As someone who was born in Austin in 1986 I can tell you that Austin has been absolutely ruined by the big tech companies that have moved in and completely taken over. I can no longer afford to even rent a shifty apartment in my home town of Austin and even worse, I've had to watch the soul, character, personality and natural eco-systems of Austin and the surrounding hill country be completely destroyed. Austin is now a more violent, less local and unaffordable place. I wish that instead of spreading these problems to another state, people of California would fix the issues of affordability and big tech in their own state. That being said, corrupt politicians and developers are also what has attracted big tech to Texas. The tax cuts these corporations like Tesla and Oracle (of many) are absolutely disgusting and should be completely illegal.

Im a native Texan and I can tell you that our weather is rough. Summers are brutal. I used to want to move to California because of the amazing weather but could never afford to live there. Im always so shocked to see people leave California to come here.

Moved from the bay area to Austin Texas. We are a young family of 2 kids. We absolutely hate Austin and are just waiting to move back. California is home and there is no place like home .

The last guy who talked was right. Both states have their own great things. People get so angry over politics that they up end their entire life for it. Stupid. I'm born and raised in SoCal. Live a mile from the beach. It's beautiful, comfortable, and I literally have it all here. Politicians come and go. I'm not going to chase politics across the country every time I'm not happy who the governor is. That's seriously idiotic.

I’m a fourth generation Texan who has lived here all my life. At 74, I can tell you that the Texas today is nothing like where I grew up. We could do without the tremendous influx of people from other states forcing the housing prices up so high that they are unattainable for the working class families.

I’m a native Californian. I moved to Missouri in 2003 because it was cheaper, and as an over the road truck driver, it’s was centrally located in the US. I moved to Texas in 2011, then Tennessee in 2014. I now have lived in Minnesota for the past three years. I find living in the middle of the country is a lot more affordable.

This was a very well done video. No inflammatory politics, no grifting, even the comments are pleasant. Well done!

Just be prepared for the property taxes in Texas. Lots of trash on the roadways and uninsured drivers all over the highway. The housing prices are rising fast as well. The summers are brutal. Just an honest review by a native Texan from the Dallas area.

So many people moving to Texas has driven property taxes sky high. My neighborhood is so old, but it's quickly becoming unaffordable.😢

Everyone should be able to find their happiness. There is no perfect state, but the one where you feel is the best. California's challenges are a product of its success. As Texas' population booms, it will inevitably face similar challenges in managing millions more people and rising costs. I have never understood why so many people see it as a competition. I'm a native Texan, and after 39 years, I decided to leave Texas in 2022 because it no longer worked for me, and I have found my happiness in Wisconsin.

I was born and raised in SF, worked in Alameda. Just moved to Houston TX. What I miss the most is friends family and the sunset. Outside of that. Better cost of living, bigger homes and more of a family first culture out here in Texas. Houston is also very diverse and southern hospitality is a REAL thing. No regrets so far 👍

California is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, but I will never live there due to being tooooooo expensive. My life is INCREDIBLE here in Houston, Texas. 🌵🐎🤠

I’m a native Texan that lived in California for almost 10 years before coming back to Dallas. California just became too much for me to handle. After moving back to Dallas and seeing what the massive influx of people has done to the area it’s really quite sad. The traffic in Dallas now is just as bad as it ever was in Los Angeles. There are literally people everywhere. Even our back country roads are clogged with people and cars. Dallas has in my opinion, become unlivable because of all of the people from California that have moved here. A single-family three-bedroom home that could be purchased for $200,000.4 years ago has now tripled in price. The funny thing is Dallas is really quite a horrible place to live. The weather is severe and extreme, we’re landlocked and there is no geography is completely flat. My family and I are evaluating other places to move as we really just can’t take it anymore. Living in Dallas has turned into living in an ant farm.

As a native Texan, one thing that surprises me is that large percentage of Californians who move to Texas yet wind up in places like the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, or San Antonio metro areas. They are missing a lot of Texas' natural beauty and charm by moving to these large cities. Many of the complaints I hear are due to them having moved to those areas as well - high property taxes, lousy traffic, lack of natural beauty (DFW is flatlands, Houston is a coastal port mega-city, and the like). To me, Central Texas (ie the Texas Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio) is one of the most beautiful parts of the state - rolling hills, rivers, lakes, lots of trees and wildlife - and yet is overlooked by many Californians who move here. The Gulf Coast area from Corpus Christi to South Padre is a natural place for Californians who love the beach, yet once again so many wind up in DFW or Houston. If you come to Texas from California, do yourself a favor and look at places other than the major cities - look at your smaller towns in the heart of Texas or along the coast.

California residents need to regain the power to restore the golden reputation we once enjoyed. Elect public officials who care about restoring California to its former glory. Make California Great Again!!🌞🌞😀👍👍

I honestly think people are happiest when they're with their people... Their family and friends... No matter where that is. I grew up in Minneapolis, moved to Boston after college. I love New England! But it's very expensive and I missed family. However, I wasn't ready to move home, so I tried Denver for a couple years. The weather was fantastic, but other than that, I missed home even more, and finally moved back. I'm very glad I did. I almost moved to the San Diego area about 7 years ago because I had a growing social network there. But the cost of living and thought of being away from family again convinced me not to, and again, I'm glad I stayed. It's wonderful to be able to visit different places, but home is home, wherever that may be. Moving is exciting, but improving where you are is rewarding.

To the guy talking about Disneyland and how he wasn't able to afford it while visitors from Texas could... Well, I hope you realize that those are not your everyday Texans.

Those leaving CA for TX should be mindful of something. Texas is a great state to live in if you're not in or adjacent to the cities. The cost to live in or very near these cities can be very high. Texas has no income tax so that's a major plus if you make good money. But, TX is growing very fast. In 2016 my wife and I moved to Texas. We were going to retire there. We paid $210k for a great house in a very nice neighborhood just outside the normal commute distance to the DFW area. Our community had no crime, all houses in the development were on 1 acre lots (plenty of room), all middle/upper middle income families, very well kept neighborhood, etc. Our development was next to a very nice quite sleepy town, I built my dream shop, we put in a pool, it would have been great to retire there. We could never have imagined what happened. In just 5 years the growth of the DFW area overran our small town. Traffic became unbearable. So bad it became "shorter" to drive the other way to a different town 9 miles away. We started seeing significant crime. Property values went through the roof. And something you might not think about....sure they have no income tax which is great when you're working, perhaps at the end of your career, where you making your best income. But, one day you'll likely retire and not be making bank. You'll live on a fixed income. Property values are exploding and TX has a very significant property tax. We had paid off our house, which after just 5 years was now assessed at over $500k. You pay property taxes based on assessed value, not purchase price, and we were looking at $1k a month for taxes and insurance (almost all taxes) for a house we had worked hard to pay off and owned outright. In 5 years our property taxes had more than doubled. In retirement that's something that has to be considered, not to mention, $1000 a month for something you own sticks in your craw. We both saw the writing on the wall. It wasn't going to stop. One day we'd have to move and the older we got the harder it would be. in 2021 we retired, sold the house we planned to retire in, and moved to a different state. It's quite likely that in a very short time frame you'll find TX has the same problems that you left in CA.

It's not new to migrate from one state to the next. It's happened for generations past. What hit hard this time, I think, is that there is a huge difference in finances from those in Texas to those coming in. 10 years ago, a family could live off $12 hourly. When the migration started, original Texans started getting behind quickly. How can you compete with a house price of 150k that you are getting a loan for, but someone else is coming in with 400k cash? So many home owners benefited from those buys too, but turned around and found that they could no longer afford to live their dream even with a high buy sell. They left the state. More and more Texans have moved out of state, moved out of the major cities, or have become the growing population of the poor. How can we, citizens, help each other? Most people who said they moved to Texas were because of the overall morals of the people, republican values, personal accountability, and neighborly atmosphere. If that's true, why push that out? Stop purchasing houses well over the value of the home, and stop allowing companies to take advantage of those already here by allowing you to keep your 3x salary, stop joining the game in taking advantage, stop bringing your bad ideologies and integrate into the Tx way of living, and so on and so on. If you only came to Tx because of cost? You are going to be up and moving again.... real soon... I hope it was worth it... you should never use the cost of living to move to one state to the next as a sole purpose to move. You could have moved from one city to the next.

I lived in Austin TX. I think it's overrated. Property taxes are through the roof because there is no state income tax. There is a lack of public spaces for people. The heat is unbearable, which makes it impossible to get out and enjoy the summer, unless you're next to water, like the beach or a pool. It takes a very long time to drive anywhere. The roads are incredibly congested. The public schools aren't that great. People like to brag that Austin is a great place to for bikers, but they only think that because they've never been to a place that is truly bike friendly, like the Twin Cities. People also love to say how green Austin is, in that there are a lot of plants and vegetation, well, if you're comparing Austin to West Texas, then yes, it's green, but not compared to places that get a lot of fresh water. I'd never go back.

I know someone who did this thing. She moved to Austin Texas for all the obvious reasons. She said Austin was like moving from California to another California. She said it was so packed, and she could see rapid inflation. She moved again to Tennessee, and is so happy in Tennessee. Im not sure what part of that state shes in, but her advice for Californians wanting to move was to stop going to Texas.

I am a life long San Diego resident. Born at Balboa US Naval hospital. Grew up in Paradise hills, and Mira Mesa. I still live in North County. My sister and her husband both born and raised in San Diego moved out to Prosper about 10 years ago before Prosper had a big housing boom. Houses there in Prosper are now easily $1 million also. My sisters house is huge. I use to visit them almost every year. But for me San Diego is and will always be home where I choose to live. The problems I have with Texas is the lack of diversity, high property taxes, every road is a toll road that goes to a private company. Health care system in Texas is bad also. Every time I've been out to visit Texas in Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin it's comparable to Las Vegas where I do not want to be out there for more than 3 days in those places.

I'm a native Texan, with plenty of amazing friends that live in California. As much as I despise my city changing in culture, becoming more expensive, and extreme traffic from all of this population growth. I can still empathize with my friends that work extremely hard and have multiple side hustles and still struggle to live in California. I just pray that our Southern Texas hospitality and neighborly kindness rubs off on some Cali folks. A smile and a "how's it goin'?" really goes a long way!

I moved from San Diego CA to Austin TX in October 2020. My current main goal is to move back home. All the while I've been in Texas I've been committing a passive suicide. The weather (only 3 wks in spring and 3 wks in fall can you go outside and enjoy anything), allergies to everything that grows here, lack of adequate public transportation and limited veteran's medical services. Even though I moved here because this is where my family lives, I don't even get to see them often enough to make it worth my while for being here. I want my beach, my weather, my sea gulls, my trolley, my VA hospital and all of the colorful things that grow out of the earth in San Diego.

I have a friend that moved to Texas from California. She said she had to stay inside all the time with the air conditioner on 24 hours a day. She also said that she had a wonderful group of friends. She moved back and is not returning because of the sweaty weather

Born & raised in California. Left at age 46 and I will NEVER live there again.

I'm from California, never married, never had kids. I'm a Veteran and was gone from home most of my early adult life. Only reason I'm still in California is because I live with family. Otherwise I would have left CA for Texas, Nevada, or elsewhere already. If anything, I might just build a house in Mexico and retire down there one day. I still have plenty of family down there.

My conclusion after watching this documentary is that most will return to California once the opportunity presents itself. So I’ll just stay put.

My home for over 40 years was Austin, Texas... Thanks to the Californians... I can no longer live in my hometown...its definitely Austin, California now and extremely Shallow and Entitled!🍀

I was born in Ft Worth, I have always missed it since I left in '79. Won't even think of going back. I moved from Seattle, after a 20 year career with BOEING... my 18 sqft home was purchased in '87 for 81K, it just sold for 587K. My new home in Oklahoma is 5200 sq ft. It is for sale for $520K. It is on 1.3 acre in the the country.... 20 miles from downtown Tulsa. It's great place to live...

I know I'll miss things from California but honestly I'm *already* missing things from the California I knew even though I haven't even left yet. It's changed so much over the last decade; especially the last 3-4 that it's simply not the same state I was born and raised in.

I was born in Calif and lived here continuously (except for a 10-year period from age 5-15). The homelessness is such a problem in this state and there doesn't seem to be any remedy in sight. Despite being a liberal state, the race relations are not as harmonious as you might think. The cost of housing is expensive. I think life in the U.S. overall is getting harder everywhere -- not many companies offer retirement pensions, healthcare is expensive, schools are underfunded, etc. The optimism that people had in the 1950s has been disappearing for a lot of ppl.

As a native Texan [Houston] who moved to the Bay Area [Santa Clara] 3 years ago, 0 regrets. I at times miss home because, home is home [Family there]. However, the pros living out here, out way the cons for me. It may be due to the fact I do not live in the city (San Francisco proper) or Oakland where the crime rate and homelessness are higher.

California is the Golden state. It's expensive by the coast, but that's like everywhere else. The state and my city (LA) can be hot messes at times, but they have so many wonderful attributes we ignore the flaws. Come to my local beach and you will change your negative attitude in a hot minute. Rather than move to a place just because of cheaper housing, I'd prefer a smaller home.

Lifelong Texan here. I can definitely understand why Californians are sad to leave their beautiful state. The agreeable weather makes being outdoors very pleasing, and there are so many kinds of activities to engage in, surrounded by natural splendor. But look at it this way. At least many of the people who leave California have seen it when it wasn't as bad as it is now, in terms of affordability. These Californians should treasure their memories, and go back to visit CA sometimes. The older you get, the more you see that the ideal for you is not always achievable. You have to make peace with your dreams and the "might-have-been" mindset. It's part of the wisdom that accrues with advancing age. If you come to Texas, at least once, please visit Far West Texas; Big Bend, Fort Davis, Alpine, Marathon, Marfa. High mountain desert. Gorgeous. It does not receive enough generous praise for what it offers. It's like stepping back in time to the 1950's. That area is too isolated for most people to call home, but it's a fantastic place to travel to. Finally, I really haven't heard many complaints about the food in Texas. Maybe new arrivals don't know where to go. Our Tex-Mex is a little different for Southwestern food, of course. But we are famous for our chili cook-offs! The best chili in the world. One thing about food: Texas (indeed, many places in the Deep South) has a wonderful pot-luck luncheon culture. We have superb cooks here who take pride in contributing. It is very often centered around church activities, but is not unknown in club meetings and at work. There is a graciousness about it. Indeed, any kind of home entertaining in Texas is also described in this way. I think I can say with a fair amount of confidence that, here in Texas, our home cooking beats any restaurant.

Also a native Texan for 58 years and counting. The universal problem I see no matter Texas or California is that all the high property taxes and regulations occur in large cities. Want to move to Texas or anywhere for that matter? Get a place in the country near a small town. Yes you will give up Starbucks and all the Malls and so called "things to do", but you will be richly be rewarded for your efforts. People are more friendly (if you don't know that it's very real thing). Don't ever join an HOA, period. Life gets good when you let the rest of the congestive city life go. Be engaged with your new community and you will be astonished how good life can be. 'Nuff said.

We are native Californians who moved to Washington for 14 years. By the end of that time, my hometown was not very lovable anymore. We moved to the Houston area and of course we miss gorgeous scenery, but we decided that slaving away for a fashionable lifestyle wasn’t as important as just having a good life. My husband’s HQ was going to move to Seattle and double his daily commute total from 2 hours to 4 hours! People, that’s insane! We feel blessed to find ourselves in Texas and hope that we can stay here.

as a California REALTOR for OVER 45 years, almost everyone who moved to another midwest HIGH humidity climate CAME BACK. They went for the "cheap" home prices. But then they had to "live there" with high humidity , and as an apartment/ investor owner, I went to South Texas. Guess what ALL hvacs, roofs, etc are toast within a few years. unless you could buy "dirt cheap" you were over buried with operating costs!!

I moved from Washington state to the Houston, Texas area. As a single woman on a Flight Attendant salary, Seattle was expensive for me. My airline had a base in Houston so I chose to transfer there. Although cost was one of the deciding factors for me to move, I mostly moved due to the way Washington was being run politically. I grew up in Washington and had also spent time living in California. Both Washington and California are so indescribably beautiful (in different ways). I used to question if I had made the right decision to move because I missed the beauty of my home state. I missed the incredible beauty of the west coast, in general. I always thought to myself how difficult it must have been for Californians to give up the beauty of the west coast like I had done. With that said, I grew to appreciate what Texas had to offer. I enjoyed the sunny weather and the beautiful thunderstorms. I resonated more with the way Texas was being run politically. The cost of living was also lower. I ended up moving to the east coast from Texas, however due to a change in the airline I was working for. After being on the east coast for a year, I have decided I will be moving to Texas again (Dallas, this time). I feel Texas is a better fit for me than Philadelphia (where I currently live and work out of). Fortunately with my job, I get to go to California often on work trips. I love California. When I watched this video and saw the Californians talk about how they miss the beauty of it there, I can completely understand. With that being said, I love Texas, as well. It's charming in its own way.

As a native Californian after 58 years there 6 years ago I up and moved to New Mexico, although it’s much more affordable here and there’s many things I love about it I miss California, the ocean and my people there and I’m selling my home here and moving home to Southern Calif

Remember there are pros and cons to everything

Native Texan. Moved to Canada for 2 years to be with my husband. Was absolutely miserable so came back to Texas with the Canadian in tow. He never wants to leave Texas.

I lived in SF most of my adult life and had to leave, it changed too much for the worse. I did NOT want a suburb, freeways, malls, living a life without social interaction. I find that in other states people drive to work/home/shop/repeat...they stay home with their TVs and there is minimal interaction. I am done with the USA, moved to Mexico and can not be happier! Ahhhmazing life!!! I have more friends than I've ever had! Culture, theater, music, art, cuisine and endless beauty.

I am a third generation Californian and I wanted to live in California my whole life. However, the crime, high taxes for everything, traffic, high gasoline costs and decades of one sided politics have made me decide that it is time to start seriously considering moving to another state. I am sad because I love California but the negatives over the past 10 years have far outweighed the positives.

I was born and raised in Southern California. I miss home, but leaving was truly the best thing I could have ever done.

I lived in Los Angeles for a year. in 2000-2001. I loved : West Los Angeles, career opportunities, weather, downtown on Saturdays, 99 Cent Only Stores, Hollywood. I loathed : High cost of low living, traffic, big city nastiness at times among people, Rents and real estate prices. I would never live there unless I had a substantial income. Working families moving to Texas should look at Houston.

I left California for the Alabama Gulf Coast. And started a business. I've lived in Petaluma and worked in Marin, California is beautiful, and there's a lot to love about it. But the government is terrible. Here i have a house 3 miles from the Bay and paid 250k for it. My taxes are low, and I've yet to experience any crime here. Packages are safe by my door, I can leave my bike in the bed of my truck all summer without it being stolen, and there's no drug addicts shooting up in the parks.

I moved to San Diego from Detroit 40 years ago, and I would never leave this paradise. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I understand why people leave, but the amount of housing being built in San Diego is huge, and an indication of people still love California and will continue to move here. If you want the best, you have to pay for it. The average temp in San Diego is 72° year round, the people here are far different than the rest of the state, and its beauty is breathing taking.

I live near DFW Airport and what they have done to the beautiful countryside is sickening. Yes, north Texas had very beautiful green rolling hills, woods, and farms, all now being destroyed by builders. Large houses with tiny yards and apartment complexes everywhere now. Texas does not have nationally protected areas as do most western states, so our state treasures are disappearing. The local towns and politicians want the growth that gives them more tax dollars to spend. Where I live, all the little old houses, each on almost an acre of land, have been replaced with giant sprawling mansions that take up most of the acre. Sometimes they squeeze in 3 smaller mansions on one acre, and the quaint community has changed forever. If we don’t have a deep recession soon, builders will destroy the rest of the most beautiful parts of Texas within a few more years. They would already be gone for years had we not had the 2008 Recession. Even with all this building, I would never go back to the northeast, from where I came.

the people flooding Texas, mainly the Austin area, are going to soon figure out that its becoming the new California. everything is skyrocketing in price due to all the transplants. youre going to have the same issues you did in California soon, except with no state tax, which is why you moved in the first place. need to understand though, that lack of state tax, is pulled out of you in other places lol. same thing happens in Florida, NO STATE TAX they cry!!!!. the state is still going to find a way to get their $$$$, one way or another. also, enjoy that Texas weather in the summer.

There are pros and cons to anywhere you live. But CA IMO has more cons than most places. My two sisters and I were born and raised in So Cal. We all moved over time. I moved to Las Vegas in 2000. Got an immediate raise with no state tax and bought a nice home for 130K. Should have bought 5. Dirt cheap cost of living. Lake Mead for my boating activity. The trade off was brutal heat from late May to mid Sept and sky high AC bills unless you wanted to swelter all night trying to sleep. And the influx of folks looking for the same thing I wanted overwhelmed the town and caused horrendous traffic. I sold my house in 2012 (made a killing) and moved to Colorado. Love it here. Talk about beautiful weather in the spring summer and fall with that deep blue CO sky. So much to do. But again no place is perfect. I hate shoveling snow and sometimes when it gets down to single digits in the winter you don't even want to go outside. I put up w that because everything else is so good. My sisters are in TX and are happy. I would never move to TX if for no other reason the weather. It's horrible. And I would never move back to CA. I miss the beach but easy to hop a jet down to Florida for a sun and sand fix. No matter where you live just depends on the individual......what you want and what you are willing to tolerate.

"I miss living in a place where everyone is on the same team" Americans used to move for financial reasons, better weather, safer communities. Thank you social media and post 2015 for thinking that we can't stand healthy discourse, understanding differences, and the push to be tribal

I’ve left CA a couple times and always find my way back. This is home. There’s a huge difference between living in a metro area and living in the mountains/gold country/motherlode.

We are all Americans and should be able to move around our country at will. I’m a Californian and will stay, however, I fully understand why some people choose to leave. I don’t know how my adult children can afford to buy homes, and their rent is literally more than my mortgage. It’s a beautiful state, the fires are fewer, and I just can’t leave the beaches.

Im from Texas but I always wanted to move to California back when you could make a living out there , sad to see how it doesn't have that anymore. I do welcome Californians, living in north Dallas Its part if life welcoming new people from other states or from around the world.

I own homes in both LA and San Antonio. Something people don't understand about Texas is the high property taxes. Sure there are no state taxes. But in California the property tax is 1.25% of the home value, and then because of Prop 13, it can only go up 2% a year. Meaning it takes about 35 years for your property taxes to double. In Texas, you pay 3% on your property taxes in the major cities (whether you're working or not, whether you're injured or not). And even if you have a homestead exemption the county can still raise your taxes 10% a YEAR. Meaning in the same 35 year period, your property taxes could double FIVE times. Model that out.

I left San Diego 17 months ago after 35 years there. Best decision ever. I now live in Charlotte & haven't seen one tent city anywhere. U may find one but I rarely see them & I drive ride share so I'm all over the place. My rent is $1000 less than in CA & my 1 bdrm apt is twice as big. I got gas for $2.90 today too.

There are always positives and negatives EVERYWHERE. Just the matter of what you can tolerate and what you can't. Sunshine and beaches are important to me... so, I moved from Washington, DC to Florida. I am super happy... and I love the weather and the beaches. I don't care about any other thing or even people. Period.

I moved to California a year ago from Colorado and will be moving right back. Yes it is a gorgeous state and that's where it ends... everybody that moved out of California did so out of greed. All of these middle-class families knew they could sell their homes for an inflated cost and get out of Dodge while they still could. They move to other states like Texas, and most quickly regret it. Once the pillow case of money is empty, they can no longer afford to go back home to California and regret the move altogether. One couple was listing all the natural examples of beauty like sunsets but in the end, he was just happy they still had a 1600 square-foot house down in Texas like they did in California.... I would much rather have the natural beauty and a smaller house over a big square box far away from home. Colorado is my home. I'm glad I can go back. I thought California could be my home but it's just out of control. I prefer visiting on the weekends flying out of DIA to do it.

As a Texan, I was ready to get triggered. But this was an incredibly fair video without an agenda. Excellent!

I moved to Europe in 2019 after living in the Bay Area for 35 years. I moved for health reasons; lack of medical care. I was extremely homesick and still am. I miss the weather and the food. If the US had better access to quality healthcare I never would have left I loved California.

I think this video is really underplaying the beauty of Texas. We have beaches. We have mountains. We have the hill country. We have the East Texas piney woods. Large beautful lakes. Deserts. A lot of these people seem to have moved to a big city or suburb and never ventured around to see what makes the state beautiful.

I’m from Tucson Arizona and we’re experiencing the same problems here… our rents, housing/food etc has gone up drastically and we are seeing more and more people moving here. In fact people from California are coming and buying homes and renting them out at high rates. We also see many people from Texas and other states/cities. There’s been a high volume of people from Mid west and Nigeria and blk folks ALOT also India. Arizona isn’t the way it used to be. The only problem I have is the prices of housing, rents, food etc because our Country was built on all walks of life!

I was born in LA but raised and went to college in TX. Came back to LA after graduating and now have a young family of 4. Like anything, there are pros and cons to anything. CA and TX are no different. Just got back from Europe and the TBH I’d rather live over the pond than either CA or TX

I was born and raised in Silicon Valley. I'm 33 and have a Masters degree+ 10 years of professional experience. I relocated to Houston, TX in 2022. From my perspective here are the pros and cons: PROS: 1.Getting a home is not dirt cheap but attainable; 2.high cultural diversity in Houston metro; 3.Several Fortune 500's and a variety of industries in Houston (medicine, energy, utilities, manufacturing, chemicals, NASA) 4.High ranking health facilities (Texas Medical Center) 5. Large state with both metropolitan areas and rural areas, unlike say NY which has just one key city. 6. Public policy is more sensible. You *can* and will be arrested for vandalism, assault, and the like. You can defend yourself. Homelessness and substance abuse are not out of control CONS: 1. No state income tax is offset by high property tax (this would have been neutral had the federal tax code not put a cap on SALT) and expensive tolls. 2. The great companies won't give you a shot if you haven't worked for a competitor or in the area already even if you have experience 3. The climate is oppressively hot and oppressively cold. Only 2-3 months out of the year have mild weather 4. The climate is not employee friendly. For example as a single working in tech companies my health insurance was super cheap and high quality. In TX it's not unheard of for a single person to be paying $10k annual between the deductible and premiums 5. The geography is not a strong point compared to CA where you have everything: forests, deserts, beaches, urban, agricultural. The beaches in TX are not pretty or touristy 6. Mexican culture in TX is a different strain. In CA it's more authentic whereas in TX everything is watered down as the TX version of the Mexican American experience. Ethnic food in general is not great out here The move made sense for me. It did not come without significant trade offs

Evacuated 5 times because of fires, earthquakes, flooding on Central Coast and 🇨🇱🇺🇸🐎🥹😘crowding down in LA. Price of car, horse trail licenses, $450.00 etc, now $47.00 each. No state income taxes. Added it up! You can always jump on a plane to see the Pacific Ocean. Plus lots to see here in Texas.

I moved out because I could no longer afford it in LA. Now in NV.

I moved out of California for 17 years. Easily the first 10 years I was fine living in New York and then Florida. But then it hit me that I am Californian through and through and I moved back to face California and it’s problems as a Californian. I wouldn’t ever move out again. Nothing against Florida and New York, I am just Californian… and proud of it. At first everything everywhere else seemed bright and new. But then my memories of growing up in California started to shine through and I was on my way. I took all the things I liked in New York and Florida (Miami) and found them in California. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything, but now, I wouldn’t trade California, either.

I was born in San Diego , I’m going to nicely say that most Texans are not happy or welcoming when they know people are from California. Soon after Californians end up moving back home as Texas is tough for them. Giving an honest Texans assessment. Californians don’t seem happy here and move back. I was surprised the video didn’t have more varying opinions.

There are pros and cons living in both states. As a native Californian's both my wife and I made the decision to move back to California after five years to be closer to family, better weather, and career opportunities. Yes, housing is more affordable in Texas, but on the flip side property taxes are higher (makes sense, to offset lack of state taxes), crime was just as bad in the metro areas, especially Houston, vehicle insurance was higher due to higher under/uninsured motorists, energy and food were about the same. If you have allergies, be aware of "cedar fever" which severely impacted my wife every year. A definite pro was I worked downtown and loved being able to spend lunch and breaks walking around the river walk area, a true jewel of the city. We lived on the North side of town, and often I would drive 15 minutes and be fishing on the Guadalupe river, so plenty of things to do if you are can live with the heat and humidity. I do worry the ever escalating cost of housing in California will continue to force younger families to move out of state in order to afford their first home, and retirees out to extend retirement savings. At some point we need to focus on better housing options using denser urban planning, walkable communities, and integrated rail corridors as found in Europe. We cannot continue our legacy of suburban sprawl into the wildland urban interface (WUI), which will continue to escalate our insurance rates, strain infrastructure, and erode the taxable base.

An old native Californian (born in LA) I would love to move. Hubby won't move though and he's the greatest. The crime, politics , expense, and homelessness is overwhelming. Luckily, most of my college friends of 50 years or so are like minded . I love my friends, the weather, the geography and beauty here in California. I do feel very blessed but still it's sad what has happened to California

I left my home state of California 20 years ago and moved to Florida. Home prices was part of my decision, but the political landscape was also a very large part of my decision. I miss San Diego and I love California, but I don’t regret my decision one bit!

As a Nevadan I thank all you Californians that moved to Nevada and not Texas. You folks have slowly turned this state into Cali-Lite. Housing prices are far beyond my reach and life is even harder now. This state hardly resembles the state I love so much. I grew up any Army Brat and never got to experience a home town or home state. I found that in Nevada and now I feel like I have to move.

for those people who own a house in california and did not sell their house are smart and always have options to come back.

I know of 3 families that moved to Texas and one by one they have returned to California.

Our Kari Lake said it best "Don't california our Arizona". Have fun in Austin !!!

I have a friend who moved from California to Oklahoma. The other day, I showed him a video of a woman in L.A. taking a dump on a sidewalk with people walking and driving by. I asked him if it made him homesick. Though he chuckled, he looked a little annoyed with me. 😂

I came to California when I was 12 years old. I left California when I was 65 years old and retired to Kansas. I have never regretted leaving California, best thing I ever did.

I've gone both ways. San Diego's amazing but the electricity and gas costs to live day by day pushed me over the edge. I could pay the same amount of money in housing and still do significantly better in Texas.

I was born and raised in Florida, but we had family in Texas. My brother has lived here, my Sister still does, and my son lives here. I came from California in 2016, best move I ever made. I do miss the weather.

I will never leave California born and raised and will die here....

Moving from a high cost area (California) to low cost (Texas) is always easy. But the other way around could be impossible. So be careful and think it over many times if you do choose to move to Texas because it could mean you can not move back especially if you sold your California house.

Californians are welcome as long as they dont bring the same ideas that utterly destroyed their state over here. Respect our way of life.

As a Californian that fled California for Texas, there is not one reason I should have stayed or one regret I have for leaving. The reason saying “weather” is overplayed. It easily costs me $55-60k per year more to live in ca than Tx.

There is a difference between folks who choose to move and have the option of returning (like the woman who still owns a home in Sonoma) and those who cannot afford to stay or feel unsafe in CA. The family with 6 kids made a rational decision to improve their quality of life. Moving away from the place you grew up is extremely hard and most people will put up with all sorts of hardships until they reach a tipping point and they decide to make a change. This video focuses on Texas as a destination but I don’t think that is the point, the point is “when does life in CA become so expensive or you feel so unsafe that you feel compelled to move away?”

Texas is definitely not for anyone without a sense of toughness. Not because of its people, they are friendly and in a class all their own, but because of the climate and environment.

This looks like Southern CA transplants. None of these people seem to be outdoors oriented so it wouldn’t matter where they live. I’m a 6th generation Texan that has lived in Northern CA 30+ years…how do you put a price on redwoods and beaches? My parents live in a huge house in Texas and they stayed inside last summer for 100+ days over 100 degrees. Then freezing temps in winter…skiing is 17 hours away. No mountains, barely any hills…no great cities like SF. No great museums, no safety net for healthcare… as people get older those big houses become more difficult to maintain. No one wants to go back for vacations or holidays because you will be indoors the whole time. Every time I go back home my friends and family there are in worse health and gaining weight. Many are now morbidly obese. I’ve lived in Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, NYC, LA, Palo Alto…I can only imagine living in the Hill Country of Texas and that area still has very low wages compared to CA. If your life revolves around casinos and Disneyland…might as well live in Florida and have the beaches and the Bahamas an hour away🤷‍♀️

I’ve lived in both places before and I can tell you that never in a million years would I leave California to live in Texas. Of course I lived in the San Diego area not the bay area.

Cheap but too hot and humid. Was there in November and still had to shower twice a day. Glad people are leaving so we'll be less crowded.

Never, ever leaving CA! I will help rebuild it. Lived in Austin, TX for 9 months and could not wait to get back to CA. Not my cup of tea!

I left in 91 and didn’t go to Texas but never looked back. The big plus is that I own my home and after going financially backwards for a few years I was able to have my own company which put me a big jump ahead. You have to have patience when you relocate but, for me, it was more than worth it.

As a career military man who enlisted in California I have enjoyed my assignments in Virginia, Texas and Colorado. I really liked the history and enjoyed learning it and being a part of it. But now I am back in California. There's a lot of things needing to be fixed in the cities and they are a mess. Unfortunately, while living in a small town in Northern California you just have to ignore the liberal politics, the city crime, homelessness and where the state is headed. Thankfully, every day I can breathe ocean air.

Most of California's problems are self-imposed. I was born in SF and grew up in Walnut Creek. At 45, I moved to Fort Worth in 2009. While the recession hit the world, California was a big contributor to the financial crash. I was done. It's only gotten worse in CA since. It took a lot for some conservatives to see for themselves how expensive and dangerous coastal city regions have gotten. The legislature keeps making it worse. This really started decades ago, around the time BofA and Wells Fargo moved operations out of SF where they'd been from the 1800's. Like most of the people interviewed, we didn't change, I didn't change. The state did.

I worked really hard to move to California and I love it. Weather makes me happy.

I’m not from either state but this was still very interesting to watch, nice job

My parents moved me from Arizona to central coast California at 1985. Santa Cruz area. I never fit in with the other kids. They were stuck up and had this entitlement attitude. Nevertheless, I worked my butt off in the high tech industries. Raised 2 children and became a single parent since they were pre teen. Re-married 2008. My wife and I built our dream home 2 blocks from Seacliff beach. An upscale neighborhood. The beach home renters, uptick in crime and crappy neighbors made decide to move to the country. 5 acres of horse property was great but, I still had to travel to the Bay Area. Horrible drivers, commute times, high gas prices and liberal heads of companies. At the time of deciding to leave, my wife and I were making over 300k. Looking ahead, we weren’t going to be able to afford to retire in California. I myself was sick of Newsom. We tried to recall him due to the policy’s, voters, fees, regulations and many more reasons. We moved from California 2022 to escape its policies and how they regulate. Not to spread it. North East Texas close to Sherman is where we ended up. 11 acres at half the cost of a new CA home. 1st thing we did was build a range to pew pew. And then a new 5 car shop. We love it here. The hospitality is exactly how I act, we’ve met wonderful people. I feel a sense of freedom and like the weather here. Hot, cold, rain, hail, ice and snow. Best thing we ever did. And don’t worry Texans, we are not going to California Texas. We escaped. Thank God.

All of these stories left out one thing…their sources of income. What made it possible for everyone of them (excep the food truck guy) to make the move without a total career dump? Do they work remote for a California company, collecting their hefty “California” salary? That family of six…..what does he do for a living? Oh and not everyone DREAMS of being tethered to a heavily taxed DWELLING in any state. Lol The desire to own a home doesn’t have the same appeal it had 20-30 years ago. People’s priorities have changed. Other than the guy with the food truck and the Sonoma lady, the others moved to buy a cheap house. I frankly have better things to do with my money than buy a house I need to pay taxes on. And the lady at the end downplayed the property tax issue…taxes on real estate in EVERY state other than California, are INSANE.

To me, I value weather. In the Month of July, 2023, just about entire Texas recorded over 100 degree temp everyday for a month or so and still going on in August. Plus many areas of Texas encounter severe thunder shower with golf ball size hale, plus devastating tornadoes here and there which can totally destroy your home in few seconds. I know how to survive economically and if you are able and willing to shop around in California or any other expensive state, there is always a way to survive economically. Economy can be changed, but the weather can not.

I was born and raised in California. I sold my house in Oakland 10 years ago and moved to Arizona. Yes, I miss California, but I don’t miss paying for it. I will never move back.

I love California for the geography and nature. I was born in Houston. I have been here for decades. It is hot and winter is short. I empathize with those leaving Cali, but Cali will not be changing for the better. Imho, going back there would be a mistake because the lack of governance.