I moved from California to Texas but stayed only four months

C

Cypress

Well-known member

I moved from California to Texas but stayed only 4 months. Texas wasn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.​

Kellee Speakman moved from California to Texas and back again within a five-month period in 2022. Speakman, who identifies as conservative, said she felt like Texas was obsessed with politics.

Unfriendly Welcome​

They make it pretty clear in Texas that they don't love California. We talked to a real-estate agent who told us to change our California plates immediately.

I was really depressed in Texas. I was daydreaming about home constantly. I know it takes time, but I started meeting people who had lived there for 10, 15, or 20 years, and most of them said it took them years to adjust to Texas.

That really troubled me. Life is short. I was getting close to 50. I realized I didn't want to feel like that for years.

Lack of Cool Things to Do​

During the months I was in Texas, I was trying to find things that would make me love it there. We took a road trip to San Antonio because I had always heard that the Riverwalk was really cool. But when I got there, I was surprised because there wasn't much else there.

Lots of Homeless in Texas​

Another thing that really struck me — because everyone talks about the homeless problem in California — there were a lot of homeless people in San Antonio. Same thing in Dallas.

Texas Wasn't as Cheap as Advertised​

Texas wasn't as cheap as I thought it would be.

Everyone knows about the property taxes, which are horrific. But people also talk about Texas having no income tax. I figured with no income taxes, the prices of services, like going to a beauty salon, would be the same as in California, if not less. But it was actually more expensive!

Groceries were about the same amount. Gas is a lot cheaper, but almost every road around Highland Village is a toll road, so you're still paying to drive.

I was also going to have to take quite a large pay cut. It was going to be a $20,000 to $30,000 pay cut as a teacher in Texas.

Lessons Learned: Texans Talk a Lot About Freedom, But Do They Really Know What It Means?​

I learned a valuable lesson. It was an expensive and inconvenient lesson, but I learned that freedom means different things to different people.

For one person, freedom might be not having to vaccinate your kids. Another person might think freedom has to do with gun rights. I learned that to me, freedom is having peace and adventures in my everyday life — having trails outside my front door and being able to leave and escape the heat by driving up the coast.

In Texas, I kept asking everyone, "What do you mean by freedom?" I never got a satisfying answer for what exactly that extra freedom was.


www.businessinsider.com

I moved from California to Texas but stayed only 4 months. Texas wasn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.

Kellee Speakman is a 50-year-old teacher who moved from California to Texas in 2022 in search of "freedom," but she stayed only four months.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
 
Cypress said:

I moved from California to Texas but stayed only 4 months. Texas wasn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.​

Kellee Speakman moved from California to Texas and back again within a five-month period in 2022. Speakman, who identifies as conservative, said she felt like Texas was obsessed with politics.

Unfriendly Welcome​

They make it pretty clear in Texas that they don't love California. We talked to a real-estate agent who told us to change our California plates immediately.

I was really depressed in Texas. I was daydreaming about home constantly. I know it takes time, but I started meeting people who had lived there for 10, 15, or 20 years, and most of them said it took them years to adjust to Texas.

That really troubled me. Life is short. I was getting close to 50. I realized I didn't want to feel like that for years.

Lack of Cool Things to Do​

During the months I was in Texas, I was trying to find things that would make me love it there. We took a road trip to San Antonio because I had always heard that the Riverwalk was really cool. But when I got there, I was surprised because there wasn't much else there.

Lots of Homeless in Texas​

Another thing that really struck me — because everyone talks about the homeless problem in California — there were a lot of homeless people in San Antonio. Same thing in Dallas.

Texas Wasn't as Cheap as Advertised​

Texas wasn't as cheap as I thought it would be.

Everyone knows about the property taxes, which are horrific. But people also talk about Texas having no income tax. I figured with no income taxes, the prices of services, like going to a beauty salon, would be the same as in California, if not less. But it was actually more expensive!

Groceries were about the same amount. Gas is a lot cheaper, but almost every road around Highland Village is a toll road, so you're still paying to drive.

I was also going to have to take quite a large pay cut. It was going to be a $20,000 to $30,000 pay cut as a teacher in Texas.

Lessons Learned: Texans Talk a Lot About Freedom, But Do They Really Know What It Means?​

I learned a valuable lesson. It was an expensive and inconvenient lesson, but I learned that freedom means different things to different people.

For one person, freedom might be not having to vaccinate your kids. Another person might think freedom has to do with gun rights. I learned that to me, freedom is having peace and adventures in my everyday life — having trails outside my front door and being able to leave and escape the heat by driving up the coast.

In Texas, I kept asking everyone, "What do you mean by freedom?" I never got a satisfying answer for what exactly that extra freedom was.


www.businessinsider.com

I moved from California to Texas but stayed only 4 months. Texas wasn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.

Kellee Speakman is a 50-year-old teacher who moved from California to Texas in 2022 in search of "freedom," but she stayed only four months.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
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A bunch of this is whiney bullshit. I've lived in TX off and on for a total of 7 years, I've driven around the entire state just about with WA plates. I got a job there and everyone was really cool to me.

It's their political leadership that's TX's problem. Those guys are all a bunch of racist neanderthal medieval fucks in love with guns. Fuck the TX government but love the people!
 
LurchAddams said:
A bunch of this is whiney bullshit. I've lived in TX off and on for a total of 7 years, I've driven around the entire state just about with WA plates. I got a job there and everyone was really cool to me.

It's their political leadership that's TX's problem. Those guys are all a bunch of racist neanderthal medieval fucks in love with guns. Fuck the TX government but love the people!
Click to expand...
I lived in Texas for three years.

I think she has some good points about Texas not necessarily being cheaper, about Texas having homeless problems, and about Texas having horrible weather and not as many cool things to do.

She is probably exaggerating the unfriendly reception she got.
 
Cypress said:
I think she has some good points about Texas not necessarily being cheaper, about Texas having homeless problems, and about Texas having horrible weather and not as many cool things to do.

She is probably exaggerating the unfriendly reception she got.
Click to expand...
I mean - the same could be said about Arizona and parts of CA (the weather). TX is nothing but an irrigated dessert with a few trees around rivers and lakes.
 
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