Ok so I’m going into my senior year and I’m really debating my options for college. Originally I wanted to stay very close to home(which is in Pennsylvania) but now I want to go far away. My main concern is how I’ll be able to handle dealing with being away from home and how I’ll adjust. I want to go to the University of Texas at Austin. So how different is PA from Texas? One of the main reasons I want to get away is because I’m sick of the cold and the snow every winter in Pennsylvania.
So I’m in the opposite circumstance- I go to college in Pennsylvania, but I live in Texas. I don’t live in Austin, I live in Houston, so I can’t give you specific advice about Austin. That said, I was very hesitant to move here from the Northeast because of the Texas stereotypes I had heard of. I am liberal-leaning, and where I live in the city is very cosmopolitan. There’s a large gay community and almost no one speaks with an accent. I imagine Austin will be very similar in this regard. I’m jealous of you because Austin has a really great arts and music scene! The climate of Texas is much different than Pennsylvania. I don’t know if Austin is quite as humid as Houston is, but where I live it is hot and humid. Lately it’s been in the upper 80’s or low 90’s every day. If you’re tired of winter, I don’t think you’ll mind, especially since you won’t be in Texas for the hottest months.
I would say that in the big cities in Texas, you get more of the pros of being in the south than you do the cons. People are nicer (seriously) and the food is great, but you won’t be around the most stereotypically southern, gun-toting individuals. It’s definitely a different experience than going someplace like Baylor (not that there’s anything wrong with the Baylor/Waco experience, it’s just very different than the Houston or Austin experience).
Ok thank you! That helps a lot, it feels better to know that I’m not the only one who wants to go further from home. 