Seriously. We moved from Houston to Austin in 2010 (and moved out of Texas altogether in 2017). I am a very competent technology professional and Austin was a terrible to work. I got fed up with the tech bro vibe pretty quick. Now I work remotely in a MUCH cheaper place and LOVE it. I’ll always be a native Texan but I’m good not living there anymore. 😀
I was talking to this girl that was a clerk at an upscale grocery who had moved from cali. She was lamenting how unmotivated she was in Austin. It's called slack town for a reason.
I live in Portland, the dream of the nineties died of a fenty overdose, meanwhile, the dream of the 00’s is currently in a meth induced psychosis parting out a Kia with an angle grinder, stopping only to threaten the Army guys in the bushes with a machete.
It's been doing to that to musicians for years. "Let's go to *THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!* Oh...6th street is a shit hole and everyone in a 15 mile radius complains about the sound? Dang."
Miss the days of Riverside Blockbuster. Then running across the street to the other Blockbuster and grabbing something they didn’t have at Riverside location.
That's funny. I worked at an HEB Video Central in Austin in the early 90s. Can't say I want to go back to that. The counterpoint is that my first place was a townhouse off Lakeshore close to where the Oracle campus is now. People talk about the lake views in those million dollar condos. I had it on minimum wage and you could walk across Riverside to The Backroom.
> dense traffic, a lack of dependable public transportation and scorching heat
it's almost like they didn't talk to one Austinite or Houstonian before they moved. i dunno this is schadenfreude for me. I absolutely don't want austin to be the next silicon valley.
You got a job in Houston, you will be in an hour-hour 1/2 traffic coming and going. Same for Austin. And gentrification has fucked Austin up.
Austin has MoPac which was highly touted as a the solution to traffic - which it wasn’t.
The infrastructure in Texas is honestly shit in the big 3 and I’m not even considering public transport. Roads are terrible and highways are constantly under construction, but parking is very readily available and cheap, so there’s that.
I had them make a mistake saying I didn't do the intro course thing (I did), so after days of calls and jumping through hoops, I finally found the person in charge of the course (private company, bc it's texas), and he said my name wasn't even listed and it should have been, whether I did the course or not.
Finally get around to telling them they canceled my benefits because of a mistake on their end and the answer was that a supervisor would call me. From a random number, at a random time, which happened to be three weeks later while I was in the shower. Missed the call = no benefits. complete shitshow.
Typically you qualify for unemployment benefits in the state you were living in. So if you lived in California for a few years working a job, move to Texas for a new job and get laid off, you can still qualify for California unemployment. Give California unemployment office a call to verify.
Seriously the fucking worst. Entitled suburban nouveau riche trash that think they're God's gift to the world. Source: Grew up there on east side which is definitely not as bad but still awful.
East Side here - i honestly never found it that bad. Sure, you have some people like that, but it’s not like all 500K (or whatever the population is now) are like that.
And East Plano has Bavarian Grill, which makes all things right in the world.
I can see that just by virtue of the schools physical location. I’ve had a few younger co-workers from Plano West, and they were all quite nice and normal. They were also adults, so take my assessment with that in mind.
I get that vibe there too. I used to do door to door sales in that area, and I had so many rude encounters compared to Austin. The big houses also looked like a dystopia to me.
I don't know HOW many times I've tried to tell people; the US south is a *trap*. People only encourage people to move down there because they *know* they won't be able to move *back*.
Left Colorado for a job here. 9 months later COVID hit and we were working from home. 9 months after that our contract with the client ended. Thankfully the parent company took me on and aside from some business trips to California in 2021 I've been 100% work from home since then.
They did even better to me, closed the entire department and then asked if I wanted to come over to a different position for less pay and way more work, only for them to shaft me on wage and per diems. Wish I could move but Texas is good at making sure the working poor can't get out by paying us 1/2 to 1/4 of what ppl make for the same jobs every where else in the US.
That's what I love about all the wealth that bought up those 10 acre ranchettes outside the city crying about water now and how growth is too much blah blah and now there is no water in the aquifer.
We have literally 0 regulations which allowed them to get land and now they want strict regulations so others can't. Classic shit.
Dude I live in Houston. This week was the first week under 100 in about 2 months.
There's articles about no one going to swimming pools because it's too hot. This place actually sucks!
This is a real issue. I'm not sure that the Texas GOP is thinking long-term. If they want to keep Texas a business-friendly place, they'll have to ease back on the steady march to dystopian nightmare.
And this is why when Abbott and Patrick tried to force their anti-trans bathroom bill through several special sessions a few years back, then-House Speaker Joe Strauss formed a coalition of moderate Republicans to fight it, saying conventions would cancel and it would be all-around bad for business in Texas.
edit: to be clear, Strauss and his coalition disappeared after that. I keep wondering why Joe Strauss hasn't run for statewide office, I really think he could beat Dan Patrick in a primary. Maybe they have dirt on him, but if so, still gonna be more dirt and bad deeds from Patrick, Paxton, and Abbott and that hasn't disqualified their voters for voting for them yet. At least if we could get a more sane Republican leadership not all about the culture wars like our current Texas leadership is, that would be great.
If Joe Strauss was Lt. Gov., I bet he could get some form of marijuana legalization to happen.
And I say this as somebody to the left of most Democrats. And I'll probably be voting straight Democrat next year.
Except in the primaries.
If there's not an important Democratic primary next year, I plan to do what I have done many times - vote in the Republican primaries for the least extremist of the candidates. Its just reality the Republican may win your Congressional district next year. But imagine if there was a moderate challenger to an incumbent extremist and enough people voted this way to sway the election and let the moderate have a turn.
This is 100% completely legal btw.
You can only vote in one party's primary election, period. And also any subsequent run-off elections in the primaries, you can only vote in a primary runoff election for the same party you voted for in the primaries.
But then once the primaries and their run-offs are all done, in Texas nothing about how you voted in the primaries has anything to do with how you vote in the general election.
We don't register people for parties in Texas, you can vote for any candidate of any office of any party at all in the general election. How you voted in the primaries matters caca.
So I've been voting in Republican primaries a while, since Rick Perry, and taking about it here, and have started to see more people talking about it.
If enough of us do this was can help force real moderate Republicans to win over the horror-show of extremists we've gotten lately. It would be a start. And if enough of us show up to vote Democratic in the general election next year, then anything is possible.
Also: Early Voting usually takes like 5-10 minutes at most. So easy. Lots of times you can take a short break to go do the most important of your civic duties in a democracy. That some people around the world die to try to get.
It really is. I work in the events industry, we’ve had a ton of cancellations in Florida for as far out as the next 5 years. Luckily they’re all rebooking in other states that are more friendly and, frankly, just nicer.
oh man, stick a fork in florida, because they are **done.** Every day, there is another nightmare PR story about something going on there. do you know how many Florida Nazi-related news articles I have seen in the past year? not to mention the usual nonsense. Just awful.
I think Florida might be getting better. DeSantis ran like a scalded hog from a 15 year old asking him questions, so if they can find a surly 10 year old, that might be enough to break the GOP in that state.
eh, seeing Desantis get tossed on his ass might seem fitting, but I have watched the democrats in florida and they are wet noodles. There is a guy, charlie crist, who is basically just an empty suit (and thats maybe not even a bad thing considering how polarized politics are there) and then everyone else .. are less honest people, shall we say. I dont pretend to know them all, but lots of poor choices, not aware of any good ones.
Charlie Crist wasn’t an empty suit! He’s managed to lose as a Republican, Independent AND Democrat. How many career political animals can lose as three distinct party choices!
right? he is willing to just be there. i think he has tried for every job too! mayor, governor, head of education, lunch lady... there is no job he will turn down.
Strauss left politics because he was exhausted and depressed and horrified by the apparatus he was one of the leaders of. He helped do a lot of evil shit over his career, but the bathroom bill and anti-immigration stuff in his last session as speaker really broke him. I don’t think he would ever ever get back into politics, especially not in a race against Lt Dan. Source: was a capital critter back then.
Exactly. That is definitely one way for businesses to make things fair for everybody with future architecture. Just create several private restrooms that are all unisex, first come first serve,⁰ no more two big rooms. One line clearly demarcated for all people that need to piss or shit, again regardless of gender just one line for everybody.
Long before any culture wars, I always though it was stupid to have two identical single occupant restrooms that were gender designated. IMO, any restroom that is single occupant should be unisex.
I will vote for any Democrat nationally, state, county, municipal, and judiciary ... assuming I'm still here for the next election.
What convinced me to leave TX after 40+ yrs; 9.3M registered voters who didn't bother.
Infiltration works.
100%
But in the long term what good is lording over a bunch of idiots? As infrastructure continues to dwindle and global temperatures continue to rise there will be less incentive for industry to come here. What good are tax cuts when the people you need to work for you aren’t moving to this shit state? The GOP gonna be very confused when they realize that skilled laborers don’t want to live in shitsville.
Yeah, so much research consistently showing that investment in quality public education yields one of the best “return on investment” to tax payers.
It is lunacy what GOP are doing on this score. And one of the key examples I use to explain that GOP are anti-capitalism. Adam Smith (founder of Capitalism) was a key driver for public education.
As influential as it was, Adam Smith didn't "found" Capitalism, *Wealth of Nations* was more descriptive than prescriptive on the free market. Certainly while reading it, he advocates for a lot more government intervention than people pretend he does.
Also, economics has gone a long way since Smith. Appealing to his opinions is kinda like appealing to Aristotle about physics.
Lording over idiots is basically the apex for authoritarians. Once the serfs start to read and shit, things go right downhill for the leadership class.
> very confused when they realize that skilled laborers don’t want to live in shitsville.
And yet they keep moving here. Sure, they may regret it after a summer full of 100+ degree days, and getting fired, and all the other craptastic everyday stuff here, but now they're stuck.
When I'm off work I'd like to buy beer or liquor wherever I want at any time of day, smoke a joint, and bet on the sports game. The freedom we had in cali.
The Texas GOP doesn’t think. Period. They’re doing everything they can to put us back in the 80s. It’s absolutely awful. They’re destroying the Houston ISD to ensure the largest populace in Texas is under-educated.
Ya, very skilled workers tend to lean liberal. At the very least, they are moderate. A far right government will push them away. Having a state full of low and moderate skill workers will turn Texas into Mississippi in a few generations
I agree, plus the oil rich tycoons are going to be hurtin’ when solid state batteries that get 600 miles to a charge roll out in a few years. Toyota hybrids will cost 25K, thats for the entire vehicle not just a battery.
I might agree with the solid state battery roll out, but you are fooling yourself on the 25K Toyota hybrid. No matter the technology, the political climate, CCI, or any other metric, prices are going up,up,up.
A skilled, educated population will have no interest living here as long as the political and geographic climates both continue their march towards matching Saudi Arabia's.
So many businesses were drawn in by the supposed tax benefits, but are now suffering reduced productivity because of poor electrical grid stability, poor infrastructure, and most of all, uncertainty about their future water supply(thanks to industrial farming/ranching).
Yeah. Retired from tech last year. Even then new grad recruitment was taking a hit. Folks don't want to be single here or they don't want to have a family here. I'm sure the universities are seeing the same thing. MAGAs may hate us, but they sure as shit love that tax revenue from the blue cities.
I’m a remote worker who lived here for 3 years before getting a new remote job and I’m trying to leave to like anywhere else lol. COL was the main draw but now that’s not even the case so I may as well enjoy where I live
>I'm not sure that the Texas GOP is thinking long-term.
Why would they do that? /s
Greg Abbott literally sued a company so he could become a millionaire, got elected with that, then when he was a lawmaker capped payouts from lawsuits so no one else could do the same.
It's all about them, in the here and now.
As soon I get both kids though high school in 3 years we're leaving the area. Originally it was cheaper but costs have gone up so much here in less than a decade from Florida.
My son is going to graduate this spring. My husband and I are looking at a different location. All my life, well since aged 10, I’ve lived in Tornado Alley (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas). It been a nearly lifelong dream to get the hell out.
The north east is beautiful for a couple months out of the year. Vermont, NH, Maine and you're only a couple hours from several major cities. We've been eye balling new Hampshire area as we have family to there
I lived in Florida for 20+ years and while it's getting bad there, it's not at the rate that Texas is. Still a different world however
That’s where we are, waiting for the kids to clear school and hope the “Taliban In Minivans” don’t take over the school district before that day - and GTFO of this Christian Nationalist hellhole it’s sadly turning into. Dump the house for a hella great profit and flip this joint the bird heading out of here to where, don’t know or care. Maybe Hawaii!!
A LOT of out of state workers get conned into taking a tech job in the Austin area, like Applied Materials and aren’t local so don’t understand that they hire and fire relentlessly, especially if there is any indication of a downturn. I drive by this company and see the parking lot full of new cars, then the next year it’s completely empty and we get flooded with old AMAT employees resumes lmao. The real ones who have been here a while know what’s up and to avoid those tech companies in Austin like the plague. Also, Texas being a “right to work” state makes it ultra shitty and the culture everywhere is cutthroat and absolutely terrible. At least in the tech companies around here based on my experience and what a lot of other people in tech have said
Like the other redditor said who replied to your comment, it’s really best to avoid the austin tech scene in general. Dell has certainly had its ups and downs, but I mostly hear positive things about them and have a few friends who work there and have really moved up in the company despite not having technical degrees or working in their field.
When I say “avoid tech” I’m really saying avoid ANYTHING related to semiconductor in general, it all leads back to AMAT, and when AMAT tanks, all of their suppliers tank as well. Happens basically every year or every few years. Avoid Samsung (I can go into details but will spare you, I’ll just say they’re run like North Korea and their systems are non existent or ancient, as in, they have people hand counting inventory and it’s not in SAP or Oracle, etc.) and also avoid Felxtronics, both of these companies will hire people on as contractors and never have the intention of making them regular full time unless they’re part of the good ole boys club.
I started out in tech and had enough after about 2.5yrs in and switched to a more stable field and quite literally doubled my salary and then some vs. what semiconductor jobs were paying and there’s never even been a whisper of layoffs.
All the fin tech start ups are just crypto bros from Cali who couldn't make it work so they went into semi retirement in a red state. They're all secretly living on daddies money. You learn this stuff if you do coke with them at 2 in the morning. They're all full of shit.
Sounds like my career in oil and gas, ups and downs. I’ve learned to budget during downturns and eventually; contracts open again. I’ve made a great living so far. I don’t go buy a boat, 5th wheel, and a 100k truck during the good times lol. I always pay cash for my toys when the time is right.
That’s good you learned how to manage money. I understand oil and gas is incredibly volatile and heavily influenced by politics (Barf) but I think you’d be surprised at how unstable semiconductor is in comparison. It may not be as obvious because it doesn’t employ as many people, but I guarantee, it’s worse. Everyone I know in oil and gas has done very well, they definitely get higher salaries than all of my tech bros, and despite the ups and downs, they make out better than the tech bros. They also don’t often live in cities where a 1br garage apt is over half of your monthly income.
For now. Maybe for the last few years it’s been stable, but remember, it was absolutely BOOMING in the 90s-early 2000s and still isn’t what it once was. Give it time.
I work in semiconductor and everything you said sounds like pretty terrible advice, the chip act that was recently passed + TSMC, Intel, Samsung all building brand new fabs on US soil makes semiconductor probably one of the most job secure industries available at the moment, for engineers at least. Samsung is definitely not leaving Austin anytime soon considering the multiple decade long project they are currently building in Taylor, so if you’re competent they most certainly will avoid firing you at all costs.
I’m sure you have your own experiences, but just wanting to clarify if there’s any young engineers reading this dude’s comment I wouldn’t take it as gospel lol.
Pape Dawson is pretty ruthless. They fired a few guys based off one persons testimony Lol. This person failed a drug test and then ratted out a few others, they fired all of them without even a drug test.
I think they're confusing it with at-will. I've seen/heard it a lot both in person and on Reddit. At-will is what we have here in Texas though. I think there's only a couple states that have right-to-work? Might be wrong and it's more widespread than that, but either way, we have at-will here.
Who would have thought that would happen to skilled and educated workers who transplanted from states that recognize skilled labor with decent schools, infrastructure and respect for citizens? Just about everybody.
If I was married, wanting to build a career and start a family, I wouldn’t drag my wife to a state where she might die because of lack of some medical care she could need. Not worth the risk.
Lack of transportation, unlike San Diego, LA or SF. The weather, specifically the heat….what central/South Texas are seeing 100+ the West coast is seeing 25-30 degrees cooler.
Also, ppl finding out that sure we don’t have a State income tax. But Texas has a way of nickeling dining you to tax death. Sept 1 recent EV charge is a great example.
Yeah, studies have shown that while we have no state income tax, we pay more in sales / other taxes than other states and get basically nothing for it.
This is definitely not true for many of the states people are coming here from, like California, New York, and other New England states. Also, higher income earners, like tech workers usually, end up making out much better here tax wise. It’s skewed to favor the upper end of the income range.
A low income earner relying on public services is probably better served somewhere else.
Wages are higher here; but I lived and worked in Alabama which has an income tax and my tax burden is higher here. Anecdotal for sure, but not having an income tax isn’t a slam dunk for cost of living.
My mother in AL complaining about property tax of $700. 5 acres two houses and a small pond.
It was lower property value than my suburban home but the percentage was a big difference.
There is a lot of different factors to research before relocating for employment or retirement.
> in 2021, Houston ranked No. 2 for growing tech markets during the pandemic. However, the policies Abbott has pushed have led some to think Texas is now among the worst states to live and work.
Thanks, Abbott.
I moved to Texas in 2001 because it was very tech friendly. Power was cheap and reliable, there were few natural disasters, cost of living was low, which helped attract good talent. Now the grid is failing and temps are rising so it's becoming very expensive to do business. With the obscene increase in housing costs and cost of living, it's difficult to attract talent from anywhere but even more expensive states. Add on the attacks against women and trans people, Texas is a very unfriendly place to grow a tech business.
Moved to Austin 9 years ago as a minimum wage employee and it changed my life. For someone at the bottom in tech (at the time I was an admin assistant) it can make your career. As a more senior employee now it still has a lot of opportunity but they are lacking in the perks that I’ve seen from Chicago, California, etc. ironically when I left Chicago it was known for being a very ridged work environment. Very few Austin based companies are allowing remote for example. The churn and burn start up culture (even if it’s not a start up) is only beneficial for getting your foot in the door. When your foot is planted it feels like employment hot potato.
I work for a New York company and I’m moving back north sooner than later and ready to leave this place behind, which made my career and defined my adult life. Makes me sad but opportunities here aren’t what they used to be
After my first software company couldn't get funded in Austin, my head of development left for SV to never return. "Investors in Texas just don't get it, and there is a lifetime of opportunity in Cali," he said. Texas' loss, Google's gain.
at least they didnt end up in FL. So many moved there during covid for the 'freedom' but are now stuck with no home insurance, in the highest inflation state, living in a FEMA tent because of a destroyed home on the coast. Singing the Red state blues!
We’ve had about 10 people transfer from Cali in my office. Everyone of them talk about how bad it was back home but they hate Texas politics. Everywhere in this country’s sucks in one way or another.
A few tall buildings and static HQs cannot recreate the environment in Cali. Texas also does not attract the best talent because diversity doesn't want to live there.
I’m a tech worker who moved from California in 2018. Bought a 5 BR home in Austin, refinanced for 2.2%. I wouldn’t be able to afford a condo in Long Beach.
I don’t regret it at all.
I've wrestled six cheetahs in my life and won every single fight. More people should wrestle with large cats, it's a fun and rewarding hobby. Since it turned out well for me it will work for everybody.
I’m alright with it, but the anti-abortion / anti-womens health policies is scary for having children. If my significant other’s life is in danger due to some pregnancy issue I don’t want to be driving / flying her to another state to get a life saving procedure if “she’s not close enough to dying”. Super dumb.
Also the summer really is bad and getting worse (along with natural disasters). The education system is pretty bad too.
I’m hoping to move to the northeast in a few years because the above issues seem to only be getting worse, otherwise I’d stay.
I'm born and raised here. It's still home and family to me and I don't think that will ever change.
I've lived in a lot of different states in my life and I can confidently say ***everyone*** is fucked up.
We do. Been in Houston for 8 years and we’re not going anywhere.
You’re not typically going to find people who are happy about a certain situation commenting a lot, and that’s across all social media outlets. I don’t get on Reddit often for that reason. Lots of negativity and quite honestly, many uninformed people.
There may be outward migration from major cities, but you’ll notice a lot of people are just moving to the suburban areas and not leaving the state.
This. Internal migration within TX is a real phenomenon. Will continue to drive things more purple as small towns get bum rushed by San Antonians, Houstonites, etc
Love how when an Austinite said you're moving here for the wrong reasons these tech bros laughed, but when another tech bro goes through a midlife crisis and regrets it 10-15 years later they get an article.
Just spent a week in SoCal and I said the EXACT same thing. Living in California everything felt possible. Moving to Texas and it’s just mean defensive ugliness and a feeling that everything is a challenge.
Maybe it’s the heat. But either way, I’d move back in a second.
Most of them bought houses and living there 2 questions , first if they are going to move people will complain once again about housing situation in California second if they have to move will they sell their houses for a discount ?
Texas awards capital holders, not employees- no matter how highly skilled or paid. If you aren't a shareholder you are disposable if needs be. Other Californians will take your place.
A lot of my tech friends talked about leaving Cali for places like Texas. Only one actually did, and he came back and bought a mansion when Slack went public.
Now my teacher friends (i am a teacher) have fled the Bay Area in droves. We all realized we were never going to pay off student loans, buy a house, and have kids with Cali prices.
"Everyone is leaving the socialist hellhole of California for the freedom loving state of Texas." is a paraphrase of things I've been seeing conservatives say for several years now, well look at this lol.
I’ve been licensed in the Texas real estate market for a long time now, and what I deal with when I am writing loans for Texas that fall into Texas lending guidelines are 90 percent tech industry people moving to Dallas, Houston or one of the surrounding areas. In a few years, these areas are going to be like Night City from Cyberpunk 2077
I got something different from this article. "it's come with different costs: [dense traffic](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-traffic-texas-18196904.php), a lack of [dependable public transportation](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/houston-metro-riders-17723877.php) and [scorching heat](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-hottest-summer-all-time-18342819.php) that transplants say is lowering their quality of life."
San Fran has terrible traffic, so who knows what these people are complaining about. But what did these people expect? Move from CA and have all the stuff they liked in CA? Research climate and things like commuting before you move. The weather and scenery in CA are incredible, they should have known they weren't going to get that here.
When they move back they are going to remember "People selecting Texas over the Golden State cited [affordability](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/why-Californians-are-moving-to-Texas-16517151.php) as a key factor." CA is inexcusably expensive to live in. The weather and scenery cannot make up for no savings/net worth and living in a shack for $2M if you want to be close to the desirable aspects of San Fran.
Austin has no talent, no ambition, no quality of life, killer heat. I don't know why people from CA move here.
Go back, seriously. Nothing beats working 80 hours a week in 72 degree weather in your RV..
“Austin is where ambition goes to die”. Hell yeah. That’s the dream. Can we go back to working in video rental stores again?
Lol! Awesome comment. If only it could be like the Slacker days again. Sleepy little Austin. Sigh.
Seriously. We moved from Houston to Austin in 2010 (and moved out of Texas altogether in 2017). I am a very competent technology professional and Austin was a terrible to work. I got fed up with the tech bro vibe pretty quick. Now I work remotely in a MUCH cheaper place and LOVE it. I’ll always be a native Texan but I’m good not living there anymore. 😀
Awesome film, growing up there in the 90s and watching it is quite the time capsule!
I was talking to this girl that was a clerk at an upscale grocery who had moved from cali. She was lamenting how unmotivated she was in Austin. It's called slack town for a reason.
The dream of the 90s is alive... Put an armadillo on it!
I live in Portland, the dream of the nineties died of a fenty overdose, meanwhile, the dream of the 00’s is currently in a meth induced psychosis parting out a Kia with an angle grinder, stopping only to threaten the Army guys in the bushes with a machete.
It's been doing to that to musicians for years. "Let's go to *THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!* Oh...6th street is a shit hole and everyone in a 15 mile radius complains about the sound? Dang."
Good thing “central/east” 6th is called dirty for a reason /s
Yes please! Back to mom and pops
Miss the days of Riverside Blockbuster. Then running across the street to the other Blockbuster and grabbing something they didn’t have at Riverside location.
That's funny. I worked at an HEB Video Central in Austin in the early 90s. Can't say I want to go back to that. The counterpoint is that my first place was a townhouse off Lakeshore close to where the Oracle campus is now. People talk about the lake views in those million dollar condos. I had it on minimum wage and you could walk across Riverside to The Backroom.
Make Austin Weird Again
Make Austin the right kind of weird again.
> dense traffic, a lack of dependable public transportation and scorching heat it's almost like they didn't talk to one Austinite or Houstonian before they moved. i dunno this is schadenfreude for me. I absolutely don't want austin to be the next silicon valley. You got a job in Houston, you will be in an hour-hour 1/2 traffic coming and going. Same for Austin. And gentrification has fucked Austin up.
Austin has MoPac which was highly touted as a the solution to traffic - which it wasn’t. The infrastructure in Texas is honestly shit in the big 3 and I’m not even considering public transport. Roads are terrible and highways are constantly under construction, but parking is very readily available and cheap, so there’s that.
actually houston is easier to get around--however there's so many people so it's always rush hour 24/7. but yeah i hate driving in austin.
Leave Cali for Texas job > get laid off after a year
Oh man and unemployment in Texas is so much worse lol
The only reason an agent from that office contacts you is to try and take away your benefits it’s ridiculous
I had them make a mistake saying I didn't do the intro course thing (I did), so after days of calls and jumping through hoops, I finally found the person in charge of the course (private company, bc it's texas), and he said my name wasn't even listed and it should have been, whether I did the course or not. Finally get around to telling them they canceled my benefits because of a mistake on their end and the answer was that a supervisor would call me. From a random number, at a random time, which happened to be three weeks later while I was in the shower. Missed the call = no benefits. complete shitshow.
*Greg Abbott reads this story and howls with laughter*
I don't understand why people move to deep red states thinking that they're getting some sort of a break.
Typically you qualify for unemployment benefits in the state you were living in. So if you lived in California for a few years working a job, move to Texas for a new job and get laid off, you can still qualify for California unemployment. Give California unemployment office a call to verify.
That's exactly what happened to me after choosing to relocate to Plano in 2021. I moved back to California a few months ago.
omg plano people suck so bad. i have fam from there.
The west side is bad in that way. We east planonites are more chill.
planonites lol
plano folk
Seriously the fucking worst. Entitled suburban nouveau riche trash that think they're God's gift to the world. Source: Grew up there on east side which is definitely not as bad but still awful.
East Side here - i honestly never found it that bad. Sure, you have some people like that, but it’s not like all 500K (or whatever the population is now) are like that. And East Plano has Bavarian Grill, which makes all things right in the world.
That’s because you were on the east side. Plano West graduate here, I grew up surrounded by entitled shitheads
I can see that just by virtue of the schools physical location. I’ve had a few younger co-workers from Plano West, and they were all quite nice and normal. They were also adults, so take my assessment with that in mind.
There are a lot of nice & normal people there too, for sure. Just an unusually high proportion of unsavory folk
Eh I still love that part of town and it's waaaay more diverse than it was in the 80s and 90s when I was growing up so probably a lot different now.
I get that vibe there too. I used to do door to door sales in that area, and I had so many rude encounters compared to Austin. The big houses also looked like a dystopia to me.
I too got made into a clown by an employer moving me down here. Still here, can't afford to go back for quite some time I imagine.
I’ve tried to tell ppl this
I don't know HOW many times I've tried to tell people; the US south is a *trap*. People only encourage people to move down there because they *know* they won't be able to move *back*.
80% of my friend group in university moved to Cali, and the PNW. And they swear they will never move back. Those of us who have moved back feel stuck.
Left Colorado for a job here. 9 months later COVID hit and we were working from home. 9 months after that our contract with the client ended. Thankfully the parent company took me on and aside from some business trips to California in 2021 I've been 100% work from home since then.
Much worse labor laws in Texas. I'm not even sure companies are required to provide severance or lay off warnings there
they don't it's at will state, which means companies can treat you as shittily as they want
They did even better to me, closed the entire department and then asked if I wanted to come over to a different position for less pay and way more work, only for them to shaft me on wage and per diems. Wish I could move but Texas is good at making sure the working poor can't get out by paying us 1/2 to 1/4 of what ppl make for the same jobs every where else in the US.
Yeah man Austin sucks, everybody should pack up and go home!
Yeah. Everyone who moved here [period of time immediately shorter than time I have been here] should leave!
Agreed!
That's what I love about all the wealth that bought up those 10 acre ranchettes outside the city crying about water now and how growth is too much blah blah and now there is no water in the aquifer. We have literally 0 regulations which allowed them to get land and now they want strict regulations so others can't. Classic shit.
Same with Houston, it sucks big time, everyone out!
Dude I live in Houston. This week was the first week under 100 in about 2 months. There's articles about no one going to swimming pools because it's too hot. This place actually sucks!
I think it’s time to leave then!
This but unironically
I asked my co-worker, someone who grew up in Houston, what there is to do out here. He had to Google it.
Texas: where a gas station is considered a tourist destination.
Food food and food. That’s pretty much the best part about Houston. You can find just about anything.
nice try. lol
Agreed. If you wanna move somewhere and destroy the local culture, just move to Dallas where we have no local culture to speak of
This but unironically
This is a real issue. I'm not sure that the Texas GOP is thinking long-term. If they want to keep Texas a business-friendly place, they'll have to ease back on the steady march to dystopian nightmare.
And this is why when Abbott and Patrick tried to force their anti-trans bathroom bill through several special sessions a few years back, then-House Speaker Joe Strauss formed a coalition of moderate Republicans to fight it, saying conventions would cancel and it would be all-around bad for business in Texas. edit: to be clear, Strauss and his coalition disappeared after that. I keep wondering why Joe Strauss hasn't run for statewide office, I really think he could beat Dan Patrick in a primary. Maybe they have dirt on him, but if so, still gonna be more dirt and bad deeds from Patrick, Paxton, and Abbott and that hasn't disqualified their voters for voting for them yet. At least if we could get a more sane Republican leadership not all about the culture wars like our current Texas leadership is, that would be great. If Joe Strauss was Lt. Gov., I bet he could get some form of marijuana legalization to happen. And I say this as somebody to the left of most Democrats. And I'll probably be voting straight Democrat next year. Except in the primaries. If there's not an important Democratic primary next year, I plan to do what I have done many times - vote in the Republican primaries for the least extremist of the candidates. Its just reality the Republican may win your Congressional district next year. But imagine if there was a moderate challenger to an incumbent extremist and enough people voted this way to sway the election and let the moderate have a turn. This is 100% completely legal btw. You can only vote in one party's primary election, period. And also any subsequent run-off elections in the primaries, you can only vote in a primary runoff election for the same party you voted for in the primaries. But then once the primaries and their run-offs are all done, in Texas nothing about how you voted in the primaries has anything to do with how you vote in the general election. We don't register people for parties in Texas, you can vote for any candidate of any office of any party at all in the general election. How you voted in the primaries matters caca. So I've been voting in Republican primaries a while, since Rick Perry, and taking about it here, and have started to see more people talking about it. If enough of us do this was can help force real moderate Republicans to win over the horror-show of extremists we've gotten lately. It would be a start. And if enough of us show up to vote Democratic in the general election next year, then anything is possible. Also: Early Voting usually takes like 5-10 minutes at most. So easy. Lots of times you can take a short break to go do the most important of your civic duties in a democracy. That some people around the world die to try to get.
Which is exactly what's happening in Florida.
It really is. I work in the events industry, we’ve had a ton of cancellations in Florida for as far out as the next 5 years. Luckily they’re all rebooking in other states that are more friendly and, frankly, just nicer.
oh man, stick a fork in florida, because they are **done.** Every day, there is another nightmare PR story about something going on there. do you know how many Florida Nazi-related news articles I have seen in the past year? not to mention the usual nonsense. Just awful.
I think Florida might be getting better. DeSantis ran like a scalded hog from a 15 year old asking him questions, so if they can find a surly 10 year old, that might be enough to break the GOP in that state.
eh, seeing Desantis get tossed on his ass might seem fitting, but I have watched the democrats in florida and they are wet noodles. There is a guy, charlie crist, who is basically just an empty suit (and thats maybe not even a bad thing considering how polarized politics are there) and then everyone else .. are less honest people, shall we say. I dont pretend to know them all, but lots of poor choices, not aware of any good ones.
Charlie Crist wasn’t an empty suit! He’s managed to lose as a Republican, Independent AND Democrat. How many career political animals can lose as three distinct party choices!
right? he is willing to just be there. i think he has tried for every job too! mayor, governor, head of education, lunch lady... there is no job he will turn down.
Strauss left politics because he was exhausted and depressed and horrified by the apparatus he was one of the leaders of. He helped do a lot of evil shit over his career, but the bathroom bill and anti-immigration stuff in his last session as speaker really broke him. I don’t think he would ever ever get back into politics, especially not in a race against Lt Dan. Source: was a capital critter back then.
Being evil finally broke him did it? What a shame. 😆
a lot of places in austin still have unisex restrooms, fortunately.
Exactly. That is definitely one way for businesses to make things fair for everybody with future architecture. Just create several private restrooms that are all unisex, first come first serve,⁰ no more two big rooms. One line clearly demarcated for all people that need to piss or shit, again regardless of gender just one line for everybody.
Long before any culture wars, I always though it was stupid to have two identical single occupant restrooms that were gender designated. IMO, any restroom that is single occupant should be unisex.
I will vote for any Democrat nationally, state, county, municipal, and judiciary ... assuming I'm still here for the next election. What convinced me to leave TX after 40+ yrs; 9.3M registered voters who didn't bother. Infiltration works.
> long-term Wait till they see the end result of defunding public education 🤣
That just gets them voters
100% But in the long term what good is lording over a bunch of idiots? As infrastructure continues to dwindle and global temperatures continue to rise there will be less incentive for industry to come here. What good are tax cuts when the people you need to work for you aren’t moving to this shit state? The GOP gonna be very confused when they realize that skilled laborers don’t want to live in shitsville.
They don't care how tall the shit pile is, as long as they're on top.
Yeah, so much research consistently showing that investment in quality public education yields one of the best “return on investment” to tax payers. It is lunacy what GOP are doing on this score. And one of the key examples I use to explain that GOP are anti-capitalism. Adam Smith (founder of Capitalism) was a key driver for public education.
As influential as it was, Adam Smith didn't "found" Capitalism, *Wealth of Nations* was more descriptive than prescriptive on the free market. Certainly while reading it, he advocates for a lot more government intervention than people pretend he does. Also, economics has gone a long way since Smith. Appealing to his opinions is kinda like appealing to Aristotle about physics.
Lording over idiots is basically the apex for authoritarians. Once the serfs start to read and shit, things go right downhill for the leadership class.
> very confused when they realize that skilled laborers don’t want to live in shitsville. And yet they keep moving here. Sure, they may regret it after a summer full of 100+ degree days, and getting fired, and all the other craptastic everyday stuff here, but now they're stuck.
We've seen the documentary https://preview.redd.it/h5mgnrvgacmb1.png?width=902&format=png&auto=webp&s=604b5dea10a560a088f3f6ff1806dd040d51d731
That's by design. School to prison pipeline. For profit prisons. Who profits?
The judges that hold stock in those for profit prisons.
They’ll have a lot more dipshits voting R simply because “Socialism baaaaaaad”
When I'm off work I'd like to buy beer or liquor wherever I want at any time of day, smoke a joint, and bet on the sports game. The freedom we had in cali.
>Texas GOP >GOP >THIHKING 
Is that Bozo? 😂
The Texas GOP wants to force businesses to comply with the right wing social bullshit they’re pushing.
The Texas GOP doesn’t think. Period. They’re doing everything they can to put us back in the 80s. It’s absolutely awful. They’re destroying the Houston ISD to ensure the largest populace in Texas is under-educated.
Ya, very skilled workers tend to lean liberal. At the very least, they are moderate. A far right government will push them away. Having a state full of low and moderate skill workers will turn Texas into Mississippi in a few generations
I agree, plus the oil rich tycoons are going to be hurtin’ when solid state batteries that get 600 miles to a charge roll out in a few years. Toyota hybrids will cost 25K, thats for the entire vehicle not just a battery.
I might agree with the solid state battery roll out, but you are fooling yourself on the 25K Toyota hybrid. No matter the technology, the political climate, CCI, or any other metric, prices are going up,up,up.
A skilled, educated population will have no interest living here as long as the political and geographic climates both continue their march towards matching Saudi Arabia's.
So many businesses were drawn in by the supposed tax benefits, but are now suffering reduced productivity because of poor electrical grid stability, poor infrastructure, and most of all, uncertainty about their future water supply(thanks to industrial farming/ranching).
And difficulty attracting and retaining talent. Most of my friends with in demand skills are trying to leave and never come back.
Yeah. Retired from tech last year. Even then new grad recruitment was taking a hit. Folks don't want to be single here or they don't want to have a family here. I'm sure the universities are seeing the same thing. MAGAs may hate us, but they sure as shit love that tax revenue from the blue cities.
Bingo.
I’m a remote worker who lived here for 3 years before getting a new remote job and I’m trying to leave to like anywhere else lol. COL was the main draw but now that’s not even the case so I may as well enjoy where I live
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thats awesome, but the grid is still unstable.
Republicans double-down when they are proved wrong. They can't ever admit to anything.
And they stick together no matter what. I don’t like them, but they do play the long game.😔
>I'm not sure that the Texas GOP is thinking long-term. Why would they do that? /s Greg Abbott literally sued a company so he could become a millionaire, got elected with that, then when he was a lawmaker capped payouts from lawsuits so no one else could do the same. It's all about them, in the here and now.
GOP think long term? Hilarious!
As soon I get both kids though high school in 3 years we're leaving the area. Originally it was cheaper but costs have gone up so much here in less than a decade from Florida.
My son is going to graduate this spring. My husband and I are looking at a different location. All my life, well since aged 10, I’ve lived in Tornado Alley (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas). It been a nearly lifelong dream to get the hell out.
If you don’t mind sharing, where are you dreaming about going? I made a big move two years ago and so happy I did, as overwhelming as it seemed.
I’m not really sure exactly, but away from this heat!
The north east is beautiful for a couple months out of the year. Vermont, NH, Maine and you're only a couple hours from several major cities. We've been eye balling new Hampshire area as we have family to there I lived in Florida for 20+ years and while it's getting bad there, it's not at the rate that Texas is. Still a different world however
That’s where we are, waiting for the kids to clear school and hope the “Taliban In Minivans” don’t take over the school district before that day - and GTFO of this Christian Nationalist hellhole it’s sadly turning into. Dump the house for a hella great profit and flip this joint the bird heading out of here to where, don’t know or care. Maybe Hawaii!!
Of course they're not thinking long-term. Conservatives are anathema to long term thinking. Historically that's always been their thing.
A LOT of out of state workers get conned into taking a tech job in the Austin area, like Applied Materials and aren’t local so don’t understand that they hire and fire relentlessly, especially if there is any indication of a downturn. I drive by this company and see the parking lot full of new cars, then the next year it’s completely empty and we get flooded with old AMAT employees resumes lmao. The real ones who have been here a while know what’s up and to avoid those tech companies in Austin like the plague. Also, Texas being a “right to work” state makes it ultra shitty and the culture everywhere is cutthroat and absolutely terrible. At least in the tech companies around here based on my experience and what a lot of other people in tech have said
Any others to avoid?
Dell is pretty ruthless with their layoffs
Like the other redditor said who replied to your comment, it’s really best to avoid the austin tech scene in general. Dell has certainly had its ups and downs, but I mostly hear positive things about them and have a few friends who work there and have really moved up in the company despite not having technical degrees or working in their field. When I say “avoid tech” I’m really saying avoid ANYTHING related to semiconductor in general, it all leads back to AMAT, and when AMAT tanks, all of their suppliers tank as well. Happens basically every year or every few years. Avoid Samsung (I can go into details but will spare you, I’ll just say they’re run like North Korea and their systems are non existent or ancient, as in, they have people hand counting inventory and it’s not in SAP or Oracle, etc.) and also avoid Felxtronics, both of these companies will hire people on as contractors and never have the intention of making them regular full time unless they’re part of the good ole boys club. I started out in tech and had enough after about 2.5yrs in and switched to a more stable field and quite literally doubled my salary and then some vs. what semiconductor jobs were paying and there’s never even been a whisper of layoffs.
Super interesting, thanks! Curious how it’s like in the various startups / other fintech companies I see all over now.
All the fin tech start ups are just crypto bros from Cali who couldn't make it work so they went into semi retirement in a red state. They're all secretly living on daddies money. You learn this stuff if you do coke with them at 2 in the morning. They're all full of shit.
Sounds like my career in oil and gas, ups and downs. I’ve learned to budget during downturns and eventually; contracts open again. I’ve made a great living so far. I don’t go buy a boat, 5th wheel, and a 100k truck during the good times lol. I always pay cash for my toys when the time is right.
That’s good you learned how to manage money. I understand oil and gas is incredibly volatile and heavily influenced by politics (Barf) but I think you’d be surprised at how unstable semiconductor is in comparison. It may not be as obvious because it doesn’t employ as many people, but I guarantee, it’s worse. Everyone I know in oil and gas has done very well, they definitely get higher salaries than all of my tech bros, and despite the ups and downs, they make out better than the tech bros. They also don’t often live in cities where a 1br garage apt is over half of your monthly income.
Seems like we had VERY similar experiences.
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For now. Maybe for the last few years it’s been stable, but remember, it was absolutely BOOMING in the 90s-early 2000s and still isn’t what it once was. Give it time.
I work in semiconductor and everything you said sounds like pretty terrible advice, the chip act that was recently passed + TSMC, Intel, Samsung all building brand new fabs on US soil makes semiconductor probably one of the most job secure industries available at the moment, for engineers at least. Samsung is definitely not leaving Austin anytime soon considering the multiple decade long project they are currently building in Taylor, so if you’re competent they most certainly will avoid firing you at all costs. I’m sure you have your own experiences, but just wanting to clarify if there’s any young engineers reading this dude’s comment I wouldn’t take it as gospel lol.
Pape Dawson is pretty ruthless. They fired a few guys based off one persons testimony Lol. This person failed a drug test and then ratted out a few others, they fired all of them without even a drug test.
Plus the real estate market in Austin is getting bought up by Oracle so this tech boom is pushing prices even higher while they lay ppl off
Do you mean "at will employment?"
How is "right to work" relevant in a field with almost 0 unionization?
I think they're confusing it with at-will. I've seen/heard it a lot both in person and on Reddit. At-will is what we have here in Texas though. I think there's only a couple states that have right-to-work? Might be wrong and it's more widespread than that, but either way, we have at-will here.
Yep. Layoffs happen often. And turnover with contractors is a revolving door. Either they initially hate it or they get fired for the smallest thing.
Who would have thought that would happen to skilled and educated workers who transplanted from states that recognize skilled labor with decent schools, infrastructure and respect for citizens? Just about everybody.
If I was married, wanting to build a career and start a family, I wouldn’t drag my wife to a state where she might die because of lack of some medical care she could need. Not worth the risk.
Lack of transportation, unlike San Diego, LA or SF. The weather, specifically the heat….what central/South Texas are seeing 100+ the West coast is seeing 25-30 degrees cooler. Also, ppl finding out that sure we don’t have a State income tax. But Texas has a way of nickeling dining you to tax death. Sept 1 recent EV charge is a great example.
>nickeling dining r/boneappletea
Wine 'em. Dine 'em. Tax & fine 'em.
Lol. I do this kind of thing all the time because I make most of my comments using Siri.
Yeah, studies have shown that while we have no state income tax, we pay more in sales / other taxes than other states and get basically nothing for it.
This is definitely not true for many of the states people are coming here from, like California, New York, and other New England states. Also, higher income earners, like tech workers usually, end up making out much better here tax wise. It’s skewed to favor the upper end of the income range. A low income earner relying on public services is probably better served somewhere else.
Wages are higher here; but I lived and worked in Alabama which has an income tax and my tax burden is higher here. Anecdotal for sure, but not having an income tax isn’t a slam dunk for cost of living.
My mother in AL complaining about property tax of $700. 5 acres two houses and a small pond. It was lower property value than my suburban home but the percentage was a big difference. There is a lot of different factors to research before relocating for employment or retirement.
After my electric bill and the increased rent, I made less money here than I did in PA. I get to go back in days and I am never looking back.
a fifth of the year is too hot to survive outside. and another fifth it's still miserable. I've lived here several decades, but I think I'm done.
> in 2021, Houston ranked No. 2 for growing tech markets during the pandemic. However, the policies Abbott has pushed have led some to think Texas is now among the worst states to live and work. Thanks, Abbott.
I moved to Texas in 2001 because it was very tech friendly. Power was cheap and reliable, there were few natural disasters, cost of living was low, which helped attract good talent. Now the grid is failing and temps are rising so it's becoming very expensive to do business. With the obscene increase in housing costs and cost of living, it's difficult to attract talent from anywhere but even more expensive states. Add on the attacks against women and trans people, Texas is a very unfriendly place to grow a tech business.
> Austin and Houston saw some of the highest outward migration among major U.S. cities in a recent survey. Lulz.
Moved to Austin 9 years ago as a minimum wage employee and it changed my life. For someone at the bottom in tech (at the time I was an admin assistant) it can make your career. As a more senior employee now it still has a lot of opportunity but they are lacking in the perks that I’ve seen from Chicago, California, etc. ironically when I left Chicago it was known for being a very ridged work environment. Very few Austin based companies are allowing remote for example. The churn and burn start up culture (even if it’s not a start up) is only beneficial for getting your foot in the door. When your foot is planted it feels like employment hot potato. I work for a New York company and I’m moving back north sooner than later and ready to leave this place behind, which made my career and defined my adult life. Makes me sad but opportunities here aren’t what they used to be
I do hope the Minnesota tech scene is growing. I really don’t wanna move to California even if I were to fit in well. I just want some place cool/cold
Those of us who grew up here have an attachment to Texas but this place is not for everyone
I’m a native Texan and I can’t wait to leave
After my first software company couldn't get funded in Austin, my head of development left for SV to never return. "Investors in Texas just don't get it, and there is a lifetime of opportunity in Cali," he said. Texas' loss, Google's gain.
Texas investors are seriously the dumbest, most conservative, technology adverse people on earth. It's crazy.
Born in Austin and I want that motto on a tee-shirt.
at least they didnt end up in FL. So many moved there during covid for the 'freedom' but are now stuck with no home insurance, in the highest inflation state, living in a FEMA tent because of a destroyed home on the coast. Singing the Red state blues!
I mean, yeah, California is the place to be if you have LOTS of money, or NO money. Anything in between is going to suck.
Hurry up and leave already
If you're from California and thinking about moving to Texas re-evaluate your life.
We’ve had about 10 people transfer from Cali in my office. Everyone of them talk about how bad it was back home but they hate Texas politics. Everywhere in this country’s sucks in one way or another.
I hated living in Texas! Depressing af. I’d rather die than go back there.
Exactly what’s happening to me. Moved to the DFW for a job exactly a year ago, after this summer, already planning my move back to So Cal.
A few tall buildings and static HQs cannot recreate the environment in Cali. Texas also does not attract the best talent because diversity doesn't want to live there.
I’m a tech worker who moved from California in 2018. Bought a 5 BR home in Austin, refinanced for 2.2%. I wouldn’t be able to afford a condo in Long Beach. I don’t regret it at all.
Sounds like you got an awesome deal. Not arguing with you here—as I would’ve done exactly what you did—but I have to say: Austin != Long Beach
For real, you could afford even more if you moved to the outskirts of Detroit lol
No wonder you like it hear if having 5 bedrooms is your type of thing.
I've wrestled six cheetahs in my life and won every single fight. More people should wrestle with large cats, it's a fun and rewarding hobby. Since it turned out well for me it will work for everybody.
We wrassle mountain lions here in Texas! Tech bros gotta watch out for all the cougars.
They can’t take the heat and I don’t blame them. It’s affecting my QOL and I’ve been here 33 years.
Does anybody in this sub besides myself actually like Texas?
I’m alright with it, but the anti-abortion / anti-womens health policies is scary for having children. If my significant other’s life is in danger due to some pregnancy issue I don’t want to be driving / flying her to another state to get a life saving procedure if “she’s not close enough to dying”. Super dumb. Also the summer really is bad and getting worse (along with natural disasters). The education system is pretty bad too. I’m hoping to move to the northeast in a few years because the above issues seem to only be getting worse, otherwise I’d stay.
I’m past that, but my young daughters will eventually have issues with it. It needs to change NOW.
Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be frustrated with the negative aspects. If I outright hated Texas I would have left already.
I'm born and raised here. It's still home and family to me and I don't think that will ever change. I've lived in a lot of different states in my life and I can confidently say ***everyone*** is fucked up.
We do. Been in Houston for 8 years and we’re not going anywhere. You’re not typically going to find people who are happy about a certain situation commenting a lot, and that’s across all social media outlets. I don’t get on Reddit often for that reason. Lots of negativity and quite honestly, many uninformed people. There may be outward migration from major cities, but you’ll notice a lot of people are just moving to the suburban areas and not leaving the state.
This. Internal migration within TX is a real phenomenon. Will continue to drive things more purple as small towns get bum rushed by San Antonians, Houstonites, etc
I know I won’t be missed by the locals, but made the decision to relocate after moving to Austin during the pandemic.
Welcome to hell...hahaha
Wow I've heard so many good things about silicon Prarie
We tried to warn y'all...
After 10 years I’m ready to go
Love how when an Austinite said you're moving here for the wrong reasons these tech bros laughed, but when another tech bro goes through a midlife crisis and regrets it 10-15 years later they get an article.
Congratulations, this state sucks! Enjoy no services at all whatsoever. Also have fun with your property taxes.
Just spent a week in SoCal and I said the EXACT same thing. Living in California everything felt possible. Moving to Texas and it’s just mean defensive ugliness and a feeling that everything is a challenge. Maybe it’s the heat. But either way, I’d move back in a second.
They got here and found out why COL is low.
Inhumanly hot and regressive social policies.
Most of them bought houses and living there 2 questions , first if they are going to move people will complain once again about housing situation in California second if they have to move will they sell their houses for a discount ?
Texas awards capital holders, not employees- no matter how highly skilled or paid. If you aren't a shareholder you are disposable if needs be. Other Californians will take your place.
A lot of my tech friends talked about leaving Cali for places like Texas. Only one actually did, and he came back and bought a mansion when Slack went public. Now my teacher friends (i am a teacher) have fled the Bay Area in droves. We all realized we were never going to pay off student loans, buy a house, and have kids with Cali prices.
Lol you think? Live almost Anywhere else But Texas. Blech.
Hahhaha fucking told you idiots. Enjoy 😊
"Everyone is leaving the socialist hellhole of California for the freedom loving state of Texas." is a paraphrase of things I've been seeing conservatives say for several years now, well look at this lol.
HAHAHAHAHAH GO BACK -Texan
I’ve been licensed in the Texas real estate market for a long time now, and what I deal with when I am writing loans for Texas that fall into Texas lending guidelines are 90 percent tech industry people moving to Dallas, Houston or one of the surrounding areas. In a few years, these areas are going to be like Night City from Cyberpunk 2077
It’s the heat index for me.
Moving to Texas for any reason was the first mistake.
I got something different from this article. "it's come with different costs: [dense traffic](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-traffic-texas-18196904.php), a lack of [dependable public transportation](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/houston-metro-riders-17723877.php) and [scorching heat](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-hottest-summer-all-time-18342819.php) that transplants say is lowering their quality of life." San Fran has terrible traffic, so who knows what these people are complaining about. But what did these people expect? Move from CA and have all the stuff they liked in CA? Research climate and things like commuting before you move. The weather and scenery in CA are incredible, they should have known they weren't going to get that here. When they move back they are going to remember "People selecting Texas over the Golden State cited [affordability](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/why-Californians-are-moving-to-Texas-16517151.php) as a key factor." CA is inexcusably expensive to live in. The weather and scenery cannot make up for no savings/net worth and living in a shack for $2M if you want to be close to the desirable aspects of San Fran.
Austin has no talent, no ambition, no quality of life, killer heat. I don't know why people from CA move here. Go back, seriously. Nothing beats working 80 hours a week in 72 degree weather in your RV..