As a Texan, how do you do it?

For example, I tell people I’m from North Texas. Many insist that is the Panhandle. I insist that the Panhandle is just that, and that North Texas is the DFW area. How do you break it down? And if you would be so kind, please cover every region.

Panhandle
North = DFW
North East = Paris
East = Tyler
South= the valley
West = Midland, Big Bend, El Paso
Gulf Coast

Coastal plains, black land prairie, cross timbers, piney woods, big thicket, Permian basin, panhandle, hill country, south Texas, etc.

Similar to this....

What snake Wrangler posted.

Panhandle north of Amarillo
West Texas starts at Abilene
East Texas starts at Abilene
North Texas is Oklahoma
South Texas starts at San Angelo

That’s a new one on me. Gave me a chuckle.

North Texas is Colorado and Oklahoma.
West Texas is New Mexico.
East Texas is Louisiana and Arkansas.
South Texas was Mexico.
Texas is Texas.

Snakewrangler posted a good representation of the ecological regions of Texas. In common nomenclature, the panhandle is that big part that sticks up into Oklahoma. North Texas includes Dfw, paris, and Wichita falls. East texas runs from Beaumont all the way to Texarkana. The coastal plains are just that. South texas is the valley, up to san Antonio, and over to falcon lake. Everyone knows where big bend is, and west Texas is everything that isn't big bend that's west of lubbock/ midland/odessa. The hill country is everything in the middle.

Edit - San Angelo an Abilene are West Texas too.

Seems to me the two biggest sticking points is differentiating between North Texas and the Panhandle, and where West Texas starts. The latter, to me, has nothing to do with geography and everything to do with mesquite taking over as I20 stretches that direction. I can’t pin it down, but I start to feel it somewhere around Ranger. By Abilene, there’s no denying it.

I see them as West Texas, Panhandle, North Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, Hill Country, and South Texas. Sometimes I break it down into NE, SE, deep East, far West, etc., but that’s my general breakdown of the regions.

I guess one should alway add ....plus or minus a couple hundred miles.

Yes. Just one more awesome and unique quirk this amazing state has going for it.

West TX is big bend area, Abilene is not west TX, that's called the big country. Panhandle is the perfect square up top, Lubbock is not in the panhandle.

The panhandle is also real north TX. DFW area is not north TX geographically. it's just north central TX.

Whe. Someone says "North Texas" do you think they are referring to Dfw and 100 miles either way, or do you think they are referring to the panhandle? "North Texas" and "The Panhandle" are two different things. Yes, the panhandle is geographically farther North than North Texas. Nobody will argue that. But Name wise, they are different.

This is one of most complete and in-depth maps. The lines will change a bit, but this is the factual map of regions. Most people will never know this much. The map before this one is what many know. Almost as interesting as a map that shows the 13 major Indians of Texas. It’s cool to see how some Indians survived in some harsh lands of Texas.

North Texas
East Texas
South Texas
Central Texas
West Texas
Panhandle Amarillo Texas

Texas regions are also a subset of the 4 major regions of the US.

Up there, down here, that way, this way, the coast and over yonder.

And also, the panhandle is not west TX either.

Some will overlap, and not exact lines, but I've always referred to the regions as:

West Texas - west of Ranger Hill, staying mostly south of I-20
Big Country - west of Ranger Hill, staying mostly north of I-20
North Texas - DFW and surrounding
Red River Counties - Wichita Falls to Texarkana
East Texas - From Tyler to Beaumont (sorry Aggies, I loop Bryan/College Station in here)
Gulf Coast - From Beaumont down to Padre Island
Hill Country - San Antonio/Austin and west to Rock Springs/Brady
Central Texas - Wacoish to Brady and up to Brownwood
The Valley - Brownsville to Del Rio
Panhandle - the panhandle
Big Bend/Far West - everything west of Del Rio/Odessa

Dang, this is a big state! For 10 years of my career, I sold services to municipalities in Texas. I have been to about every community with populations above 5,000 across the state. Lots of windshield time, but got to see a lot of great country.

No argument. From me but the Parks and Wildlife uses less reasons for their annual quail survey. That's how I found THF. I was looking for the quail count and landed here. My join date was near quail season opening date.

^^This... plus "the Coast"

Hurricane bait, Hot and humid, Trees too dense to see and humid, Too many cars and too many big towns along the freeway, Nothing but desert and mountains and hot as hades in the summer, Lots of hills, little deer, and trees, Flat as can be with a few buttes off in the distance just waiting for a tornado.

Another quail hunter. Gulf coast still holds a few coveys that can be hunted. This picture was taken in Wharton county.