This has got to be some kind of a sick f*cking inside joke?

Sadly, It's not. He has said this type of stuff on Facebook, and I usually tell him that it is rude and he should delete it. We all know the pinball community is small, and people talk. I've received numerous PMs about some of the things he says online including 'colorful' suggestions on how to respond.

More people are dying to live in Texas than Massachusetts.

It has a higher suicide rate per capita. (Higher than California and New York as well.)

Wow just wow.
Owners have to tell people this....UMM no. I said it up front because I do not want it in my home legal or not. I do not allow smoking of anything including cigarettes in my home. I did not have to tell anyone at either tournament a thing. Most players I have played with would not classify as BAKED. I would venture to guess maybe 10% tops would even have had enough to know they did or smell it on them. 10% is far from a majority.

Qouting Trump as an expert in NH lol. that is insulting to the many fine people I know who live there and are good honest hard working non drug users or dealers. That would be the majority of people I know in NH who are pinball folk too.

lived in Maine my whole life. Never even tried drugs. I know many who haven't. Implying that everyone who lives in Maine are all into drugs is insulting and rude.

Here is a hint kid.....EVERY SINGLE STATE has issues with drugs. Think Texas is not part of the drug issues? where do you think it enters the country? Much of the drugs killing people like Coke, Heroin and many others come in either by ship on the ocean or in across the vast boarder between the USA and Mexico, which looking at a map is a large region of Texas. Plenty of Drugs and violence near the boarders of Texas and Mexico. So much so Travel advisories for Mexico regions near the Texas boarder.

If you moving for weather go for it. Or for a career sure, but if you think there are zero drug issues in Texas I think you need to open your eyes. No matter where you go in this nation right now drugs are already there.

signed a man from New England who hardly classifies as a hippie, or even someone who drinks!

That's a little dark. You research this stuff?

Maybe he's an actuary.

If you are only 32, visit Austin, you will love it. It's more expensive than many parts of Texas, but it also has a lot more live music, moderate to liberal people, and just tons and tons of great restaurants, breweries, arts and nightlife.

New York has the absolute lowest suicide rate, California and Massachusetts are all in the lowest 6 state's rates, but it's not like Texas is that much higher. The states with the highest rates are generally low population where a lot more people are alone/lonely. Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico and Idaho have the highest rates. I think it's mostly about not having as many close friends, family or neighbors, isolated and alone people have more depression. (Sorry to take this thread on a downer turn)

If you're overly concerned about drugs and pot, maybe consider moving to Salt Lake city. I've been to Dallas, Houston, and Salt Lake and they are hands down the most uptight about that stuff.

Wherever he can find a wife....it doesn't matter....New England 'seems' to have a shortage, so he is branching out. His folks want grandchildren already....

Yeah that kinda data is tracked: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm

Likewise for drugs: https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/opioids/top-10-states-highest-drug-use-problems

Although drug stats by state doesn't always tell the full tale. If you break it down you find more often than not the biggest problem areas are small towns where kids are bored with nothing to do, hence why meth for example is rampant in rural America. Boredom is unlikely to be an issue in Austin.

Don't drink Texas Tea.

Didn't realize we had a shortage in New England..

that's what he told me.... others say there is a plethora... he's probably just picky.

Maybe he likes 'em sassy instead of brassy.

I live in El Paso and I love it here. One of the best kept secrets in the USA. Don't believe the things you see on the news. That's all I'm gonna say.

Spent a month camping, hiking and traveling around El Paso/Big Bend area. I was shocked at how nice people were. My buddy and I would be out ridding our bikes and people would invite us to come sit on there porch and drink lemonade. This was in the late 90's though. Hopefully it hasn't changed.

I think you misplaced a "d".

Yeah, I'd give you a glass of lemonade for your bike too.

Fixed it.

No. But I've spent a lot of time in Texas.

And every visit I wonder how it would be to live there.

And inevitably the thought crosses my mind.

Then El Paso it is. Not far from Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch in Fabens. When you're there, you can't smell the stench from Juarez.....

There was a time years ago before meth hit the scene that small town America was mainly dealing with bored teens making babies.

Been thinking the same thing... I need room for a PinRanch.

Butthole Surfers

Drink the scorpion tea, when in rome...

Having visited Houston in the past, I would recommend several things:
1) Get a toll tag.. Lots of toll roads in Houston that you will want access to, without getting a ticket.
2) Learn to speak Spanish. Lots of people around that I could not communicate with and wish I could.
3) Purchase a house close to where you want to be.. Travel across the city is a major pain, so minimize driving if you can.
4) Buy a truck... Not a small truck.. A regular truck... Everybody in Texas that is anybody has a truck...
5) Learn that meat is required in every meal. Its what's for dinner... breakfast and lunch too.
Everything is bigger in Texas, so just get ready...

Sooo, I take it Texas does not have a significant vegan population?

It’s a big state, I’m sure there are tens of thousands of vegans.

only in the liberal stronghold of Austin.. Pretty sure they ran all liberals and vegans out of the small towns and into that one city

I was prompting for a snarky response. Anyone who has dealt with someone who has converted to a vegan diet (or any with severe limitations) knows the annoyance of it. :p

Do you enjoy getting out in nature? D/FW is concrete. Shopping. Dining.

Austin has a somewhat Bostony vibe to it...accent is different though. Pinball is decent as well.

Everything soft drink is a coke, not a pop, not a soda, it's coke.
If someone asks you what you want to drink and you say coke, they will ask you if it's diet, sprite, dr. pepper etc.

That is so true!

"I’d like a Coke."

"What kind?"

"Dr. Pepper."

That is how it was growing up in Florida too. When I moved to the Midwest, I was always told “we only have Pepsi”, I was really confused for awhile.

I've always wondered, how does that work if you actually want Coke? Do you get stuck in an infinite loop?

Nope, the proper response is “Just a Coke”

Where I come from, there is no such thing as a "pop" or a "soda", unless you go to Dairy Queen and order a "soda", which is an ice cream drink. A "coke" is a Coca-Cola... And a Pepsi is a Pepsi, which is not a coke. A Sprite is not a coke and neither is a Dr. Pepper, but they are coke products... A Diet Coke is not "just a coke" either... Just my experience...

IN TX; Dr Pepper is it's own food group. Started in Waco.
DO NOT come to TX and expect to order DP as Coke. You must specify it by name.
You'll probably be run out of the state if you ask for Mr Pibb.

I have several friends who only drink DP... while, I myself boycott DP because of the way Snapple treated the original bottler - Dublin Dr Pepper. https://www.bevnet.com/news/2012/dublin-dr-pepper-fans-start-dps-boycott/

I was so pissed when they shut down Dublin Dr. Pepper. It was by far, the best soft drink ever made. I loved it in the 8oz bottles. I would go once every couple of months to our specialty soda shop and buy a few cases. Rumor has it, the formula is still bottled under a pseudo berry name.

The proper response back in my day was “regular coke”. If they asked If Pepsi was ok I would say, no, it is not ok. Pepsi’s sucks.

In fact Pepsi is un American.

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FlipperMagigian just downvoted America and upvoted Russian Pepsi. Burn the Witch!!!
Edit: so did HB Gamer.
Just joking guys. I got that bottle in Moscow 35 years ago. Didn’t think it would get downvotes. Sorry if I offended you. Sheesh.

Lots of Indians in the Houston area and plenty of vegan options.

A Texas Democrat (Austin as a example) is like a Californian Republican. I have lived in SoCal 38 years, South Arkansas 3 years and now in Houston (3 years). Houston has been easy to adapt to and is a much more livable area than Los Angeles. The belt system makes it easy to get around. You can get across the metroplex in about a hour. It took a few years to hang up my Angels Hat after 40 years for a Astros Hat ( no I didn’t steal it ) They are just so much fun to watch. Embrace change and try new experiences. I am glad I did. Live better, buy your first pair of boots, eat barbecue, and go to your first Rodeo. And since this is a pinball forum, there are places to play, but always room for more.

Good thread. I appreciate everyone’s insights. Lots of things to make me want to live in a Texas. Or, maybe not live in a Texas. I don’t know. Like pretty much everyone in CA, I want to get out of this place. But can’t figure out where to go.

I’ve never been to Austin, but have been to Texas a fair number of times over the years, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso. From all those visits I observed:

The people there are nice. They are friendly. Every restaurant I went to, the waitresses always called me “honey”. It’s not in any sort of bad way, it’s just a natural and friendly way to talk to someone. Seriously, they are just so nice it makes you feel good.

The food is great. In particular, anything BBQ and Mexican or Tex-Mex. We have great Mexican in CA but as far as BBQ forget it.

Houston in the middle of summer is the hottest place I have ever been. Now just a few years ago I was in Palm Springs in the summer playing golf and it hit 120F. That was hot, damn hot. But I’ll never forget how hot it was in Texas. You stepped outside, you wanted to turn right around and go back in.

I’ll never forget one night I was staying in some Holiday Inn type hotel for work, and I looked out my room window down into the parking lot where I had parked my rental car. It was some generic Ford or Chevy sedan. The entire parking lot was filled with pickup trucks except for my rental car. Literally, all pickup trucks in row after row. So, yeah, pickup truck.

It’s a big ass place. Once you get out of the big cities, you can drive for hours and hours and hardly see anything and still be the middle of Texas.

Since I will be retiring soon, I don’t need to live in or even near a big city for employment purposes. Somewhere in all of that open Texas land, there must be nice places, like small towns, where you can get a nice house on some land (a few acres) where you could also have a workshop, a garage, and a nice barn or outbuilding of some type for a game room? That’s what I would like to find.

I was visiting a lifelong Texan in Austin and we went out to a bar. We both ordered beer. Because the bartender heard his accent, he gave my friend just a bottle, and when he heard my "Yankee" accent, he gave me a bottle and a glass.
My friend said, "If you touch that glass, I'll kill you." For the second round the bartender took my glass away.