What It’s Like Explaining Where Lubbock Is to Non-Texans
No matter where you go, people will know what Texas is. It's one of the few states that even non-Americans know, along with California and New York. However, while everyone will understand if you say you’re from Texas, they most likely only know Dallas, Houston and Austin as places to live in the state.
That leaves those of us in smaller cities and towns to struggle whenever a non-Texan asked us where we’re from. Even for a fairly large city like Lubbock, it's like playing 20 Questions trying to get them to figure out where the city is located. They always ask you how far you are from one of the major cities, which doesn’t help at all you tell them you live at least five hours from any of them. They tend to just get even more confused when they realize just how big Texas is.
This video perfectly represents the struggle:
I can usually guide people in the right direction by mentioning Texas Tech, but it doesn’t always work. I can’t even imagine the struggle of those in small towns all around Texas. Even after living here for nearly five years, there are times people mention the town they come form that I’ve never heard about. I have to search it up to find out where exactly it is.
It just becomes a natural thing to say you're from the nearest city that you know people will recognize. I even have to do that when people ask where I grew up. If you think people aren’t familiar with Texas, people know even less about Arizona. That’s why I’ll just say I grew up in Phoenix unless I know the person who asked has lived in Arizona before. If not, I’ll be met with a confused look when I say I grew up in Glendale. That struggle has only continued since I’ve been living in Lubbock.