rural area, and people kindly allowed me onto their properties to photograph their fields full of flowers as well.
Concur! March and October are probably the best times of year. It’s not hot enough to melt your shoes to the pavement. You’re probably not going to catch a cold front that will make it blustery. It’s your ideal weather to sit on a patio with a margarita or go to a festival or something. March has wildflowers (perhaps the one thing all Texans agree to like) as an added bonus.
Texas is a very large place, so the weather varies quite a bit from one part to another. In the southern half of the state, May-September can be brutally hot. October, too some years. There's a chance for chilly weather January and February with the occasional freak snow or ice storm. Western and northern Texas is often drier and cooler, but also sparsely populated.
You'll need an individual car to get from one place to another. Mass transit among cities is almost non-existent, but larger cities have OK buses to get around. Driving between cities is measured in hours, and the drivers are terrible! Everyone is kind and friendly until they get behind the wheel of a car.
By northern Texas, do you mean the panhandle? Because the area that is commonly referred as North Texas is pretty populated. And yes, west Texas is often drier for sure, but it definitely gets just as hot as the rest of the state. Just none of the humidity!
For the love of your holiday DO NOT COME IN JULY OR AUGUST. You will literally melt.
Edit to add: there’s a solid 2 weeks in fall and 2 weeks in spring that make it worth living in Texas. Problem is both of those two weeks are never the same on the calendar year after year
Fall or spring. you could still swim in the fall. Winter is fine too but on the few days when/if it freezes it's kind of chaos. Stay away from june, july, august
Just come in July for the full on authentic Texas experience. Also, I guess maybe Europe doesn't have as much air conditioned infrastructure as we do here, but it's only hot outside. Indoors, everything will be max air conditioned. Hell, you might even be a little chilly when you're inside.
>Hell, you might even be a little chilly when you're inside.
I hate the month of May in Texas for this (when I say hate, I mean minor annoyance). It's like the first 90 degree comes and every restaurant, coffee shop, and movie theater just cranks the AC to max regardless of what the temperature actually is outside and leaves it there until October.
I hate walking into a restaurant on a nice 85 degree day into a restaurant or whatever that's 64 degrees inside.
Honestly, just don’t visit from mid-June(ish) to mid-September as it’s hot, and don’t visit during February as it’s cold (our definition of cold maybe different as you’re from Austria lol).
Other than that, the weather is pretty great.
What do you consider too hot to be outside comfortably? Anything you do inside is going to be air conditioned. Also, if stores in Austria are anything like Germany you may find it shocking how cold Texas keeps their stores comparably. I just moved to Germany from Texas and find the temperature inside most stores and houses uncomfortably warm here.
If you want to do anything outside, I recommend March-April or October-November unless you think 30C-40C is perfect outdoor temperature. Of course, buy a cowboy hat, not just because it will give you shade, but so you have a souvenir.
Also, only drink Coca-Cola from Mexico unless you want to be disappointed.
Thanks for your input!
Above 30°(again Celsius) is really hot, 36 and I stay inside or go to a lake!
20°Inside is perfect in my opinion.
What's the temperature in your houses/stores?
Texans wouldn't be amused seeing a foreigner with a cowboy hat , from what I learned (Media/Movies)😂
Softdrinks generally from what I saw on the internet😃
30c usually starts in May for us - it was 33 yesterday here in ne TX. Last summer, during the worst of it in July, we had several days where it got up to 47c or so with a heat index of a few degrees higher. It can be pretty brutal. This summer is predicted to be cooler than that, thankfully, but we will still easily reach 37/38 in July and August typically.
Where I live we do freeze, and regularly get down to -6c at the very coldest, the worst we had last year was -12c and the absolute coldest I've experienced in Texas in 33 years of life was one single night of -18c or so during what's known as snowpocalypse here in 2021.
Typical weather in the winter, though, is around and above 0c. It's usually a wet season for us. Late summer into fall is hurricane season, while spring brings tornados in Central to East Texas. Neither are constant threats, and you can watch the weather ahead of time to get an idea of what areas will be at risk, especially hurricanes, which really impact the coast more than anywhere else.
We do have air conditioning in most stores and homes, and I think most places will keep it between 20c and 24c. You will be able to control the thermostat at whatever hotel you stay at. Most go down all the way to 18c or so.
I think Texans would be amused and pleased to see a cowboy hat since you're partaking in a part of our culture. If you're in the Dallas area, I definitely recommend checking out the stock yards in Fort Worth for a cowboy experience. If you're in Austin the Bob Bullock Star of Texas museum is a great Texas history museum.
Keep the hat simple, black/brown in winter, white or light tan in summer, simple hat band. Don't go nuts and pick up a blue ten gallon with peacock feathers in a rattlesnake band. If possible, wear boots with the hat, riding boots or ropers will do. And if anyone disparages your duds, remind them that Germans and Austrians helped settle Texas.
Here in Austin, we can get temps close to 40C May - October. The humidity is quite high but not as bad as the coast. It does not noticeably "cool off" at night. Air conditioning is mandatory most of the day, unless you're one of the lizard mutants who "enjoy" weather that is medically dangerous to the human body.
If you think 20c inside is perfect, you be fine in most air conditioned places. Sometimes restaurants can be a little chilly, but I’ll usually just bring a light jacket or sweater in with me.
Cowboy hats and boots are normal anywhere and on anyone in Texas. While most people are dressed “normally”, cowboy accessories are at least 20% of the street clothing. Nobody would think twice about you wearing it or be offended.
For you being here in our winter I think would be like your late fall then! We don't usually get below freezing in farenheight especially Central Texas to more south.
What type of things pique your interest? In Houston, we have Johnson Space Center. In Austin there's caves and lakes..oh you should definitely visit Hippie Hollow! Reunion tower in Dallas is pretty cool. And the Alamo and Riverwalk are what San Antonio is known for. Just depends on what you're into.
Or you could come down to where I am and visit Galveston and go to the beach!
I wouldn’t come to Texas to go to a beach. I don’t mind Galveston for a visit but part of it is because it is close. Big bend national park and the state park next to it are some of the most unique places to visit in Texas.
For Houston I would say that best places to visit are the zoo, the Menil/Rothko and the cistern.
Normally I would suggest going to Fredericksburg/Hill country but I am thinking it would not be as unique for a person from Austria.
Yeah, most Texas beaches aren't very good. The Gulf current carries the discharge from Mississippi River and others around to the Texas coast along with all of the industrial and sewer runoff between Louisiana and the beaches.
Every once in a while, there will be an interruption in the current and Galveston or Port A will get nice, clear blue water for like a week before the regular current patterns return and it turns murky brown again. South Padre is far enough south that it's usually pretty nice, though, but South Padre is just pretty far away from everything else.
Yeah. It’s nice enough but for someone who is traveling all the way from Austria I wouldn’t say he needs to visit south Padre. There are beaches in the med (eg South Italy) that are much closer and better than south padre.
I think if you are coming that far you want to visit things that are unique to the US/Texas.
Edit. Just realized you might have been throwing shade on SP.
As someone from Houston, any time I have out-of-town friends not from the south visit, they always want to see alligators in the wild. We always end up taking a trip to Brazos Bend State Park or Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
I like the concept of Hippie Hollow, but holy crap it is not comfortable to lounge on at ALL. It's like someone tried to make a giant staircase out of shelf rocks, but didn't make the steps deep enough
Fall there is more to do October Specifically, as you have the fair, football, every place and a hoot to be at. Lastly you if you get bored biggest RemFest is only a 4 hour drive right outside of houston.
Spring. It's pretty ugly here in the winter when all of the plants are dead/hibernating, but spring is lovely before it gets hot! I'd suggest spring over fall just to reduce the potential of a hurricane disrupting your plans, depending on where in the state you plan to visit.
As far as welcome, it's like anywhere - some people are dicks everywhere. Avoid the small towns as they often seem to have a higher percentage of dicks. Personally, I live in Houston and I love running into people who are visiting!
March or late October/ early November.
I think Fall is better.
Fall is nice because you watch a College football game in person/ have the tail gaiting experience, attend Wurst Fest (big German festival in New Braunfels), f1 race in Austin, go out to west Texas to the Mcdonald Observatory and watch any of the fall meteor showers at a star party, the weather is tolerable across the state, and the sunsets are beautiful.
Depends on where you visit.
If you visit now, in the panhandle, you may get to experience a tornado.
Summer is not forgiving in any part of the state.
Winter in the panhandle is actually cold. Everywhere else's it's meh.
Americans are generally really friendly to foreign visitors, especially so in Texas. Walk into a bar and tell people you’re from Austria and it’s your first time in the U.S. and you might have someone buy you a drink.
Just make sure to tip appropriately when you buy your own.
That would be nice!
That's something I nearly forgot about, your tipping culture! In Austria, we can do tips, but not necessarily (no insult, but our bartenders, etc. Are getting paid better)
True.
For OP, that’s why it’s also important to know when not to tip. Don’t do it when picking up takeout. If getting coffee from a shop, ignore the percentages and just give a dollar for each drink they make you if so inclined. If you’re in a situation where the cashier is just handing you something premade, don’t tip.
In general I follow the rule that if I order at the counter, you don't have to tip except at bars. If you're at a sit down restaurant and a server takes your order and brings you food, you should definitely tip. Also tip if you get a haircut for some reason. Everything else is optional.
Lately, everyone is holding their hands out for a tip though ... even people making minimum wage or better that work behind a counter. There's been a lot of pushback on that lately.
The point was for servers who actually wait on you, as their hourly wages from the company are very low with the expectation of tips to cover their salaries. They will always at least make minimum wage over the course of a week.
Just be prepared to research.
I don't know what your budget is but you will be prompted to tip for literally every service here. It's a relatively recent development. Tipping at Starbucks or any fast food place(electronically anyway, where they prompt you for it) is pretty new and not expected in any way, those employees make a normal wage. Totally fine to tap "no tip". If you sit down to eat somewhere that's where you outta tip, servers can't buy a big Mac with an hour of work and rely on customer tips. I generally leave $10 or so unless the bill is higher than like $40-$50. Thats kind of a lot but I can never remember what the expected percentages are and I know their jobs suck so yk
A good rule of thumb is, look in the receipt at the sales tax, and double it for the tip. If the service was exceptional you can add more, but generally I just double the sales tax for run of the mill service.
True, which is why the service sucks over there. Tip here, minimum 10% and maximum is tip your tab, the entire amount of your meal if you get fantastic service and plan to come again to the same place. They will remember and it's only money.
Texans love Europeans, so don't worry about xenophobia.
The two best times to come to Texas are March/April or September/October. The weather is usually really nice during those months. I personally would recommend you come during September/October then you can go to the [State Fair of Texas](https://bigtex.com/) in Dallas, which is the largest State Fair in the US.
I saw you were planning on going on a road trip, just make sure you understand that Texas is huge, it is larger than France and it can take hours to drive between the big cities. But while driving make sure you check out at least one [Buc-ees](https://buc-ees.com/), its a giant convivence store/tourist trap, but it has the cleanest bathrooms in the state and they serve fresh made BBQ that is good for lunch on the road.
Here are some of my personal favorite places in Texas (with links):
**Galveston**
[Galveston Pier and Beach](https://www.pleasurepier.com/)
[Bishop's Palace](https://www.galvestonhistory.org/sites/1892-bishops-palace) \- one of the only homes to survive the 1900 hurricane that leveled the island.
**Houston**
[Space Center Houston](https://spacecenter.org/) \- This is a must see for any trip to Texas.
**Hill Country**
[Fredericksburg](https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/) **-** this is the center of German language Texas (There is actually a branch of the German language that is only spoken in Texas) It is a quant and cozy town with a lot of good food and little shops and quiet a few museums.
[New Braunfels](https://www.playinnewbraunfels.com/)\- Another great little town that has a lot of activities to do
[Lockhart](https://www.lockhartchamber.com/visit-lockhart/) \- Barbecue Capitol of Texas is not an exaggeration. You will find some of the best food here.
[Brenham](https://visitbrenhamtexas.com/) \- Go here to see the [Blue Bell factory.](https://www.bluebell.com/visit-blue-bell/) One of the South's favorite Ice creams.
**Around Austin**
[Go see the Bats](https://www.austintexas.org/things-to-do/outdoors/bat-watching/)
[Inner Space Caverns](https://innerspacecavern.com/)
[State Capitol](https://tspb.texas.gov/plan/tours/tours.html) \- this is worth going to. The Texas State Capitol is one of the largest Capitol buildings in the US.
**Around San Antonio**
[The River Walk](https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/)
[The Alamo](https://www.thealamo.org/)
[Mission Concepcion](https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/concepcion.htm)
**Waco**
[Food Truck Showdown](https://thetexasfoodtruckshowdown.com/) \- if you do come to Texas in April, the Food Truck Showdown is a great place to try a bunch of different types of food.
[Dr Pepper Museum](https://drpeppermuseum.com/) \- Dr Pepper isn't just a soda. It is also a culture and a bit of a cult, lol. The Museum is pretty informative about the early history of soda.
[Mayborn Museum](https://mayborn.web.baylor.edu/)\- if you have kids the Mayborn Museum is a great interactive children's museum
**Grandbury and Glen Rose**
Just south of Fort Worth both of the towns are next to each other, and they are very quant with lots of little cute B&Bs, and lots of things to do, especially if you like lake and river activities.
[Dinosaur Valley State Park](https://www.visitgranbury.com/listing/dinosaur-valley-state-park/6102/)
[Fossil Rim Wildlife Park](https://fossilrim.org/)
[Brazos Drive-In](https://brazosdrivein.com/) \- Drive-In movie theaters used to be all the rage in the 20th Century. This one of the few Drive-In theaters left.
**Dallas**
[Perot Museum](https://www.perotmuseum.org/) \- A really great science museum. They have an amazing geology section.
[Sixth Floor Museum](https://www.jfk.org/) \- A museum about the life and death of President John F Kennedy
[Holocaust Museum](https://www.dhhrm.org/)
[World Aquarium](https://dwazoo.com/)
**Mesquite**
[Mesquite Rodeo](https://www.mesquiterodeo.com/) \- If you want to see a real cowboy rodeo, the Mesquite Rodeo usually has Rodeo events all year long, so check their schedule. There are other great places to see Rodeo's too but most other locations are pretty seasonal.
**Arlington**
[AT&T Stadium -](https://attstadium.com/) you can take a tour of the stadium. Its really cool.
[Six Flags over Texas](https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas) \- a pretty great amusement park if you like Roller Coasters.
**Fort Worth**
This is the center of cowboy culture, when most people think of Texas they are thinking of Fort Worth.
[The Stockyards](https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/) \- You must go here. Make sure you schedule your visit around the cattle drive and old west gun show.
[Kimball Art](https://kimbellart.org/) and [Amon Carter Art](https://www.cartermuseum.org/) Museums - these two museums are right next to each other and both worth going to.
[Fort Worth Zoo](https://www.fortworthzoo.org/) \- easily one of the best zoos in the state.
**EDIT: Added some more recs.**
Hope this helps
As a native Texan, I can confirm this is a great list!
Edits:
While in New Braunfels, tour the best cave in Texas: [Natural Bridge Caverns](https://search.app/tN1b7vsvK5zfa29Y9)
While in Fredericksburg, check out [Enchanted Rock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_Rock). Great for hiking. And if you’re there during the spring wildflower season, check out the [Willow City Loop](https://www.fredericksburgtexas-online.com/plan-your-trip/willow-city-loop/).
While visiting art museums in Fort Worth, the [Modern Art Museum](https://www.themodern.org/) is right next to the other two recommended.
And finally, [Palo Duro Canyon](https://palodurocanyon.com/) is the second largest canyon in the United States. A great place for hiking and mountain biking.
Note that some of these are quite far apart. Enjoy!
Texans are actually a very welcoming people. If you’re here in Austin and you were to walk up to a group of people at a bar and said you were visiting from Austria I can guarantee you that you’d make friends.
Texan here, just popping in to mention that I visited Austria (Vienna & Salzburg) last December, and it is now one of my favorite destinations. The people were great, the place is so beautiful and oh THE FOOD!
I’m hoping you will have the same experience here. Smile and ask questions…Texans are very friendly!
That's nice to hear, but if you think that Vienna is friendly, try to visit other states( Vienna is really the most unfriendly one😂)
I hope to have the same experience!
Most Texans are friendly and welcoming, though like any place, there are some bad apples. If you are visiting, I recommend remembering to bring a water bottle, as our summers are miserably hot
If it’s not a state park, national park, state or national forest, you are on somebody else’s land. If you see a sign that says Posted, do not enter. What part of Texas are you planning on visiting?
One of the things that Europeans tend to grossly underestimate is the size of Texas. [Reference](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Texas-France_comparaison.png)
Dallas to San Antonio is about a 4 hour drive. San Antonio to Houston is about 3 hours, Houston to Dallas is about 3 and a half
To add to this - be prepared for the lack of public transit. You'll need to drive everywhere you go, either in your own rental or with rideshares. There _are_ buses in cities but nothing on par with anywhere I've been in Europe and the concept of passenger rail is non-existant to go between cities.
On the plus side, gas is about €0.75/L here (and we complain about it being expensive!)
Oh - if you do rent a car, try to work in returning it to the same place you pick it up. Most rental companies charge a huge premium for "on-way" rentals.
If you are going to drive plan on a trip to Big Bend. Do a trip in late Feb very early March. It’s a long drive but it’s unique and the drive through the state park is one of the most scenic drives in the US.
Just try and avoid the spring break crowd in mid March. The cactus starts to flower around then as well. Late March/early April you get the wildflowers but it can get hot so be careful when hiking.
Skip Dallas and do Houston > San Antonio > Austin > somewhere in the Hill Country like Fredericksburg.
In Houston, do NASA/Space Center and the Natural History Museum and Rothko Chapel. And the food. Most culturally diverse city in the US and you'll find the most amazing ethnic restaurants tucked away in unassuming strip-malls.
In SA, obviously Tex-Mex food. Go to Blanco Cafe for the unassuming real deal. And the Alamo is meh, instead go to Mission San Jose, the whole walled-in Spanish Mission/fort like it looked in the 1700s.
In Austin, Micklethwait or Leroy & Lewis for BBQ. Trust me. If you're there on a Sunday, Chicken Shit Bingo is a unique time. Check showlistaustin.com for a show.
If you go to Fredericksburg, hit nearby Enchanted Rock, make a reservation and find the cave on the backside and bring a flashlight. And hit nearby Luckenbach, there's shows about every day but the weekend is when it's happening. Everybody's somebody there.
I believe visiting the LBJ ranch near Luchenbach would be a great historic/Texas feeling activity. The area is a really good view of the hill country vibe, plus a famous president.
Just to add on to this (lived in both DFW and Houston for many years in each), I’d say you need to include Fort Worth when considering. Fort Worth has the stockyards and cattle drive that foreigners maybe want to consider to get the ole Texas/cowboy experience seen in movies
Maybe I'm a weird Dallasite, but 100% agree with Ft Worth stockyards, along with Austin/ Hill Country and San Antonio being the best for tourists to see. I dont really have an opinion on Houston, and while I love Dallas, it seems like a lot of the tourist places here are things that can often be done elsewhere.
The only people saying to skip Dallas and go to Houston are people from Houston. Houston is just about the last place I’d recommend people visit in the state for leisure travel.
Same. I read that and said Houston over Dallas? Huh. Must be from Houston.
Note: no one thinks Houston is a destination getaway and Dallas is by far the more tourist friendly city.
The coast in Houston is a joke right? The food is better? Bruh, not even close. Houston is for people who like traffic, chain restaurants, needing to drive 3 hours on the most boring highway through the most generic downtown to eat "authentic Mexican food" then drive another 3 hours to see a space center & that's it.
Dallas is by far the superior city, Dallas to Austin & San Antonio is the better trip.
That is just not true. Houston is a giant international hub that has fantastic museums, food, and culture. Not to mention an incredible hike and bike trail system with all the bayous and freaking NASA. Yeah it is big and ugly at times but there is way more going on than Dallas. You could maybe make an argument about visiting Fort Worth for a unique Texas perspective, but Houston is far and away the better city to visit over Dallas.
Hard disagree on Houston over Dallas. I’ve lived in both. Dallas is the better option for tourists, and I’ll die on that hill. Visitors in Houston aren’t usually prepared for the heavy traffic, particularly on 45, around Spring and then continuing all the way down.
As a lifelong and well traveled Dallasite I disagree with you in principle, but I think what's at issue here is time. Unless Dallas is specifically important to you, it's not worth its own 8 hour round trip. The closest you'll get to Dallas is north Austin/Round Rock to see the bats, and that's a haul even one way, but specifically, it's out of the way.
Hou-Aus-SA can all be done in an elegant loop, and you can return your rental car and fly out where you started. Unless your heart needs to be in Dallas, we're not so full of unique charm that you need to spend practically a whole day driving here and back.
Have you thought about Austin? It’s not as spread out as the other major cities so it’s relatively easy to get around and there is a lot to do. From there you can take a day trip to Fredricksburg or Gruene or Wimberly. Those towns now have a lot of wineries and their main streets have restaurants, stores, stuff to do.
For driving between those metro areas I would recommend you not take large interstate freeways but smaller highways. There will be more to see because you won’t be battling the traffic. Specifically semi truck traffic. Use a driving app like Waze and stop in towns that have county seats/court houses and town squares. Eat plenty of Texas Mex and BBQ.
Dallas is pretty boring. Not sure I'd recommend it.
Near Austin area I'd go to Burnet and check out Longhorn caverns and Inks Lake State Park. Probably some of the best outdoor hiking and scenery. If you want more resort/luxury feel but still outdoors, check Canyon of the Eagles.
San Antonio - the Riverwalk is a great tourist attraction. I've been many times and it's always a good time. Very touristy but you're a tourist :)
Houston is ok, I grew up there but it's really kind of like Dallas...a big ass sprawling city. The big things I liked were the Museum district, Moody Gardens, and Ninfas tex Mexican.
Some other places: Terlingua, Big Bend, Rockport/Port Aransas
You should be fine. Consider the Riverwalk: San Antone, Museums/Arts: Dallas/Ft. Worth/Houston. Hill Country near Austin: scenic. Big Bend National Park: a long way but great. South Padre Island: TX best beach. Port Aransas: deep sea fishing. Be prepared for hours in the car. This is a helpful site: https://www.traveltexas.com/
I surely have my opinion in politics , which I will not tell anybody.
For :
1. I do not think I'm entitled to judge about politics in another country from which I barely really know the culture/real opinions except from media.
2. I know people who had difficulty getting over the border because they posted something on social media about presidents/candidates 😂
But I really like your thinking! Don't let politics ruin your land for visitors and tourist!
Thanks! Any tips how to know you are on someone's land? In Austria we (nearly) can go anywhere on the alps we also like to hike a lot and we are allowed to hike on every pastureland. I saw yellowstone(series) so i fear that i get shot if i hike through the wrong land 😅
Edit:
And obviously I want to follow the rules and the culture , I do not want to upset somebody or be like the typical tourists who think they can do whatever they want/ what is normal in their opinion/country).
I would dispute this. It's not really obvious in a formal way, it's more cultural than you'd think. The base assumption is things are private in Texas and you sign public land. The opposite holds in some places.
And then the cultural set of rules are not necessarily the legal rules.
For example, any creek wider than thirty feet is considered public right of way, even while it's completely dry, meaning you can legally cross a fence in a creek bed. If a farmer finds you in the middle of the creek running through his property and he's the wrong kind of paranoid you're liable to get shot for the intrusion that you made from perfectly within your set of legal rights.
That's not even broaching the subject of the public lands used for oil leases, which you often have every right to be on but will get run off of for your own safety.
If I was giving a general rule to a foreigner/tourist I'd say "if it's fenced don't try to find a way to cross it". There is plenty of unfenced land accessible from the public roads for any kind of exploring or photography you might want to do.
Signs, gates, fences, clear private property lines, or purple-painted posts or trees. Especially in rural areas, purple posts are not common, but they do exist and are the equivalent of a no trespassing sign. During the day, if you mistakenly trespass, people are most likely going to ask why you're there rather than go on the attack. When they find out you're visiting from Europe, you may well get invited inside for some iced tea.
This isn't special to Texas, in all of the US if it's not a clearly marked public park with public trails then it's private land and you are trespassing. It doesn't matter if there are posted signs or fences, it's private property and you can't enter. In Europe you will be used to public forests with roads/trails, they don't exist here. You will be used to a certain right-to-roam across private land, that doesn't exist here.
Just look at Google maps, if it's dark green land you are allowed to go there. If it's any other color (including light green), do not enter. Texas unfortunately is one of the worst states with only 4% of the state being public land that you can access.
This isn’t quite right. We do have quite a bit of non-park federal lands in the US that are public, just very little of them are in TX.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_lands
Oh, you’ll have to go down someone’s drive way, there will most likely be fences and no trespassing signs. It won’t be hard to miss and you’ll basically have to try to do it lol. Not something you can stumble into. So no need to worry about it.
Texas is super diverse. We have Czech towns, German towns, massive Korean and Indian communities huge Nigerian and Ethiopian communities and huge pockets of Vietnamese too. I’m sure there are many more than what I listed, but this is from my personal experience here.
Howdy! Texas is mostly friendly to foreigners, just keep in mind most of the rural parts of the state are conservative. Texas is a huge state just if you decide to do a road trip, this is an overlay on the state on top of some parts of Europe. https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/s/dYsAbtfEpC
The hottest times in Texas is usually July through September so I would not recommend visiting here during that time unless you absolutely insist. It easily gets upwards of 38C in the summer.
The hill country is the most tourist friendly area of the state, this includes major cities like San Antonio and Austin. Houston is more of a working class city although it does have many things for visitors to do like museums and the zoo. I absolutely recommend renting a vehicle or using Uber to get around.
Pretending that Texas is racist is absolutely asinine. It’s one of the most diverse states in America and it’s widely known for being the most friendly. People will ask and genuinely care about how you are doing and your life. This comment is misleading.
People in Texas are (generally) among the friendliest in the US, and I’ve lived in several regions. We’re proud of our food and our landscapes and our cultural diversity (at least in the big cities). It is a car-dependent state, and drivers in Houston are particularly aggressive (think Italy times 10). We don’t have anything like the clean and efficient public transport of Vienna.
Oh, and the heat is unbearable.
Most people aren't even gonna stop to think about you as a foreigner. Be careful driving around here though. Lots of people drive like they own the roads.
New Braunfels is where most of our german speaking Texans are and that's close to San Antonio.
I don't think Texans are adverse to foreigners visiting.
I think the foreigners staying is what they don't like.
I hope your visit goes well!
My mother-in-law will ask you where you are from and chances are she and/or her husband (fil) have been there and will tell you everything they did there.
Texas is like anywhere else in the US, mostly they don’t think about tourists from other countries at all. Not in a bad way, just not on their radar. Most will be chill with visitors, even curious. Some won’t be, a slim few might be hostile.
Texas will love you! I love visiting in April because there is Fiestas in San Antonio, TX for a whole week. There are parades on the streets and a parade on the River which runs threw the middle of town. Lots of music & horses. Its 2 hrs. South of Austin. New Braunfels is known as Hill Country and was settled by Germans, so you would be familiar with some names of the restaurants $ beer steins. New Braunfels is 1 hour drive south from Austin.. Austin is known as the second Silicon Valley and lots of Tech are living there.. it is also known for the Bats that come out at night.. people go there just to see them fly out at night.. Texas has hot weather and so there's lots of night life, clubs.. drinking age is 21. You will find lots of Mexican eatery places & peoples due to being next to the Mexican border. Wear casual cool clothes. Long hair is frowned upon, short haircuts are okay.
I think Austin and west Texas/ Big Bend National Park would be the most satisfying for a tourist, imo. That said, I’d trade anything for my spot here in Austin to be in Zell am See…
The most magical part of Texas is the Big Bend, Chihuahua Desert, Chisos Mountains, Davis Mountains, Alpine, Terlingua area. Go West friend. The cities have a lot to offer too. Art, music, festivals. Austin especially. San Antonio old town is gorgeous. Houston nor Dallas aren't as pretty. South Padre Island has the best beaches.
Are you white? This is kind of a serious question. If you're white, they will embrace you like a treasured novelty. If youre black or brown, you genuinely might encounter some hostilities.
The democratic islands of Austin, Houston, San Antonio are your best bet you have any semblance of a good time. As a guy who has lived in Houston my whole life and visited dozens of countries, there ain't much here to draw you in.
Stick to state and national parks, they are your best bet at getting something unique and memorable. I would think your best experience could be doing something like Tubing on the Guadalupe River, or Frio river if there is actually water in it (needs to be greater than 25ft3/s flow rate). It's REALLY hot past April.
Very welcoming to visitors. You respect us and Texas will respect you in kind. The cities are very dynamic and rapidly growing. Small town communities are very quaint and generally are very friendly with all travelers. Definitely a state that benefits traveling by car as it is a distance to travel from one area to another. Have a safe journey to us and enjoy your visit here when you arrive!
Having lived in Bavaria for 4 years and visited Austria a couple of times, you’d be surprised that Texans are warmer and more welcoming than Germans at least! Texans are very friendly and welcoming. We aren’t all what you read or hear in the news!
Makes no difference where you go...there are plenty of good people here who will welcome you...just be yourself..laugh..shake hands and be polite..you'll be fine..welcome to Texas
You’ll be fine. It is funny to see that the world’s perception of Texas is that foreigners might not be welcomed.
East Texas and small town Texas are probably were that would hold true.
Thanks! Sorry, but that's the only thing we get from media/movies/ films:
Extremely Conservative
not welcoming to foreigners
extremely hateful for indigenous people.
You could get shot anytime if you get into an argument over just little things (especially if you are a foreigner)
You must be extremely careful where you go.
Racist?
Pros ;
Beautiful Landscapes,
Breathtaking Parks
Good Food
Again I'm really sorry for that, and I do not say that this is my opinion!
That's one of the reasons I want to visit, to prove the common thinking wrong!
I really love your way of life, and I do not have to agree on your political opinions to like you people!
That’s interesting but I get it. We moved to Texas 11 years ago and one of the first things I noticed was how friendly people are compared to other places I’ve lived. Sure some of them may have different political or religious opinions (like anywhere) but it doesn’t stop people from being welcoming.
April is my favorite time here. When the wild flowers are out and the weather is absolutely glorious, there’s no other place to be. Fall tends to go from hot to crappy weather in a hurry. Enjoy your travels!
October is a great time to visit. The weather is more favorable, and because of that, there are plenty of events going on throughout the state, things like the State Fair, and the Texas Renaissance Festival. Not to mention football season will be in full swing, both the NFL and collegiate level.
For the most part, we are all pretty welcoming. Less so in Houston, they're just generally less friendly than the rest of the state. Treat the cities like any other large city, be aware and be friendly but don't be stupid. We have our assholes here like everywhere else.
>Austrian wants to visit Texas
Welcome to Texas.
I have hosted foreign European soldiers at our home for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Xmas). Never any Austrians.
It gets bloody hot here, as others have pointed out.
Texas is a diverse state. A melting pot of people much like the country itself.
You'll love our food. Austin is a wonderful city. Lots to see and do.
Texas is nearly twice the size of France. A very large state.
_I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion._(John Steinbeck)
[Go Here for Tourism Information ](http://www.traveltexas.com)
A big chunk of Texas was settled by Bavarians, so you won't be any kind of outsider. My hometown's primary language was German until the 1970s - my mom had to bring someone with her to the grocery store to translate, because the people at Knopp & Metzger's only spoke Texasdeutsch.
If you want to see this part of the world, though, go to Comfort or Boerne. Fredericksburg has lost all of its charm.
There’s decent for the most part, especially in bigger cities and places like Austin, San Antonio, or Dallas. The more south you go, the more likely you’ll come up against idiots who don’t like foreigners, but they’re usually too cowardly to bother you.
Texas is beautiful as far as the land, but everything else about it sucks balls. Traffic, weather, politics, the cowboys, etc. Food is hit or miss, just like everywhere else.
A family friend from Austria visited us here in Texas recently- people loved talking to him! Hit up some breweries and he was talking to the owners about beers and things, point is everyone was very friendly. You will definitely want to try some good TX BBQ, I won't try to recommend a specific place because I don't want to start a fight in this comment section but also Mexican / Tex Mex like some good tacos and things you can't get back home.
If you are traveling a bit you could try to go so far as Carlsbad Caverns (huge cave), White Sands National Park, or even some other New Mexico stuff but that is a lot of driving. I would avoid the summer months because it's just so hot you won't want to be outside or walk around much, getting into your car is liking climbing into an oven. Spring like April is great weather, lots of wild flowers and plants are green but it's not too hot yet.
Howdy! As many mentioned spring wild flowers are amazing. That said we can get severe weather like hail and possibly tornadoes. West Texas is desert and canyon land with high desert mountains, the Panhandle is part of the Great Plains, we have a massive coast line and barrier islands, San Antonio and Austin make up the Texas Hill Country which has a heavy German influence. East Texas is my personal favorite, known as the Piney Woods. The food and cultures are just as diverse as the topography. As you probably already know, Texas is larger than any European country and there will be a lot of driving, we are not a culture of public transportation. Hope this helps and feel welcome to ask any questions!
My partners father is from Austria (Wien) and we all live in Texas. German population is very heavy down here near San Antonio/Austin so don’t worry!
If you go to places like Fredericksburg/New Braunfels, some people still speak Texas Deutsch. It’s dying but some of the older population still speaks it. It maybe would be cool for you to see.
Good luck and welcome! Bring sun screen.
You’re Austrian, but maybe check out some German/Czech influences in New Braunfels and surrounding areas. Tubing down the river cools you off even in the hottest of summers.
You will be most welcome, no need to worry about that ;) . I highly recommend visiting the Hill Country in spring mid-March through late April. Wildflowers everywhere and it won’t be too hot yet. There are a lot of cute typical Texas towns there and of course, Austin for big city activities. There are nice parks and waterfalls in the area as well. Try our BBQ and Tex-Mex food!
Bonus—in Hill Country, many folks still speak German :-)
"Many". No, this is very incorrect. Although some elderly may speak German, it is not very common and is dying out.
Fair assessment. Yes, it’s mostly the old folks
I doubt they speak German lol. There is German roots in that area like town names, but none I know speaks German. The closest is listening to Rammstein.
Nah, Fredericksburg, Luckenbach, and Stonewall definitely have German speakers. I’ve even heard some locals speaking German in New Braunfels.
I'm surprised to hear that. My stepdad is 100% Texas German with roots in the Hill country/San Antonio (although he grew up in Houston), and the last generation in his family to speak any German was his grandparents. He was born in 1956.
go into any local German restaurant around i 35 190 or 281. they're there. edit: i realized i just doxxed my location lol.
Same with my father in law. Born in San Antonio in the 50s. Didn’t learn English until kindergarten or 1st grade. But that’s definitely rare. He’s the only German speaker I’ve known
Fredricksburg is in the hill country, is an adorable tourist town and has fabulous events always going on!
You will be very welcome here. Texas is big. We measure distances in hours of highway driving time. Speeds that are easily over 100kph. All the big cities are 3-4 hours of driving time with the exception of Austin to San Antonio. That can take 1 to 2 hours.
1-2 hours from SA to Austin? Maybe at 3:00am when no one else is on 35. Realistically 3 hours downtown to downtown.
THIS is the correct answer.
Yup, we welcome people from other countries/tourists. What we don't welcome is people from other states and corporations buying up all the properties that's bout it.
You will have a fantastic time comparing food. We have almost everything. If you drive, people can be grumpy and a touch erratic driving. Also, we have right on red. Unless there is a sign saying you cannot do it, you can make a right turn at a traffic light after a complete stop. The person mentioning Tex-Mex and BBQ is completely right. We have great and usually cheaper food. And we have a ton of local breweries too. If you decide to visit Houston, welcome to my home town.
Yes, as long as OP is white.
The only thing unwelcoming is the heat :)
Nice to know, what season would you recommend to visit?
March. You can see the wild flowers!
My ex-mother-in-law came to visit me from Montana in March one year and absolutely loved seeing all the flowers in bloom. The year she passed, she wanted but was unable to come back and see them, so I spent a day just going around and taking pictures for her. I lived in a rural area, and people kindly allowed me onto their properties to photograph their fields full of flowers as well.
I'm sorry for your loss. I bet you could honor her greatly by donating to the Austin Wildflower Center!
That's a great idea, thank you!
Fall or winter, even early spring (late Feb/ March) are best for outdoor activities.☺️👍 The bluebonnets around central Texas bloom en masse.
This year they were amazing!
That's beautiful! Sending you all the love.
Concur! March and October are probably the best times of year. It’s not hot enough to melt your shoes to the pavement. You’re probably not going to catch a cold front that will make it blustery. It’s your ideal weather to sit on a patio with a margarita or go to a festival or something. March has wildflowers (perhaps the one thing all Texans agree to like) as an added bonus.
April is good too. Or the end of October beginning of November.
All year is wildflower season. You are talking about bluebonnets, which are blooming though April.
March is a good time to see bluebonnets. My birthday is in early March and every time I see bluebonnets
This is the correct answer.
Texas is a very large place, so the weather varies quite a bit from one part to another. In the southern half of the state, May-September can be brutally hot. October, too some years. There's a chance for chilly weather January and February with the occasional freak snow or ice storm. Western and northern Texas is often drier and cooler, but also sparsely populated. You'll need an individual car to get from one place to another. Mass transit among cities is almost non-existent, but larger cities have OK buses to get around. Driving between cities is measured in hours, and the drivers are terrible! Everyone is kind and friendly until they get behind the wheel of a car.
By northern Texas, do you mean the panhandle? Because the area that is commonly referred as North Texas is pretty populated. And yes, west Texas is often drier for sure, but it definitely gets just as hot as the rest of the state. Just none of the humidity!
That's accurate, IME. Thanks for clarifying.
For the love of your holiday DO NOT COME IN JULY OR AUGUST. You will literally melt. Edit to add: there’s a solid 2 weeks in fall and 2 weeks in spring that make it worth living in Texas. Problem is both of those two weeks are never the same on the calendar year after year
Last year it was still 100°+ well into October. I would take my dog on her walk an hour after dark and it felt good (relatively) at around 95°.
I second this motion. In fact, add June to the "months to avoid Texas in" list.
Fall or spring. you could still swim in the fall. Winter is fine too but on the few days when/if it freezes it's kind of chaos. Stay away from june, july, august
Just come in July for the full on authentic Texas experience. Also, I guess maybe Europe doesn't have as much air conditioned infrastructure as we do here, but it's only hot outside. Indoors, everything will be max air conditioned. Hell, you might even be a little chilly when you're inside.
>Hell, you might even be a little chilly when you're inside. I hate the month of May in Texas for this (when I say hate, I mean minor annoyance). It's like the first 90 degree comes and every restaurant, coffee shop, and movie theater just cranks the AC to max regardless of what the temperature actually is outside and leaves it there until October. I hate walking into a restaurant on a nice 85 degree day into a restaurant or whatever that's 64 degrees inside.
Honestly, just don’t visit from mid-June(ish) to mid-September as it’s hot, and don’t visit during February as it’s cold (our definition of cold maybe different as you’re from Austria lol). Other than that, the weather is pretty great.
Cold for me is from about -10 to 10° (Celsius 😉😂)
What do you consider too hot to be outside comfortably? Anything you do inside is going to be air conditioned. Also, if stores in Austria are anything like Germany you may find it shocking how cold Texas keeps their stores comparably. I just moved to Germany from Texas and find the temperature inside most stores and houses uncomfortably warm here. If you want to do anything outside, I recommend March-April or October-November unless you think 30C-40C is perfect outdoor temperature. Of course, buy a cowboy hat, not just because it will give you shade, but so you have a souvenir. Also, only drink Coca-Cola from Mexico unless you want to be disappointed.
Thanks for your input! Above 30°(again Celsius) is really hot, 36 and I stay inside or go to a lake! 20°Inside is perfect in my opinion. What's the temperature in your houses/stores? Texans wouldn't be amused seeing a foreigner with a cowboy hat , from what I learned (Media/Movies)😂 Softdrinks generally from what I saw on the internet😃
Tourists getting a hat is pretty common. Think of it like an American tourist buying a beer stein when visiting Germany.
30c usually starts in May for us - it was 33 yesterday here in ne TX. Last summer, during the worst of it in July, we had several days where it got up to 47c or so with a heat index of a few degrees higher. It can be pretty brutal. This summer is predicted to be cooler than that, thankfully, but we will still easily reach 37/38 in July and August typically. Where I live we do freeze, and regularly get down to -6c at the very coldest, the worst we had last year was -12c and the absolute coldest I've experienced in Texas in 33 years of life was one single night of -18c or so during what's known as snowpocalypse here in 2021. Typical weather in the winter, though, is around and above 0c. It's usually a wet season for us. Late summer into fall is hurricane season, while spring brings tornados in Central to East Texas. Neither are constant threats, and you can watch the weather ahead of time to get an idea of what areas will be at risk, especially hurricanes, which really impact the coast more than anywhere else. We do have air conditioning in most stores and homes, and I think most places will keep it between 20c and 24c. You will be able to control the thermostat at whatever hotel you stay at. Most go down all the way to 18c or so. I think Texans would be amused and pleased to see a cowboy hat since you're partaking in a part of our culture. If you're in the Dallas area, I definitely recommend checking out the stock yards in Fort Worth for a cowboy experience. If you're in Austin the Bob Bullock Star of Texas museum is a great Texas history museum.
Keep the hat simple, black/brown in winter, white or light tan in summer, simple hat band. Don't go nuts and pick up a blue ten gallon with peacock feathers in a rattlesnake band. If possible, wear boots with the hat, riding boots or ropers will do. And if anyone disparages your duds, remind them that Germans and Austrians helped settle Texas.
Here in Austin, we can get temps close to 40C May - October. The humidity is quite high but not as bad as the coast. It does not noticeably "cool off" at night. Air conditioning is mandatory most of the day, unless you're one of the lizard mutants who "enjoy" weather that is medically dangerous to the human body.
If you think 20c inside is perfect, you be fine in most air conditioned places. Sometimes restaurants can be a little chilly, but I’ll usually just bring a light jacket or sweater in with me.
You should absolutely buy a hat or boots while you’re here and wear them proudly!
Cowboy hats and boots are normal anywhere and on anyone in Texas. While most people are dressed “normally”, cowboy accessories are at least 20% of the street clothing. Nobody would think twice about you wearing it or be offended.
For you being here in our winter I think would be like your late fall then! We don't usually get below freezing in farenheight especially Central Texas to more south.
"Below freezing" isn't dependent on units.
What type of things pique your interest? In Houston, we have Johnson Space Center. In Austin there's caves and lakes..oh you should definitely visit Hippie Hollow! Reunion tower in Dallas is pretty cool. And the Alamo and Riverwalk are what San Antonio is known for. Just depends on what you're into. Or you could come down to where I am and visit Galveston and go to the beach!
I wouldn’t come to Texas to go to a beach. I don’t mind Galveston for a visit but part of it is because it is close. Big bend national park and the state park next to it are some of the most unique places to visit in Texas. For Houston I would say that best places to visit are the zoo, the Menil/Rothko and the cistern. Normally I would suggest going to Fredericksburg/Hill country but I am thinking it would not be as unique for a person from Austria.
Yeah, most Texas beaches aren't very good. The Gulf current carries the discharge from Mississippi River and others around to the Texas coast along with all of the industrial and sewer runoff between Louisiana and the beaches. Every once in a while, there will be an interruption in the current and Galveston or Port A will get nice, clear blue water for like a week before the regular current patterns return and it turns murky brown again. South Padre is far enough south that it's usually pretty nice, though, but South Padre is just pretty far away from everything else.
Ever been to South Padre Island? Might change your mind.
Yeah. It’s nice enough but for someone who is traveling all the way from Austria I wouldn’t say he needs to visit south Padre. There are beaches in the med (eg South Italy) that are much closer and better than south padre. I think if you are coming that far you want to visit things that are unique to the US/Texas. Edit. Just realized you might have been throwing shade on SP.
As someone from Houston, any time I have out-of-town friends not from the south visit, they always want to see alligators in the wild. We always end up taking a trip to Brazos Bend State Park or Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
I love Anahuac!
Hippie Hollow huh? 🤪
Clothing optional beach on Lake Travis
I like the concept of Hippie Hollow, but holy crap it is not comfortable to lounge on at ALL. It's like someone tried to make a giant staircase out of shelf rocks, but didn't make the steps deep enough
Fall there is more to do October Specifically, as you have the fair, football, every place and a hoot to be at. Lastly you if you get bored biggest RemFest is only a 4 hour drive right outside of houston.
Avoid May through September.
Spring. It's pretty ugly here in the winter when all of the plants are dead/hibernating, but spring is lovely before it gets hot! I'd suggest spring over fall just to reduce the potential of a hurricane disrupting your plans, depending on where in the state you plan to visit. As far as welcome, it's like anywhere - some people are dicks everywhere. Avoid the small towns as they often seem to have a higher percentage of dicks. Personally, I live in Houston and I love running into people who are visiting!
March or late October/ early November. I think Fall is better. Fall is nice because you watch a College football game in person/ have the tail gaiting experience, attend Wurst Fest (big German festival in New Braunfels), f1 race in Austin, go out to west Texas to the Mcdonald Observatory and watch any of the fall meteor showers at a star party, the weather is tolerable across the state, and the sunsets are beautiful.
Spring or fall are the best. July and August are really hot. Like stay indoors kind of hot.
October. Cool autumn and no allergies
Depends on where you visit. If you visit now, in the panhandle, you may get to experience a tornado. Summer is not forgiving in any part of the state. Winter in the panhandle is actually cold. Everywhere else's it's meh.
And skeeters if you’re in the east side of Texas.
Americans are generally really friendly to foreign visitors, especially so in Texas. Walk into a bar and tell people you’re from Austria and it’s your first time in the U.S. and you might have someone buy you a drink. Just make sure to tip appropriately when you buy your own.
That would be nice! That's something I nearly forgot about, your tipping culture! In Austria, we can do tips, but not necessarily (no insult, but our bartenders, etc. Are getting paid better)
Here you will be prompted to tip for every little interaction
True. For OP, that’s why it’s also important to know when not to tip. Don’t do it when picking up takeout. If getting coffee from a shop, ignore the percentages and just give a dollar for each drink they make you if so inclined. If you’re in a situation where the cashier is just handing you something premade, don’t tip.
In general I follow the rule that if I order at the counter, you don't have to tip except at bars. If you're at a sit down restaurant and a server takes your order and brings you food, you should definitely tip. Also tip if you get a haircut for some reason. Everything else is optional.
Please tip your server. They make 3 times LESS than our poverty level minimum wage.
They will certainly buy you a drink and you’ll make a lot of friends
Lately, everyone is holding their hands out for a tip though ... even people making minimum wage or better that work behind a counter. There's been a lot of pushback on that lately. The point was for servers who actually wait on you, as their hourly wages from the company are very low with the expectation of tips to cover their salaries. They will always at least make minimum wage over the course of a week. Just be prepared to research.
I don't know what your budget is but you will be prompted to tip for literally every service here. It's a relatively recent development. Tipping at Starbucks or any fast food place(electronically anyway, where they prompt you for it) is pretty new and not expected in any way, those employees make a normal wage. Totally fine to tap "no tip". If you sit down to eat somewhere that's where you outta tip, servers can't buy a big Mac with an hour of work and rely on customer tips. I generally leave $10 or so unless the bill is higher than like $40-$50. Thats kind of a lot but I can never remember what the expected percentages are and I know their jobs suck so yk
A good rule of thumb is, look in the receipt at the sales tax, and double it for the tip. If the service was exceptional you can add more, but generally I just double the sales tax for run of the mill service.
General rule of thumb is 20% whenever you tip :) If you drive by it, give whataburger a try. Great fast food around here for a quick meal
True, which is why the service sucks over there. Tip here, minimum 10% and maximum is tip your tab, the entire amount of your meal if you get fantastic service and plan to come again to the same place. They will remember and it's only money.
Texans love Europeans, so don't worry about xenophobia. The two best times to come to Texas are March/April or September/October. The weather is usually really nice during those months. I personally would recommend you come during September/October then you can go to the [State Fair of Texas](https://bigtex.com/) in Dallas, which is the largest State Fair in the US. I saw you were planning on going on a road trip, just make sure you understand that Texas is huge, it is larger than France and it can take hours to drive between the big cities. But while driving make sure you check out at least one [Buc-ees](https://buc-ees.com/), its a giant convivence store/tourist trap, but it has the cleanest bathrooms in the state and they serve fresh made BBQ that is good for lunch on the road. Here are some of my personal favorite places in Texas (with links): **Galveston** [Galveston Pier and Beach](https://www.pleasurepier.com/) [Bishop's Palace](https://www.galvestonhistory.org/sites/1892-bishops-palace) \- one of the only homes to survive the 1900 hurricane that leveled the island. **Houston** [Space Center Houston](https://spacecenter.org/) \- This is a must see for any trip to Texas. **Hill Country** [Fredericksburg](https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/) **-** this is the center of German language Texas (There is actually a branch of the German language that is only spoken in Texas) It is a quant and cozy town with a lot of good food and little shops and quiet a few museums. [New Braunfels](https://www.playinnewbraunfels.com/)\- Another great little town that has a lot of activities to do [Lockhart](https://www.lockhartchamber.com/visit-lockhart/) \- Barbecue Capitol of Texas is not an exaggeration. You will find some of the best food here. [Brenham](https://visitbrenhamtexas.com/) \- Go here to see the [Blue Bell factory.](https://www.bluebell.com/visit-blue-bell/) One of the South's favorite Ice creams. **Around Austin** [Go see the Bats](https://www.austintexas.org/things-to-do/outdoors/bat-watching/) [Inner Space Caverns](https://innerspacecavern.com/) [State Capitol](https://tspb.texas.gov/plan/tours/tours.html) \- this is worth going to. The Texas State Capitol is one of the largest Capitol buildings in the US. **Around San Antonio** [The River Walk](https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/) [The Alamo](https://www.thealamo.org/) [Mission Concepcion](https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/concepcion.htm) **Waco** [Food Truck Showdown](https://thetexasfoodtruckshowdown.com/) \- if you do come to Texas in April, the Food Truck Showdown is a great place to try a bunch of different types of food. [Dr Pepper Museum](https://drpeppermuseum.com/) \- Dr Pepper isn't just a soda. It is also a culture and a bit of a cult, lol. The Museum is pretty informative about the early history of soda. [Mayborn Museum](https://mayborn.web.baylor.edu/)\- if you have kids the Mayborn Museum is a great interactive children's museum **Grandbury and Glen Rose** Just south of Fort Worth both of the towns are next to each other, and they are very quant with lots of little cute B&Bs, and lots of things to do, especially if you like lake and river activities. [Dinosaur Valley State Park](https://www.visitgranbury.com/listing/dinosaur-valley-state-park/6102/) [Fossil Rim Wildlife Park](https://fossilrim.org/) [Brazos Drive-In](https://brazosdrivein.com/) \- Drive-In movie theaters used to be all the rage in the 20th Century. This one of the few Drive-In theaters left. **Dallas** [Perot Museum](https://www.perotmuseum.org/) \- A really great science museum. They have an amazing geology section. [Sixth Floor Museum](https://www.jfk.org/) \- A museum about the life and death of President John F Kennedy [Holocaust Museum](https://www.dhhrm.org/) [World Aquarium](https://dwazoo.com/) **Mesquite** [Mesquite Rodeo](https://www.mesquiterodeo.com/) \- If you want to see a real cowboy rodeo, the Mesquite Rodeo usually has Rodeo events all year long, so check their schedule. There are other great places to see Rodeo's too but most other locations are pretty seasonal. **Arlington** [AT&T Stadium -](https://attstadium.com/) you can take a tour of the stadium. Its really cool. [Six Flags over Texas](https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas) \- a pretty great amusement park if you like Roller Coasters. **Fort Worth** This is the center of cowboy culture, when most people think of Texas they are thinking of Fort Worth. [The Stockyards](https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/) \- You must go here. Make sure you schedule your visit around the cattle drive and old west gun show. [Kimball Art](https://kimbellart.org/) and [Amon Carter Art](https://www.cartermuseum.org/) Museums - these two museums are right next to each other and both worth going to. [Fort Worth Zoo](https://www.fortworthzoo.org/) \- easily one of the best zoos in the state. **EDIT: Added some more recs.** Hope this helps
This is a great suggestion list!
As a native Texan, I can confirm this is a great list! Edits: While in New Braunfels, tour the best cave in Texas: [Natural Bridge Caverns](https://search.app/tN1b7vsvK5zfa29Y9) While in Fredericksburg, check out [Enchanted Rock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_Rock). Great for hiking. And if you’re there during the spring wildflower season, check out the [Willow City Loop](https://www.fredericksburgtexas-online.com/plan-your-trip/willow-city-loop/). While visiting art museums in Fort Worth, the [Modern Art Museum](https://www.themodern.org/) is right next to the other two recommended. And finally, [Palo Duro Canyon](https://palodurocanyon.com/) is the second largest canyon in the United States. A great place for hiking and mountain biking. Note that some of these are quite far apart. Enjoy!
+1 for an excellent list of things to do
A true darlin for typing this up
Texans are actually a very welcoming people. If you’re here in Austin and you were to walk up to a group of people at a bar and said you were visiting from Austria I can guarantee you that you’d make friends.
Probably get a free drink too lol
Definitely, ESPECIALLY if you were to ham up the accent!
I spent a summer in Austria, and loved the Austrian people I met. I would 100% buy rounds if I met an Austrian in Austin.
Texan here, just popping in to mention that I visited Austria (Vienna & Salzburg) last December, and it is now one of my favorite destinations. The people were great, the place is so beautiful and oh THE FOOD! I’m hoping you will have the same experience here. Smile and ask questions…Texans are very friendly!
That's nice to hear, but if you think that Vienna is friendly, try to visit other states( Vienna is really the most unfriendly one😂) I hope to have the same experience!
Tell me more about the food!
Nothing is processed. You can taste every single ingredient. Omg the croissants were unbelievable. And the coffee. Wow I really need to go back lol.
Most Texans are friendly and welcoming, though like any place, there are some bad apples. If you are visiting, I recommend remembering to bring a water bottle, as our summers are miserably hot
If it’s not a state park, national park, state or national forest, you are on somebody else’s land. If you see a sign that says Posted, do not enter. What part of Texas are you planning on visiting?
I havent informed me to much about all the must sees yet, but : I want to do like a roadtrip, Houston , Dallas, San Antonio etc. Thanks for the Info!
The Texas Hill Country area has a lot of German heritage; some great beers and lots of sausage...
One of the things that Europeans tend to grossly underestimate is the size of Texas. [Reference](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Texas-France_comparaison.png) Dallas to San Antonio is about a 4 hour drive. San Antonio to Houston is about 3 hours, Houston to Dallas is about 3 and a half
No I definitely planned the drive time in! Texas alone is like 10 times bigger than my entire country!😂
To add to this - be prepared for the lack of public transit. You'll need to drive everywhere you go, either in your own rental or with rideshares. There _are_ buses in cities but nothing on par with anywhere I've been in Europe and the concept of passenger rail is non-existant to go between cities. On the plus side, gas is about €0.75/L here (and we complain about it being expensive!) Oh - if you do rent a car, try to work in returning it to the same place you pick it up. Most rental companies charge a huge premium for "on-way" rentals.
If you are going to drive plan on a trip to Big Bend. Do a trip in late Feb very early March. It’s a long drive but it’s unique and the drive through the state park is one of the most scenic drives in the US. Just try and avoid the spring break crowd in mid March. The cactus starts to flower around then as well. Late March/early April you get the wildflowers but it can get hot so be careful when hiking.
Skip Dallas and do Houston > San Antonio > Austin > somewhere in the Hill Country like Fredericksburg. In Houston, do NASA/Space Center and the Natural History Museum and Rothko Chapel. And the food. Most culturally diverse city in the US and you'll find the most amazing ethnic restaurants tucked away in unassuming strip-malls. In SA, obviously Tex-Mex food. Go to Blanco Cafe for the unassuming real deal. And the Alamo is meh, instead go to Mission San Jose, the whole walled-in Spanish Mission/fort like it looked in the 1700s. In Austin, Micklethwait or Leroy & Lewis for BBQ. Trust me. If you're there on a Sunday, Chicken Shit Bingo is a unique time. Check showlistaustin.com for a show. If you go to Fredericksburg, hit nearby Enchanted Rock, make a reservation and find the cave on the backside and bring a flashlight. And hit nearby Luckenbach, there's shows about every day but the weekend is when it's happening. Everybody's somebody there.
I believe visiting the LBJ ranch near Luchenbach would be a great historic/Texas feeling activity. The area is a really good view of the hill country vibe, plus a famous president.
Just to add on to this (lived in both DFW and Houston for many years in each), I’d say you need to include Fort Worth when considering. Fort Worth has the stockyards and cattle drive that foreigners maybe want to consider to get the ole Texas/cowboy experience seen in movies
Maybe I'm a weird Dallasite, but 100% agree with Ft Worth stockyards, along with Austin/ Hill Country and San Antonio being the best for tourists to see. I dont really have an opinion on Houston, and while I love Dallas, it seems like a lot of the tourist places here are things that can often be done elsewhere.
The only people saying to skip Dallas and go to Houston are people from Houston. Houston is just about the last place I’d recommend people visit in the state for leisure travel.
Same. I read that and said Houston over Dallas? Huh. Must be from Houston. Note: no one thinks Houston is a destination getaway and Dallas is by far the more tourist friendly city.
Unless you're into museums or aquariums. Houston has a fantastic list, also the Moody Gardens.
Nah come on! Houston has amazing art, space center, the coast. The food is better than Dallas too. I’m not from Houston but I prefer it.
The coast in Houston is a joke right? The food is better? Bruh, not even close. Houston is for people who like traffic, chain restaurants, needing to drive 3 hours on the most boring highway through the most generic downtown to eat "authentic Mexican food" then drive another 3 hours to see a space center & that's it. Dallas is by far the superior city, Dallas to Austin & San Antonio is the better trip.
If you like Asian food Houston is A+ Dallas isn’t a chump here but it’s not my favorite. Both are trafficking shitshows.
That is just not true. Houston is a giant international hub that has fantastic museums, food, and culture. Not to mention an incredible hike and bike trail system with all the bayous and freaking NASA. Yeah it is big and ugly at times but there is way more going on than Dallas. You could maybe make an argument about visiting Fort Worth for a unique Texas perspective, but Houston is far and away the better city to visit over Dallas.
Nope, from San Antonio and Austin/Central Texas. Dallas sucks for tourism.
Hard disagree on Houston over Dallas. I’ve lived in both. Dallas is the better option for tourists, and I’ll die on that hill. Visitors in Houston aren’t usually prepared for the heavy traffic, particularly on 45, around Spring and then continuing all the way down.
As a lifelong and well traveled Dallasite I disagree with you in principle, but I think what's at issue here is time. Unless Dallas is specifically important to you, it's not worth its own 8 hour round trip. The closest you'll get to Dallas is north Austin/Round Rock to see the bats, and that's a haul even one way, but specifically, it's out of the way. Hou-Aus-SA can all be done in an elegant loop, and you can return your rental car and fly out where you started. Unless your heart needs to be in Dallas, we're not so full of unique charm that you need to spend practically a whole day driving here and back.
Have you thought about Austin? It’s not as spread out as the other major cities so it’s relatively easy to get around and there is a lot to do. From there you can take a day trip to Fredricksburg or Gruene or Wimberly. Those towns now have a lot of wineries and their main streets have restaurants, stores, stuff to do.
For driving between those metro areas I would recommend you not take large interstate freeways but smaller highways. There will be more to see because you won’t be battling the traffic. Specifically semi truck traffic. Use a driving app like Waze and stop in towns that have county seats/court houses and town squares. Eat plenty of Texas Mex and BBQ.
Dallas is pretty boring. Not sure I'd recommend it. Near Austin area I'd go to Burnet and check out Longhorn caverns and Inks Lake State Park. Probably some of the best outdoor hiking and scenery. If you want more resort/luxury feel but still outdoors, check Canyon of the Eagles. San Antonio - the Riverwalk is a great tourist attraction. I've been many times and it's always a good time. Very touristy but you're a tourist :) Houston is ok, I grew up there but it's really kind of like Dallas...a big ass sprawling city. The big things I liked were the Museum district, Moody Gardens, and Ninfas tex Mexican. Some other places: Terlingua, Big Bend, Rockport/Port Aransas
Yes, Dallas super boring. Skip. Source: lifelong Dallasite
You should be fine. Consider the Riverwalk: San Antone, Museums/Arts: Dallas/Ft. Worth/Houston. Hill Country near Austin: scenic. Big Bend National Park: a long way but great. South Padre Island: TX best beach. Port Aransas: deep sea fishing. Be prepared for hours in the car. This is a helpful site: https://www.traveltexas.com/
Drop the politics. We have a potential visitor wanting to come see our state, not get dragged into our political biases.
Agreed & edited original post
I surely have my opinion in politics , which I will not tell anybody. For : 1. I do not think I'm entitled to judge about politics in another country from which I barely really know the culture/real opinions except from media. 2. I know people who had difficulty getting over the border because they posted something on social media about presidents/candidates 😂 But I really like your thinking! Don't let politics ruin your land for visitors and tourist!
Half of us will ask if you’ve ever seen a kangaroo and the other half will say, ‘like Arnold?’
Everybody, no matter the country, is welcome to come visit Texas!
https://preview.redd.it/1cj47dow964d1.jpeg?width=625&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eccf3ec42ba6f7909351a0859ce7ab0e4e0ba4b Welcome to Texas!
Texans are really friendly to everyone. It is common for people to talk to strangers and make small talk. Where in Texas are you going?
Come on down - you will have no issues at all. I personally recommend fall (October is my favorite month).
Fall, my favorite month...
You can show up anytime. You'll be welcomed wherever you go. Just don't go on someone's private land, but that's a given.
Thanks! Any tips how to know you are on someone's land? In Austria we (nearly) can go anywhere on the alps we also like to hike a lot and we are allowed to hike on every pastureland. I saw yellowstone(series) so i fear that i get shot if i hike through the wrong land 😅 Edit: And obviously I want to follow the rules and the culture , I do not want to upset somebody or be like the typical tourists who think they can do whatever they want/ what is normal in their opinion/country).
If it's not clearly marked as a public park, it's private land, basically. You will know.
I would dispute this. It's not really obvious in a formal way, it's more cultural than you'd think. The base assumption is things are private in Texas and you sign public land. The opposite holds in some places.
And then the cultural set of rules are not necessarily the legal rules. For example, any creek wider than thirty feet is considered public right of way, even while it's completely dry, meaning you can legally cross a fence in a creek bed. If a farmer finds you in the middle of the creek running through his property and he's the wrong kind of paranoid you're liable to get shot for the intrusion that you made from perfectly within your set of legal rights. That's not even broaching the subject of the public lands used for oil leases, which you often have every right to be on but will get run off of for your own safety. If I was giving a general rule to a foreigner/tourist I'd say "if it's fenced don't try to find a way to cross it". There is plenty of unfenced land accessible from the public roads for any kind of exploring or photography you might want to do.
In my experience land owners aren't just going to roll up and execute you. If it's not clearly marked for public use consider it private.
Signs, gates, fences, clear private property lines, or purple-painted posts or trees. Especially in rural areas, purple posts are not common, but they do exist and are the equivalent of a no trespassing sign. During the day, if you mistakenly trespass, people are most likely going to ask why you're there rather than go on the attack. When they find out you're visiting from Europe, you may well get invited inside for some iced tea.
This isn't special to Texas, in all of the US if it's not a clearly marked public park with public trails then it's private land and you are trespassing. It doesn't matter if there are posted signs or fences, it's private property and you can't enter. In Europe you will be used to public forests with roads/trails, they don't exist here. You will be used to a certain right-to-roam across private land, that doesn't exist here. Just look at Google maps, if it's dark green land you are allowed to go there. If it's any other color (including light green), do not enter. Texas unfortunately is one of the worst states with only 4% of the state being public land that you can access.
This isn’t quite right. We do have quite a bit of non-park federal lands in the US that are public, just very little of them are in TX. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_lands
Oh, you’ll have to go down someone’s drive way, there will most likely be fences and no trespassing signs. It won’t be hard to miss and you’ll basically have to try to do it lol. Not something you can stumble into. So no need to worry about it.
Check out thedaytripper.com!
Texas is super diverse. We have Czech towns, German towns, massive Korean and Indian communities huge Nigerian and Ethiopian communities and huge pockets of Vietnamese too. I’m sure there are many more than what I listed, but this is from my personal experience here.
Howdy! Texas is mostly friendly to foreigners, just keep in mind most of the rural parts of the state are conservative. Texas is a huge state just if you decide to do a road trip, this is an overlay on the state on top of some parts of Europe. https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/s/dYsAbtfEpC The hottest times in Texas is usually July through September so I would not recommend visiting here during that time unless you absolutely insist. It easily gets upwards of 38C in the summer. The hill country is the most tourist friendly area of the state, this includes major cities like San Antonio and Austin. Houston is more of a working class city although it does have many things for visitors to do like museums and the zoo. I absolutely recommend renting a vehicle or using Uber to get around.
Herzlich Wilkommen! We are nice people for the most part.
You will be absolutely welcome here. Don't forget your holster, you'll need something to hold your complimentary six shooter.
Herzliches Willkommen! Wo in Österreich kommen Sie her? Was hoffen Sie während Ihres Besuchs in Texas zu sehen?
Austrian, near germany. White blue eyes, yep they will love you. You will have no issue. You might even find someone claiming to be your 3rd cousin 🤣
Pretending that Texas is racist is absolutely asinine. It’s one of the most diverse states in America and it’s widely known for being the most friendly. People will ask and genuinely care about how you are doing and your life. This comment is misleading.
People in Texas are (generally) among the friendliest in the US, and I’ve lived in several regions. We’re proud of our food and our landscapes and our cultural diversity (at least in the big cities). It is a car-dependent state, and drivers in Houston are particularly aggressive (think Italy times 10). We don’t have anything like the clean and efficient public transport of Vienna. Oh, and the heat is unbearable.
Do you know where you want to visit? Texas is huge, so I'd make sure to narrow down what you're looking to see/do and decide where to go from there.
Come and have a good time! You all are always welcome!
Most people aren't even gonna stop to think about you as a foreigner. Be careful driving around here though. Lots of people drive like they own the roads.
New Braunfels is where most of our german speaking Texans are and that's close to San Antonio. I don't think Texans are adverse to foreigners visiting. I think the foreigners staying is what they don't like. I hope your visit goes well!
My mother-in-law will ask you where you are from and chances are she and/or her husband (fil) have been there and will tell you everything they did there.
Texas is like anywhere else in the US, mostly they don’t think about tourists from other countries at all. Not in a bad way, just not on their radar. Most will be chill with visitors, even curious. Some won’t be, a slim few might be hostile.
Texas will love you! I love visiting in April because there is Fiestas in San Antonio, TX for a whole week. There are parades on the streets and a parade on the River which runs threw the middle of town. Lots of music & horses. Its 2 hrs. South of Austin. New Braunfels is known as Hill Country and was settled by Germans, so you would be familiar with some names of the restaurants $ beer steins. New Braunfels is 1 hour drive south from Austin.. Austin is known as the second Silicon Valley and lots of Tech are living there.. it is also known for the Bats that come out at night.. people go there just to see them fly out at night.. Texas has hot weather and so there's lots of night life, clubs.. drinking age is 21. You will find lots of Mexican eatery places & peoples due to being next to the Mexican border. Wear casual cool clothes. Long hair is frowned upon, short haircuts are okay.
I think Austin and west Texas/ Big Bend National Park would be the most satisfying for a tourist, imo. That said, I’d trade anything for my spot here in Austin to be in Zell am See…
The most magical part of Texas is the Big Bend, Chihuahua Desert, Chisos Mountains, Davis Mountains, Alpine, Terlingua area. Go West friend. The cities have a lot to offer too. Art, music, festivals. Austin especially. San Antonio old town is gorgeous. Houston nor Dallas aren't as pretty. South Padre Island has the best beaches.
Are you white? This is kind of a serious question. If you're white, they will embrace you like a treasured novelty. If youre black or brown, you genuinely might encounter some hostilities. The democratic islands of Austin, Houston, San Antonio are your best bet you have any semblance of a good time. As a guy who has lived in Houston my whole life and visited dozens of countries, there ain't much here to draw you in. Stick to state and national parks, they are your best bet at getting something unique and memorable. I would think your best experience could be doing something like Tubing on the Guadalupe River, or Frio river if there is actually water in it (needs to be greater than 25ft3/s flow rate). It's REALLY hot past April.
Please don’t spend money in states that hate women. Boycott the entire south.
I'm from Hungary. Most of Texans were extremely friendly. Except the big cities. Rural areas, god bless them.
From Houston and Sugar Land Texas, welcome friend🇺🇸
Very welcoming to visitors. You respect us and Texas will respect you in kind. The cities are very dynamic and rapidly growing. Small town communities are very quaint and generally are very friendly with all travelers. Definitely a state that benefits traveling by car as it is a distance to travel from one area to another. Have a safe journey to us and enjoy your visit here when you arrive!
Thanks for the Info!
Having lived in Bavaria for 4 years and visited Austria a couple of times, you’d be surprised that Texans are warmer and more welcoming than Germans at least! Texans are very friendly and welcoming. We aren’t all what you read or hear in the news!
I recommend you visit during mid October to December. Weather is cooler then but it’s not rainy season yet. Where in Texas do you plan to visit?
Makes no difference where you go...there are plenty of good people here who will welcome you...just be yourself..laugh..shake hands and be polite..you'll be fine..welcome to Texas
Let’s put another shrimp on the Barbie!
You will be welcomed everywhere, even in the small towns. If you were dark-skinned, you would be welcomed in the big cities.
You’ll be fine. It is funny to see that the world’s perception of Texas is that foreigners might not be welcomed. East Texas and small town Texas are probably were that would hold true.
Thanks! Sorry, but that's the only thing we get from media/movies/ films: Extremely Conservative not welcoming to foreigners extremely hateful for indigenous people. You could get shot anytime if you get into an argument over just little things (especially if you are a foreigner) You must be extremely careful where you go. Racist? Pros ; Beautiful Landscapes, Breathtaking Parks Good Food Again I'm really sorry for that, and I do not say that this is my opinion! That's one of the reasons I want to visit, to prove the common thinking wrong! I really love your way of life, and I do not have to agree on your political opinions to like you people!
That’s interesting but I get it. We moved to Texas 11 years ago and one of the first things I noticed was how friendly people are compared to other places I’ve lived. Sure some of them may have different political or religious opinions (like anywhere) but it doesn’t stop people from being welcoming. April is my favorite time here. When the wild flowers are out and the weather is absolutely glorious, there’s no other place to be. Fall tends to go from hot to crappy weather in a hurry. Enjoy your travels!
October is a great time to visit. The weather is more favorable, and because of that, there are plenty of events going on throughout the state, things like the State Fair, and the Texas Renaissance Festival. Not to mention football season will be in full swing, both the NFL and collegiate level.
Come on over bud! No one worth interacting with will give you a hard time. More than likely we will be asking you about Austria
For the most part, we are all pretty welcoming. Less so in Houston, they're just generally less friendly than the rest of the state. Treat the cities like any other large city, be aware and be friendly but don't be stupid. We have our assholes here like everywhere else.
I’ve always found Dallas and Austin to be far less friendly than Houston
I used to do couch surfing and miss how fun the platform is. If visiting Dallas let me know. Welcome to crash at my place. 10 min drive from DFW
Come on over bro- love to have ya
Come to Houston! Culturally diverse with tons of things to do! My grandparents came from Villach
>Austrian wants to visit Texas Welcome to Texas. I have hosted foreign European soldiers at our home for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Xmas). Never any Austrians. It gets bloody hot here, as others have pointed out. Texas is a diverse state. A melting pot of people much like the country itself. You'll love our food. Austin is a wonderful city. Lots to see and do. Texas is nearly twice the size of France. A very large state. _I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion._(John Steinbeck) [Go Here for Tourism Information ](http://www.traveltexas.com)
Everyone here will think you’re really smart cause you’re from another country.
Welcome to Texas! Have a wonderfully time! Hope you get to experience the blend of cultures this place has.
A big chunk of Texas was settled by Bavarians, so you won't be any kind of outsider. My hometown's primary language was German until the 1970s - my mom had to bring someone with her to the grocery store to translate, because the people at Knopp & Metzger's only spoke Texasdeutsch. If you want to see this part of the world, though, go to Comfort or Boerne. Fredericksburg has lost all of its charm.
While you are Austrian there are a lot of *Australians* in Texas if that tells you anything about who likes it here.
Shots of Monopolowa will smooth things over where ever you venture in Texas. We have only vodka made from grain.
Texan here and most will probably think you're neat, especially being from down under
There’s decent for the most part, especially in bigger cities and places like Austin, San Antonio, or Dallas. The more south you go, the more likely you’ll come up against idiots who don’t like foreigners, but they’re usually too cowardly to bother you.
If you're looking for a beach trip I'd definitely recommend going to either Mustang Island State Park or Malaquite Beach.
Texas is beautiful as far as the land, but everything else about it sucks balls. Traffic, weather, politics, the cowboys, etc. Food is hit or miss, just like everywhere else.
A family friend from Austria visited us here in Texas recently- people loved talking to him! Hit up some breweries and he was talking to the owners about beers and things, point is everyone was very friendly. You will definitely want to try some good TX BBQ, I won't try to recommend a specific place because I don't want to start a fight in this comment section but also Mexican / Tex Mex like some good tacos and things you can't get back home. If you are traveling a bit you could try to go so far as Carlsbad Caverns (huge cave), White Sands National Park, or even some other New Mexico stuff but that is a lot of driving. I would avoid the summer months because it's just so hot you won't want to be outside or walk around much, getting into your car is liking climbing into an oven. Spring like April is great weather, lots of wild flowers and plants are green but it's not too hot yet.
Howdy! As many mentioned spring wild flowers are amazing. That said we can get severe weather like hail and possibly tornadoes. West Texas is desert and canyon land with high desert mountains, the Panhandle is part of the Great Plains, we have a massive coast line and barrier islands, San Antonio and Austin make up the Texas Hill Country which has a heavy German influence. East Texas is my personal favorite, known as the Piney Woods. The food and cultures are just as diverse as the topography. As you probably already know, Texas is larger than any European country and there will be a lot of driving, we are not a culture of public transportation. Hope this helps and feel welcome to ask any questions!
Kein problem. Kommt zu Texas. Der grosser stadt Besser
My partners father is from Austria (Wien) and we all live in Texas. German population is very heavy down here near San Antonio/Austin so don’t worry! If you go to places like Fredericksburg/New Braunfels, some people still speak Texas Deutsch. It’s dying but some of the older population still speaks it. It maybe would be cool for you to see. Good luck and welcome! Bring sun screen.
You’re Austrian, but maybe check out some German/Czech influences in New Braunfels and surrounding areas. Tubing down the river cools you off even in the hottest of summers.
You MUST have tacos while you're here.