People keep moving to Texas, mostly

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

Could be?  Is there a link to back that up?
I know lots of Californians that have moved to Texas.  Not a single one of them could be described as "Republican."
 

Not the people we, or my Dad in Granbury, have met. Almost all from CA and very transparent on where they stand.

[Smax 3800]

5 hours ago, utee94 said:

Could be?  Is there a link to back that up?

I know lots of Californians that have moved to Texas.  Not a single one of them could be described as "Republican."

 

I moved to California and when I mention I'm from Texas the conversation comes up and that's what most say, "Oh so and so moved to Texas to get out of this Democrat state" I've had 2 neighbors move to Texas both are republicans, "Tired of Newsom taking away our freedoms.." So just anecdotal but we've been hearing about California to Texas flight for 20+ years and how its going to turn Texas blue. 

How's that going?

[Pato del Muerto 52489]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

I assumed so.  I was approached by a couple of Cali companies outside of LA and the pay was noticeably higher.  I figured the reverse should be true.

Could vary by company but I know that when my brother in law moved to the HB area for work, they gave an additional housing stipend instead of a straight salary bump. Not sure about tax implications but I bet it made it easier on that company when people moved around, to have the base salary and then defined stipends for different COL zones. 

15 minutes ago, Smax said:

I moved to California and when I mention I'm from Texas the conversation comes up and that's what most say, "Oh so and so moved to Texas to get out of this Democrat state" I've had 2 neighbors move to Texas both are republicans, "Tired of Newsom taking away our freedoms.." So just anecdotal but we've been hearing about California to Texas flight for 20+ years and how its going to turn Texas blue. 

How's that going?

Most of the folks we met in Georgetown that had moved from CA were conservatives.  Now some of that may have had to do with meeting some of them at a 4H shooting sports activity, but some were also just neighbors or met at tennis court when kids were taking weekly lessons. 

[utee94 15815]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Apropos of nothing, but I'm curious:  when someone transfers within a company from the Bay area to (say) Austin, do they have to take a pay cut?

It's been addressed by a couple of posters already, but the answer is-- yes it does happen, depending on the company, or even the position or job code within that company.

 

[elfenix 34233]

7 hours ago, utee94 said:

Could be?  Is there a link to back that up?

I know lots of Californians that have moved to Texas.  Not a single one of them could be described as "Republican."

 

Quote

Fifty-one percent of respondents in the exit poll who said they were from Texas originally voted for O’Rourke, while 48 percent of native Texans said they went for Cruz.

{mosads}In contrast, 57 percent of respondents who said they moved to the state voted for Cruz, compared to 42 percent who voted for O’Rourke.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/415932-exit-poll-more-native-texans-voted-for-orourke-than-cruz/

[GreenspointTexas 9600]

Yall are barking up the wrong tree

 

 

Theyll all be moving back north in 20-30 years when its pretty much 115 degrees half the year. Gonna make parts of Hou-DFW-ATX-SA look like detroit. 

[utee94 15815]

1 minute ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Yall are barking up the wrong tree

 

 

Theyll all be moving back north in 20-30 years when its pretty much 115 degrees half the year. Gonna make parts of Hou-DFW-ATX-SA look like detroit. 

Don't Texas my Minneapolis!!!!!

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

37 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Don't Texas my Minneapolis!!!!!

My daughter had her medical residency match today. She got her 1st choice in the Twin Cities area (not Minneapolis), but she and her new husband were a bit nervous that she might wind up at her 2nd choice, Baylor Scott & White in Dallas. They are very outdoorsy, and the thought of having to travel an hour to barely get outside the Metroplex before driving who knows how far to get to some decent outdoors destination was stressing her out.

Everything I’ve read in this thread tells me that the Dallas half of DFW would have been worse for them than I had warned. She interviewed at Dell Medical School, too, but she had to rank them much lower because of other reasons, primarily the negative vibes she got from the current residents. Two of her closest med school friends also interviewed at Dell, and they came away with the same impression.

[gmr548 16576]

20 hours ago, babysdaddy said:

I was reliably told Texas is failing and is a failed state.  Why do people keep moving here??

This is pretty simplistic. People walk around feeling fine and then find out they have Stage III or IV cancer. Things aren't always as they seem on the surface. 

20 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Cause dumb motherfuckers love strip malls and suburban hell.

The vast majority of people that make interstate moves do so either because of household economics (job opportunity, housing costs, whatever) or proximity to family. It's not typically some dream of living in Texas - although, like others have mentioned, I do know a few transplants really into the cowboy cosplay bit so it is out there. The segment of the population that actually, consciously votes with their feet is very small because that generally requires a level of financial stability that most of the population doesn't have, and most people aren't willing to up and leave their family/friends, find a new job or close their business, or whatever the case may be to make a political point.

The growth machine - which at this point is self sustaining and plays a nontrivial role in the continued economic expansion of the state - will end for Texas at some point, just like it has elsewhere. At that point Texas is going to be left with a lot of very inefficient, expensive to maintain sprawl without the growth to pay for it. At some point, somewhere else is going to be the more cost effective and appealing option for businesses and citizens, and you'll see relocations out of Texas to hotspot X just like people once moved in droves from the east coast to the Rust Belt, and from EST and CST to California.

It will be interesting to see where the state goes from there. It has advantages California, the northeast (near endless supply of flat, buildable land across which to continuously sprawl), and the Rust Belt (international migration, diversified economy) didn't have when the growth cycle ended in those places. But it'll also face some unique challenges with climate change/water security (this is an issue for CA too), transition away from oil (no CR, it'll happen at some point even if it is literally pumping it all out of the ground), etc.

[closetohumping 17440]

12 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Could vary by company but I know that when my brother in law moved to the HB area for work, they gave an additional housing stipend instead of a straight salary bump. Not sure about tax implications but I bet it made it easier on that company when people moved around, to have the base salary and then defined stipends for different COL zones. 

Most of the folks we met in Georgetown that had moved from CA were conservatives.  Now some of that may have had to do with meeting some of them at a 4H shooting sports activity, but some were also just neighbors or met at tennis court when kids were taking weekly lessons. 

I’m in tech. Definitely depends on company.  Yep some companies will pay you the same whether you live in SF or biloxi

[closetohumping 17440]

I’ve asked Californians that move to Texas what they’re going to do their first weekend in Dallas or Houston.  
 

despite the exodus, California housing is still insane

 

imo Texas has better food than California.  We also don’t have huge bars where you can sit outside and listen to live music like the Backyard or Cibolo brewing.  Kind of odd

Edited March 16 by closetohumping

[gmr548 16576]

22 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

despite the exodus, California housing is still insane

That's because of the demographic of those leaving; it's been predominantly low/middle income earners for a long time. And also, in the grand scheme of things the number of people leaving the state is a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the population. There's still very much a housing shortage out there. Supply and demand in housing is as much about dollars to go around as it is headcount, and the volume of money in the market has arguably increased.

Pre-COVID, CA was a net negative domestic migration state but not by anything approaching the margins of recent years because there was net positive inflow of highly educated/earning subgroup. The population still grew (pretty substantially - only FL and TX added more people between 2010-2020) because international migrations and natural increase was > net out migration. With COVID ushering in remote work more of those households understandably left because they didn't need to physically be in CA anymore and paying CA income taxes. I expect CA's population will more or less stabilize around its current level as the labor market seems to have reached a new equilibrium with hybrid/remote work, and there's employment upside with the tech sector that will probably draw some people out there in its next growth cycle.

It's probably still the biggest state in the 2030 Census but Texas seems likely to pass it at some point in the 2030's.

Edited March 16 by gmr548

[jimmyjazz 45903]

I'm pretty sure Texas doesn't have the market cornered on strip malls and suburban hell.

 

Edited March 16 by jimmyjazz
speling

[Smax 3800]

1 hour ago, closetohumping said:

I’ve asked Californians that move to Texas what they’re going to do their first weekend in Dallas or Houston.  
 

despite the exodus, California housing is still insane

 

imo Texas has better food than California.  We also don’t have huge bars where you can sit outside and listen to live music like the Backyard or Cibolo brewing.  Kind of odd

 

I think depends on the cuisine but agree for the most part food is better in Texas, fine dining is better in California. I've found most dishes out here are under seasoned 

[closetohumping 17440]

12 minutes ago, Smax said:

 

I think depends on the cuisine but agree for the most part food is better in Texas, fine dining is better in California. I've found most dishes out here are under seasoned 

Bbq is the big difference. Duh.  I give California the edge on Asian and seafood but not big enough to overcome no bbq.  There’s some great Mexican food here but I miss greasy enchiladas 

[Smax 3800]

31 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Bbq is the big difference. Duh.  I give California the edge on Asian and seafood but not big enough to overcome no bbq.  There’s some great Mexican food here but I miss greasy enchiladas 

 

I'm fortunate that I have really good BBQ place about 10 mins from the house, amazing bourbon selection too. I haven't found many stand out Asian food places near me as Im not in a majo metro area, SF is about an hour and half away and I think seafood is a push, I miss gulf cajun seafood too.

[closetohumping 17440]

38 minutes ago, Smax said:

 

I'm fortunate that I have really good BBQ place about 10 mins from the house, amazing bourbon selection too. I haven't found many stand out Asian food places near me as Im not in a majo metro area, SF is about an hour and half away and I think seafood is a push, I miss gulf cajun seafood too.

Yes.  Virtually no crawfish out here not fried or blackened seafood

[YChang 3443]

17 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Apropos of nothing, but I'm curious:  when someone transfers within a company from the Bay area to (say) Austin, do they have to take a pay cut?

I took ~9% pay cut. Tech. Will evaluate again in 3-5 years if I want to stay in TX, especially if I'm able to transition to a full time remote position. Just appreciative that I'm still employed.

Also it's amusing why it's so hard for some to recognize that lots of immigrants are still willing to move here for economic opportunites and that our GOP-led state government is horribad?

Edited March 16 by YChang

[Frank Drebin 5663]

13 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Yall are barking up the wrong tree

 

 

Theyll all be moving back north in 20-30 years when its pretty much 115 degrees half the year. Gonna make parts of Hou-DFW-ATX-SA look like detroit. 

So……ballgame?

[Frank Drebin 5663]

22 minutes ago, YChang said:

I took ~9% pay cut. Tech. Will evaluate again in 3-5 years if I want to stay in TX, especially if I'm able to transition to a full time remote position. Just appreciative that I'm still employed.

Also it's amusing why it's so hard for some to recognize that lots of immigrants are still willing to move here for economic opportunites and that our GOP-led state government is horribad?

I’m guessing plenty of people feel California’s state leadership is horrible also.  Opinions are going to vary.  I think California is wonderful if you’re a 9 figure type.  And probably one of the best states for deadbeats who don’t want to work much.  For those in between, it would be tough. 
 

Edited March 16 by Frank Drebin

[cmontexas 3270]

Yesterday I woke up and walked to the corner dispensary and legally purchased some marijuana to smoke while I hiked in the Hills. After that I picked up some lunch for my gf and I then walked down to the beach until the sun went down. At night we went to a goth rave. LA has everything 

Im not a "9 figure type" and I've never in my life taken a cent of government assistance. 

Texas is cool if you want to raise kids and watch them play youth sports

[closetohumping 17440]

1 hour ago, Frank Drebin said:

I’m guessing plenty of people feel California’s state leadership is horrible also.  Opinions are going to vary.  I think California is wonderful if you’re a 9 figure type.  And probably one of the best states for deadbeats who don’t want to work much.  For those in between, it would be tough. 
 

Nah.   

[closetohumping 17440]

24 minutes ago, cmontexas said:

Yesterday I woke up and walked to the corner dispensary and legally purchased some marijuana to smoke while I hiked in the Hills. After that I picked up some lunch for my gf and I then walked down to the beach until the sun went down. At night we went to a goth rave. LA has everything 

Im not a "9 figure type" and I've never in my life taken a cent of government assistance. 

Texas is cool if you want to raise kids and watch them play youth sports

Yes. Texas sports culture is far stronger.  One of my favorite things is to hang out or surf at pacific beach and then walk to get octopus tacos and a beer.  Doesn’t get much better 

[jimmyjazz 45903]

WTF is a "9 figure type"?  Compensation?  Really?

[gmr548 16576]

1 hour ago, Frank Drebin said:

I’m guessing plenty of people feel California’s state leadership is horrible also.  Opinions are going to vary.  I think California is wonderful if you’re a 9 figure type.  And probably one of the best states for deadbeats who don’t want to work much.  For those in between, it would be tough. 
 

You'd be right, but that's because plenty of people feel their state's leadership is horrible everywhere, Texas included. A quick google search indicates CA governor Newsom has historically had a higher approval rating than Abbott - the most popular of Texas's leadership - until very recently, which seems to coincide with Newsom putting more focus on being a surrogate for the Biden campaign and seemingly positioning himself for a future presidential run. AKA a major reason a lot of Texans dislike Ted Cruz.

TX legislature lives in the < 50% approval range and was well into the negatives at the end of the 2023 session. Same story in CA. Two sides of the same coin. I'd imagine you'd probably find similar cases in most states. Congress thinks it's a good day when approval goes north of 20%.

People don't like politicians, news at 11.

 

 

[gmr548 16576]

3 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Bbq is the big difference. Duh.  I give California the edge on Asian and seafood but not big enough to overcome no bbq.  There’s some great Mexican food here but I miss greasy enchiladas 

 

2 hours ago, Smax said:

 

I'm fortunate that I have really good BBQ place about 10 mins from the house, amazing bourbon selection too. I haven't found many stand out Asian food places near me as Im not in a majo metro area, SF is about an hour and half away and I think seafood is a push, I miss gulf cajun seafood too.

I'd say don't sleep on Santa Maria style BBQ. A good tri tip sandwich, cole slaw, and some cold beer absolutely fucks. CA isn't the BBQ desert that much of the west is.

But yeah, Texas BBQ is the undisputed king. 

[MissingInAction 25045]

16 hours ago, utee94 said:

Don't Texas my Minneapolis!!!!!

Gotta a room?

[Smax 3800]

31 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

 

I'd say don't sleep on Santa Maria style BBQ. A good tri tip sandwich, cole slaw, and some cold beer absolutely fucks. CA isn't the BBQ desert that much of the west is.

But yeah, Texas BBQ is the undisputed king. 

 

I love me some tri tip but IMO its not BBQ, its grilled meat., I'm redoing my outdoot kitchen here soon and brick santa marie grill is on the menu.

This is my rare food nazi'ism, its not BBQ unless is smoked slow and low (exceptions to hot and fast but you guys know what I mean) everything else is grilling. Steaks - grilling, hotdogs - grilling, hamburgers grilling. I think this feeling took off once I moved out here and people would say their BBQ'ing and I ask what are you cooking and it was on the meats above 

[BabaYaga 15290]

20 hours ago, Gravy Train said:

All that and the DNT is about to start expansion into Prosper and Celina, so the whole southbound commute through Frisco will be permafucked.  

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-north-tollway-extending-prosper-celina/287-b595c6c7-d1f5-4dcf-b83c-3d32163d7145

I didn't realize you're so close to me-- I'm in Castle Hills and can't imagine living any further north than you but I'm already worn out of DFW and searching for communities out of the state.

PCR

[cactusflinthead 27598]

6 hours ago, gmr548 said:

transition away from oil

Imagine what we could do if the state government wasn't trying to inhibit renewable energy. 

"Texas generates more electricity from wind and sun than any other state and has since 2006. It ain’t even close. In 2021 Texas’s output was more than double that of the runner-up, a sizable state that hugs the Pacific Ocean and likes to boast about how green it is."

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-number-one-in-renewable-and-nonrenewable-energy/

[Zepol87 9185]

2 hours ago, Frank Drebin said:

I’m guessing plenty of people feel California’s state leadership is horrible also.  Opinions are going to vary.  I think California is wonderful if you’re a 9 figure type.  And probably one of the best states for deadbeats who don’t want to work much.  For those in between, it would be tough. 
 

I’m closer to deadbeat than 9 figures and I love it here. 

[InkaUtexas 25911]

I loved spending time in San Diego. PB to be specific. Great fish tacos and life was cheap. Surfed and rode my bike.

[Hefeweizen 5311]

5 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Bbq is the big difference. Duh.  I give California the edge on Asian and seafood but not big enough to overcome no bbq.  There’s some great Mexican food here but I miss greasy enchiladas 

Central coast here and the biggest difference is the fruits and vegetables, besides the obvious seafood.  Monterey county produces so much that we have an abundance of excellent fruit year round, and all year is growing season for leafy vegetables.  The Mexican food doesn’t touch Texas, and despite the Crossroads Barbecue in Carmel being pretty good, beef here is not even close to Texas standard.  I’ll take the trade.

 

 Regarding the Texodus, the people I know who have moved have all done it to trade up in housing and down in cost.  And not because they were well off, mostly because of cost.  The ones who can afford it aren’t leaving because it’s fucking paradise here.  Texas is still relatively cheap, although every time I come back to visit I notice food and restaurant prices are starting to close the gap to Cali.  Hotel, car rental, gas, and housing still not in the same universe.

[Hefeweizen 5311]

2 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Nah.   

Exactly.  9 figure?  That’s fucking stupid.  I’m a little under a hundred million net worth and it’s fine in my  1500 square foot shack with homeless people popping fentanyl outside.

[Pato del Muerto 52489]

What’s the approximate street value of the poop?  Oh you said popping. 

Edited March 16 by Pato del Muerto

[bolverk 29671]

Here are the top 50 metros ranked by population, according to the latest estimates.

I moved here in 1996 for grad school, the year that the Austin metro topped 1 million for the first time. Since the Census estimates are always for the month of July, it's easy to imagine we've hit 2.5 million by this point. Just in the last three years, Austin has lept past Sacramento and Pittsburgh and is now ranked 26th. In very short order (if not already), we'll have replaced Portland for the 25th spot, right behind San Antonio.

If the trends from the last three years hold (that period included Covid, which was weird for migration patterns, so take that into account), we'll be beyond St. Louis and Baltimore and within spitting distance of SA by 2030. Denver's slower growth is somewhat surprising, which could mean Denver, San Antonio, and Austin will all be in the same-ish ballpark at 21, 22, and 23. It's highly doubtful we'll catch up with Charlotte or Orlando by then, but we won't be too far off the mark. In the meantime, DFW will likely replace Chicago for the 3rd spot by the end of the decade.

As an aside, Buffalo will drop out of the top 50 metro areas by 2030. How long do y'all think they'll hold onto the Bills as the smallest market? Green Bay doesn't count because of its ownership structure.

							rank
	2020	2023		% chg	# chg		2020	2023
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area	19,990,547	19,498,249		-2.5%	-492,298		1	1
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area	13,178,547	12,799,100		-2.9%	-379,447		2	2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area	9,435,217	9,262,825		-1.8%	-172,392		3	3
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area	7,666,418	8,100,037		5.7%	433,619		4	4
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area	7,168,723	7,510,253		4.8%	341,530		5	5
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area	6,120,849	6,307,261		3.0%	186,412		9	6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area	6,260,311	6,304,975		0.7%	44,664		6	7
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area	6,241,967	6,246,160		0.1%	4,193		7	8
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area	6,133,365	6,183,199		0.8%	49,834		8	9
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area	4,875,246	5,070,110		4.0%	194,864		11	10
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area	4,933,650	4,919,179		-0.3%	-14,471		10	11
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area	4,606,384	4,688,053		1.8%	81,669		13	12
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area	4,740,838	4,566,961		-3.7%	-173,877		12	13
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area	4,385,248	4,342,304		-1.0%	-42,944		14	14
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area	4,027,804	4,044,837		0.4%	17,033		15	15
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area	3,694,114	3,712,020		0.5%	17,906		16	16
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area	3,187,828	3,342,963		4.9%	155,135		18	17
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area	3,295,298	3,269,973		-0.8%	-25,325		17	18
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area	2,970,119	3,005,131		1.2%	35,012		19	19
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area	2,842,668	2,834,316		-0.3%	-8,352		20	20
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area	2,680,491	2,817,933		5.1%	137,442		22	21
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area	2,669,651	2,805,115		5.1%	135,464		23	22
St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area	2,819,212	2,796,999		-0.8%	-22,213		21	23
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area	2,568,526	2,703,999		5.3%	135,473		24	24
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area	2,518,160	2,508,050		-0.4%	-10,110		25	25
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area	2,300,135	2,473,275		7.5%	173,140		28	26
Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area	2,455,323	2,422,725		-1.3%	-32,598		26	27
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area	2,400,029	2,420,608		0.9%	20,579		27	28
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Metro Area	2,274,887	2,336,573		2.7%	61,686		29	29
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area	2,251,974	2,271,479		0.9%	19,505		30	30
Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area	2,195,218	2,221,343		1.2%	26,125		31	31
Columbus, OH Metro Area	2,141,895	2,180,271		1.8%	38,376		33	32
Cleveland, OH Metro Area	2,184,115	2,158,932		-1.2%	-25,183		32	33
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area	2,092,745	2,138,468		2.2%	45,723		34	34
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area	2,021,744	2,102,573		4.0%	80,829		35	35
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area	1,995,698	1,945,767		-2.5%	-49,931		36	36
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area	1,781,712	1,787,169		0.3%	5,457		37	37
Jacksonville, FL Metro Area	1,612,981	1,713,240		6.2%	100,259		39	38
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area	1,673,216	1,677,803		0.3%	4,587		38	39
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area	1,574,476	1,560,424		-0.9%	-14,052		40	40
Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area	1,417,455	1,509,231		6.5%	91,776		42	41
Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area	1,429,940	1,477,926		3.4%	47,986		41	42
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area	1,362,955	1,365,557		0.2%	2,602		43	43
Richmond, VA Metro Area	1,316,646	1,349,732		2.5%	33,086		45	44
Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area	1,346,172	1,335,674		-0.8%	-10,498		44	45
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area	1,260,338	1,267,864		0.6%	7,526		46	46
Birmingham, AL Metro Area	1,181,776	1,184,290		0.2%	2,514		47	47
Fresno, CA Metro Area	1,165,897	1,180,020		1.2%	14,123		48	48
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area	1,151,502	1,162,950		1.0%	11,448		50	49
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area	1,164,468	1,155,604		-0.8%	-8,864		49	50

[We’reTexas 1473]

11 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

 although every time I come back to visit I notice food and restaurant prices are starting to close the gap to Cali.  

What in the actual fuck is this about? Was in Austin last week and wine/cocktails at the hipster spots were easily $17+. Same in Houston. 

[mchookem 16328]

i'm in Denver and while i also enjoy going to my neighborhood dispensary then traveling 20-30 minutes for some spectacular nature or even just riding my bike around the 800 miles of urban bike trails in an exceptional year round climate...but my god i miss texmex, bbq, and cajun seafood!

there's good seafood here but it's at the level of Truluck's or Clark's or whatever... man i miss a dozen juicy gulf oysters with hush puppies and a shrimp poboy! and brisket with a fucking bark. and cheese enchiladas with chile con carne. 

my world-traveled French exchange student from a few years back (along with her Norwegian and Swedish friends) swore up and down that the best food they'd had in the world was in Texas.

and those British Jolly guys on TikTok picked Black's bbq as the best thing they'd tasted in the world. literally.

Texas food wins and it's not even questionable.

but most everything else...meh.

[HRSchenker 2268]

Kaufman County being the fastest growing county in the nation just makes me laugh. Land and SFHs are dirt cheap for what you can get on a sq ft basis as well as property taxes but that's mostly because the developments coming up around Forney and Terrell are outside their city limits. Aside from sales tax these new residents don't contribute to things like police, fire rescue, bond funding, etc. Tie that in with the most corrupt city government I've ever seen and a city voting bloc that violently opposes new residential development, they're inevitably going to see huge tax increases that will make Dallas County look cheap.

[Pato del Muerto 52489]

I’m sure the long time residents of gun barrel city appreciate the new traffic patterns. 

[InkaUtexas 25911]

12 minutes ago, mchookem said:

i'm in Denver and while i also enjoy going to my neighborhood dispensary then traveling 20-30 minutes for some spectacular nature or even just riding my bike around the 800 miles of urban bike trails in an exceptional year round climate...but my god i miss texmex, bbq, and cajun seafood!

there's good seafood here but it's at the level of Truluck's or Clark's or whatever... man i miss a dozen juicy gulf oysters with hush puppies and a shrimp poboy! and brisket with a fucking bark. and cheese enchiladas with chile con carne. 

my world-traveled French exchange student from a few years back (along with her Norwegian and Swedish friends) swore up and down that the best food they'd had in the world was in Texas.

and those British Jolly guys on TikTok picked Black's bbq as the best thing they'd tasted in the world. literally.

Texas food wins and it's not even questionable.

but most everything else...meh.

Just met up with some Aussie clients. Took them to Blacks in Dallas. Yeah, maybe not the best, but damn they loved it. And they thought Shiner was pretty damn good to go with it.

[Guadaloopy 10962]

I did not want to leave CA.  Ever.  But the housing situation is horribad.  Younger people really struggle to find affordable housing, which resulted in a huge explosion of multi-generational families in our neighborhood.    Noise went up.  Street parking blew up.   
 

My wife was about to lose her shit with the lack of peace.    In early 2021, she told me that we needed to move or she was going to go insane.   We are pretty well set financially, but there was absolutely no place in SoCal that had the peace we needed that we could afford without taking out another 30-yr mortgage.

Fuck that.  I want to retire someday.  We took advantage of the crazy real estate rush mid-COVID and bolted.  Now instead of never retiring, we brought the retirement horizon in by at least a decade by leaving CA.  
 

I imagine a lot of people leaving CA have done that same math.  

[Smax 3800]

51 minutes ago, mchookem said:

i'm in Denver and while i also enjoy going to my neighborhood dispensary then traveling 20-30 minutes for some spectacular nature or even just riding my bike around the 800 miles of urban bike trails in an exceptional year round climate...but my god i miss texmex, bbq, and cajun seafood!

there's good seafood here but it's at the level of Truluck's or Clark's or whatever... man i miss a dozen juicy gulf oysters with hush puppies and a shrimp poboy! and brisket with a fucking bark. and cheese enchiladas with chile con carne. 

my world-traveled French exchange student from a few years back (along with her Norwegian and Swedish friends) swore up and down that the best food they'd had in the world was in Texas.

and those British Jolly guys on TikTok picked Black's bbq as the best thing they'd tasted in the world. literally.

Texas food wins and it's not even questionable.

but most everything else...meh.

 

I spent a few months in Denver the end of last year and yeah the food left a lot to be desired. I was surprised because I kept reading about the food resurgence in Denver but for the most part I found very meh, though I did find what I thought was some very good BBQ, especially being not in Texas, AJ's BBQ (I think posted pics in the non Texas bbq thread) over off Delaware near Evans. Neat area with brutal poodle, Corvus coffe and sushi den. Then Post Oak bbq off Tennyson, PO has a full bar with a great bourbon selection and the food is great, wing Wednesdays, they smoke them then fry'em nom nom. Both of these places have good bark on their brisket, a few Texas transplants I met while there told me about a food truck that was supposed to be outstanding I never could get to and a place in Boulder, idk 

Yeah no decent texmex there, you mentioned seafood, I ate at Jaxs and Blue Island, they worked nothing outstanding but I'd go back and there is a Pappadeuaxs in Denver

Edited March 16 by Smax

[closetohumping 17440]

Yea Denver can’t hang with the cities as far as food.  But great place!

[Pato del Muerto 52489]

Seattle area has some great Asian and Indian places. Haven’t even attempted Mexican yet, and I ignore the bbq places. 

[mchookem 16328]

we go to Blue Island on Mondays sometimes bc they have $1 oyster night so it's better than the $3.50/$4 per oyster they normally charge. the oysters are from Long Island, they are tasty but boy they are tiny. i mean i miss this!

and yeah, the best catfish, shrimp, gumbo, etc we've had here is def Pappadeaux, so there's that. 

funny story about AJ's...summer we first got here (2022) i was on a bbq mission and i found AJ's. we'd already tried several other bbq places and were severely disappointed (wtf is with serving de-boned chicken and chopped up brisket?? weirdos.) we walk in AJ's and i'm like 'well at least this place looks and smells right!' it was pretty good... i'd say the best we've found here, we've gone back a few times, but still not quite 'it'. 

fast-forward about a year and we start seeing it mentioned in a bunch of local media and social media posts...turns out AJ's was added to the Michelin guide for Denver lol. i felt proud for having found it on my own already haha.

anyways i think i know the problem with bbq here...big outdoor smokers are prohibited by local clean air ordinances. even AJ's has an indoor smoker/grill with a giant hood over it. i think that's why none of it here can really nail it.

our neighbors have a weekend place up in Estes and supposedly there's a bbq joint up there with a big smoker out back that they swear is the best bbq around, will give that a try this summer. i did try a bison rib at a joint up in Longmont, that was pretty fun/good 😊

[Schulz2.0 28951]

42 minutes ago, Smax said:

Then Post Oak bbq off Tennyson, PO has a full bar with a great bourbon selection and the food is great, wing Wednesdays, they smoke them then fry'em nom nom.

I'm in Denver. I work with guys that have bought Post Oak for big group lunches. The guys from Texas, or that have lived in Texas, loved it. The natives generally hated it. Fucking weirdos. You're right about the complete lack of Tex Mex. Green chili sucks. 

[Js1 85313]

46 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Yea Denver can’t hang with the cities as far as food.  But great place!

By far the worst part of living in Denver. But also bad food and access to nature = not everyone is a fucking land whale 

[Smax 3800]

15 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

I'm in Denver. I work with guys that have bought Post Oak for big group lunches. The guys from Texas, or that have lived in Texas, loved it. The natives generally hated it. Fucking weirdos. You're right about the complete lack of Tex Mex. Green chili sucks. 

 

 

and they like to put that shit on everything 

[bolverk 29671]

19 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

I'm in Denver. I work with guys that have bought Post Oak for big group lunches. The guys from Texas, or that have lived in Texas, loved it. The natives generally hated it. Fucking weirdos. You're right about the complete lack of Tex Mex. Green chili sucks. 

 

3 minutes ago, Smax said:

 

 

and they like to put that shit on everything 

 

My sister lives in Denver, so we've been going up there about once a year since the early 90s. And, yeah, the Mexican food is lacking. It seems theirs came from New Mexico (hence the green chilis) rather than Texas.