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Summary

A UK Man Who Moved To Texas Is Roasting The State On TikTok & Locals Think He's Spot On

"What I didn't realize is that you can have all four seasons in a like week."

Oli Pettigrew holding a kolache. Right: Pettigrew in a TikTok about Texas.

Oli Pettigrew holding a kolache. Right: Pettigrew in a TikTok about Texas.

Texas Staff Writer

When newcomers move to Texas, they often find themselves culture-shocked at the different ways of life here.

Hong Kong-born and England-raised TV host Oli Pettigrew now lives in Waco, Texas, where he creates funny videos about his life in the Lone Star State.

His TikTok account @thatenglishmanintexas has nearly 40,000 followers, and he's constantly posting new takes and observations on Texas life.

Pettigrew admits he has a pretty good understanding of Texans, despite not being from here, but he even says it would probably take a Ph.D. to understand the states' citizens entirely.

@thatenglishmanintexas

There's one thing that turns 50% of Texans into raging psychos it rhymes with I-35 #thatenglishmanintexas #texas #texansbelike #baddrivers #driving #roadrage #roadtrip #observations #funny #funnyvideos #i35

In one of Pettigrew's most-watched clips, the creator simply asks how Texans can go from being so nice to each other to "raging psychopaths" when driving on the I-35 highway.

"They change lanes like they're driving a Formula 1 car. I really, really don't understand it," he said. "Is it out-of-staters? I don't think so. Most people driving like psychopaths are in pickup trucks, but you're all so chill the rest of the time!"

Many locals in the comments section agreed and joked that this is due to the seemingly never-ending construction or because Texans are just plain aggressive.

"So, in Texas, we base our travel in hours, not miles. When we travel, we have to make the best time possible to get to where we're going. That's all," one user wrote.

Another shock to Pettigrew was Texas' very unpredictable weather.

@thatenglishmanintexas

While I feel like I've kind of figured out Texans, and feel comfortable in Texas itself - there's one thing I haven't got my head around... The weather #Texas #Texans #thatenglishmanintexas #funny #Weather #winter #country #CountryLiving #ranch #askATexan

"What I didn't realize is that you can have all four seasons in a like week," he said in one of his clips.

It's a fact that every Texan can agree with in January and February. So, local commenters had to remind the Brit of the age-old Lone Star State saying.

"You know the saying, 'You don't like the weather in Texas, just wait five minutes, it'll change,'" one user wrote.

It seems Texans love the reactions of newcomers and even agree with their funny observations, because nearly every video has one concurring with Pettigrew.

In other popular TikToks, he has also called out Texans on a few other things, like how they are terrible at driving roundabouts, how the tea is too sweet here and how dutiful Texans are about putting shopping carts away in parking lots... unlike Californians.

Explore this list   👀

    • Staff Writer

      Brittany Cristiano (she/her) was Narcity USA's first full-time Texas Staff Writer. She's a lifelong Houstonian but enjoys every corner of the Lone Star State. Brittany is passionate about highlighting the beauty and rarities in the places we live in or visit–whether it’s showing North American readers something they never knew existed in the South, or helping Texans appreciate the beauty that’s been there the whole time. Oh, and she also loves to spill the tea on the latest trending figures in Texas and beyond. She previously served as an Editorial Intern for Houstonia magazine and as Editor-in-Chief of the University of St. Thomas’ student newspaper.

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