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Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

economist.com

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Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#101

Post by darth_avocado »

dcatx wrote: post #74
baggy_trough wrote: post #8

[flagged]

Having lived in Texas for 30+ years and now happily living in southern California, I feel pretty qualified in saying that my personal quality of life is dramatically better in California. The cost of living is higher, but I get a tremendous amount of value for the extra costs and wouldn't move back to Texas for any amount of money at this point. Los Angeles is a very safe city for its size, I live in a comfortable, w…

It’s always amazing to see people who have a certain view of California or San Francisco because of what they’ve been told all their lives to finally come here and realize that it’s actually a very nice place to live. Like San Francisco is one of the best cities to live in (if you can afford to). Why would you not want a nice weather year long, great food scene, access to outdoors, good employment prospects, walkable/bikeable streets and low crime rates (yes San Francisco has very low crime rates as compared to any other major city despite what the media headlines say).

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#102

Post by dylan604 »

scoofy wrote: post #88
dylan604 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Texas is a gerrymandered purple state, not a red state Man, I just don't get this at all. Sure, there may be some democratic areas in the large cities, but they pretty much have zero say in the local state governance. Look at the recent walk outs and leaving the state only to return to have the legislation they were protesting pass with nothing they could do. There is no democratic power. Even those large cities th…

You are describing the effects of gerrymandering.

The effect of gerrymandering is why Texas is a very red state and nothing approaching the purple you claim. That claim is what makes you sound as if you were from Austin even if you didn't state it. Austin has a reality distortion field around it where they think everyone is a liberal hippie while being the heart of the right wing operation center. Try visiting Collin or Tarrant County or pretty much any small Texas town. It'll be quite a bursting of your purple bubble

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#103

Post by fzeroracer »

scoofy wrote: post #96
tzs wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every single urban area in Texas is now heavily aligned with the Democratic party, and the vast majority of those areas are affordable places to build a life and build wealth. How much does that matter with the state legislature firmly in Republican control? The legislature isn't shy about making state laws to stop cities when the cities try to do Democrat things locally.

Well off tech folks in this forum will like California more. I’m well off and left Texas, so I obviously agree with that. My point is that it’s easy to clutch pearls in a zero-sum economy like CA’s when you’re on top. The reason I still have a fondness for Texas is that despite some of the political change that I find frightening, it’s still a better place for most folks to go to build a life. It’s not perfect, but w…

Austin's affordability is still incredibly bad, especially when you consider how stratified the incomes tend to be. When I was working there my apartment cost around $1300 a month and the year I left my rent rose by 30% to around 1700 a month. This was in an area far away from the core of Austin, next to absolutely nothing. It's recovered a bit recently but because all of the people (you included) are encouraging folks (see: tech) to move to Austin the rents spike based on how much perceived demand there is. The minimum wage has not (and by state law cannot change) kept up with modern standards and while many companies offer starting pay above minimum wage it's still well below other cities. If you honestly think Austin is a place where people can go to own something then I think you've been so long away from the city as to be out of touch.

In comparison I'm paying around $2000/month for an apartment in Seattle but this is in an area that's right next to the light rail and well taken care of. With the light rail expanding I could easily find apartments even cheaper that still keep me within walking distance and without needing a car.

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#104

Post by DivingForGold »

water-data-dude wrote: post #11

As a gay dude I will never take a job in Texas. Companies may enjoy the lax regulatory environment and favorable tax laws, but there are many bright people who - for one of a NUMBER of reasons - will never move there. It is repressive and frightening. Who knows if that will be enough to move the needle on any of this, but companies aren't just buildings and incorporation paperwork, they're also the people.

Thank you for NOT coming to Texas at all, we have plenty in Austin. 4th generation Texan.

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#106

Post by scoofy »

dylan604 wrote: post #102
scoofy wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are describing the effects of gerrymandering.

The effect of gerrymandering is why Texas is a very red state and nothing approaching the purple you claim. That claim is what makes you sound as if you were from Austin even if you didn't state it. Austin has a reality distortion field around it where they think everyone is a liberal hippie while being the heart of the right wing operation center. Try visiting Collin or Tarrant County or pretty much any small Texas…

My point is that OP was worried about lifestyle and safety. That fair. Don’t live in Ft Worth.

A “Red State” is a state where pretty much wherever you go, it’s Republican voters. Their election results statewide are R+15 or more. Oklahoma is R+34. Texas’s statewide elections are surprisingly close. Often R+5 or less, and occasionally R+2. That’s purple. That means that half the state are allies.

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#107

Post by scoofy »

fzeroracer wrote: post #103
scoofy wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well off tech folks in this forum will like California more. I’m well off and left Texas, so I obviously agree with that. My point is that it’s easy to clutch pearls in a zero-sum economy like CA’s when you’re on top. The reason I still have a fondness for Texas is that despite some of the political change that I find frightening, it’s still a better place for most folks to go to build a life. It’s not perfect, but w…

Austin's affordability is still incredibly bad, especially when you consider how stratified the incomes tend to be. When I was working there my apartment cost around $1300 a month and the year I left my rent rose by 30% to around 1700 a month. This was in an area far away from the core of Austin, next to absolutely nothing. It's recovered a bit recently but because all of the people (you included) are encouraging fol…

It’s not even comparable: https://www.redfin.com/cost-of-living-calculator/austin-tx/v...

Austin is much cheaper than Seattle.

Re: Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

#110

Post by moomoo11 »

sbmthakur wrote: post #27
moomoo11 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

california forever i hope the right people and companies leave and go deal with high humidity and heat waves

Y'all are welcome to Washington if you can stand the gloom.

the point is that there is no place like california.

seattle is nice but i would pick sf 100 out of 100 times

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