LOL! Please ignore the loudest chest-beaters among us. Some Texans, when bashing NY or CA like to forget that AUSTIN is our capital city. I'd rather live in NYC that AUSTIN any day (and have lived in both). Texas is great, however, once you get out of border range.
The "Kalifornication" of Texas due to the open boarders of the Lone Star state.
Austin, Houston, San Antonio are also becoming socialist government cesspools. In fact so are most of the major "big" cities across America. Remember the red/blue county by county map that showed where Bush won and Gore won. Rural America voted for Bush, cities voted for Gore. Texas was one huge red for Bush map, except for the counties containing Austin, Houston. These big cities are getting the kind of government they want.
I'm late on this thread, so please forgive me.
I don't know whether you've ever been to Texas, but it is what I would describe as a rather "complex" place. It definitely has its own, unique character. Depending on your values, some things are good, some things are bad.
What is noticeable is how extreme the two opposites are.
In my personal opinion, all things considered, it is...
Well, the moderators would delete what I would say there.
Let's just say that I am a conservative, small-l libertarian, who favors gun ownership rights, pick-up trucks, individual rights to privacy, and so forth. Yet, I don't think the entire world should get completely trashed my pollution, garbage, big corporations, oil companies, privileged northeasterner brats, and over-zealous FBI agents and other law enforcement types.
Given that context, Texas is the last place on the face of this earth that I will likely ever set foot in again. I'd be more likely to visit Zimbobwe before I'd ever go to Texas again. In my opinion, it is probably the single worst place on the face of the earth. It certainly ranks right up there. We should pay Mexico to take it back.
There are some very nice things about it, there aren't very many.
The best thing about it, is that it is next to Louisiana, which is a very nice state in most regards. You can actually feel your blood pressure descend as soon as you cross the border.