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The Texpatriates Thread


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2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

My presumption is you have very little actual experience with any of these places (nobody said Idaho btw except as a farcical alternative).  Do you have any actual experience with any of these places?

I’ve been to Arkansas at least. Shithole. Judging from the voting of the other places I don’t really see how anything I said is off base.

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Not sure if I’m in this group or not. I just moved to the Bay Area as I got a promotion.  I was up for the same type of promotions at my college in Houston, but they basically said “it’s not your time yet” and I needed to wait a bit longer.  The college here in the Bay Area told me they felt like they were stealing me, and I assured them they were.  I’ve been told my Old college back in Houston is regretting their decision and is now asking when I’m going to come back. 

I decided to keep my house in Houston and will rent it out.  I’m not too sure if I’ll be out here long.  I feel like a minimum of 2 years for sure.  All of my family is back in Texas (DFW), and my parents are getting older.  I’d feel a little guilty if I end up staying out here the rest of my career.

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2 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:

The wife and I were thinking about Minneapolis.

She has family up there and we have the option of wintering in Texas.

I hope so, only Anchorage was more miserable in winter imo. Spring and summer are pretty badass though

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10 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Not sure if I’m in this group or not. I just moved to the Bay Area as I got a promotion.  I was up for the same type of promotions at my college in Houston, but they basically said “it’s not your time yet” and I needed to wait a bit longer.  The college here in the Bay Area told me they felt like they were stealing me, and I assured them they were.  I’ve been told my Old college back in Houston is regretting their decision and is now asking when I’m going to come back. 

I decided to keep my house in Houston and will rent it out.  I’m not too sure if I’ll be out here long.  I feel like a minimum of 2 years for sure.  All of my family is back in Texas (DFW), and my parents are getting older.  I’d feel a little guilty if I end up staying out here the rest of my career.

Congrats, where in the Bay? Your dilemma is a common one.

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57 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


We wouldn’t move to Rio or Sampa. We would move to a smaller city in southern Brazil. Something like Joinville or bombinhas. Maybe Caxias do Sul. I have lived in Brazil, I am familiar with it. My grandmother was Brazilian. My wife was born and raised there. We are fully aware of the situation. Thanks for your concern.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be an asshole or fake concern. I was just looking for your perspective as the resident expert.

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32 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

Congrats, where in the Bay? Your dilemma is a common one.

I decided to live in Oakland (😬) and my college is about 25 minutes souf of there. I’ll be East Bay mostly.  I probably won’t really go into SF until friends come to visit. 

 

Profit???

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3 minutes ago, Pancho said:

I decided to live in Oakland (😬) and my college is about 25 minutes souf of there. I’ll be East Bay mostly.  I probably won’t really go into SF until friends come to visit. 

 

Profit???

Loved living in Oakland, lemme know if you need any recs and such… Oh yeah BART sucks. 

Edited by YChang
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Sorry, I wasn't trying to be an asshole or fake concern. I was just looking for your perspective as the resident expert.

In general, it’s a fucked up place. Even worse than Texas is now. However, if you have a good income and live in the right places there, you can avoid 90% of the world’s bullshit.
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3 hours ago, South Austin said:

That’s practically half the state.

No it isnt. Don’t contribute to to negative bullshit. There’s a huge independent -democrat coalition along with natives that had Al Gross just Drop out in a 4 way race to give the Dem more of a chance.

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7 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

I’ll play.  We sold our home in Westlake Hills in May and moved to the Monterey peninsula in California.  For me it was a quality of life move.  I had terrible cedar allergies, I was tired of how much traffic I sat in, and finally, I was tired of Austin.  For my wife and daughter it was a strong desire to leave Texas period, due to the politics.  For both my kids it is also planning on attending school out here and living here long term.

 

I am really glad we did it.  Texas seems like a bigger clusterfuck by the day.

I love that area. 

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3 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Got used to the rain.  Never got used to the clouds.   When they roll in, you seriously wonder if you're ever going to see the sun again.  

My brother lives in Seattle and I visit him at least once a year. So, flight leaves Bay Area, everything is sunny, announce that they are landing in Seattle. Go through clouds and no more sun. Aahh, back in Seattle. Descend some more and there is another layer of clouds. It is getting darker. Descend some more and another layer of clouds. And another. Four layers of clouds making midday look like twilight.

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29 minutes ago, AeroHorn said:

My brother lives in Seattle and I visit him at least once a year. So, flight leaves Bay Area, everything is sunny, announce that they are landing in Seattle. Go through clouds and no more sun. Aahh, back in Seattle. Descend some more and there is another layer of clouds. It is getting darker. Descend some more and another layer of clouds. And another. Four layers of clouds making midday look like twilight.

Used to visit Seattle to see my brother, too. Go in September. Sunny. Never rained. Great food. Big trees. Salt water. Stay away from heroin. You’ll have a great time.

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   Moved back to Texas from Los Angeles in 2016. Lived in Woodland Hills. Commute was killing me. Everyone in the house is now regretting the move. LA was a melting pot. Wife and daughter's world was all in close proximity. Furthest they drove was to Zuma beach in Malibu on the weekends less than 30 mins away. House in the Hills. Tons to do. If I could've just cut down that commute. Fast forward to now and everyone is working from home. Who knew? Look and comps in the old neighborhood are anywhere from 1.4 to 2.5 million. For that I could live next to Johnny Sack and we could stand on our driveways and look down on the plebeians driving by. Looks like we might have to ride out the next 4 years of high school here. However, we are likely bolting for a Bluer state shortly thereafter. Daughter is looking elsewhere for college and we aren't trying to stop her for obvious reasons.

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I do often end up with this thought and to date it has prevailed. Texas has come close recently in electing a statewide democrat so maybe there's hope there, but not here. I would consider moving back to Texas if Beto could defeat hotwheels, but based on how he did against Cruz, I think it's pretty hopeless.

If a Democratic governor is elected, odds are high he would be assassinated. There’s no way the rhetoric of the past 20 years doesn’t lead to more tragedy.

No worries though, voter suppression will prevent that from ever happening.
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Like me, many people I help move here are coming because of weather. People are moving here from Cali to get away from the fires, Texas and Florida to get away from the heat. Usually not politics, but that is mentioned sometimes 

with the climate getting worse, I feel like it’s only going to continue 

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Not native Texan.  Family brought me there, and I stayed for school.

Don't give a shit about the local/regional politics - never affected my personal life one iota.  But it was (1) hot as fuck and (2) flat as fuck.  I need me natural topography.

Moved to Colorado.  Missed nothing about Texas.  Then moved overseas and I don't miss TX specifically but a lot of the American stuff like fast food and cheap shopping and such.  My affiliation is with the alma mater but other than that I wouldn't voluntarily move back.

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17 hours ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

Sounds like I need to go ahead and buy my plot of land in Colorado before the rest of this site does.

That would've been the move... atleast a decade ago.

I regret not having bought property when I was there.  Of course, I say the exact same about Texas.  As I understand it, decent property in Houston or DFW is no longer the 'bargain' it used to be on the national scale.

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Born and raised fifth generation Austinite. By the time I graduated from Westlake, I was ready to see another part of America, so I went to Maine.  Eventually landed in the DC area in the late 90s and I've never left. 

Wife and I are sick of living in the mid-Atlantic.  If I have to put up with the humid summers, I don't want to deal with the traffic and the high taxes, and I fucking hate winter at this point.  Plus, I'm starting to get a bit burned out on the performative progressive office politics.  We are looking to move somewhere South of here, probably where the politics have always been conservative as fuck, so we can just be everyone's token liberal friends. I've been on the front lines exchanging blows in politics for a quarter century.  I'm tired.

Other than possibly San Antonio (my son is at Trinity and loves it), I'd never move back to Texas, especially Austin.  It's not so much the politics as much as it's run like a disintegrating second world nation.

Edited by Bateshorn
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19 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

I left in 2021, but it had nothing to do with the complete clown fire inside the Texas capital building.  We were tired of 105 degree summers and 90 degree Christmas days, and we no longer wanted to live with 2 million other people.  We moved to the NC Mountains. The weather is perfect and it isn't crowded (yet). 

We just lucked into leaving before the Handmaid's Tale became a thing. 

(we also realize NC could drop that way if the Governor turns red)

Very similar reasons for me and my family.  I wanted a smaller city, and I wanted to experience a true four seasons.  I wanted epic nature as well.   I have said it in many posts, so I don’t want to be too repetitive, but we fell in love with Bend, Oregon and I don’t see myself leaving unless one year fire forces me out. Moved here at the end of 2019.

Love the weather, and the proximity to any outdoor activity you want to do is amazing. I will say I don’t mind cold.  But the dry cold of the high desert is different than the wet cold winters elsewhere.  We get nowhere near the amount of rain that Portland gets (that’s both good and bad). I have snowboarded and mountain  biked on the same weekend.  Fun as hell.  Four hours to the coast, and the drives are beautiful.  

Your daily life in a smaller city is just easier.  Easier to park, run errands, e.t.c. But you do get a lack of competition  in some areas.  The only high speed broadband company here sucks ass. There is state income tax,  but no sales tax.  And property taxes are much lower than in Austin.

Legal cannabis, right to die.  Abortion  is in the State constitution.  Like other posters have noted, the cities keep the State blue, but there are plenty of rural Trumpkins to be found.  Sadly, lots of reports from people of color that they didn’t feel safe or welcome in Bend, even.   That makes me sad, for real.   So if I wasn’t white I would  not have the same outlook here most likely.

 

edit:  while I am happy to be out of the crazy that is Texas, if moving for political reasons, I think you need to look outside the U.S.  and even then you better be careful as right wing nationalism is on the rise all over.

 

Edited by MC Fresh Breath
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11 hours ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

I love that area. 

It’s really only for a certain kind of people.  Because I’ll really admit there is Jack shit for sports viewing nearby, there is no night life at all, and there are no young singles if you want to find a partner.

 

 But for me it’s pretty much perfect.  The weather, outdoor activities, individual sports, access to the ocean, and overall small town quality of life are incredible.  They have great internet, a fantastic public library, and I can walk or bike anywhere.  If I need to go to a big box it’s 15 minutes to seaside or marina.  

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12 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:


In general, it’s a fucked up place. Even worse than Texas is now. However, if you have a good income and live in the right places there, you can avoid 90% of the world’s bullshit.

So you're saying it's basically just like...literally everywhere else in the world where money solves most of your problems and inconveniences?

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4 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Like me, many people I help move here are coming because of weather. People are moving here from Cali to get away from the fires, Texas and Florida to get away from the heat. Usually not politics, but that is mentioned sometimes 

with the climate getting worse, I feel like it’s only going to continue 

That was a big appeal to NC for me as well, outside of the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains. You're far enough away from the coast that a hurricane probably won't be much of an issue for you, kind of like no one in Dallas sweats hurricanes either. 

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Was just looking up Greece. Nice newer houses with a pool in nice beach towns can be had for under $500K. Their golden visa program just requires a €250K real estate investment.

I don’t know if this is just for EU citizens or if it’s works for Americans, but they have a program that if you transfer your taxing location to Greece, you get your first 15 years at a flat 7% rate. As a non citizen resident, you get access to the national healthcare program which is ranked 14th in the world (US is 37th).

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Being close to my dad is what has kept me here now that the kids are grown up. He is 83 and just lost his wife. I like to be close if he needs anything. I am trying to convince him to sell that huge house they built and move with me. My options are France, Kenya or Austria. My job is remote, always has been, but being close to good travel routes is important. If I stayed in the US than leaning towards Western (not west) Virginia or Kentucky. 

I could not move back to Austin. I like being close to it, but every time I see clear cutting developments I think Texas is not what it was when I came here to go to UT in the 90's. I have good friends there, go up quite often, but damn, I remember when Ben White was considered the end of the universe. 

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36 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

I will say another thing that hits you when you leave Texas is the amount of public land versus private in other States.

 

https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentages-by-us-states/186111

Lol. When I first moved to DC (again, as a Native Texan), I was at happy hour, trying to get in the pants of a staffer with some western Senator, and somehow the conversation about public land came up.  I said something to the effect of “you mean parks and such?”  And she proceeded to explain public lands to me as I exclaimed “What do you mean the federal government owns most of Nevada? The government doesn’t own land like that!” 😂 

Blow Your Mind Wow GIF by Product Hunt

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I my retirement years, I'd like to be someplace that:

1) isn't too hot, but isn't the arctic.  4 seasons would be nice.

2) isn't full of and completely run by fucking mean assholes whose entire mission in life is to shit on anyone they see as "lesser" (gay, minority, etc.).

3) is reasonably affordable.  I don't need a big house or anything, but I don't want to pay NYC housing prices.

4) is walkable, and/or allows easy access to nearby hikes and such.

5) is near a real airport, for leisure travel.

My son is going to college in Glasgow.  Flats there are cheap.  I can think of a worse life than living there, walking in the mornings with my wife to parks and such, maybe out into the countryside in a dinky little car.  Then in the afternoon, a walk to the pub for a pint with the regulars.  They'll make fun of me, and call me "Texas," and I'll make fun of their accents, and then we'll talk football and women and beer and such.  And this presumes my kids settle somewhere nearby -- maybe we spend a weekend with them and the grandkids.  I teach the grandkids Texan shit, that they roll their eyes at.  

Comfortable.  Simple.  Decent.  Good.  That's what I want.  Texas doesn't offer much of that these days.

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I left Texas back in 97, a lot of life happened and somehow I've wound up in San Francisco. As much as I love it here, I dont onow that ill be able to afford it when I retire. I have a lot of family in Texas, so a few years ago i was looking into buying property there so id have that as an option. By the time I found a place, I realized I could never live in Texas again due to the red culture, so I didnt even put in an offer. They say, "come, you can live in Austin, its blue!" While I love visiting Austin, drive 30 minutes an any direction and you're right back in Ted Cruz, Texas. Maybe Mexico, someplace with a decent airport on the Pacific.

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27 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I my retirement years, I'd like to be someplace that:

1) isn't too hot, but isn't the arctic.  4 seasons would be nice.

2) isn't full of and completely run by fucking mean assholes whose entire mission in life is to shit on anyone they see as "lesser" (gay, minority, etc.).

3) is reasonably affordable.  I don't need a big house or anything, but I don't want to pay NYC housing prices.

4) is walkable, and/or allows easy access to nearby hikes and such.

5) is near a real airport, for leisure travel.

My son is going to college in Glasgow.  Flats there are cheap.  I can think of a worse life than living there, walking in the mornings with my wife to parks and such, maybe out into the countryside in a dinky little car.  Then in the afternoon, a walk to the pub for a pint with the regulars.  They'll make fun of me, and call me "Texas," and I'll make fun of their accents, and then we'll talk football and women and beer and such.  And this presumes my kids settle somewhere nearby -- maybe we spend a weekend with them and the grandkids.  I teach the grandkids Texan shit, that they roll their eyes at.  

Comfortable.  Simple.  Decent.  Good.  That's what I want.  Texas doesn't offer much of that these days.

yeah

we might be in colorado if it weren't for austin proximity of family. both my inlaws are here (wife is a child of divorce) and same with brothers-in-law. 

without that, i really think my wife is fired up about living somewhere else. japan was an amazing experience, but i don't know that i want that for life. i would love to move to london, but they are all fucked in their own way. finland would be outstanding, though the people there are a bit strange. but ultimately, i'm not sure about moving internationally, but i'm not against it. my kids are both now in high school, though, so we might need to go ahead and finish that here in austin.

but once they are out, i dunno. maybe it's the heat this summer, or the political climate of the past several years, but i never would've thought i'd entertain the thought of living permanently outside of texas. i'm getting there.

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Also, as some others have said, Western NC.  If were weren't basically ensconced in Northwest Arkansas, Asheville would be on the short list for retirement.  Good weather, great food scene, pretty, and yet drivable to tons of stuff (major cities, the beach, etc.)

While I like Northwest Arkie, it's a fucking drive to get anywhere.  Closest city is Okie City or KC and that's a 3 hour drive.  Dallas is five.  However, solid airport with direct service into DFW, IAH, and now SAT with some airline called Breeze.

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