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Low-Tax Texas Beats Big-Government California (You can tell when people vote with their feet)
Townhall ^ | 03/07/2010 | Michael Barone

Posted on 03/08/2010 6:18:30 PM PST by SeekAndFind

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1 posted on 03/08/2010 6:18:30 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Any suggestions of the names of small Texas towns where I can buy a few acres? Prefer some green pasture land over desert, and I can pay cash. (Really.)

Yes, I was born in Los Angeles. But, well, you know . . .


2 posted on 03/08/2010 6:24:21 PM PST by bajabaja (Too ugly to be scanned at the airports.)
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To: SeekAndFind

People vote with their feet but in their new homes they miss the wonderful things that government did for them in California and set about to improving their new state to be just like California. They do not connect the ubiquity of the inefficient “services” and the number of bureaucrats required to oversee the huge number of lesser civil servants with the ever rising taxes. They recreate the old situation and then are nonplussed that their new state, while improving in atmosphere and services is sucking all the dollars out of their bank accounts and the crime rate is rising.


3 posted on 03/08/2010 6:32:27 PM PST by arthurus ("If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist." -Ann C.)
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To: bajabaja

If you can move to Texas without bringing California with you then you will be an asset. If you bring Cali along to Texas you will be the curse that has afflicted Colorado.


4 posted on 03/08/2010 6:33:37 PM PST by arthurus ("If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist." -Ann C.)
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To: bajabaja

Lots of good green areas in Central Texas at reasonable prices. Look in Bosque County around Valley Mills, or in nearby Crawford in McLennan County. Tons of land available in Limestone or Freestone Counties.


5 posted on 03/08/2010 6:38:24 PM PST by McLynnan
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To: arthurus; bajabaja
Amen to that.

Moving to Texas myself in April or May.

First State to recover from this BS, might wind up being the last free place in America (don't worry, arthurus, I was born and raised 9 miles from your border in Clovis, NM).

Heading for Farwell.

6 posted on 03/08/2010 6:38:48 PM PST by elkfersupper (Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: bajabaja
I think Alpine, or the Texas Hill Country. Kerrville, Concan, Leakey, Uvalde. Corpus area if you like the bay area. These are pretty much rural areas that are close to larger cities.
7 posted on 03/08/2010 6:44:38 PM PST by Faith-Hope
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To: bajabaja

There are literally thousands...If you just want it for recreational purposes, East Texas is beautiful. The Piney Woods starting in Tyler and east to the Louisiana border are full of small towns where acreage lots are plentiful.

I recently discovered you can find real estate for sale in the google map search feature. Find an area you like in the maps, and add “real estate” in the search window. You can narrow it down by type of real estate. You’ll see...there’s a lot of property out there.


8 posted on 03/08/2010 6:48:12 PM PST by erkyl (We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office --Aesop (~550 BC))
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To: SeekAndFind
I retired from Texas Instruments at the end of 1994 and moved to coastal Alabama.

If Texas ever begins to split away from the US, I'll skidaddle back to Texas, pronto.

9 posted on 03/08/2010 6:50:18 PM PST by blam
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To: elkfersupper

Not my border, I am a Floridian.


10 posted on 03/08/2010 6:51:50 PM PST by arthurus ("If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist." -Ann C.)
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To: bajabaja

And, no offense to the Hill country lovers, but I wouldn’t call it ‘green pasture land.’ It seems closer to desert. I’ve never thought the Hill country was an especially lush landscape—it seems more brown and scruffy to me.

And, no one is mentioning the areas around North Texas (Dallas/Ft.Worth), where you will find beautiful acreage properties sometimes even within city limits.


11 posted on 03/08/2010 6:53:37 PM PST by erkyl (We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office --Aesop (~550 BC))
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To: bajabaja

Nicest small town in Texas is Fredericksburg. But it is not undiscovered.


12 posted on 03/08/2010 7:08:15 PM PST by grumpa (VP)
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To: erkyl

Central and South Texas just got done with a prolonged drought. Since September, it has rained in Austin every 2-3 days and the lake levels have returned to normal but the vegetation still looks pretty sad in some areas. Mix in the effect of one hard freeze and some plants are not going to recover.

Other than high mountain country, Texas has something for everyone - beach land, rolling hills, thick forests, mesas, coastal wetlands, etc. There are some “mountains” around El Paso but they don’t compare to Colorado or Alaska.

However, two words of warning - you must be able to tolerate hot weather in the summer and you must get along with people who think blue jeans and cowboy boots are suitable attire for all occasions. If you can’t do those two things, best to leave that Yankee ass at home.


13 posted on 03/08/2010 7:08:26 PM PST by OrangeHoof ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Bend over suckahs".)
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To: bajabaja

Also take a look at the area between Hamilton and Stephenville.


14 posted on 03/08/2010 7:10:12 PM PST by grumpa (VP)
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To: bajabaja

And remember, the summers in Texas are long and brutal - seriously.


15 posted on 03/08/2010 7:15:50 PM PST by Let's Roll (Stop paying Planned Parenthood to murder babies! Cut off their federal funding!)
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To: OrangeHoof

Honestly, I’m seriously considering a relocation where such things exist. Indiana is ok, but it isn’t all that interesting. And the stench of Chicago can be felt all the way down to Indy.


16 posted on 03/08/2010 7:16:45 PM PST by farlander (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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To: bajabaja

I’ll sell you my place.
10 acres, 5 bedroom house, with a large shop, with a large over hang for a travel trailer.
4 miles South of Abilene, near historic Buffalo Gap Texas.
Good country living. Lots of wildlife.


17 posted on 03/08/2010 7:17:32 PM PST by Old Texan (If the Dims are dumb enough to poke at a Rattlesnake, they are gonna get bit.)
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To: bajabaja
Any suggestions of the names of small Texas towns where I can buy a few acres? Prefer some green pasture land over desert, and I can pay cash. (Really.)

Baja, I've lived in Stockton, Rescue (last Pony Express stop before Sacto), and a whole bunch of Texas towns. California has more dry, parched areas than Texas. All those Hollywood movies about Texas were shot in California.

We do have one California like city. It's the People's Republic of Austin. It's better to avoid it.

In most of the state, you can by a 3500 square foot home with a pool in an affluent community for less than $300K. The property taxes are higher, but the top marginal income tax rate is 0%. Gas is less because gas taxes are less. Electricity's about the same because we've got a bunch of stupid, senseless windmills in West Texas that work to line Boone Pickens' pockets, but do nothing for peak power generation (i.e., we need peak electricity when it's hot and air conditioners are running and the wind isn't blowing).

As a business owner and serial entrepreneur, I can say without doubt that the state is more business friendly than California. However, that's like saying Death Valley in August is a cooler environment than Hell. To be honest, we're over taxed here. And while we only have to worry about the legislature when they're in session, the unfortunate truth is they do meet from time to time.

Lessee, what else? You've got better artichokes, sourdough, and Calimari. You've got better wine (though we're making strides) and you've got better beer (specifically, Stone Breweries in San Diego and Sierra Nevada in Chico). You've got better snow skiing and surfing. We've got better Mexican food (really), beef, and chili. Our beaches (excepting Galveston) are better. Our customer service is better. We're friendlier. We can buy your best beer and wine for less than you pay, plus we get smoking prices on Chilean wine, French wine, and Belgian Trappist beer.

You pretend to have been a republic (e.g., your state flag). We actually were an independent republic and reserve the right to become one again.

I believe we've now got more Fortune 500 companies. We've got the Dallas Cowboys (unfortunately that includes their owner, though he's really an Arkansas carpetbagger).

I could go on. Texas isn't perfect and it's less perfect than it was. However, it's far better than the once golden state.

18 posted on 03/08/2010 7:18:16 PM PST by Entrepreneur (The environmental movement is filled with watermelons - green on the outside, red on the inside)
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To: bajabaja

East Texas is a better choice. More rain, but still semi-rural - everything east of Dallas suburbs to the Arkansas and Louisiana borders is still a good option.


19 posted on 03/08/2010 7:33:05 PM PST by tbw2 (Freeper sci-fi - "Humanity's Edge" - on amazon.com)
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To: arthurus

“If you can move to Texas without bringing California with you then you will be an asset. If you bring Cali along to Texas you will be the curse that has afflicted Colorado.”

Can I bring a little Kern County along?
We do Ag and Oil as well as anyone can!

Rock Ribbed Conservatives, right here in Bakersfield.


20 posted on 03/08/2010 7:39:18 PM PST by jamndad5 ("I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.")
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