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To be fair, I believe Conservatives of female persuasion would find it a reasonably comfortable place (I may disagree with that perspective, but we should ignore / pretend it doesn't exist at out peril. 76mil votes for Trump 2020 were not all cast by males. On more personal / closer to home note, a number of my exes would agree with Texas laws more than their/our own Ontario laws and culture. ).
Lower taxes, great food, more open space, less expensive property, more freedom to do what you want as long as you don't hurt others. The only problem with Texas is that the economy is too dependent on fossil fuel. It's basically a mini petro state. They need to use that oil money to diversify into other industries. I'm not sure if they have been doing that or not, but I don't exactly have faith that the political cl…
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article253429364...
Don't get me wrong, there is a ton I really like about Austin: really strong job market with tons of tech jobs, lots of stuff to do outdoors most of the year (the lakes, hike-and-bike trail, etc.), investment in great public spaces (the downtown library is a masterclass in architecture and design, the relatively new boardwalk is great, etc.) But there is also a ton that's not great about Austin (e.g. horrible traffic with extremely limited public transit), and all-in-all I feel like it just kinda got "anointed" as the "cool" city by Elon Musk and friends to the point where it no longer deserves it's hype.
I mean, Austin metro is still relatively small/mid-sized, such that it just doesn't have any of the amenities of larger cities like NY/Chicago/SF when it comes to things like world-class theater, museums, sports teams, architecture, etc. Austin famously touted itself as "Live Music Capital of the World" and its "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, but the dramatic increase in cost-of-living has basically priced out many of the musicians and others that made it "weird".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well. I’ve spent some time working on retirement options since my wife and I are close. Arizona really has nothing to recommend it. Florida does, but southern Florida is kind of a wasteland with pending climate issues and northern Florida is a trashy hell hole. I have family there. If not for the cultural issues it would be a no brainer but who wants to retire somewhere awful? Taxes-wise, I think California is underr…
Miami is pretty nice if you have money
Lower taxes, great food, more open space, less expensive property, more freedom to do what you want as long as you don't hurt others. The only problem with Texas is that the economy is too dependent on fossil fuel. It's basically a mini petro state. They need to use that oil money to diversify into other industries. I'm not sure if they have been doing that or not, but I don't exactly have faith that the political cl…
"the oil and gas industry is responsible for 10 percent of the Texas gross domestic product, down from 21 percent in 1981." https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article253429364...
Austin has had a steady influx of people over the past few decades, but things have really gotten insane over the past couple years. To me it's been a lesson in what I call "hype-tipping points". Don't get me wrong, there is a ton I really like about Austin: really strong job market with tons of tech jobs, lots of stuff to do outdoors most of the year (the lakes, hike-and-bike trail, etc.), investment in great public…
Which in itself is odd, because it's hard to see it as anything but a carbon copy of "Keep Portland Weird".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well. I’ve spent some time working on retirement options since my wife and I are close. Arizona really has nothing to recommend it. Florida does, but southern Florida is kind of a wasteland with pending climate issues and northern Florida is a trashy hell hole. I have family there. If not for the cultural issues it would be a no brainer but who wants to retire somewhere awful? Taxes-wise, I think California is underr…
Miami is pretty nice if you have money
Putting aside the politics, weather, and economic structure of Texas, the "mystical ethos" of Texas is the thing that really gets me, and I had to leave the state before I could get a good vision of it. The pervasive myth of Texas being larger-than-life, exemplified by the "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" and persistently quoting "you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas" is really something, and it seeps into everything. It's like taking American exceptionalism and raising it several more notches.