Texas tops list of worst places to live and work in America

[Samson's Wig 3192]

17 hours ago, troph said:

Do tell…

I'll write you a dissertation at some point if you like, but the short of it is that it's a lovely place to visit and a terrible place to live, especially if you're still in your earning years. 

I still miss the weather, the landscape, and even the food, but I do not miss the people.  We left in large part to get our children away from the default attitude of "given up" that 90% of the population lives by.  I seem to recall you mentioning having kids.  Do not move there and put them in public school if you expect them to know anyone who will ever do anything with their life.   The state's horrible policies drive a lot of this. A classic is that property taxes never go up so long as a house stays in the family - sounds like a nice policy until you realize it incentives generations of people to do absolutely nothing because they can live in the same house great grandpa built in 1902 for about $50 a year, so no one is incentivized to do anything beyond the absolute least possible to get by.   The end result is New Mexico competes year after year with Mississippi for the poorest state in America.  

There are a small handful of people working their assess off to improve the place, and they are met with a state taxing department that treats them like a piggy bank and commits some of the more egregious government overreach I've ever seen.  It's straight-up criminal, with no exaggeration, but you will be living in an essentially lawless place, so what is criminal, anyway?  If you own a business, bring your own tub of lube.  Reason, rationality, and even the law do not factor into any interaction with state tax and rev.  If you are deemed to have something beyond a mere subsistence existence, they will try and take it from you until you're broken like everyone else there.   This is why the wealthy folks in Santa Fe don't actually reside in New Mexico, they just fly in from somewhere else to their second or third house.  They still get dinged at every opportunity by tax and rev, but not nearly as bad as residents.

 You see the upside-down attitude of punishing people for trying to do better pop up in lots of places.  New Mexico has one of the highest (maybe the highest) rates of uninsured motorists in America.  Do they step up enforcement?  No, they just charge the people doing the right thing more money.  Stealing a car wasn't even a felony until around 2011.   Each neighborhood in Albuquerque has a state senator.  So whoever has the most relatives in a zip code gets elected.  And despite this rather quaint state government, the oil and gas industries really run everything and pay nothing into the system for it.   It's a mess of a place with corruption that makes Illinois (or Texas) look like candy apples.  

The other aspect that can be really tough there is New Mexico is one of the least hospitable places I've ever been.  People keep to themselves and their own group.   Almost anywhere I've ever been in the world you can walk into a pub, strike up a conversation, and end your experience with some new friends.  That is an extremely rare occurrence in NM.  I never really figured out why, but people are not interested in meeting new people in that place.  Santa Fe is a bit different as it's filled with tourists and outsiders how spend only part of the year there, but the rest of the state would just as soon you not be there.

So this turned into a poorly written dissertation after all, but in summary, New Mexico is a great place if you're independently wealthy and can shield your assets from a taxing authority that operates more like a Mongol horde than a government department.  If you have kids that are still being raised or intend to earn money in the state, run as far away as you possibly can.   If you're thinking of retirement, then sure.  But know that you'll be surrounded by some of the most corrupt and some of the most sadly beat-down people you'll ever come across.  Texas pisses me off all the time, especially the politics, but New Mexico gives me the shivers when I think about it.  It's a place to give up.  It's not a place to live.

[utee94 15823]

19 minutes ago, F250 said:

The required dressing for winter weather is what I don't like. I lean towards lake trash, I like to walk outside barefooted wearing only shorts.

 

Yup I'm fine with heat.  But absolutely loathe the cold.  Lake trash for life.

[troph 24797]

@Samson's Wig thanks for sharing all of that, it's incredibly insightful. there is a strong contingent of LGBTQ+ (read mostly wealthy gay men) who live in Santa Fe and the art scene is arguably third only to NYC and LA. But that's all I have to add.

We are 4-5 years out from a major change as my kids - for better or worse - are Texas kids and still in high school.

[Dbeasy 15051]

12 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I'll write you a dissertation at some point if you like, but the short of it is that it's a lovely place to visit and a terrible place to live, especially if you're still in your earning years. 

I still miss the weather, the landscape, and even the food, but I do not miss the people.  We left in large part to get our children away from the default attitude of "given up" that 90% of the population lives by.  I seem to recall you mentioning having kids.  Do not move there and put them in public school if you expect them to know anyone who will ever do anything with their life.   The state's horrible policies drive a lot of this. A classic is that property taxes never go up so long as a house stays in the family - sounds like a nice policy until you realize it incentives generations of people to do absolutely nothing because they can live in the same house great grandpa built in 1902 for about $50 a year, so no one is incentivized to do anything beyond the absolute least possible to get by.   The end result is New Mexico competes year after year with Mississippi for the poorest state in America.  

There are a small handful of people working their assess off to improve the place, and they are met with a state taxing department that treats them like a piggy bank and commits some of the more egregious government overreach I've ever seen.  It's straight-up criminal, with no exaggeration, but you will be living in an essentially lawless place, so what is criminal, anyway?  If you own a business, bring your own tub of lube.  Reason, rationality, and even the law do not factor into any interaction with state tax and rev.  If you are deemed to have something beyond a mere subsistence existence, they will try and take it from you until you're broken like everyone else there.   This is why the wealthy folks in Santa Fe don't actually reside in New Mexico, they just fly in from somewhere else to their second or third house.  They still get dinged at every opportunity by tax and rev, but not nearly as bad as residents.

 You see the upside-down attitude of punishing people for trying to do better pop up in lots of places.  New Mexico has one of the highest (maybe the highest) rates of uninsured motorists in America.  Do they step up enforcement?  No, they just charge the people doing the right thing more money.  Stealing a car wasn't even a felony until around 2011.   Each neighborhood in Albuquerque has a state senator.  So whoever has the most relatives in a zip code gets elected.  And despite this rather quaint state government, the oil and gas industries really run everything and pay nothing into the system for it.   It's a mess of a place with corruption that makes Illinois (or Texas) look like candy apples.  

The other aspect that can be really tough there is New Mexico is one of the least hospitable places I've ever been.  People keep to themselves and their own group.   Almost anywhere I've ever been in the world you can walk into a pub, strike up a conversation, and end your experience with some new friends.  That is an extremely rare occurrence in NM.  I never really figured out why, but people are not interested in meeting new people in that place.  Santa Fe is a bit different as it's filled with tourists and outsiders how spend only part of the year there, but the rest of the state would just as soon you not be there.

So this turned into a poorly written dissertation after all, but in summary, New Mexico is a great place if you're independently wealthy and can shield your assets from a taxing authority that operates more like a Mongol horde than a government department.  If you have kids that are still being raised or intend to earn money in the state, run as far away as you possibly can.   If you're thinking of retirement, then sure.  But know that you'll be surrounded by some of the most corrupt and some of the most sadly beat-down people you'll ever come across.  Texas pisses me off all the time, especially the politics, but New Mexico gives me the shivers when I think about it.  It's a place to give up.  It's not a place to live.

Very interesting view. I’ve only had limited interaction with the state. I dealt with the New Mexico State police a lot. I found that law enforcement organization to be pretty solid. It didn’t seem to be as corrupt or political as other State law enforcement orgs. Maybe I was shielded from it as an outsider from Texas. 

[Upgrayedd 5812]

1 hour ago, Guadaloopy said:

You'll have it all... heat, jet noise, AND wildfires!

And the worst beat to hell road in the county.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

1 minute ago, troph said:

@Samson's Wig thanks for sharing all of that, it's incredibly insightful. there is a strong contingent of LGBTQ+ (read mostly wealthy gay men) who live in Santa Fe and the art scene is arguably third only to NYC and LA. But that's all I have to add.

We are 4-5 years out from a major change as my kids - for better or worse - are Texas kids and still in high school.

No doubt about the art scene, and the LGBTQ+ community is definitely strong in Santa Fe.  It's also quite prevalent in Albuquerque.  That was the only community we found any welcome from in our time there.  In fact, my very first client in New Mexico was the local drag show.  My old law partner is a gay man living and practicing in NM and by all accounts is still happy there. If you ever want to talk shop with someone who is local about what practicing there might look like, shoot me a message and I'll connect you.  I can tell you it can be rough, and I never earned much locally but fortunately had a nationwide practice.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

2 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Very interesting view. I’ve only had limited interaction with the state. I dealt with the New Mexico State police a lot. I found that law enforcement organization to be pretty solid. It didn’t seem to be as corrupt or political as other State law enforcement orgs. Maybe I was shielded from it as an outsider from Texas. 

State law enforcement, as far as I know, has done just fine, but it is tiny compared to the ABQ police department, as the vast majority of the state resides in Albuquerque. The ABQ police department was taken over by the feds not too long ago and was notoriously one of the worst departments in the country for years. I haven't kept up recently, so I don't know what things look like now.

[gurt 748]

Damn...the wife and I have been strongly considering moving to NM to be closer to her family land.  It's true that it's a place with high highs and low lows.  

[troph 24797]

8 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

No doubt about the art scene, and the LGBTQ+ community is definitely strong in Santa Fe.  It's also quite prevalent in Albuquerque.  That was the only community we found any welcome from in our time there.  In fact, my very first client in New Mexico was the local drag show.  My old law partner is a gay man living and practicing in NM and by all accounts is still happy there. If you ever want to talk shop with someone who is local about what practicing there might look like, shoot me a message and I'll connect you.  I can tell you it can be rough, and I never earned much locally but fortunately had a nationwide practice.

my practice is Texas/national and I won't spend an ounce of money or time trying to develop local business regardless of where we end up - I'd rather spend that money on travel back to Texas to meet with clients 3-4 times a year.  Santa Fe is probably a fall back position for us, honestly I'd rather be somewhere else. I'm bougie AF and NM doesn't quite do it for me.

[closetohumping 17442]

1 hour ago, Guadaloopy said:

Except those places get crowded as fuck and are a pain in the ass to get to.

This is the nicest thing about living in CA, actually getting to enjoy outdoor living spaces.  Except that EVERYONE is enjoying their outdoor living spaces.  You get a bit of everyone's music, cooking smells, and whatever new strain they are trying out.  As nice as it may sound, there is actually very little peace and no elbow room.   

Even this part of CA has its drawbacks.  I lived on Monterey peninsula for five years.  I really loved it there, but it's EXPENSIVE, gets a lot of tourist traffic, and with the fog/mist, overcast in the winter I struggled with low-grade SAD.

Bottom line, there are positive and negatives wherever you go.  Pick your poison.  We left SoCal for Tulsa and now have more space and peace and disposable income, but I had to spend some of that income to put a storm shelter in the garage.  

Welk Resort

I’m glad you’re happy in Tulsa.  I love it out here in California.  Not sure what to say. 

[Samson's Wig 3192]

1 minute ago, troph said:

my practice is Texas/national and I won't spend an ounce of money or time trying to develop local business regardless of where we end up - I'd rather spend that money on travel back to Texas to meet with clients 3-4 times a year.  Santa Fe is probably a fall back position for us, honestly I'd rather be somewhere else. I'm bougie AF and NM doesn't quite do it for me.

I hope my screed can assist in discussions with your partner about a different location. 

[texasdago 7573]

Man, so many comments to make but I'll keep it short...

For the mountains, I agree about dressing properly because your focus should be skiing/boarding as much as possible.

On NM, I definitely found that locals in Taos "tolerate" you.  Like, maybe they'll talk to you but they'd rather not. Santa Fe was better.  Rest of the state? Oooffff.

 

Tulsa is actually a decent little place.  Very laid back.  If you're stuck in OK it should be Tulsa.  Good breweries, too.

 

Edited June 11 by texasdago

[Js1 85336]

29 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I'll write you a dissertation at some point if you like, but the short of it is that it's a lovely place to visit and a terrible place to live, especially if you're still in your earning years. 

I still miss the weather, the landscape, and even the food, but I do not miss the people.  We left in large part to get our children away from the default attitude of "given up" that 90% of the population lives by.  I seem to recall you mentioning having kids.  Do not move there and put them in public school if you expect them to know anyone who will ever do anything with their life.   The state's horrible policies drive a lot of this. A classic is that property taxes never go up so long as a house stays in the family - sounds like a nice policy until you realize it incentives generations of people to do absolutely nothing because they can live in the same house great grandpa built in 1902 for about $50 a year, so no one is incentivized to do anything beyond the absolute least possible to get by.   The end result is New Mexico competes year after year with Mississippi for the poorest state in America.  

There are a small handful of people working their assess off to improve the place, and they are met with a state taxing department that treats them like a piggy bank and commits some of the more egregious government overreach I've ever seen.  It's straight-up criminal, with no exaggeration, but you will be living in an essentially lawless place, so what is criminal, anyway?  If you own a business, bring your own tub of lube.  Reason, rationality, and even the law do not factor into any interaction with state tax and rev.  If you are deemed to have something beyond a mere subsistence existence, they will try and take it from you until you're broken like everyone else there.   This is why the wealthy folks in Santa Fe don't actually reside in New Mexico, they just fly in from somewhere else to their second or third house.  They still get dinged at every opportunity by tax and rev, but not nearly as bad as residents.

 You see the upside-down attitude of punishing people for trying to do better pop up in lots of places.  New Mexico has one of the highest (maybe the highest) rates of uninsured motorists in America.  Do they step up enforcement?  No, they just charge the people doing the right thing more money.  Stealing a car wasn't even a felony until around 2011.   Each neighborhood in Albuquerque has a state senator.  So whoever has the most relatives in a zip code gets elected.  And despite this rather quaint state government, the oil and gas industries really run everything and pay nothing into the system for it.   It's a mess of a place with corruption that makes Illinois (or Texas) look like candy apples.  

The other aspect that can be really tough there is New Mexico is one of the least hospitable places I've ever been.  People keep to themselves and their own group.   Almost anywhere I've ever been in the world you can walk into a pub, strike up a conversation, and end your experience with some new friends.  That is an extremely rare occurrence in NM.  I never really figured out why, but people are not interested in meeting new people in that place.  Santa Fe is a bit different as it's filled with tourists and outsiders how spend only part of the year there, but the rest of the state would just as soon you not be there.

So this turned into a poorly written dissertation after all, but in summary, New Mexico is a great place if you're independently wealthy and can shield your assets from a taxing authority that operates more like a Mongol horde than a government department.  If you have kids that are still being raised or intend to earn money in the state, run as far away as you possibly can.   If you're thinking of retirement, then sure.  But know that you'll be surrounded by some of the most corrupt and some of the most sadly beat-down people you'll ever come across.  Texas pisses me off all the time, especially the politics, but New Mexico gives me the shivers when I think about it.  It's a place to give up.  It's not a place to live.

Damn this makes me glad I did not take that job last year and move to Santa Fe.

[troph 24797]

8 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I hope my screed can assist in discussions with your partner about a different location. 

haha, if I tell her I spent another 2 hours this week thinking about where we might live in 4-5 years, she will hang me out to dry. She's simple and loves the good life we have but doesn't want to scheme or plan for any of it and frankly thinks my overthinking is a sickness. she's prolly right. funny how my type of woman is one that doesn't think about the future. gives me an excuse to do double time.

 

 

Edited June 11 by troph

[Frank Drebin 5639]

14 minutes ago, troph said:

@Samson's Wig thanks for sharing all of that, it's incredibly insightful. there is a strong contingent of LGBTQ+ (read mostly wealthy gay men) who live in Santa Fe and the art scene is arguably third only to NYC and LA. But that's all I have to add.

We are 4-5 years out from a major change as my kids - for better or worse - are Texas kids and still in high school.

I have spent a lot of time in Santa Fe.  A close family member (uncle) has lived in Las Campanas for 10+ years (and it was his second home the previous ten years).  I like it.  But it is not nearly as pretty as other mountain regions.  The skiing is not great and is often a pain in the ass to get to (you get behind one driver with the wrong vehicle or who drives slow it might take you two hours to get up the ski hill in bad weather).  And the town shuts down really early, which if you are moving for retirement might not matter.

 

[BabaYaga 15297]

22 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Very interesting view. I’ve only had limited interaction with the state. I dealt with the New Mexico State police a lot. I found that law enforcement organization to be pretty solid. It didn’t seem to be as corrupt or political as other State law enforcement orgs. Maybe I was shielded from it as an outsider from Texas. 

We drove with another family on a ski trip to NM years back.  They've made the trip before, and once ran out of gas after cutting over through Amarillo into NM.  It's a desolate stretch and getting colder by the hour.  They called 911, NM PD answered and told them TX LEO's were closer.  So they called TX and they said you are not in Texas......so.....

They called back and NM balked again, until the mom raised high and holy hell.  Hours later some guy shows up with jumper cables.  But no gas.  So he has to go back.  It was a hot mess.  

[Hate 20108]

That’s not on the troopers, that’s on the dipshit that didn’t take the opportunity to fill when they had it.

Edited June 11 by Hate

[royiv 9317]

3 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

We drove with another family on a ski trip to NM years back.  They've made the trip before, and once ran out of gas after cutting over through Amarillo into NM.  It's a desolate stretch and getting colder by the hour.  They called 911, NM PD answered and told them TX LEO's were closer.  So they called TX and they said you are not in Texas......so.....

They called back and NM balked again, until the mom raised high and holy hell.  Hours later some guy shows up with jumper cables.  But no gas.  So he has to go back.  It was a hot mess.  

How the fuck does someone run out of gas on a road trip or anytime for that matter? Prior planning prevents piss poor  performance. Sounds like your friends should be praising the NM state police for bailing their dumbasses out.

[troph 24797]

5 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

We drove with another family on a ski trip to NM years back.  They've made the trip before, and once ran out of gas after cutting over through Amarillo into NM.  It's a desolate stretch and getting colder by the hour.  They called 911, NM PD answered and told them TX LEO's were closer.  So they called TX and they said you are not in Texas......so.....

They called back and NM balked again, until the mom raised high and holy hell.  Hours later some guy shows up with jumper cables.  But no gas.  So he has to go back.  It was a hot mess.  

[safe sex 11726]

20 minutes ago, troph said:

 I'm bougie AF and NM doesn't quite do it for me.

This speaks to me

[BabaYaga 15297]

1 minute ago, royiv said:

How the fuck does someone run out of gas on a road trip or anytime for that matter? Prior planning prevents piss poor  performance. Sounds like your friends should be praising the NM state police for bailing their dumbasses out.

Yeah, it was a mess.  To be fair, they are a foreign family, but that doesn't indemnify them on gauging time & distance.  I know that stretch of road, and if you don't gas up at least in Amarillo, it's your ass.  Same with everyone going down into Chaco Canyon

[hornmpa96 2618]

5 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Yeah, it was a mess.  To be fair, they are a foreign family, but that doesn't indemnify them on gauging time & distance.  I know that stretch of road, and if you don't gas up at least in Amarillo, it's your ass.  Same with everyone going down into Chaco Canyon

I prefer Dumas or Dalhart for my Panhandle gas and Allsups burrito stop.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

25 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

We drove with another family on a ski trip to NM years back.  They've made the trip before, and once ran out of gas after cutting over through Amarillo into NM.  It's a desolate stretch and getting colder by the hour.  They called 911, NM PD answered and told them TX LEO's were closer.  So they called TX and they said you are not in Texas......so.....

They called back and NM balked again, until the mom raised high and holy hell.  Hours later some guy shows up with jumper cables.  But no gas.  So he has to go back.  It was a hot mess.  

 That area of NM is empty as fuck.  I grew up in the panhandle and drove through the Raton Pass all the time on the way to ski or do whatever in New Mexico or Colorado.  I once ran out of gas in a new (to me) truck that turned out to have a faulty gas gauge.  I think I was around 20 years old or so.  I started walking and kept walking for a few hours when, out of nowhere, a school bus with about ten kids on it pulled over, picked me up, and dropped me at a gas station a good ways down the road.  Those kids must have had one hell of a ride to and from school every day.  I wasn't as lucky getting a ride back to the truck, and now I don't trust gauges anymore. 

[Dnaguy 11964]

Texas doesn't suck.

Texas, the idea of Texas, the food in Texas, and the janus-like ethos of 'rugged individualism' meets 'we're in it together' is amazing IMO.

The people that run Texas suck.

The people who move here, the people who didn't grow up here, the people who don't know Texas history, the people who cosplay Texan are who sucks. [That's an AND function, not an OR function}

Just like our founding fathers, I've met some expats that exude Texan. So it ain't like you have to be born here to exude Texan.

True Texans I know are great.

The rest of y'all can go to hell.

Edited June 11 by Dnaguy

[crash_davis 23113]

16 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

 That area of NM is empty as fuck.  I grew up in the panhandle and drove through the Raton Pass all the time on the way to ski or do whatever in New Mexico or Colorado.  I once ran out of gas in a new (to me) truck that turned out to have a faulty gas gauge.  I think I was around 20 years old or so.  I started walking and kept walking for a few hours when, out of nowhere, a school bus with about ten kids on it pulled over, picked me up, and dropped me at a gas station a good ways down the road.  Those kids must have had one hell of a ride to and from school every day.  I wasn't as lucky getting a ride back to the truck, and now I don't trust gauges anymore. 

I drive through this part of the state driving to/from Austin - Pagosa Springs. It's barren as fuck. The roads suck, the speed limits sucks. But I do love me some spotting antelope in that barren waste.

[texasdago 7573]

31 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I drive through this part of the state driving to/from Austin - Pagosa Springs. It's barren as fuck. The roads suck, the speed limits sucks. But I do love me some spotting antelope in that barren waste.

I've done that stretch once.

Once

Give me Muleshoe to Ft Sumner and the Clines Corner route anyway.

[Frank Drebin 5639]

15 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I've done that stretch once.

Once

Give me Muleshoe to Ft Sumner and the Clines Corner route anyway.

That is the way I go when I have driven from Houston.  Abilene, Lubbock, Clovis (better stop at the Clovis Pilot because it's the only decent place between Lubbock and Santa Fe), Clines Corner, Santa Rosa, Santa Fe.  

[texasdago 7573]

50 minutes ago, Frank Drebin said:

That is the way I go when I have driven from Houston.  Abilene, Lubbock, Clovis (better stop at the Clovis Pilot because it's the only decent place between Lubbock and Santa Fe), Clines Corner, Santa Rosa, Santa Fe.  

Honestly the best option. I can't overemphasize how much I hate the way that goes through Amarillo.  Shoot, I'd even take the Roswell way and that's not pleasant.

[Hate 20108]

From The Woodlands it’s 45 to 287 all the way to 40. There are plenty of opportunities to get gas and stretch your legs along the way. Anyone that runs out of gas these days with smart phone technology is an idiot.

[RDCanecutter 26442]

30 minutes ago, Hate said:

From The Woodlands it’s 45 to 287 all the way to 40. There are plenty of opportunities to get gas and stretch your legs along the way. Anyone that runs out of gas these days with smart phone technology is an idiot.

TIL that you can use a smart phone to power a car.

[YGIFS 19450]

what about using one to power a boat near a shark? 

[troph 24797]

52 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

Texas doesn't suck.

Texas, the idea of Texas, the food in Texas, and the janus-like ethos of 'rugged individualism' meets 'we're in it together' is amazing IMO.

The people that run Texas suck.

The people who move here, the people who didn't grow up here, the people who don't know Texas history, the people who cosplay Texan are who sucks. [That's an AND function, not an OR function}

Just like our founding fathers, I've met some expats that exude Texan. So it ain't like you have to be born here to exude Texan.

True Texans I know are great.

The rest of y'all can go to hell.

I agree 100%.  I would add the undying optimism and friendliness is something to behold. The live and let live, hey if you're a Texan you must be alright default attitude was amazing for a time.

[Snake Diggity 4624]

21 hours ago, troph said:

I’ll lose 5-10 pounds just hiking and riding bikes as the standard “what are we doing tonight or this weekend” when we go up to CO for July. When we go skiing I need to line up therapy sessions by the 4th day I’m so crazy. 
 

Excluding vacation I’d rank my ideal as:

Fla Keys or Caribbean Islands Jan and Feb

Austin March through June 15

Colorado  June 16 - October 5

Austin October 6 - December 31

I’ll die trying to make it happen.

Not bad but gimme Kona instead of FL/Caribbean and Montana/Idaho instead of Colorado.  But really if I could just get anywhere cool and liberal from July 1 - Sep 1 I would be satisfied living in Austin forever.

With my current wealth/income, if I were to leave Austin full time the official visits would be:

1. San Diego

2. Charlotte

3. Fort Collins

4. Omaha

5. Madison

Edited June 11 by Snake Diggity

[Doc Sam Beckett 5793]

4 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

i've been visiting for 25 years now and have yet to deal with any of that. maybe a few days over 90. 15-20 minutes to la jolla, del mar and solana beach works for me.  it takes me almost that long to get to barton springs on most days now.

Yeah, definitely not wildfires and pretty centrally located. Easy to get anywhere you want to be. It's a far cry from Escondido. You win this round 4th and 5, but just remember, it's fluid 

[DalTxHornFan 3101]

5 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Not bad but gimme Kona instead of FL/Caribbean and Montana/Idaho instead of Colorado.  But really if I could just get anywhere cool and liberal from July 1 - Sep 1 I would be satisfied living in Austin forever.

With my current wealth/income, if I were to leave Austin full time the official visits would be:

1. San Diego

2. Charlotte

3. Fort Collins

4. Omaha

5. Madison

Love Omaha.  Playing golf at Dodge park at dawn on the other side of the river every time I've been to a Texas CWS has been a staple for me and my crew! 

[Snake Diggity 4624]

10 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Love Omaha.  Playing golf at Dodge park at dawn on the other side of the river every time I've been to a Texas CWS has been a staple for me and my crew! 

I’m assuming Omaha sucks during winter.

[hornmpa96 2618]

15 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

I’m assuming Omaha sucks during winter.

Omaha sucks in the Summer as well. The hottest day of my life was the Texas/LSU championship series Game 1. 100 degrees with a 100% humidity. I’ve lived in Houston for 20 years and I’ve never been that uncomfortable outside.

[troph 24797]

45 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Not bad but gimme Kona instead of FL/Caribbean and Montana/Idaho instead of Colorado.  But really if I could just get anywhere cool and liberal from July 1 - Sep 1 I would be satisfied living in Austin forever.

With my current wealth/income, if I were to leave Austin full time the official visits would be:

1. San Diego

2. Charlotte

3. Fort Collins

4. Omaha

5. Madison

Montana for sure, Hawaii for sure. Lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota are a real possibility with climate change. I’ve already told my boys the Great Lakes may be where they need to move.

I’d love to pick Idaho but yeah no. 

Carmel Valley - incidentally where I first walked out the door into public as my true self - is making a strong comeback today. Climate change reports suggest minimal temp changes but I’m sure drought / rains will be an issue. 

[troph 24797]

@Dnaguy Texans wanting to leave Texas should tell us all how bad it’s gotten.

[UTexasFight 9444]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

I mean....except for all of the folks who lived in Allandale with us.  Or who live in NW Hills with us now.  Most of whom have at least one member of the couple who went to UT.  I assure you, those groups aren't out "partying with a large amount of disposable income."  They're living those workmanlike lives you refer to.  Lotta little league and soccer games, shopping at HEB, family trips to Port A, all the classics.

Also, my wife fucking HATED our minivan years.  One of the happiest days in her life was the day we got rid of it.  Me?  I thought it was practical as shit, and loved it.  

Not a minivan guy… until we were about to leave on a road trip vacation around Christmas a couple of years ago and got rear ended in my truck that we were going to take the morning of our scheduled departure.

so looked up rentals and the minivan was only slightly more expensive. Worked out perfectly with the gf, 8 and 10 yo, and dog.

about to rent our 3rd minivan since for our summer vacation next month. 
 

but as an everyday vehicle? Nah.

 

[Rudiger 1163]

I moved to Puerto Rico a few years back. Everywhere in the mainland sucks ass. 

[Jiggy-Z 3432]

Went to Vail for the Go Pro Mountain games (my two youngest were competing). Yeah I know it's like Disneyland there, but on the drive back it was amazing all the way up to the Texas border where the mountains stopped and it just became flatland with Dollar General stores. Got a little better in the hill country around San Sabba, but then we hit Austin suburbs.

I understand thst we go to cool places for vacation, but why is everyplace I go better than where I live? 

[troph 24797]

3 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:

Went to Vail for the Go Pro Mountain games (my two youngest were competing). Yeah I know it's like Disneyland there, but on the drive back it was amazing all the way up to the Texas border where the mountains stopped and it just became flatland with Dollar General stores. Got a little better in the hill country around San Sabba, but then we hit Austin suburbs.

I understand thst we go to cool places for vacation, but why is everyplace I go better than where I live? 

because you touch yourself twice a day, duh.

 

there are things that I could never replace about Texas, and I would miss it terribly but as we all get older and weather becomes more important there is no doubt there are places that are idyllic for that purpose and Texas just isn't that place, never was, never will be.

Edited June 12 by troph

[YGIFS 19450]

I thought it was game #3 that was the nasty swamp-ass game, IIRC.  I remember almost passing out in one of the far bathrooms that had no ventilation in the middle innings?  Meh, 1 & 3 were both probably miserable.  I remember game #2 was pleasant because we won, and because of that rain delay...though a little muggy that night...it was rather pleasant.  

I've been there other times besides the CWS and it's a great mid-sized city.  Wonderful people.  I'll leave it to the weather experts to explain the jet stream currents, but it doesn't get as miserable as other great plains/midwest cities of that longitude during the winter somehow.  Still colder than most Texas could take.  But yeah, it also gets brutally hot in the Summer, though it cools down nicely after dusk.  

Much as I hate Oklahoma, I'd prefer Tulsa over Omaha.  Probably just for job purposes.  Kansas City is another weird one up that way.  Wife has a ton of family in/around that area.  There's two cool little pockets and the rest is just the ugliest urban sprawl you've ever seen.  With no topography or kind people.  Almost none of her family gets together up there for holidays because it's just too far.  They all say they live in "Kansas City", but in reality they're all like 40 miles from one another.  It was a much more authentic city 40 years ago, but then---what wasn't?  

As the great Turk Pipkin once told me after some author next to us went on about how much Austin has changed since he grew up here before moving to New York, "Only time you worry about a Native Austinite is when they quit bitching."  

[Doc Sam Beckett 5793]

I'm curious about Wilmington. I've spent a lot of time in Charleston, and from what I've been told, Chas/Savannah/Wilmington are all very similar, with Wilmington being a bit behind the other two, so also much more affordable. 

[miguelito 11266]

No one has mentioned coastal Maine yet. Good, stay away. I wouldn't mind ending up there. Maybe I'll buy an island. 

[MissingInAction 25076]

6 hours ago, closetohumping said:

I’m glad you’re happy in Tulsa.  I love it out here in California.  Not sure what to say. 

You sound like that wind bag on YouTube who is compelled to remind everyone he's in Colorado.

[troph 24797]

35 minutes ago, miguelito said:

No one has mentioned coastal Maine yet. Good, stay away. I wouldn't mind ending up there. Maybe I'll buy an island. 

I like sunsets over the water more than sunrises what can I say? 

[tomahawk dunk 338]

2 hours ago, troph said:

@Dnaguy Texans wanting to leave Texas should tell us all how bad it’s gotten.

Austin (and Texas) was really hot for a decade plus and now its cooled down somewhat. Americans always seem to have the desire to move some place else. 

 

[miguelito 11266]

13 minutes ago, troph said:

I like sunsets over the water more than sunrises what can I say? 

Nothing wrong with that. On my island you can watch both. 😀