>>Leave the California Image at the state line.<<
Done.
And I have spent 2+ years in the DFW metroplex so I know the difference between “y’all” and “all y’all” AND just before I was rolling off my last project there I found myself (seriously) using the term “I’m fixin’ to...”
“using the term “I’m fixin’ to...”
I love it. Having grown up in Western Kentucky in the 40’s and 50’s I think I understand. My grandpa was a very self reliant man who had a small farm. When he said I’m fixin to go, he meant that literally. His old T-Model Ford was only started once a week, and that was for the two mile trip to town for provisions and visiting. The tires almost always needed patches, thus they needed fixin. In order to go, something always needed fixin.
You get it. Welcome.
Be sure and visit the great expanses in the more unpopulated areas in the state. DFW does not look like most of the state.
The difference you notice between Dallas and Ft. Worth is minor compared to the difference between DFW and the middle of the “Big Nothing” or out in far West Texas.
The people are much the same, but not packed nearly as tightly. Much lower keyed life in the rural places.
Oddly, the term "...fixing to..." was one I heard frequently when growing up in Western Pennsylvania in the 40's and 50's. There are distinct speech patterns in that part of the country, doubtlessly influenced by Scots-Irish settlers.