Welcome to the Texas Hill Country.
We now live in Texas and enjoy over $7,500 less state taxes!
Also looking at the Texas hill country and a rural setting.
I understand your feelings all too well, Allen. I have lived all over the country and now that I am in San Diego, I don't know what to do. On the one hand, we love the climate and the natural beauty and the ability to go for a jog or a bike ride any day of the year. The weather here is better than it was even when we lived in Hawaii, because there is less heat, humidity and bugs. But the state is a total disaster, and other than close friends and work buddies, the people here seem cold and shallow. It is time for us to settle down but I am leaning towards a weather compromise just to be back around some normalcy. My husband wants to stay.
It's a tough call. I guess we could consider ourselves blessed to have so many locales to choose from here in the U.S.A. But it is a shame that California is in such a bad state. I can't imagine it getting better, maybe just not any worse.
LOL - nice hook at the end!
A happy ending, at least so far. But why Texas, if you don't mind my asking? I like the firearms laws there, but once again too many illegals. But, that's why I live up here: No income taxes except for Federal, sales taxes aren't too bad, and for the most part the various levels of governance manage to stay out of a person's way. Nothing poisonous flora or fauna, mild weather (no snow), and the liberals understand that it is in their best interests to maintain some form of detente in order to avoid being ventilated.
Yup, if we could only ship off the liberals/commies to some gulag this area would be perfect.
And Texas will be blessed by your move. But I must tell you that San Antonio is Norte Mexico City. You aren't getting away from illegals moving there.
I noticed as a Texan living and going to grad school in California a very strong attitude. And I'm currently in Riverside, CA on a visit to help my relatives, and nothing's changed about that attitude.
I told my Texas relatives years ago that the Californian students I met were determined to be 'nonjudgmental" no matter what. My impression was that you could axe-murder their own mothers and they could try to rationalize and not judge you for it.
The beautiful Eloi are eating from their fruit trees, sunning themselves, and not seeing that their paradise can't last forever.
Just had a sister and brother-in-law who recently cashed out in El Cajon (San Diego County) and moved to Seguin, Texas (the hill country). They love it and are debt free. Other members of the family are about to do the same.
Allen, I understand your mixed emotions, completely. My brother's family lives in Folsom, and as much as I deeply miss them, I understand why they stay. In fact, we just got back from a week in the Ventura area, and it's beautiful. But a "starter home" runs in the low $500,000's. We make a healthy income here in the Phoenix area, but we could not even afford a 1400 sq. ft home in a low-income neighborhood in Ventura! That's kind of depressing! And yet, not really. We can always visit our favorite CA hangouts, come home, and have much to be thankful for.
Actually, I'm getting itchy feet to move myself. Wouldn't mind giving Texas a try.
Frederickburg, so far is the only place I like in Texas, actually I love that area.
We visited San Antonio a few weeks ago, which I HATED. UGH
Tyler, east of Dallas was ok and going through Ft Worth soon to the races, but it's too big of a city for me.
I liked the wide open spaces in Wyoming and would love to visit Montana.
California and Texas seem opposite - I hate CA politics but love its weather. Two questions about hill country northwest of San Antonio Texas:
1st question: How windy is it there?
2nd question: How humid is it there?
After a lifetime in CA for my husband and 50+ years for me, we got out and relocated to GA. We hated to leave the weather but decided we had to have something more than that holding us there. Of course, friends/family were hard to leave behind but the positives just didn’t outweigh the negatives for all the reasons you named.
Still miss the weather and the family/friends but it’s worked out well for us. Not sorry we made the move. Much easier today to keep in touch with friends/family than it was when I moved to CA from NY State in 1957. Phone calls home weren’t cheap so they were limited and the internet hadn’t been invented yet - LOL.
Isn’t it amazing? We’re probably all in touch more with old friends than we ever were 30-40 years ago. It was so easy to lose track of them. Pretty neat!!
My understanding is the the biggest fear of a Texan is not a Hispanic with a knife, or a Black with a gun, but rather a Yankee with a U-Haul