We moved to VA. It is not red or blue but truly purple. The elected R’s are mostly moderate. I don’t agree with everything, which is how it should be tbh, but I don’t feel like the state government is trying to fuck me and appeal to the worst in society. I pay state income tax, but my overall tax burden is same or lower than TX since property tax is about 1/10 what paid there. We have nice libraries (WITH BOOKS), community rec centers with full gyms, pool, and summer programs for the kids, pot holes are fixed within a day, drivers license offices are in/out in 15 min. The kids, who used to sit in their rooms and play video games cause is was too hot to do anything in TX, are now outdoor enthusiast (one has done most of the appalachian trail, runs marathons and is about to hike Patagonia with her friends). Public schools are well funded and not overcrowded. There are several good public state college options (not just 1 like in TX) and all my kids got into all of them including UVA cause you don’t have to be top 4% or whatever to go to a decent school here. Long weekends are a train ride or drive to NYC,DC/Boston, quick ski trip to Snowshoe, or a drive to Hilton Head or NC beaches. Overall its just much less stressful cause you don’t have to worry about so much shit that you shouldn’t have to worry about and when you need downtime there is something fun to do.