Can We Guess What Texas Town You Grew Up In?

By: Elisabeth Henderson
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Can We Guess What Texas Town You Grew Up In?
Image: RichVintage/ E+/ Getty Images

About This Quiz

Small-town Texas is where the heartbeat of Texas really thrives. The smaller city life has that authentic, unique culture that hasn’t been bought out by the fast-paced growth of the big city. Small towns retain the original Texas spirit, and if you grew up in one, you keep that spirit with you wherever you go. 

While small towns in Texas may have the authentic Texas spirit in common, each town is marked by distinct differences that leave their imprint on the people raised there. If you were raised in Alpine, for instance, you likely grew up watching rodeos and cowboy poetry, immersed in a present cowboy reality that most of America thinks of as the past. 

Texas has a diverse landscape, ranging from the open plains to the rugged desert mountains to the rolling hill country. How did the landscape you grew up with shape the person you became? What difference does it make if you grew up in the one place in Texas dominated by pine trees, or if you were surrounded by flat plains and oil derricks as far as the eye can see? Did you go to Austin on the weekend and stay hip to the current trends? Or was the big city as far from your mind as the miles that separated you from the skyscrapers? 

Tell us some stories about your childhood and youth, and we’ll try to place you in one of these iconic Texas towns! 

1. city
Prapass Pulsub/ Moment/ Getty Images
How often did you contemplate going to the big city?
Every other week
We thought we were the big city.
Maybe once a year
Once a month

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2. cowboy
David Trood/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
Which association did you have with the word “cowboy” when you were growing up?
I heard about them school and played cowboys with the neighborhood kids.
People who worked on the ranches were cowboys.
Most everyone I knew was a cowboy.
People who drove big trucks were cowboys.

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3. night
Maya Karkalicheva/ Moment/ Getty Images
In the summertime, what was the climate like at night?
It got hotter when the sun went down.
It cooled off a bit.
It was cool enough to wear a sweater.
Still hot

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4. hangout
Thomas Barwick/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
Where did the cool kids hang out in high school?
Along the river
At the mall
Downtown
At the movies

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5. landscape
Hal Bergman/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
When you remember your childhood home, what aspect of the landscape comes to mind?
The flowing river lined with trees
Open horizon and oil derricks
Mountain ranges in all directions
Towering pine trees

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6. museum
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In your elementary school days, what kind of museum did you frequent for field trips?
Mammoth exhibit
Petroleum Museum
Museum of the Big Bend
Sci-Port in Louisiana

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7. town
I love Photo and Apple/ Moment/ Getty Images
Which of the following would people associate with your town who weren’t from there?
An FBI stand off with a cult
Oil fields
The National Park
The Rose Capital of the U.S.

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8. univ
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What kind of education after high-school was the best local option?
A large, private university
A large, public health sciences university
A large, public university
A smaller public university

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9. flora
Unggul Wicaksono/ Moment/ Getty Images
Which of the following flora would most people from your town know by name?
Live oak
Mesquite
Sotol
Loblolly

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10. driving
skynesher/ E+/ Getty Images
When your parents were cruising down the highway, how would they interact with passing cars?
They were in competition for the fast lane.
They’d try not to interact.
They’d raise their index finger as a greeting.
They’d wave if they saw someone they knew.

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11. traffic
d3sign/ Moment/ Getty Images
How do you remember the streets of downtown?
Lots of restaurants, close to the university
Towering buildings and busy traffic
Historic buildings with lots of bars and restaurants
Red brick road

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12. highway
Bill Barfield/ Moment/ Getty Images
What highway was the main thoroughfare through your city?
Interstate 35
Interstate 20
U.S. Highway 385
TX 64

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13. texas town
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How might outsiders describe your town?
That place where David Koresh died
Where all the oil comes from
There’s nothin' out there.
Isn’t that in Louisiana?

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14. aroma
NicolasMcComber/ E+/ Getty Images
Which of these aromas would bring back memories of home?
Cedar
Sulfur
Creosote after the rain
Pine needles in the hot sun

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15. construction
Anupong Sakoolchai/ Moment/ Getty Images
When you go home to visit, or just take a look around, how do you notice your town changing lately?
Bustling revivification due to major investments in culture
Luxury construction and lack of affordable housing
New breweries and boutique hotels
Booming food scene

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16. rodeo
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For what reason would you find yourself at a rodeo as a child?
To see real cowboys
To watch a relative ride the bull
To show the animal I had been raising
To watch the horses

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17. gardner
Kathrin Ziegler/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
When you were a kid, which of these professions did you ever want to be when you grew up?
A musician
A rancher
A park ranger
A gardener

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18. hangout city
Hinterhaus Productions/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
Which of these was a common reason to go the big city?
To watch live music
To visit old friends
To shop for appliances
To shop for designer clothes

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19. bush
Wikicommons by White House photo by Eric Draper
Which famous person is your town known for?
Steve Martin
George W. Bush
Nobody you’ve heard of
Sam from "Casablanca"

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20. balloon
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In your preteen years, how did you and your friends stir up trouble?
Throwing water balloons at cars
Shoplifting at the mall
Cow tipping
Sneaking into the movies

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21. high school
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What do people generally do when they graduate from high school in your town?
Leave for college
Get a job in the oil fields
Go to college, but they often come back
Go to college in town

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22. park
Paper Boat Creative/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
What kind of activity would it be normal to do at a park nearby?
Look at exotic animals
Play baseball
Hike a rugged trail up a tall mountain
Camp under the pines

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23. sports
David Madison/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
Which sport was the big deal when you were a kid?
Basketball
Football
Barrel racing
Baseball

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24. date
Anton Petrus/ Moment/ Getty Images
What would have won you points for a romantic date in high school?
An evening stroll down the river
The drive-in theater
Driving way out in the desert to look at stars
A walk through the rose gardens

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25. complain
Layland Masuda/ Moment/ Getty Images
What is one thing that people in high school complained about?
Wishing they were in Austin
Being sick of the smell
Wanting to have a mall to go to
Humidity

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26. soda
Sarah Casillas/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
If a bunch of kids were eating at a local restaurant, what beverage would they order?
Big Red
Coke
Dr. Pepper
Sweet tea

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27. sunday morning
Thomas Barwick/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
What would your friends do on Sunday morning?
Put on church clothes and go to brunch
Go to church
Ride horses
Go for a hike

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28. bbq
Hinterhaus Productions/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
When you think of home town cookin’, which foods make your mouth water?
BBQ
Italian food
Chicken-fried steak
Gulf oysters

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29. transportation
Noel Hendrickson/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
What mode of transportation would it not be weird to use when you were growing up in your hometown?
A bike
A car
A horse
On foot

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30. cowboy
David Trood/ DigitalVision/ Getty Images
What stereotype do you get pegged with when people find out where you’re from?
I must be boring.
My family must be in the oil business.
I must be a cowboy.
I must be conservative.

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You Got: