The Dallas Move

Guest post by Gerard Mcdaniel

Moving to Dallas was probably the biggest change I’ve ever gone through. My family is all back in New York but in this economy I just couldn’t pass up the job opportunity I found there. Anyway, I love being here now but that first year was really hard. I missed my friends terribly and I was paying a mortgage for the first time in my life. Everything was different here than up north and I found myself asking silly questions like What is Brisket? And What is the Dallas Utility? People in my office made fun of me (good naturedly) because I was so out of the loop. Now that I’ve been here about 18 months I’m starting to get the hang of things. I know more about belt buckles than I ever wanted to know and I also learned how to tease my hair up big. I’m starting to look like a real Texan…even my family in New York say they hardly recognize me! I haven’t started using the lingo yet and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say “y’all” with a straight face but I do think my pallet has changed dramatically. I love eating grits for breakfast, for example, and I eat about three times more beef here than I ever did before. I have put on a few pounds since I’ve lived in Texas but that’s okay. People just seem to be bigger here by and large and that’s fine with me – no one’s worried about getting a side salad or whether or not the hummus is vegan. I mean, I don’t think I’ve met a single vegan since I moved here! I’m starting to get used to being in Texas and I see myself here in the long run, if we’re being honest. The men are so sweet and kind and I absolutely love my job so I really don’t see what would prompt me to move after all this time.