Other Effects of Uncontrolled Growth in Texas (Houston, Austin: mortgage, rental)

[AustinTexan]

Tougher than ever for Texas students to get into college | News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | Top Stories

This article points out just another problem Texans face because of all this growth. Basically, because everyone and their mother wants to move to Texas, there's becoming a real problem with our kids being able to get into the college of their choice. There are only a certain number of Texas colleges/universities and I don't think it's fair that all these new people moving here have just as good of a chance of having their kids admitted to a school that our kids do, in Texas. Those of us who have lived here our whole lives, paid taxes here our whole lives, supported the economy here our whole lives, are now going to have to compete with implants for seats at our Texas colleges/universities. Not only that, but because of this massive migration to Texas, the prices for tuition, room and board, etc is skyrocketing. Like "scongress" posted on another thread, slow controlled growth is fine so that schools, counties, infrastructure, etc. has time to keep up, but when people are coming here from all over the country en masse to one particular city/state, it creates so many more problems than people realize. Yes, we talk about overcrowding on our streets/highways, rising home prices, and overcrowding in public places, but our schools (secondary and post secondary) are also being overwhelmed! By the time my kids get to the college age, it will be a nightmare to even try to get into a local community college, much less The University of Texas, where I graduated from. Families who have been here less than a certain number of years, say 10 years, should be grouped into another category "out of state applicants" and shouldn't be competing with native Texans for spots in our school system(public colleges/universities)! Schools all across the country are seeing declines in applications while Texas schools are seeing 20% increases!! That's huge! I don't think people realize the kind of impact all this migration to Texas is having on us. Yes, we should be friendly and all, but fair is fair. Everyone wants to move here to get their "piece of the pie" but what's that doing to all of us who have lived here all our lives? We're having to give up our share with strangers who are only here because it's the "next best thing." This makes me irate! When is our government (Texas) going to wake up and do something about it??!!! The strain of all these people here is overwhelming even local school districts. Now, my kids aren't getting the attention they should be getting because they're in classrooms of 40 plus kids, in portable buildings, because half the state of California decided to move to Texas for greener pastures!! Please, some of you on here who have moved here, tell me how this is a good thing? Explain to me how this "change is a good thing" is REALLY a good thing for those of us who've lived here our whole lives who now have to face all these problems you're creating? And please, spare me the "Politically Correct" responses I keep reading on here. Be real.

[jread]

I personally think it's great. It means that the universities will have to raise their standards and only admit the best students, which will bring a higher-quality student body and only increase the prestige of the school. It's not like the universities are favoring students from out of state. If the kids in Texas have better grades and SAT/GRE scores than the others, then they will be the ones being admitted. I don't think that someone should be owed a college education just because they grew up here.

[AustinTexan]

Who said anything about being owed? Yeah, it's real "great" that our kids are sitting in overcrowded classrooms in portable buildings because every person in the country feels that Texas is the place to move to. As Texans, we don't owe anything to anyone from out of state. We should put our kids first, and foremost. The leftovers (slots available in schools) should be fought over by those just arriving here. You didn't address all the other problems I mentioned, and neither has anyone else. Everyone just wants to move here and put all these problems off on everyone else. It's the long-time citizens of Texas who are having to deal with this mess and it's not right.

[readymade]

Out of curiosity, what do you mean when you say "When is our government (Texas) going to wake up and do something about it"

Are you suggesting they prevent out-of-state people from moving to Austin?

I get why Texans are upset that out-of-staters are moving in and trying to change Texas, driving up costs, clogging roads & schools, etc... but I don't really understand the belief that because one is from a particular state... that they should just stay there. Whether they want to or not. That's restricting freedom which is what I thought this country was all about.

Immigration, migration: these are ALSO how our country was founded.

[atxcio]

What do you expect the state of Texas to do? Shut everyone out? You need to be more realistic before people will start taking your complaints seriously. You are just blaming migration for all your problems, but it's a free country and you live in a popular place right now. If you have a problem living around the other people who move here, perhaps it is you that should be migrating. Yes, the population here is growing fast now, but so are other places in the sunbelt. Someday, that might not be the case -- if you want to feel better, just know that if history repeats itself we will see a bust, and people will leave.

But for now, increasing population = increasing tax base. More people & money for schools mean more schools and roads being built. That's happening right now. That's how it is supposed to work. I can understand the frustration with traffic, as road and infrarstructure planning has been bad. But it's thinking JUST LIKE YOURS that has gotten us there. Anti-growth thinking. Don't build it and they won't come. We might have decent highways at this point were it not for that thinking. Growth is not bad, it's just a fact of life. If handled right, it can be good -- Downtown, University area, East Austin, and SoCo are examples of that. Handled wrong you end up like LA.

As for UT Austin, getting in will just be more difficult -- again, can't be helped. As Texas grows, unless UT Austin expands (which it won't) it will have to be more selective. I mean, not everyone in California can go to UCLA. That's why there is UCSD... I think other public universities in our state need to step up to the plate and so that they share the prestige and quality of UT Austin in the eyes of Texas kids. The money should be there.

[love roses]

I pretty much second readymade and atxcio. I know A&M is going to build a new branch in Round Rock, and there is another Higher Education Center there. UT isn't the only school here. You've got Southwest up in Georgetown, got a college in San Marcos, A&M in College Station, Baylor in Waco plus schools in the states that haven't had a 20% increase. Oh, I also forgot...there is also Blinn, UofH, and Rice.

You sound like a lot of the people I heard in Denver when I lived there who railed on about Texans and Californians who moved there, and I just never want to make someone feel that way when it's unnecessary. I didn't move to Denver to mow down all the trees and pave over the mountaintops. I wanted to blend in and do as the natives did. And I met many natives who were great, although some gave me some lighthearted ribbing from time to time, like about driving in the snow and slowing down traffic to look at pesky herds of elk.

[HappyTexan]

I think it's fair to point a finger at developers as well. I just could never understand why the city councils don't make the developers build schools and widen the streets when they put in a 600-1000 home subdivision.

Sure, sometimes the developer will toss them an acre or two (undeveloped) but what happens is that now hundreds of kids and cars are on roads and in schools that can't handle those numbers once the new subdivisions fill up.

[Rose Red]

Seriously, did you take a actual poll to find out that 1/2 the state of California moved here. I've seen license plates from Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts not just California.

Have you contacted the state legislature about your concerns. Maybe write the Austin Statesman to do an article? Get the word out so maybe people will get scared and then there can be a mass exodus and everything will go back to the way it was.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by AustinTexan

Tougher than ever for Texas students to get into college | News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | Top Stories

This article points out just another problem Texans face because of all this growth. Basically, because everyone and their mother wants to move to Texas, there's becoming a real problem with our kids being able to get into the college of their choice. There are only a certain number of Texas colleges/universities and I don't think it's fair that all these new people moving here have just as good of a chance of having their kids admitted to a school that our kids do, in Texas. Those of us who have lived here our whole lives, paid taxes here our whole lives, supported the economy here our whole lives, are now going to have to compete with implants for seats at our Texas colleges/universities. Not only that, but because of this massive migration to Texas, the prices for tuition, room and board, etc is skyrocketing. Like "scongress" posted on another thread, slow controlled growth is fine so that schools, counties, infrastructure, etc. has time to keep up, but when people are coming here from all over the country en masse to one particular city/state, it creates so many more problems than people realize. Yes, we talk about overcrowding on our streets/highways, rising home prices, and overcrowding in public places, but our schools (secondary and post secondary) are also being overwhelmed! By the time my kids get to the college age, it will be a nightmare to even try to get into a local community college, much less The University of Texas, where I graduated from. Families who have been here less than a certain number of years, say 10 years, should be grouped into another category "out of state applicants" and shouldn't be competing with native Texans for spots in our school system(public colleges/universities)! Schools all across the country are seeing declines in applications while Texas schools are seeing 20% increases!! That's huge! I don't think people realize the kind of impact all this migration to Texas is having on us. Yes, we should be friendly and all, but fair is fair. Everyone wants to move here to get their "piece of the pie" but what's that doing to all of us who have lived here all our lives? We're having to give up our share with strangers who are only here because it's the "next best thing." This makes me irate! When is our government (Texas) going to wake up and do something about it??!!! The strain of all these people here is overwhelming even local school districts. Now, my kids aren't getting the attention they should be getting because they're in classrooms of 40 plus kids, in portable buildings, because half the state of California decided to move to Texas for greener pastures!! Please, some of you on here who have moved here, tell me how this is a good thing? Explain to me how this "change is a good thing" is REALLY a good thing for those of us who've lived here our whole lives who now have to face all these problems you're creating? And please, spare me the "Politically Correct" responses I keep reading on here. Be real.

I believe the article focused on hispanic growth, though in-migration certainly plays more than a negligible role as well. I suggest listening to Paul Mccartney's "Too Many People" as you read that article...."Too many people getting pushed and pulled around, too many searchin' for that pot of gold(and diploma)." I suggest that any Texans disheartened by hispanic growth-in-place and legal and illegal aliens, along with out-of-state gringos, go help repopulate the declining midwest, and send their kids to a great state school on the cheap. Seriously....The two big 10 michigan state schools are two of the best in the country, and you also have wisconsin, minnesota, and the University of Indiana, the cheapest great school in the nation, and far easier than UT to get into. No competing with hispanics and anglos in those states for sure! Keep in mind I don't say this in jest. The folks moving to Austin already paid for it, and you can reap THEIR tax base, with no queing for admissions as well.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by AustinTexan

Who said anything about being owed? Yeah, it's real "great" that our kids are sitting in overcrowded classrooms in portable buildings because every person in the country feels that Texas is the place to move to. As Texans, we don't owe anything to anyone from out of state. We should put our kids first, and foremost. The leftovers (slots available in schools) should be fought over by those just arriving here. You didn't address all the other problems I mentioned, and neither has anyone else. Everyone just wants to move here and put all these problems off on everyone else. It's the long-time citizens of Texas who are having to deal with this mess and it's not right.

Just like hospital rooms being overwhelmed by insured and uninsured sick folks, taxing their finite resources, the state college system is the same. Just one pie, and more mouths chomping on it. Is there any fair way? Unfortunately not. Once one is a official licensed resident, even with state ID, he/she can send the kiddies to school from Kindergarten to University on the same basis as folks who were here since Spindletop blew. Even if your Great Great Granddaddy fought with Davey Crockett and Sam Houston at the Alamo, they can indeed pay the same rate as you the day they get a state ID/License and a residence of any kind, mortgaged or rental. That's why I think fast growth never works anywhere, anytime. It ruined Florida, Nevada, much of California (how ironic, huh?), some of Colorado, and damn near ruined Seattle till they stole the growth cap idea from Portland. Any Austinite old-timers who are PO'd about this "growth" should look up the last 20 year history of Portland, and how they gave the developers a size 16 boot up their butts if they didn't play by the rules of regulated growth. And look how city hall sold out the city of Austin hook, line and sinker before anyone knew what was happening. Per the entire state of Texas' growth, much of that is hispanic, with a fair share of anglo in-migration in the metroplex and Houston. There are proper ways of dealing with that too, which is crazy on its own terms. Too many babies, and too few border control agents. Sorry, thats the way it is, folks. And that overwhelms the system even more than the anglo in-migration. Poor Texas might be broke soon if it continues, and it isn't necessarily the case that taxes increase in direct proportion. It's an open question as to whether Texas can even afford 5 more years of the same.