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

[F250 28659]

Regarding cold climates not being for me. I remembered, I once spent two weeks working in Omaha in February about 25 years ago. The most miserable trip of my life.

Towards the end of the trip, I was eating a slice of Godfathers Pizza after slamming some beers in my hotel room and thinking, "If I lived here I would turn into a fat alcoholic." Then at that moment I understood what it meant to be a Cornhusker.

[InkaUtexas 25426]

Southern Indiana in February. Fuck that place. 

[YGIFS 19449]

Evansville is a nice little city.  And the French Lick-Hanover rivalry is worth checking out.  But yeah, once you get south of I.U., that state gets ugly and miserably cold.  

[troph 24548]

26 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

the GF and I rarely agree on movies.  We started this and liked it,a and she fell asleep.  So, we'll finish when she gets back from this work trip.

 

Meanwhile, I'm watching "Run Silent Run Deep".   Which is why we rarely agree on movies.  But c'mon...Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Don Rickles, etc. 

wifey fell asleep and now I’m back to slacker another linklater film, early scene conspiracy guy waxing poetic about melting polar ice caps and how we’ve been on mars since 62. Aged well. O_o 

[F250 28659]

24 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Southern Indiana in February. Fuck that place. 

I spent a week in Carmel, Indiana in late July and it was about 80 degrees the entire time. Then I flew into SAT which was 100+ with a blanket of humidity and I thought I was going to die.

[safe sex 11659]

I love Slacker so much. That plus Waking Life as a double bill and just float along with them

[troph 24548]

2 minutes ago, F250 said:

I spent a week in Carmel, Indiana in late July and it was about 80 degrees the entire time. Then I flew into SAT which was 100+ with a blanket of humidity and I thought I was going to die.

You had me at Carmel lost me at Indiana. It didn’t last long but it was amazing.

[troph 24548]

2 minutes ago, safe sex said:

I love Slacker so much. That plus Waking Life as a double bill and just float along with them

Austin was such a shithole in 1991, I loved it so much.

[safe sex 11659]

Growing up, I got to catch glimpses of that Austin on a handful of visits before it well and truly disappeared. Always wish I could have lived it. 

[troph 24548]

5 minutes ago, safe sex said:

Growing up, I got to catch glimpses of that Austin on a handful of visits before it well and truly disappeared. Always wish I could have lived it. 

It was a fucking cesspool in a lot of ways in the 80s and by the time I was in college 94 it was turning around. But campus wasn’t that much different than this movie. Cracked sidewalks, broken glass, nothing pristine, you can almost smell the stench by university Baptist. And the quackenbush’s cappuccino, always took the smart girls there. Shithole housing north campus. I think I have my lifelong allergies from mold infested apartments I lived in.

Edited June 11 by troph

[texasdago 7550]

Speaking of CA the thought of beaches and skiing within reasonable reach plus SoCal weather... sign me up for that 1200 square foot house.  I'll either be in the backyard or spending 90% of my time outdoors.  

So long as I'm stuck in Texas, wouldn't be anywhere else but Austin.  And yeah even on this warming hellscape, you can catch me outdoors.

[Updawg 2260]

My neighbors just moved back to Oregon reluctantly. I told them they were lucky to escape this summer but they would rather have had it. Unless you live in San Diego it sucks

[Hank_Hill 18457]

Regarding California and home size I’m in the same boat in Hawaii. The outdoors here kick fucking ass. Living space barely matters here because I am never inside. That said I would never start a family here with the current housing situation and probably will be the reason I eventually leave in a couple years. My kids are going to be so fucking pissed at me. 
 

Also LOL at Dallas being awesome. Did my 4 years at UTSW and I’d never think about going back.

Edited June 11 by Hank_Hill

[SydneyCarton 47809]

16 hours ago, troph said:

The arguments of how costly it would be to move to CA or CO are noteworthy but ultimately unpersuasive for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.  Weekend entertainment? $20 of additional flies in my fly box and hike to 10,000 ft or higher and catch brookies, nap by an alpine lake and go home and sleep well 10 hours later. I don’t need the big house for that.  I don’t need expensive dinners out for that. When the time comes we will make the trade, my only issue is I don’t want the winters in the mountains. 

 

16 hours ago, F250 said:

I have a friend in California with this attitude. He says the access to all of the natural environments in California is worth the reduced living space.

 

16 hours ago, closetohumping said:

the high temp in my location is lower than the low of any of the major Texas cities.  

I can make a cost argument for Cali. Hell, becuase of this thread I looked up places on Bear Lake. Well ok, maybe when my kid hits college. The real concern for me in CA or CO is wild fires. 

[TwiceHorn 31184]

10 hours ago, troph said:

It was a fucking cesspool in a lot of ways in the 80s and by the time I was in college 94 it was turning around. But campus wasn’t that much different than this movie. Cracked sidewalks, broken glass, nothing pristine, you can almost smell the stench by university Baptist. And the quackenbush’s cappuccino, always took the smart girls there. Shithole housing north campus. I think I have my lifelong allergies from mold infested apartments I lived in.

I left in 1991 after graduating law school.  I didn't affirmatively hate Austin, but I was definitely tired of it and wanted to go.  So many people "playing at life" and refusing to get on with it, which included a fair number of pretty good friends.

[crash_davis 23078]

3 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

That hasn't changed. Peter Pan syndrome for some Austinites is a real thing.

They never want to grow up (and for a lot of folks, "growing up" is prohibitively expensive i.e. start a family, buy a house, etc. so I get it), so the next best thing is to just grow old listening to blues on the green or go to barton springs once a month or whatever people do to fill their hole in Austin these days.

Different strokes for different folks. 

I have a ton of "friends" in Houston suburbs who commute hours to work, think a vacation is spending a week on the Frio, who spend every weekend at a baseball/volleyball/soccer/softball tourney, and never venture far from their shitty suburb except to sit in a lawn chair/bleacher somewhere. No wonder they are all pissed off all the time. That's living hell in my book.

[miguelito 11204]

13 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

or whatever people do to fill their hole in Austin these days.

Some people do what South Austin's mom does.

[BabaYaga 15202]

10 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I have a ton of "friends" in Houston suburbs who commute hours to work, think a vacation is spending a week on the Frio, who spend every weekend at a baseball/volleyball/soccer/softball tourney, and never venture far from their shitty suburb except to sit in a lawn chair/bleacher somewhere.

[Skipper 6088]

5 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Also LOL at Dallas being awesome. Did my 4 years at UTSW and I’d never think about going back.

I guess.  But Austin has become a shittier Dallas. I lived in Austin in HS and college and moved to Dallas for law school (now 20+ years ago) and always assumed I would get back.  Now wouldn't really consider it.  All the bad parts of Dallas + way worse traffic + overpriced and now full of Californians.  No thanks.  I miss being closer to Texas sports but that's about it.  I can find bits and pieces of the Austin I loved when I visit but it's largely gone and not coming back.

[Wally Fairway 5517]

don't argue amongst ourselves about intercity petty disputes - instead focus on the bigger picture.

FUCK that list and whoever put it together (and their mother)

Edited June 11 by Wally Fairway

[texasdago 7550]

56 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

That hasn't changed. Peter Pan syndrome for some Austinites is a real thing.

They never want to grow up (and for a lot of folks, "growing up" is prohibitively expensive i.e. start a family, buy a house, etc. so I get it), so the next best thing is to just grow old listening to blues on the green or go to barton springs once a month or whatever people do to fill their hole in Austin these days.

I would say sign me up but, yeah... I signed up for the "next best thing" when we moved back to Austin.  Live music at the Continental Club on Friday night, lake Austin Saturday, Llano River Sunday... F living back in Houston again. 

[BabaYaga 15202]

7 minutes ago, Skipper said:

I guess.  But Austin has become a shittier Dallas. I lived in Austin in HS and college and moved to Dallas for law school (now 20+ years ago) and always assumed I would get back.  Now wouldn't really consider it.  All the bad parts of Dallas + way worse traffic + overpriced and now full of Californians.  No thanks.  I miss being closer to Texas sports but that's about it.  I can find bits and pieces of the Austin I loved when I visit but it's largely gone and not coming back.

Same.  We go back for games, but that's it.  

[HenryJames 65868]

lol Dallas

[texasdago 7550]

I saw a friend post on his FB that he left Austin to move to Dallas because it had more soul

[CHIEF 5057]

17 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Same.  We go back for games, but that's it.  

Same boat. We sold the MIL's house in Cedar Park last year. BIL lives with fiancé in between 183 and Parmer, but keeps their house at about 82, so we ain't staying' there. 

CHIEF

[BabaYaga 15202]

1 minute ago, CHIEF said:

but keeps their house at about 82, so we ain't staying' there. 

[Brisketexan 104465]

9 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

Same boat. We sold the MIL's house in Cedar Park last year. BIL lives with fiancé in between 183 and Parmer, but keeps their house at about 82, so we ain't staying' there. 

CHIEF

Show up, toss BIL $40 and say "here, this should more than pay for the extra electricity we'll use this weekend....now I'ma crank down your thermostat to 75."

[CHIEF 5057]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

Show up, toss BIL $40 and say "here, this should more than pay for the extra electricity we'll use this weekend....now I'ma crank down your thermostat to 75."

Shit, ours is at 66. The fiancé owns the house, and is miserably cold when they come and stay. She is skinny, and I think she is anemic with thin blood. Even my BIL hates it, so the pussy must be outstanding. 

CHIEF

[HouTex 1847]

1 hour ago, BeardIP said:

There is a lid for every pot, as they say. One man's worst place to live in Texas is the next man's paradise, and visa versa.

Exactly.  I have a former law partner that moved from the NYC area to The Woodlands in the late 90's.  His commute to downtown was shorter than NYC, he had a much larger home, good schools for his kids, he joined The Woodlands CC and could play several different golf courses--year round.  He thought he moved to heaven.

[RDCanecutter 26239]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I left in 1991 after graduating law school.  I didn't affirmatively hate Austin, but I was definitely tired of it and wanted to go.  So many people "playing at life" and refusing to get on with it, which included a fair number of pretty good friends.

I wasn't aware we'd met.

Thoroughly enjoyed my flip-flop grad school life of boinking my mid-20s girlfriend, coasting on a bike to breakfast, sitting in class and thinking a couple of Deep Thoughts, grabbing spring rolls by the fountain, strumming guitar by fire pit with beers and hammocks, then reboinking mid-20s girlfriend. And if you came into a few hundred $ extra you were a Rockefeller. It was kind of like a retirement community without having to wear diapers.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5781]

15 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

My FIL recently told my wife we’ll be inheriting their north county house someday, so I have that to look forward to. 

You're gonna love Escondido 

[4th&Five 41457]

closer to mira mesa

[Guadaloopy 10903]

20 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Yes. 
1. when my Texas relatives and friends visit  they snicker at the size of my house.  Then o take them to the beach, big bear,etc and they get it

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

15 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Here at our place (North San Diego County) we have a 15x20 breezeway between the main house and the guest house.  In the summertime, we eat dinner there almost every night.  We are there every afternoon (adjacent to the pool).  I've got a nice TV hung there, a beer fridge, nice furniture, a ceiling fan, etc.   It's our favorite room in the house, and it's not in the house.

In the winter/fall, I'm there watching football every saturday and Sunday.  sure, I turn on the propane heater now and again, but it's still comfortable. 

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.   

14 hours ago, troph said:

You had me at Carmel lost me at Indiana. It didn’t last long but it was amazing.

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.  

10 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

You're gonna love Escondido 

Welk Resort

[Guadaloopy 10903]

9 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

closer to mira mesa

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

[Pescado_Rojo 19327]

3 hours ago, BeardIP said:

That hasn't changed. Peter Pan syndrome for some Austinites is a real thing.

They never want to grow up (and for a lot of folks, "growing up" is prohibitively expensive i.e. start a family, buy a house, etc. so I get it), so the next best thing is to just grow old listening to blues on the green or go to barton springs once a month or whatever people do to fill their hole in Austin these days.

Almost every Austin "Peter Pan" I know is a trust fund kid.

[Beau Vine 53965]

8 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Regarding California and home size I’m in the same boat in Hawaii. The outdoors here kick fucking ass. Living space barely matters here because I am never inside. That said I would never start a family here with the current housing situation and probably will be the reason I eventually leave in a couple years. My kids are going to be so fucking pissed at me. 
 

My daughter was 10 months old when we moved away.  She's now 25 and I still hear about it regularly.

[Guadaloopy 10903]

8 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Regarding California and home size I’m in the same boat in Hawaii. The outdoors here kick fucking ass. Living space barely matters here because I am never inside. That said I would never start a family here with the current housing situation and probably will be the reason I eventually leave in a couple years. My kids are going to be so fucking pissed at me. 
 

Also LOL at Dallas being awesome. Did my 4 years at UTSW and I’d never think about going back.

Loved living in HI, but two things I learned...

1. Hawaii (even Oahu) has a very thin veneer of modern first world infrastructure.  It doesn't take much to disrupt the power grid or the roads or the water system, etc.
2. I could never raise a family there and subject kids to that public education system.

[troph 24548]

27 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

is 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.
 

I'd probably live somewhere on Carmel Valley Road - been many times, and like it more so than Carmel-by-the-Sea. It can get hotter but the fog lifts much more quickly and comes in much later if at all. Some place near here: https://www.bernarduslodge.com/

 

and this just makes me wanna move now...

 

the local wines are good but not my style and my wife doesn't really like them at all. so it's probably not on our final destination list.

 

 

Edited June 11 by troph

[Guadaloopy 10903]

1 minute ago, troph said:

I'd probably live somewhere on Carmel Valley Road - been many times, and like it more so than Carmel-by-the-Sea. It can get hotter but the fog lifts much more quickly and comes in much later if at all. Some place near here: https://www.bernarduslodge.com/

 

Love Carmel Valley, but have a good wildfire and flood evac plan.

[Brisketexan 104465]

1 minute ago, BeardIP said:

Very few folks take the workmanlike approach of Briskettexan and get a minivan and raise a family in Allendale or something.

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.  

[Chewbacca 7727]

16 hours ago, F250 said:

I've been snow skiing many times in my life but only once did I ever do a ski trip for a full week. We rented a place for 7 days in Breckenridge during January. On day six, I discovered that I couldn't do cold weather for more than five days before I start getting irritated with the cold.

I definitely require sunlight and warm weather all year round just not the kind that comes with the Texas heat dome four month hell scape.

Winter in the mountains is great.  You just need to dress properly and get outside.  

[Surly Bevo 24692]

Some of you all in the Dallas/Austin debate probably are comparing two different things.  Dallas proper vs Austin proper should be the comparison.  If you want to compare Frisco to Austin...yea that ain't a legit comparison.  Frisco to Cedar Park, Round Rock, etc....sure.  I would still give Austin the edge on Dallas but it isn't the wild chasm a lot of folks want to believe it is, and frankly, there is no way Austin is any longer a Top Ten place to live in the United States.  That's a significant overrate based on nostalgia and days gone by at this point.   

Shitty traffic, shitty weather for large swaths of the year, always a water issue every few years and at some point there is gonna be one that becomes existential, lagging medical infrastructure to support the exploding population, the massive cost to enter the housing market, primary school district isn't in overall good shape because they get robbed by the state, etc etc etc.

Edited June 11 by Surly Bevo

[SydneyCarton 47809]

45 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

You're gonna love Escondido 

I dunno man, I see some decent looking options considering you get to live in San Diego:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2458-Fawn-Creek-Ln-Escondido-CA-92026/139863437_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/831-South-Broadway-Escondido-CA-92025/16698034_zpid/

[Hank_Hill 18457]

3 hours ago, Skipper said:

I guess.  But Austin has become a shittier Dallas. I lived in Austin in HS and college and moved to Dallas for law school (now 20+ years ago) and always assumed I would get back.  Now wouldn't really consider it.  All the bad parts of Dallas + way worse traffic + overpriced and now full of Californians.  No thanks.  I miss being closer to Texas sports but that's about it.  I can find bits and pieces of the Austin I loved when I visit but it's largely gone and not coming back.

Yea I mean I wasn’t comparing Dallas to Austin. I haven’t lived in Austin since 2017 so I wouldn’t know. I do know Dallas sucks ass.

Edited June 11 by Hank_Hill

[Frank Drebin 5625]

55 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

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

Very true.  In the words of August McCrae: "Life in San Francisco, you see, is still just life."

Edited June 11 by Frank Drebin

[gurt 736]

I think we can all agree it was a lot better living in anywhere in the US when there were 50-100 million less people

[troph 24548]

57 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

Love Carmel Valley, but have a good wildfire and flood evac plan.

muh private helicopter duh. jk

yeah no rain until it rains then slides.

fire too. they had a scare in 2020 deeper into the valley. same time Big Sur went up in flames. I just looked it up but also remember it one of my dear friends lives there (an artist) and I remember her agnostic prayers on instagram with shocking pictures to go with it.

two roads in and out - the pass over Salinas and Carmel Valley Road to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Less than 10,000 people around there but if you're up in the hills or if everyone is leaving at the same time, probably tense. definitely need a "go bag" and need to not be super attached to your "things".

just spent the last hour on redfin, still super expensive but it feels like prices are way down and that's got to be insureability and casualty risk.

Edited June 11 by troph

[gurt 736]

I am not volunteering to do my part on that, btw

[F250 28659]

30 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Winter in the mountains is great.  You just need to dress properly and get outside.  

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.

 

[4th&Five 41457]

1 hour ago, Guadaloopy said:

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

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.