On this week’s edition of The FOX Five, we welcome Anna Taptich, PT, DPT, who is about to complete her first year with FOX Rehabilitation. After going growing up and getting her DPT in the state of Pennsylvania, Anna decided to begin her career in a new part of the country. As you will soon discover, Anna was drawn to Texas for many reasons, and is happy with her decision.

Jim: Hello everybody, welcome to The FOX Five, the show that explores the wonderful world of FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. Please welcome to the FOX Five today, FOX Rehabilitation physical therapist, Ann Taptich.

Anna: Thanks for having me.

Jim: This is surreal, because I think I've known you since you were like four, five, or six years old.

Anna: Yeah, at least it's been a while, and then, full circle, we both work for FOX.

Jim: I know, because I saw you in the summer and you said, "Hey, guess what? I'm working with FOX." I said, "Whoa! We're now co-workers, we're colleagues!"

Anna: Yep, that's right.

Jim: This is exciting, full circle moment.

Anna: I love it.

Jim: So, Anna, what is your FOX Five today?

Anna: My FOX Five is going to be Five Reasons I Moved to Texas from Pennsylvania.

Jim: You went to PT school in Pennsylvania, correct? Then, upon graduation, you decided not to get a job in Pennsylvania. FOX Rehabilitation, we're in over half of the United States of America, we are in Pennsylvania, but you decided to go to Texas. Before we start, I was going to ask you a couple of questions, but maybe I won’t ask them because I'm hoping that my questions will be revealed in your FOX Five. Alright, Anna, what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Anna: The first reason that I decided to move to Texas from Pennsylvania is because the winters are a little bit milder down here compared to Pennsylvania. I've been enjoying the nice 60-to-70-degree winters, given the occasional one inch of snow that shut down the whole state, but other than that, it's been really nice to go outside in the winter, something I haven't done previously.

Jim: Yes. We had FOX Rehabilitation physical therapist, Joe Nocera, on the show recently. He lives down in Florida, and I said, "Yeah, there are three months out of the year where I'm like, ‘Why don't I live in Florida right now?’" Once again, I have another question for you, but maybe I'm going to save it for the end, because you might answer my questions in your subsequent Number Two, Three, Four, and Five. Anna, what is Number Two on your FOX Five?

Anna: My Number Two reason that I moved to Texas from Pennsylvania is because I knew FOX was a growing area down here in Texas, especially where I live, near Fort Worth. We're trying to build this area up, and I knew in Pennsylvania we were pretty established. We had a good kind of thing going there, so I was excited to be a part of something new down here and help grow the area.

Jim: Yeah, I believe we call that a “growth opportunity.”

Anna: Yep, you said it.

Jim: That brings us to Number Three on your FOX Five.

Anna: Number Three, I like to travel and I like to explore new cities. So, I currently live in Fort Worth and I've got to see Dallas, I've gotten to explore a lot of Fort Worth, some of Austin, Texas; so it's been fun going around to new places, meeting new people, and learning new things.

Jim: You've got Houston, you've got Waco, did you go to the Dr. Pepper Museum?

Anna: Yeah, I actually did, and we got a fresh Dr. Pepper after the tour, so I highly recommend it.

Jim: Nice. And that brings us to Number Four on your FOX Five.

Anna: Number Four kind of goes hand in hand with Number Three, I like to meet new people. All of my colleagues with FOX and my regional director, I've gotten to talk to a lot, and it's awesome to meet new people from different parts of the country, learn new things, new cultures, and traditions. It has been great meeting everyone.

Jim: Did you bring them any Pennsylvanian culture?

Anna: No, I'm trying to think what that would be.

Jim: It’s ketchup. You have to give them Heinz, it's always Heinz ketchup, right?

Anna: That's true, that's true. They do use a lot of Hunts down here, so I'm going to have to do that.

Jim: Finally, that brings us to Number Five on your FOX Five.

Anna: Number Five, the fifth reason I moved to Texas is because of the esteemed Southern hospitality that Texas welcomed me with open arms, and all of my Southern patients have been great at accepting me. Everyone is just super friendly and happy that I'm here, so I couldn't have picked a better state to move to.

Jim: So, you're happy with your decision?

Anna: Very happy, yep.

Jim: You're not waffling at all? You moved in the Summer of 2023, and you’re totally happy with your decision?

Anna: Yeah, other than the really high heat that the summer had, but I adapted pretty quickly, actually.

Jim: Alright, so I do have a remaining question. When you listed off your Number One, you talked about weather, and then your Number five was about Southern hospitality. Did you ever consider relocating to any other states across the FOX Footprint?

Jim: That's a good question. I considered Florida as well. I was definitely leaning towards the more Southern States, warmer States, but something about Texas, I don't know, it just kind of spoke to me and it ended up working out pretty well.

Jim: Well, Anna, thank you for doing this. Once again, after knowing you all these years, this FOX Five was surreal for me.

Anna: Yeah, me too.