Trying to find a reason to stay in Texas (Houston: live, statistics)

[Pilsn3r]

Hard to say without any comparison of what your possible new areas are. In the end, I think it depends on your own happiness with your own situation. People and places change. Good luck and hope you find what you're looking for!

[AUserNameForAPerson]

Originally Posted by momo194

The Good:
1) The Big Bend National Park has the most breathtaking, untouched scenery in Texas. West Texaints is diverse topographically (rivers, canyons, mountains, plains, etc.) and rich with wildlife and history.
2) Affordable real estate.
3) No income taxes.
4) High generation of solar power.
5) The BBQ in Texas is quite possibly the best in the United States. The mandatory vinegar-based BBQ sauce and smoked brisket are superior to any other state.

Aside from Big Bend, I would also mention the Hill Country, Panhandle Plains, Palo Duro Canyon, and Pinewoods of Deep East Texas as places of great scenic value. I would also add that Mexican food is fairly good throughout many parts of Texas, and that the major cities of Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston all have excellent food scenes.

Texan cities such as Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston are also large enough to have a plethora of different activities to engage in.

Originally Posted by momo194

1)The Texas abortion law is an obsolete reprehensible law that employs Stasi tactics.

I agree with this. Regardless of one's position on abortion, the way this law was written is troubling and may invite similar laws in other states. For example, I read that Newsom is considering a similar law in California modeled on this one that would allow residents sue gun makers and dealers, putting 2nd amendments rights at risk. I think the way the law was constructed is a slippery slope.

Additionally, these sort of laws also make a mockery of Texas' mythological (and false) self-identity as a bastion of freedom and independence. California is often construed by the Texan mentality as a representation of a hyper-liberal nanny state, yet Texas has no problem basically performing its own version of the same. Having lived in both the suburbs of San Francisco as well as various large Texan cities, I've found that conservative "Karens" and liberal "Karens" are basically two sides of the same coin. The California and Texan mentality, in this regard, may be more similar than people in either place would like to admit.

Originally Posted by momo194

4) High property taxes to compensate for the lack of income tax. This fact also feeds into fugly point #2.

Though it may be true that Texas has high property taxes in certain areas, property taxes generally differ from locality to locality, and don't necessarily always "cancel out" the benefits gained from no income tax. I don't believe Texas comes close to representing the worst tax burden in the country, and if you want to complain about taxes, you can certainly find other states and localities that are significantly worse.

Originally Posted by momo194

5) Anyone over 21 can purchase a gun without a license or training.

I am not sure what you mean by this exactly. I think there are only a dozen or so states that require purchase permits for handguns, and only a few that require a purchase permit for rifles or shotguns. Generally, most states allow individuals over the age of 21 to purchase at least some type of gun without a license or training, so this isn't necessarily a unique criticism of Texas.

Originally Posted by momo194

6) Texas has some of the UGLIEST real estate in the U.S. Geez, the Texas Triangle is bursting at the seams with neighborhoods full of McMansions and cookie-cutter homes. The architecture has nothing distinctive or defining because curb appeal is practically nonexistent. Just about everyone's house has the same architectural design; the only difference is the size. Suburban developer housing is common across the U.S., but most of Texas's suburbs are teeming with bland, monotonous housing. At the right angle, the neighborhoods in Texas are indistinguishable from a Monopoly board.

I absolutely agree with this. Though monopoly board McMansions are springing up all over the US, the Texan mega-suburbs are almost a national poster child for cheaply-and-quickly-built, hyper-generic suburbia. However, I think you may find this type of architecture similarly prevalent in other areas of the US that are growing very quickly as of late, such as Phoenix or some other southwestern / plains cities.

Though, to be fair, pretty architecture is not necessarily everyone's priority, and provided that the basic functionality is there, the growing development keeps housing prices lower. Additionally, in a hundred years, maybe this style of architecture will be considered to be "historical", and you'll have people in futuristic floating cities complaining about how their modern architecture doesn't compare to those good old classic historical Texan suburban homes.

Originally Posted by momo194

7) Although there are a few charming towns that support local businesses, Texas is rampant with big-box retail and grocery stores. There are rows of bland shopping plazas that look no different from one another across the state. There is hardly any advocacy for local businesses. I mean, how many shopping plazas are needed with the same urban planning and stores like Walmart, Ross, Kohl's, T.J. Maxx, and (fill in with any big-box store).

Also agree, though I don't know enough to have an explanation for this. I do see a lack of "cute" areas in Texas or mom-and-pop shops relative to many other states I have been to, with maybe the exception of the BBQ shacks, bait shops, or general stores you see in country towns, though those aren't always that great to be honest.

Originally Posted by momo194

8) Although the Triangle Cities boast of being trendsetting metroplexes, there isn't a cultural mosaic. Sure, there are a lot of Hispanics and Latinos, but the memo in Texas is assimilation.

Texas is considered the second most diverse state in the US after California, though it is important to keep in mind that this is mostly due to the high Hispanic population. The large cities do have a lot of different ethnic enclaves, however, this is Texas, not NYC.

Originally Posted by momo194

9) Why do so many people have to be tied up with MLM's in Texas?

I think MLMs are likely common across the entire USA, and whether or not you come across them in your life probably depends on the crowds you hang with. That being said, I do think that the prevalence of "prosperity gospel" and mega-churches (which are pretty much MLMs in their own right) in Texas likely predispose it to being a haven for MLMs.

Originally Posted by momo194

10) The social scenes in the cities are centered around sports bars spilling with alcoholic yuppies who think Chris Stapleton and Luke Comb's are god's gift to country music. Alright, this point isn't entirely true but I stand by it nonetheless.

I think alcoholic yuppies form a general subculture found throughout the USA, and doubt that this is unique to Texas. Maybe the country music names you dropped are common in Texas, but this is probably common in a lot of yuppie centers in the south. Check out downtown Nashville, for instance.

I think Dallas and Houston are large enough cities that you can find just about any type of social scene or crowd you want, though of course every city is going to be a little bit different in its style. What sort of social scene are you looking for?

[Cuero]

Life is too short to stay someplace you don't like. The more consequential things you list in your dislikes won't change in your lifetime. One of the beautiful things about America is you can move to any state for any reason. Go where you want to be and don't look back.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by Cuero

Life is too short to stay someplace you don't like. The more consequential things you list in your dislikes won't change in your lifetime. One of the beautiful things about America is you can move to any state for any reason. Go where you want to be and don't look back.

This is correct.

[Need4Camaro]

You're going to find many of these problems prevalent throughout the rest of the country save for a select few extremely expensive places to live. Also our property tax comes out cheaper than income + lower property tax in most other states.

[AUserNameForAPerson]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

You're going to find many of these problems prevalent throughout the rest of the country save for a select few extremely expensive places to live. Also our property tax comes out cheaper than income + lower property tax in most other states.

I don't know if I agree with this. If you look around at different mid-size US cities, you can find quite a few that don't have at least half of these problems and are still cheaper than Texan super-cities. Even though the big cities in Texas are cheap, this is mostly relative to other big cities in the US (such as NYC, Chicago, LA, etc.). You can downgrade to a smaller city in a different state without some of these problems.


Of course, every place has its pros and cons, so you might get a different set of problems somewhere else. I guess it's up to personal preference to settle on which problems you want to tolerate.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by AUserNameForAPerson

I don't know if I agree with this. If you look around at different mid-size US cities, you can find quite a few that don't have at least half of these problems and are still cheaper than Texan super-cities. Even though the big cities in Texas are cheap, this is mostly relative to other big cities in the US (such as NYC, Chicago, LA, etc.). You can downgrade to a smaller city in a different state without some of these problems.


Of course, every place has its pros and cons, so you might get a different set of problems somewhere else. I guess it's up to personal preference to settle on which problems you want to tolerate.

Just about any city with a population of 2 million or higher right now has an inflated real estate market // expensive housing. Sure he can downgrade to a smaller town to eliminate some of those problems, lets say, Bowling Green KY @ avg price of $260k for a home... ...but you can also do that in Texas by moving further away from the city, in either case you lose amenities, jobs, and services, amenities and services are why living in urban areas are more expensive. Going to a smaller town in another state with better schools, more amenities, jobs =/= more affordable town either.

If he's seeking apples to apples comparisons, suburbia sprawl / cookie cutter development throughout major cities is very much an American design and non-exclusive to Texas. Building custom / unique homes costs alot of money by todays standards and growth rates across many southern metros are exploding faster than can be supplied. You can of course live in a more characterized metro area such as Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, but they are typically far more expensive than what is seen in Texas.

Texas K-12 schools rank about average throughout the country and surpass the state I moved here from:
https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-w...t-schools/5335 -- College education is where Texas lags.

I've done calculations on like to like suburbs such as Plano TX vs Roswell GA using both of their average home values and incomes, Plano has a fairly high property tax but still came out slightly more affordable than its suburban counter-part Roswell GA which has significantly lower property tax but also state income tax. Basically in order for property taxes to overcome income / property tax in other states, you either have to buy ALOT of house in Texas, or buy something dirt cheap in another state. States in more desirable locations typically have housing costs that are so great that it still offsets the difference in property tax.

I'll give you one on the abortion law, although Texas isn't the only state that tried to pass one, Georgia did as well but it was deemed unconstitutional and repealed.

[AUserNameForAPerson]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Just about any city with a population of 2 million or higher right now has an inflated real estate market // expensive housing. Sure he can downgrade to a smaller town to eliminate some of those problems, lets say, Bowling Green KY @ avg price of $260k for a home... ...but you can also do that in Texas by moving further away from the city, in either case you lose amenities, jobs, and services, amenities and services are why living in urban areas are more expensive. Going to a smaller town in another state with better schools, more amenities, jobs =/= more affordable town either.

If he's seeking apples to apples comparisons, suburbia sprawl / cookie cutter development throughout major cities is very much an American design and non-exclusive to Texas. Building custom / unique homes costs alot of money by todays standards and growth rates across many southern metros are exploding faster than can be supplied. You can of course live in a more characterized metro area such as Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, but they are typically far more expensive than what is seen in Texas.

Texas K-12 schools rank about average throughout the country and surpass the state I moved here from:
https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-w...t-schools/5335 -- College education is where Texas lags.

I've done calculations on like to like suburbs such as Plano TX vs Roswell GA using both of their average home values and incomes, Plano has a fairly high property tax but still came out slightly more affordable than its suburban counter-part Roswell GA which has significantly lower property tax but also state income tax. Basically in order for property taxes to overcome income / property tax in other states, you either have to buy ALOT of house in Texas, or buy something dirt cheap in another state. States in more desirable locations typically have housing costs that are so great that it still offsets the difference in property tax.

I'll give you one on the abortion law, although Texas isn't the only state that tried to pass one, Georgia did as well but it was deemed unconstitutional and repealed.

You make a lot of good points, however, when I am talking about downgrading, I'm not exactly thinking about Bowling Green, which only has a metro population of around ~179,000 and is the 241st largest metro in the US. This is quite the drop off from talking about metro areas with 2 million+ residents, which make up the top 35 cities in the US. This means that there are 206 metropolitan areas that have less than 2 million residents but which are still larger than Bowling Green.

Of these 206 metro areas, about 21 of them range between 2 million to 1 million people, 54 of them range between 1 million and 500,000 people, and 131 of them range between 500,000 people and the size of Bowling Green (179,000 people).

I think in those 206 metro areas, there are probably quite a few opportunities for good amenities combined with good architecture and a reasonable price, etc. Of course, there will be many price ranges within all of these areas, but the point is that there is probably something out there which the OP can find that is along the line of what he/she is looking for that would still be relatively economical and doesn't require the OP to move to larger, more expensive metro like Boston or San Francisco.

Though you do have a good point about smaller Texan metros. McAllen, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Brownsville-Harlingen, Killeen-Temple, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Lubbock, Laredo, Amarillo, Waco, College Station-Bryan, Tyler and Longview are all mid-size and smaller Texan metropolitan regions that may offer a better combination of the things the OP wants, and maybe he/she should check them out. If the style of Texan cities isn't really what the OP is after, then maybe it is better to look for mid-size metros in the west coast, northeast or elsewhere.

Generic architecture is the norm for new developments right now, though I would say that you can still find more interesting architecture across the northeast, midwest, west coast, and atlantic coastal south.

[momo194]

Originally Posted by EDS_

1. I don't like our new abortion law either....equating it with the Stasi in any way is absurd, insulting to history really.

The Draconian Texas SB 8 encourages citizens to enforce an unethical law, opening a legal Pandora's box. This law could result in botched coat hanger abortions, endangers women's health, and foster care may flood with abandoned children who will potentially experience more trauma. The law weaponizes the public against a human right of choice, particularly against women. Referring to how I equate the law as an insult to history is ironic, considering the law itself is an insult to our liberties.

So explain how referring to TX SB 8 as a Stasi tactic is absurd?

2. How exactly is our public educational system, which I'm no fan of BTW, supposed to deal with legions of parents who do not care and kids who don't speak any language well?

2.1. Poor districts already strip money from, "rich" districts via a mechanism called Robin Hood...........and build things like water parks with the proceeds.

Fair point. In many cases, it's not that the parents don't care. It's that they are exhausted because the modern family lifestyle requires both parents to work to make ends meet.

It's not news to say that the public education system, which fuels inequality, needs serious reformation. Teachers need to have increased pay for their roles, funding needs to increase in low-income districts, more monitoring and transparency with how the funding is used, students need more one-on-one instruction versus the billions spent on standardized tests, and on and on. In fact, spending about 8+ hours in school, 5 days a week (excluding summers/holidays), for approximately 12 years is far too long anyway. There is a lot that could be done. How? I'm not sure if there's enough room here for that.

3. For people who earn any money our property tax system/levies do not make up for income + property tax burdens across all but a couple of competing cities/states.

I didn't understand this point. Could you elaborate?

4. If you can't find decent architecture you are looking in the wrong places.

I guess that's Texas in general.

5. I haven't run into anyone peddling MLM anything in years.

Are you serious? What part of Texas are you living in?

I think you dislike it here and are fishing for reasons to leave.

You're right.

[momo194]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Good luck finding some utopian paradise anywhere in the USA.

Thanks. I'll try my best.