Southern spell

Name: Andrea Bologna
Age: 30
Hometown: Kelowna, B.C.
Location: Dallas, Texas
Job: Doctor of chiropractic

I moved here because there is a great chiropractic school in Dallas, and Texas sounded like a fun place to live. Also I have an uncle and aunt who live here.

The first thing I did was eat Tex-Mex. Dallas has more restaurants per capita than New York City and more shopping centres per capita than any other U.S. city.

The biggest shock was the August Texas heat. When I moved here, they had just had 40 consecutive days of over 38 degrees Celsius. The summer season is much longer here and usually the humidity is quite high.

The best thing about being here is the great diversity of people and places and food. There’s plenty to do, lots of performances and concerts – much to experience.

The biggest challenge has been understanding the health-care system in the U.S., which is very insurance-driven compared to Canada. A hospital here can refuse to treat a person if it does not accept their insurance.

The biggest misconception I had was that Texas would be overrun with cowboys; in fact, you will see more cowboys in Calgary than in Dallas!

What I miss most is the mountains and fresh air and natural beauty of B.C. It’s funny; I started mountain biking since moving to Texas, but there are no mountains, whereas my backyard in Kelowna had trails that were perfect for mountain biking.

The people are very friendly and open. Big hearts in big ol’ Texas. A city like Austin reminds me more of Vancouver – more eclectic with a big music scene. Their slogan is “keep Austin weird.”

Their biggest concerns are work – they’re very career-oriented (specifically in Dallas) – and the Dallas Cowboys! Everyone is a huge fan.

The food is diverse but with a lot of Tex-Mex, which is Texas-inspired Mexican food. There is a huge population of Mexican immigrants.

What B.C. could learn from Dallas is good organization of highways, considering the number of people on the roads. Freeways and overpasses are everywhere. It was very scary to drive for the first time.