I think I traded one hell for another. I am in the twilight zone

[cags]

I just moved from CA to TX. I liked CA (born and raised) but the school system there is awful and the cost of living has gotten so out of control that you can not afford to live in a good area.

My husbands job allowed him to transfer to TX. My kids are in great schools now, we live in an excellent area, but there are freaking fundies everywhere.

My kindergartener came home one day and said one of her friends told her John Kerry kills babies, They were handing out bibles outside of my 8th graders school 2 weeks ago, and today (the reason for this rant)I was at birthday party for a little girl in my kindergarteners class.

I was talking to a mother about how bad the schools were in CA (I was talking academically)
Heres the conversation:

Scary woman: I heard in CA they teach kindergarteners about (she whispers like its a bad word) gay people. And in 1st grade they have sex education!

Me: They do not, they have a sex education one day class in sixth grade and parents have to sign to allow thier children to attend.

Scary woman: Its true, you can look up liberal curriculum on the internet and you know why they are doing that you know teaching kids to be tolerant of (whispers again) gay people. They are trying to influence them that way.

Me: Dumbfounded look on my face I say, Maybe in some wierd private school you read about but not in the public schools. I've been through them and so have my kids and nothing like that happens.

Scary Woman: Maybe not where you lived but its true, my family is a conservative christian family (not shocked) and I think I should teach them about that stuff.

I just didn't know what to say after that, In a different time and place I may have said something.

I don't think I'm ever going to make friends here.

[tanyev]

1. I'll be your friend!

Where are you at? I live in Plano. I generally assume everyone I meet is fundie/Republican until I find out differently. There are a lot of great people in Texas, but you may need to do some careful weeding until you find them. Hang in there! :hi:

[cags]

7. I haven't been here that long

Since August
I'm considering going to a UU church in Dallas I found. I think I might find more people like myself there

[tanyev]

10. Have you checked out the Texas forum?

Here's a thread with a lot of the Texas folks checking in by county. There's bound to be a few DUers living near you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x268

[Liberty Belle]

2. I'd have told her being tolerant of gay people is a great idea--

one she should definitely try. ;-)

[NMDemDist2]

3. better find the Democratic Party HQ pronto and sign up

you'll meet some folks there for sure

[Ilsa]

4. Roughly, where are you?

I'm in south Tx. And you are right: you may have traded one hell for another. Our schools in TX aren't that great because they don't like paying teachers a decent wage.

[cags]

6. North Texas, and my kids go to blue ribbon schools

I have to say I am very impressed and happy with the schools. I hand picked the schools prior to moving here and chose my house based on the schools

[Ilsa]

15. Irving is great.

Lots of smart, technical people there, also. I hope you find some good Dems soon!

[Bullwinkle925]

5. Where in Texas did you move to?

I'm thinking of moving to the Irving area to be near my sister.
I currently live in the (for shame) San Francisco Area.

[BeTheChange]

11. Moved from the sacramento area to Irving a year ago

We make great money, Im very secure here.. but I just dont think the trade off is worth it. We hope to be back in PAC NW in the next 23 years.

[musette_sf]

8. I made the opposite move

6-1/2 years ago. Lived in TX for 13 years. If you live in an inner-city area of Houston or Dallas, or anywhere in Austin, it can be bearable and you can meet like-minded people. But if you are in the burbs or the smaller towns, you're pretty much stuck with what you described.

I would suggest that you settle in and be a lantern in the darkness for these ignorant people. Start attending school board meetings. Hell, run for the school board!

Personally, if I went through what you have experienced, I would pull my kids out of those schools and put them in a nice progressive private school. *Are* they really in "good schools" if this kind of theocratic nonsense is done in broad daylight?

[cags]

12. Thankfully I have thinking children

Academically the schools are awesome and yes we are in a burb. My 8th grader has her own mind and actually talks with her friends about religion, and just had a debate with a teacher about the evils of Wal-mart. She tried to start a protest because she was so upset that the Dallas School District was allowing corporal punishment with parents permission, and we aren't even in that school district. I don't think I have to worry about her to much.

[wildeyed]

9. I moved to NC from DC.

There was and still is a certain amount of culture shock. What I did to make friends was first, got active in dem politics and second, started hanging out at the Unitarian church. I feel pretty connected to the community now.

[cags]

13. I've been thinking about the UU church lately, theres one about 20 min

from where I live

[yellowdogintexas]

14. Hi cags, welcome to DU and welcome to North Texas!

I live in Fort Worth, the other side of the Metroplex, and we have some good liberal folks over here too.

Our local county party worked HARD this summer, raised some awareness, emphatically showed we have not disappeared and generally had a great time.

I agree with the poster that hooking up w/ your local Democrat organizations is a great start.

http://www.txdemocrats.org/about/ Texas party home page

http://www.dallasdemocrats.org/

get into the county page, and check out all the local Democrat clubs and also the Democrat women's groups.

I am planning to start attending Tarrant County Democratic Women meetings when they start back up in January.

Do hunt yourself up a good liberal religious organization. In Fort Worth the best ones are University Christian Church, First United Methodist Church, and either of the UU congregations.

First UMC Dallas is probably a good one to check out, as well as any large United Church of Christ congregation (be SURE it is UNITED Church of Christ, not plain church of Christ..they are very conservative). Another area in which you might find a good liberal UMC is near Southern Methodist University campus. Perkins is a liberal school of theology within SMU so there should be some liberal congregations over there, or just one large one.

Good luck, sounds like your kids are off to a good start in their schools. Which burb are you in?

[cags]

16. Thanks for all the info I will definitely use it.

I live next to Lewisville Lake

[yellowdogintexas]

17. a bit far for Fort Worth on a routine basis, however .....there are

some great museums and other things over here on our side. When you get ready to get to know CowTown, where the West begins, just let me know and I will answer any and all questions.

FW is more laid back and friendly than Big D.

The zoo over here is better too LOL!