Who has moved from Texas or is planning to?

[TxGuitar]

Last edited Tue Apr 30, 2024, 02:47 PM - Edit history (1)

We are Texans- wife born here and I have been here since I was six. We live just west of Houston in a big master planned area and my wife is getting really tired of the summers (she says now that she is 68 they have become unbearable) I am not quite a senior yet- still have about 10 years to go before social security. I work full time remotely and she retired after 40 years as an RN.
We have property tax breaks that have helped lower our taxes significantly (the 100K homestead plus regular senior exemption) and own our 15 year old home outright.
We have been investigating Europe (have lived in Ireland and England before and are dual Irish/US citizens0.
No grandkids and daughters are grown so no real ties.
Europe is not our preferred destination at this time because of distance and other factors.
But we would like a more temperate climate- especially summers.
We have just begun investigating the Pacific NW- but the diff in home prices is a big challenge.
We do not want to move to a really red state, although we acknowledge that all states have red areas.

So, where have people moved - and been able to maintain the same standard of living? We do realize that moving would probably mean going to an older home and we do not particularly care to be in a city, but we are open to anything.

[Lonestarblue]

1. I have considered moving to Portugal, at least for part of the year.

With climate change, though, even parts of Europe that were temperate several years ago now have very high summer temperatures. I’ve not been to Vancouver, but it is supposed to be a lovely city. I have friends who spend summers in Michigan around one of their many lakes. Maine has lovely summer weather, but it can be expensive and has black fly issues in some summer weeks.

You might also just try renting in a few different cooler areas for the hottest months while hanging on to your house until you find a place you really like. I’ve found rentals in many locations, including Europe, through VRBO and AirB&B. It’s a good way to see if you like an area without making a big commitment.

[TxGuitar]

9. We were just discussing Portugal

on our walk last night! We are now planning a trip to the Pacific NW this summer to check it out. Thanks for the ideas

[MiHale]

2. Well DON'T come to Michigan...

It’s too far away from any oceans, no real taking part in sea rise…boring.
But, surrounded by lots and lots of fresh water…no sharks…makes Shark Week look like a fantasy.
So many trees in places you can’t even see the horizon…what’s up with that?
Split up into 2 pieces … WHAT???
Big cities are all in the bottom of the state leaving tamed wildernesses in the rest of the state…inconvenient.
No earthquakes…well about as bad as a quarter- driven motel bed. Never shakes things up.
It’s COLD, warm, COLD, hot, COLD, warm.


Only kidding…beautiful place to be. My late BIL lived in Dallas could hardly wait to come back…waited too long.

[multigraincracker]

5. Yep, I agree.

Born in SW Arkansas. Would never think of moving back there.

[MiHale]

8. I can't believe I stay here...ok..gardens...legal pot...

Hey mgc! Doing good?

[multigraincracker]

12. Doing good. Looks like winter is over.

My favorite time of year now. Yard sale season. Got a brand new pair of insulated coveralls for four bucks Friday.

[MiHale]

13. Great deal! 👍...

Hope it’s over, we got tomatoes that need to be planted. Been studying Time & Date long range looks warm, not much chance of frost. So…we played in the mud today getting beds ready.

[multigraincracker]

15. Waiting on mushrooms.

May 5th has been the date for morrels to pop up in my yard.

[MiHale]

16. 🙌...nt.

[TxGuitar]

10. We have some in-laws from daughter

up there-- no way could Mrs. handle the snow!

[MiHale]

14. We stock up and don't drive much in the snow...

Hale is a one stoplight town, literally. Everything we need we can walk to. Mechanic, grocery stores, bank, post office, all within a half mile. Tawas City is 15 miles east, hospitals, doctors, dentist, Walmart, other supermarkets. West Branch is 20 miles west. Same road. All the same stuff.
In the winter we can hike in the forest behind our house. Last winter our car didn’t leave the drive for almost 3 weeks.

[CanonRay]

3. We moved to the Oregon coast 11 years ago

and love it. Outside of Portland housing is not too bad, unless you want an ocean view. The south central and south west coastal areas are pretty rural.

[Laurelin]

4. Austin to the Netherlands

I love it here but I'm not sure I'd recommend it since anti immigration is becoming a thing. My husband is German so we'll probably end up there when he retires, unless the Netherlands gets over voting for Geert Wilders.

I will never move back to Texas. It's gone totally nuts.

[Vogon_Glory]

6. I'm thinking of moving to New Mexico

I spent most of my life in Texas and most of my reasons for staying in the Austin area are fading away. It’s too big, too congested and the things that made it a funky place are slipping from my grasp.

The politics have been heart-breaking for the last quarter-century. Not only have the Republicans achieved a death-grip on state government, the state Republican Party has gotten even more reactionary.

It might have been more hopeful if people of good will fought harder. Some of us do, but as has been the case for decades, the average Texan seems to ignore voting, even when the state government works against their interest.

Don’t give me that “but gerrymandering” excuse. True, the gerrymandering keeps state legislators and Republican congressmen in power, but here’s the obvious thing: GERRYMANDERING DOES NOT AFFECT STATEWIDE ELECTIONS. Ted Cruz, Gregg Abbott, and Dan Patrick could have been sent packing if non-voters had decided to change their habits and voted. They didn’t: they sat on their cans and we got more of the same.

I’ve lost heart and hope. I’m going to donate to Colin Alread’s campaign but I think it’s likely that the non-voters of Texas will give Ted “Cancun” Cruz another free pass.

[TxGuitar]

11. We are going to investigate NM also

and you are correct- if Texans would just vote. And voting can be a pain sometimes- but we look at it as a civic duty. Just this past Saturday we voted in the local school board elections and then had to go to another polling place to vote for the county commissioners. I wish people could understand how important local elections are in addition to the statewide elections.

[yellowdogintexas]

23. why go to two voting places?

We had all sorts of local city council, school board and mayoral elections on our ballot plus 3 positions on the Tarrant County Appraisal Board which were county wide, and a tax proposition which was only for Fort Worth. Everything was available at every location.

Our system checks the voter in, a bar code is produced which is used to issue an access code to bring up the appropriate ballot based on your precinct number. When your ballot comes up on the screen, only the choices you need to make will be there. You vote, you print it and take it to the scanner.

[TxGuitar]

34. I don't know why

But in Fort Bend County there are 7 school districts. We almost always have had to vote for school issues at a different polling place.

[yellowdogintexas]

35. interesting. Probably some sort of weird thing about which entity is

paying for the election.

When we had printed ballots back in the day, each location received ballots with every race applicable to that location printed on them whether local, state or federal. so we could do all our voting in one spot.

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. NM for me too

Probably Albuquerque because I'm a city girl at heart (Houston). I still need to work at least part time to live, but I am hoping for full time so I can save more. I have 2 video interviews next week. I am planning on packing up and moving by the end of the month, whether I have a new job lined up or not.

Deciding factors:

1) At 67, I just cannot handle the oppressive heat and humidity anymore. I know it gets hot in Albuquerque, but since it's dry, the minute the sun goes down it starts cooling off. It makes SO MUCH DIFFERENCE! I'm looking forward to 4 SEASONS!

2) Hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes. I was trapped in my apartment for 10 days after Hurricane Harvey. I'm just done with natural disasters.

3) Obviously the politics, not to mention the religious hypocrisy. I'm not religious and never have been, but don't tell me you're a Christian and then be fine with immigrants, including children, drowning in the Rio Grande and dying of heat stroke in the desert 🏜️ . I'm done with the GOP, especially the MAGATS.

[yellowdogintexas]

24. I would consider NM except that our only child is in AZ

She currently lives in Phoenix but is planning to relocate about an hour north of the city where it is much cooler and there are trees instead of cactus.

AZ is slowly trending blue, and is now a swing state so prospects are better. I kind of doubt if it will happen anytime soon but if I were going to leave here I would go there.

Being close to our daughter and her family makes up for a lot.

[TexasBushwhacker]

25. Makes perfect sense

I just found out this week that I got a job in ABQ, so I'm moving next week! Getting out of here before the hurricanes start -

And just for good measure, we had Harvy-esque rain and flooding, with mandatory evacuations in some areas.The heat index was up to 100° one day, while in ABQ it's only gotten up to the low 80s.

[LeftInTX]

30. Congrats! A loss for Texas though, but a gain for you!

[mitch96]

7. I was looking at Coos Bay Oregon. Mild temps, afordable living, small town feel..

Just have to watch out for earthquakes😜
https://www.livinginoregon.net/livingincoosbay#:~:text=Mild%20climate%3A%20The%20climate%20in,coastal%20cities%20in%20the%20region.

m

[CanonRay]

28. I live about 45 miles north of Coos Bay

Its a bit of a redneck town, still lots of lumber jobs there and fishing. Definately NOT blue. It is less expenseve than other coastal towns, I agree. Big MAGA presence in town.

[marybourg]

29. My dental hygienist is from there.

Asked her why she moved here to PHX metro. Said it rained and rained and rained until she couldn’t stand it any more.

[SARose]

17. Not leaving

My family came to Texas in 1850 and I am not leaving.

Have some folks lost their minds here? Yup.

Do some little weasels like to dress up like Cheeto and use state funds to travel to NY for a job interview? Yes.

There are sooo many good things here:

Sunrise in the Big Bend;
Sunset in the Panhandle;
Dogwoods blooming in the Piney Woods of East Texas;
Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, Buttercups blooming in the Spring;
Trail riders arriving in Houston for the Rodeo;
Heart in your throat when an 8 lb black bass breaks the surface of a still lake;
Waving a folks on the back roads;
People who willingly roll up their sleeves to help;
The Cajun Navy arriving after a Hurricane;
The food - Mexican, Vietnamese, African, Carribean, SE Asian, Indian, Filipino, Southern comfort, fresh seafood, steak, and, of course, barbecue.
Watching Asleep at the Wheel live at Greune Hall;
Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Buddy Holly, Beyoncé, Selena, Janis Joplin, George Strait, etc.
Floating the Comal, Guadalupe, and Frio rivers;
The Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto;
And more.

Do we have some crazies here? Yeppers we do.

Do we have folks in Austin who ignore the will of the people? Yep.

Do we have hot weather, hail, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, ice storms, blue Northers, and drought? Yeah boy!

As Jerry Jeff Walker said

Texas this morning the sounds they just sing to me
I feel alive again and with every footstep that's settin me free
Hey old friends,
Keep alive the good times we've had in those rollin',
Rollin' hills
They will always be a part of me
Whenever I think of Texas memories
Oh Texas I'm just a little lost but I'm keepin' on,
Just like that morning star, that's ahead of me,
I keep shinin' on
'Til I make it to the borders of the Rio Grande
There I'll catch me one last sunset 'cross the prairie

🌹

[Paladin]

18. Thank you, SARose. You speak for me. (nt)

[TxGuitar]

19. We are investigating moving

related to the weather. My wife says she can't take another summer like 2023! As I said in the OP- we are Texans- by every definition of the word. She was born in Fort Worth and you don't get more Texan than that. Politics are politics everywhere. (we learned that living in the UK and Ireland) right wing conservatives live everywhere (yes, even in Europe). We will not move anywhere if it costs us financially. That is the roadblock we are running into. Our house is paid off and is in a nice community- but even so it can't compete with house prices in WA or OR.

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. Yes, the politics may change, slowly

but the weather is just going to get worse and my old body just can't take it.

[anciano]

26. Thank you SARose.

[walkingman]

20. My DW and I are almost 74 and are only here now because of we

have to take care of her Mom who will turn 93 next month. If it were not for her we could be gone from Texas.

She was born in Pasadena, TX, I was transferred here in '74. We have lived in the Texas Hill Country on a small rural property (25 acres) for the last 36 years. I love our place but we are both sick of the summers and mostly the politics of Texas. If our situation changes soon we will likely be moving ASAP somewhere else. Not sure where at this point but I just cannot stomach the flat earth mentality here in Texas anymore. Sadly because it wasn't like this until about 30 years ago and seems to get worse climate wise and especially politically. Texas sucks.

[jmbar2]

27. I moved from Houston to the Oregon coast 8 years ago

Climate was a major factor.

I went through one hurricane after another. One of the last ones, I lost electricity for 10 days. That's when I realized that Texas is not the place to grow old. I didn't want to have my life depend on air conditioning, and pay sky high electricity bills just to stay inside all day.

The day I had my last garage sale, it was 111 degrees, with brutal humidity. I've never been back.

Housing prices are high here, and I struggle to keep up with the rent. But I doubt that I could have afforded the air conditioning, repairs to flood damaged housing, or the backwards politics.

I truly love it here. Best decision I ever made.

[Silver Gaia]

31. My niece and her husband moved from Houston to the Portland area

about 2 years ago, and her mom and dad (my brother and sister-in-law) followed them there last fall. They all love it! And I'm happy because they are so much closer to me (I'm in Northern CA). They all said the same thing about the hot weather in Texas being a big factor.

[jmbar2]

32. Climate refugees on the move.

With California insurance rates getting so high, I suspect housing will get even tighter here in Oregon. I can barely pay my rent, but so grateful to be here.

Oregon is not free from the risks. Temperatures in central Oregon are getting higher and higher in the summers, and even on the coast, smoke can be suffocating.

[Silver Gaia]

33. The same is true here in the Sacramento area.

I moved here from Tennessee in the late 90s. Because we were paying attention to the signs and had a great realtor, we managed to get an excellent deal on a house in 2008 right on the cusp of the housing crash, so we are lucky in that respect. But summers here are always hot, although it is dry heat, not humid. Smoke from fires has been a problem once or twice, but we are out of the drought now, so that is better. But the atmospheric river storms that brought us out of the drought come with another set of problems, high winds and floods. It's always something! However, we are forever grateful to be here as we watch the lands we came from being quickly transformed into Gilead. I have zero regrets at this point!

[marysonthego]

36. Northern Colorado front range life

I moved from McKinney in the DFW area about 10 years ago and have never looked back. Yes, the housing prices are higher here, but it was a one-time hit and so very worth it! The Rockies sound cold, but winters are actually mild with short punctuations of snow which is usually gone within 3 days. The summers are glorious. 90 degrees is considered a very hot day by the locals - who have no idea. This is what is known as an 'alpine desert' with year-round low humidity, stable weather patterns, and gorgeous spring, summer, and fall evenings.

We have a progressive governor now, and have had one for the entire time I've been here. Colorado is about as blue as you'll get without moving all the way to the west coast. Here are a few of the amazing things I could never imagine happening in Texas that are commonplace here:

I've covered the weather, 'nuff said.
Nobody is banning books in the library.
Nobody is forcing reactionary Christian Nationalist views on school children.
Nobody is banning abortion, or even contemplating it (we are an abortion refugee state for Texans as long as the Rangers don't stop you for a pregnancy test at the Texas border.)
If you're into that sort of thing, recreational marijuana is legal.
The scenery is SPECTACULAR, and the wildlife is varied and plentiful. In north Texas, the 'wildlife' consisted of coyotes and copperheads.
This year and next, Colorado offers the most generous Electric Vehicle (EV) rebates in the country. In addition to the ~$7800 federal POS rebate (thank you Biden), there are a boat-load of state rebates (also at point-of-sale). I was able to buy a new EV for 1/2 the sticker price last month. No forms, no hassle, and I love my new EV!
Medicaid expansion. Colorado took it from the beginning, and that's a good thing for my son who has an expensive medical condition and has passed age 26. He can no longer be on my health insurance, but is covered up here by Medicaid. As they say in Texas, "Thank you Jesus!", since there's no way I could afford his care in that god-forsaken state.
Speaking of which, I have now been free of people thinking I'm grateful for their "I'll pray for you" for a decade now.
The one thing you should know before making the trek up here - you are required to own a dog, or at least love everyone else's! This isn't hard for me at all, and probably wouldn't be for you either.