Well, I am a looooong way from Texas here in British Columbia so what I know is mostly from TV. What is sad when you watch home improvement shows set in Texas is that Texans have lost their Texan twang. Everyone just sounds like everyone else in the country. I understand the forested East is beautiful and the Western plains are bleak. That again from reading books.
I haven't traveled a lot. But, I've been surprised more than once by visiting different areas of other states and seeing stereotypes squashed. For instance, going to Arizona - Phoenix and Sedona dry desert-like while Flagstaff is wooded. Same for Texas, Austin is wooded with lakes. The Eastern cities look bleak to me compared to California cities, but suburbs in Pennsylvania and Jersey are beautiful in Fall. Lots of differences within states depending on where one goes. Same for California where I live.