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Exactly, Texas is not making enough investments in its social systems but is able to lure some people with its lower cost of living. It would be interesting to know the ratio of Texas natives vs transplants in high-skilled jobs.
Yup, the low cost of living lured my wife and I here and we have been in heaven ever since then. The low cost of living = a much higher quality of life for most people. We have met a lot of transplants as well who feel the exact same way(from the east and west coasts). I cannot speak about all of Texas but I will tell you that the North Dallas area is an awesome area to live and raise a family. We have everything any other big city has without the high cost of living. It's nice to be able to save a good portion of your salary and not be house poor like so many on the coasts.
I love the weather and beaches in California and the people there are a lot more down to earth than the east coast but the cost of living is just ridiculous there.
I would like to also point out I've seen plenty of Texas natives with high end skilled jobs. I live in an upscale neighborhood here in North Dallas and am networked with a lot of natives with high end jobs.
I'm assuming you think the "smart people" from the coasts come here and do all the high end jobs because the natives are retards who wear cowboy boots and hats and ride horses all the time. I'm glad a lot of people think like you...
Yup, the low cost of living lured my wife and I here and we have been in heaven ever since then. The low cost of living = a much higher quality of life for most people. We have met a lot of transplants as well who feel the exact same way(from the east and west coasts). I cannot speak about all of Texas but I will tell you that the North Dallas area is an awesome area to live and raise a family. We have everything any other big city has without the high cost of living. It's nice to be able to save a good portion of your salary and not be house poor like so many on the coasts.
I love the weather and beaches in California and the people there are a lot more down to earth than the east coast but the cost of living is just ridiculous there.
I would like to also point out I've seen plenty of Texas natives with high end skilled jobs. I live in an upscale neighborhood here in North Dallas and am networked with a lot of natives with high end jobs.
I'm assuming you think the "smart people" from the coasts come here and do all the high end jobs because the natives are retards who wear cowboy boots and hats and ride horses all the time. I'm glad a lot of people think like you...
Eggggsactly. Pretty much everyone I hang out with has a masters, phd, jd, md, mba...some sort of post graduate degree and works in advanced parts of their professional fields. Most of them grew up in Texas.
I get paid well and my housing value is sky high. That and pretty much all the amenities I want in terms of food and entertainment...not to mention a fantastic airport that will fly me nonstop to europe, hawaii, turks and caicos...
That would be a silly argument, nobody could educate themselves. Fortunately that is not the point at all, rather should education be a private service (like most things in this country) or provided by the government? How exactly is government provided education "self-reliant" when the vast majority of people don't pay the full costs of this education? Lower income folks are able to go to school (or send their kids to school) at the cost of higher income folks, how is that self-reliance?
Huh? The tuition at public universities is subsidized by the state/feds, kids going to public universities are not paying the full costs of attendance.
I agree tuition is subsidized. I already said I agree this is a reasonable function for the government. But students DO pay a signficant cost to attend.
Some people are very self-reliant when it comes to K-12 education. Not me or my family - but Texas has a strong home schooling community. It is very active.
Yup, the low cost of living lured my wife and I here and we have been in heaven ever since then...... It's nice to be able to save a good portion of your salary and not be house poor like so many on the coasts.
Most of it comes down to housing prices though, Texas did not participant in the bubble so its house prices are still reasonable where it will take years for other areas to fully correct. Although, many of the inland areas of California are just as affordable as as Texas now. If you just look at rents the cost differences largely evaporate if you compare costs to local incomes (jobs in California typically pay more).
Texas seems to mainly attract people that are raising families that want to buy a big house, its not so attractive for single entrepreneurs, professionals, etc. But the latter are important for economic development and Texas does not home grow them well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ufcrules1
I would like to also point out I've seen plenty of Texas natives with high end skilled jobs.
I'm not trying to argue that every Texas native is some dumb redneck, rather that Texans don't have enough access to quality higher education.
Also, I have thought about moving to Texas. In my case I'd make the same regardless of where I live, but I'm not sure if the disadvantages are worth the savings.
I agree tuition is subsidized. I already said I agree this is a reasonable function for the government.
So people should be self-reliant, except for when it comes to education? Why, and do same reasons apply to other things? That is the point of my questions here, when you start to develop a "why" you can see if the same reasons apply to some of those other evil social programs. You're very likely to find that they do...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano
Some people are very self-reliant when it comes to K-12 education. Not me or my family - but Texas has a strong home schooling community. It is very active.
Texas seems to mainly attract people that are raising families that want to buy a big house, its not so attractive for single entrepreneurs, professionals, etc. But the latter are important for economic development and Texas does not home grow them well.
Plenty of people in Houston and Austin would disagree with you on that one.
Plenty of people in Houston and Austin would disagree with you on that one.
I'm sure some would, but I was talking about the lower cost of homes in Texas versus other areas. This is much more an issue for families than it is for younger entrepreneurs, etc. Most people involved in start-ups are not particularly concerned with having a 3,000 sf home, they just need a place to sleep that is centrally located.
Outside of homes Texas is really not that cheaper than other areas.
User, I'm curious why you thought about moving here if the rents and housing are just as affordable there in California?
Someone could easily find a house in the 150k range that is decent and in a good area. See below. With all this area has to offer that is amazing. I also think it is a good place for singles or married couples with family. My wife and I don't have any kids, but there isn't any other place we would rather have them. North Dallas is a very stable area with relation to jobs as well.
User, I'm curious why you thought about moving here if the rents and housing are just as affordable there in California?
Because the "if" here is not true, I said that the prices in some inland areas of California are comparable to Texas now. But the inland areas are really not much better than living in Texas (in terms of amenities they are worse than the Dallas or Houston area). There is still a noticeable gap between Texas home prices and coastal California, but the gap is much smaller if you just looked at rents.
I don't so much mind renting, but its getting difficult to get my wife to agree. Also, if things go "as planned" we will save money on taxes in Texas as well, though at the moment we'd actually pay more in Texas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ufcrules1
Someone could easily find a house in the 150k range that is decent and in a good area.
Sure, though if you want to live in a good school district $150k is on the low end. But you can find the same things in inland California as well, for example:
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I know that because I'll be one of them 
