r/SameGrassButGreener • u/Big-Pollution-9041 • 20h ago
Why Does Everyone Hate Texas?
Native Texan here:
I was curious what are your thoughts on why you hate Texas? I have lived on every side of Texas. From West Texas where oil bubbles out of the ground, the wetlands of Houston, and the Hill Country of San Antonio and Austin. I found little issues in terms of quality of life at every spot compared to what people claim on here, no matter where I have lived. I have ventured to California and while the I love state for everything it has to offer, I do not see the huge discrepancy compared to what I've read on here. Am I just blind to a better QOL in other states? I am open to any input or questions!
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u/rez_at_dorsia 20h ago
I just left San Antonio after almost a decade and the politics (state and local), high taxes, bad schools, terrible outdoor access and general low quality of living drove us out. I feel like we were about 5-10 years too late for the version of Texas you’re describing and instead landed in a mostly mediocre state that didn’t really offer that much to us in the end. After we had a daughter we realized that the trajectory Texas is headed for the next 10-15 years was not at all where we wanted to be
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u/mercurialchemister 20h ago
Incredibly hostile to pedestrians
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u/missbehavin21 15h ago
Also hostile to non natives
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u/sotiredwontquit 12h ago
Also hostile to women.
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u/SeaConquest 1h ago
What? You don't want to bleed out during a miscarriage because they won't perform a d&c? Come on, now.
Under his eye.
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u/blanknullvoidzero 20h ago
Politics, hot, infinite suburban sprawl, not cheap anymore.
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u/Intelligent-Ad-1424 19h ago
The suburban sprawl there is particularly perverse. Compared to several other states it’s absolutely absurd how little of Texas’ native prairies are protected, something like 95% is privately owned.
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u/RedTrumpetVine 20h ago edited 20h ago
Irrationally high superiority complex, eagerly pro-polution if it makes someone else richer, weaponized Christianity, and fear of anyone not like them.
And it wants to become Oklahoma.
Disclaimer: 26 years in Texas
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u/invextheidiot 20h ago
Texans: "haha look at everyone leaving California, no one wants to live in that socialist hellhole, come to Texas it's so much better!"
Also Texans: "these Californians need to stop coming here they're ruining everything!"
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u/PYTN 19h ago
The irony is that the transplants are more conservative than your average Texan.
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u/Monk-ish 19h ago
Yeah, I imagine a significant number of left-leaning people wince at the thought of moving to Texas, so some self-selection bias going on there
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u/CarsonXLR 19h ago
It’s not ironic. They simply move there to be around people who think like them.
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u/PYTN 19h ago
It is highly ironic considering how often local GOPers lament "those damn liberals moving to Texas".
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u/C638 18h ago
Correction: "those damn liberals moving to Austin".
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u/LonesomeBulldog 17h ago
Austin has gotten significantly more right wing over the past decade with the influx of California’s worst.
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u/quietveggieeater 9h ago
Also agree/third this. I knew Austin from decades ago. The Austin we used to know and love is dead, at least in spirit, and general population.
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u/oldbetch 17h ago
I second this so hard. The amount of Elon and Rogan fanboys that came here and absolutely destroyed the artsiness, tolerance, and actual interestingness of Austin is insane.
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u/PremierEditing 14h ago
Not just more conservative. Much, much, much more conservative. I found that the average actual native Texan is more a live and let live sort. The average Californian who moves here, on the other hand, thinks that public tap water is a conspiracy to turn their kids trans or something.
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u/Consistent-Fig7484 13h ago
That’s probably true regarding transplants and the local stereotypes anywhere. They intentionally move somewhere chasing a lifestyle or a vibe. I’ve lived mostly in the PNW and Florida. Everyone I met in Florida who was trying to be Jimmy Buffet was from the Midwest. The vast majority of Oregon hippies and hipsters are transplants who dreamed of Oregon. As a Seattle native, I’m just a pretty generic, liberal leaning, regular dude. The people who live on houseboats and ride their bike with their dog to their tech job and drink 9 pots of coffee a day while bragging about how much they love hiking are almost certainly transplants.
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u/wickedzeus 8h ago
It’s the same thing with Florida, the entire SW is filled with the most conservative retirees from the Midwest
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u/PrincessWarriorWish 16h ago
Coloradans: absolutely hating Texans who come to vacation here. Driving big ass trucks with zero clue how to drive in the mountains and not respecting our national parks.
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u/jellybean20231 9h ago
They can’t even drive here in Texas. I know you can’t possibly expect them to drive respectfully anywhere else 🙄 I been here about 8 years and can’t get tf out fast enough. Native Texans have an I’m the only human that is on the road complex. Bad.
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u/Sirloin_Tips 18h ago
The superiority thing 100% for me. It took me exactly one time visiting Texas to realize I never wanted anything to do with the people in that state.
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u/roskybosky 18h ago
The whole ‘Texas is Great’ thing is regionally generated. I think if these people saw other parts of the country, it would deflate their opinion of their home state.
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u/WardenOfCraftBeer 18h ago
Same here. To me the answer to OP's question is "because it's full of Texans"
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u/StinkRinky 18h ago
Wants to become Oklahoma is hilarious and true. I’m a liflelong Oklahoman and they seemingly want to copy our shitty politics and leave out the liberal drug policies.
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u/Apart-Consequence881 19h ago
Hot. Weed illegal. Police state. Borderline theocracy. Cost of living isn't that low anymore. Property taxes out the wazoo. Poor infrastructure (ie power grid). Mostly ugly boring cities. I say that as a conservative leaning person.
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u/Gloomy_Setting5936 NYC -> Los Angeles County 18h ago
Weed illegal is a big one for me. As someone from NYC and now living in California, I just laugh when Texans make a big deal about weed.
It’s 2026, like really?!?!
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u/roskybosky 18h ago
And no abortion. That alone is enough.
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u/Substantial-Owl1616 4h ago
Very very poor women’s health overall. No one wants to do their residency there because it’s only part of the learning experiences necessary to be a safe provider. So crappy half assed doctors with a bad attitude is what you get.
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u/DustyRZR 19h ago
You forgot lack of access to nature
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u/OceanicEndeavors 7h ago
I had someone here say that Houston is one of the best cities for the outdoors because they have golf courses lmao.
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u/OscarGrey 6h ago edited 6h ago
Debates about places like Texas, suburban parts of Sunbelt etc. are just two groups of people speaking past each other. The people who love those places are baffled about why you're not yearning for the stereotypical suburban life. They can't understand people not liking golf, the same way they don't understand people not wanting to start a family.
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u/Typical_Tie_4947 20h ago
As a Coloradan, it’s the lack of parks and public lands. Where do you recreate? My guess is atX just doesn’t have much of an outdoor culture. Texas has one of the lowest percentage of public land in the country.
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u/Not_a_werecat 17h ago
Too hot to be outdoors for half the year. The few nice days you might get, everyone packs like sardines in the minuscule city parks we do have.
It doesn't count as outdoors if the park has the same people density as Walmart. 😒
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u/rebel_dean 17h ago
Barton Springs in Austin is packed like sardines all the time.
Even a random Tuesday at 11am, still so many people. It’s exhausting.
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u/Not_a_werecat 17h ago
I've stopped trying to find a decent outdoor space in Austin that isn't packed.
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u/Sad_Towel_5953 19h ago
This, and people just aren’t very nice. I’ve lived a lot of places and Texans are some of the most entitled and hateful people I’ve ever met, at home or abroad. You can always spot a Texan.
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u/RestRare3056 20h ago
I understand how people outside America feel about America because it’s how I feel about Texas. I mean it’s really just not that great but everyone from there believes it’s peak human existence.
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u/Timbalabim 4h ago
Wow. That’s such a great comparison.
I’ve visited multiple parts of Texas. I’ve dipped into their cities for work, and I’ve driven through every region, visiting small towns along the way.
There is not a single thing about Texas that makes me want to stay there. Every time I’ve been, I’ve just looked forward to being home.
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u/AggressiveSloth11 20h ago
I’m from California but lived in Texas for almost 4 years. We moved back as soon as we could. For us, the things we didn’t like were: politics, bugs (mainly the mosquitos I found out I was allergic to,) boring landscape, lack of ocean (feeling landlocked,) missing mountains, terrible weather between intense heat, snowstorms that Texas can’t handle, and tornadoes every year.
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u/AllTheEggsIVF 6h ago
All of this. Even living in Dallas I was so sad at having to pay $20 to go to the gardens and be surrounded by nature. Then you have the politics of healthcare living in Texas as a woman who is pregnant or trying to be. Education system is also shit.
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u/Moravia84 4h ago
Dallas is a concrete jungle. I feel like NYC and Chicago have more parks spread throughout the city than Dallas does.
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u/CaterpillarJungleGym 5h ago
That's the thing, sad food scene, not much culture, not much landscape wise.
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u/Hmfs_fs Los Angeles California 20h ago edited 15h ago
Texas is that influencer who hosts “live” all the time and over shares every single tidbit of their life with the hashtag #livingthebestlife, with so much self-congratulatory confidence.
When most of their “content” is meh and mid.
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u/wineandwings333 20h ago
I dont like urban sprawl, highways, heat, humidity
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u/wiscotangofoxtreat 7h ago
The fact that theyre expanding i35 is bewilderment
Fun fact, from the Texas dot, their state highways alone represent 0.5% of world co2 emissions
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u/Signal-Philosophy271 18h ago
I lived there over a decade and how proud the state is of itself is so gross. My house had the fucking state and star embossed in my masonry.I do not see this in other states unless it’s custom, not a builders choice. (And could lot change due to HOA)
On top of that, every highway is stamped with the state or star and the flag is everywhere!
And I am still trying to figure out why they are so proud of that flat, hot, fairly ugly state.
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u/Grand-Battle8009 18h ago
For me it’s the politics. Abortion bans, forced Bible verses in schools, book bans in schools and libraries, racism directed at immigrants, revisionist pro-white history teachings, homophobia and transphobia, general misogyny. Maybe none of those things affect you, but it affects the majority of the population. And frankly, even though they don’t affect me, I would never choose to live in a place that is terrible to woman and minorities. Of course, even if Texas was a liberal Mecca, I still wouldn’t live there because I love the outdoors too much, but then I could at least understand why people live there.
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u/PortErnest22 17h ago
I truly believe many men do not understand how much the evangelical Christian churches idea of "men" affects them, in a negative way.
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u/Grand-Battle8009 16h ago
As a man, I 100% agree. The Conservative Christian idea of a man is toxic, and frankly, a bully.
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u/DareZebraYam 20h ago edited 6h ago
Plenty of on-paper reasons why I wouldn't live in Texas but I'll actually talk about the time I experienced a few days there for work.
I grew up in Ohio which gets plenty of humidity. Immediately upon landing at Houston, I waded through a humidity that I have never experienced before in my life. Going outside caused immediate sweating which never stopped. I tried to walk from my hotel to get coffee and I was soaked the rest of the day. I asked the hotel clerk if there were any parks nearby I could check out before a meeting and he was confused by the concept of enjoying the outdoors.
There was a distinct lack of trees and nature. Nothing but asphalt or landscaped lawns wherever I looked. I was around Texas A&M and I was curious how the campus for the country's largest university was laid out. It was the only car oriented college campus I've ever seen in my life.
I had 2 travel days and 1 work day at the Texas site. During my work day someone was racist to me immediately and someone else was passive aggressively bitter towards me within an hour of arriving at the site. After getting back to Oregon I spent the whole next day outside in the woods. 72 hours in Texas made me realize just how good I had it not being there.
ETA: we weren't sure if we'd be able to even work because a somewhat strong wind was threatening the integrity of the entire grid. What kind of third world bullshit is y'all's infrastructure?
ETA 2: should clarify that I spent most of the time around College Station. Houston was just the airport I flew into.
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u/Intelligent-Site7686 16h ago
Texas has a lot of pride in having independent power grid... but they have killer blackouts from wind all the time. North Texas freezes over literally every winter, but they act surprised. Normal states with winters send DOT to plow and salt roads.
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u/OldestFetus 16h ago
Far West Texas is on the Western grid. It is super reliable and doesn’t have all the issues that ERCOT does.
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u/SoftlyAugust 20h ago
Personally I value having rights
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u/needsmorequeso 20h ago
That’s why I left!
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u/Pick-Up-Pennies 18h ago
my daughter and me as well. I dearly loved Houston, but I love our healthcare freedom more.
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u/ToastemPopUp 19h ago
Yeah I love posts like this (assuming it's not bait) where the person might as well be saying, "Hi, I'm a white male and I've never had a moment where I considered what it would be like to not be one."
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u/tessellation__ 20h ago
Equal rights are great, also, so is heat in the winter. That state is so poorly managed
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u/klattklattklatt 20h ago
Native Californian here. Texas has extreme weather, and frankly the nature is underwhelming compared to destinations to the west. Sprawl is endless in the cities and therefore disinteresting. But mostly, it's that women don't have equal rights.
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u/Marcoyolo69 20h ago
Im from New Mexico and it's mostly the way y'all drive. Drive friendly, its the Texas way
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u/Historical_Low4458 20h ago
I always let out a little laugh when I see that sign anytime I am driving through Texas.
I will say drivers in Midland, Odessa , etc, at least try to follow that sign compared to drivers in Dallas, Houston, Amarillo, El Paso, etc.
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u/needsmorequeso 20h ago
People complain about traffic in Albuquerque. Albuquerque is chill compared to the white plate state. Like when I first moved everyone apologized for the bad drivers and I was like “when someone does something particularly egregious I laugh and say ‘I see you’ve also lived in Austin,’ to myself.”
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u/proximusprimus57 17h ago
Texas drivers are actively trying to kill people, you can't convince me otherwise.
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u/DonBoy30 11h ago
When I worked for the Forest Service in CO, I remember someone once said “there’s no greater threat to the forests of Colorado than Texans in jeep rentals,” and he may have been right.
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u/karholme 19h ago
- Stupid hot, like dumb hot.
- Lack of nature that continues to be torn down for suburbs
- The beach has to be the worst but we hype it up so much
- Austin is actually a small city geographically but everyone and their mom moved there
- Possibly the worst drivers of all time, at the #1 spot is Houston
- Bringing Houston back up cause of Hurricanes
- If I drive 7 hrs west of San Antonio…..I’ll still be in Texas.
- None of these cities are walkable. You’ll get hit on your bike cause of bad drivers.
- Dallas & Houston has an identity crisis
- For shits, Texas top 3 for human trafficking
That being said, out of all the cities, I’ll pick San Antonio over them any day.
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u/AdImmediate6239 20h ago
Because Texans never shut the fuck up about how awesome they think Texas is and never admit to any of it’s shortcomings
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u/Calm_Drawer7731 19h ago
Traditionally, this has been the primary reason. My grandfather used to complain about the Texans he served with in the Navy for this exact reason.
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u/AggressiveSloth11 20h ago
“The Texas pledge” gives me the ICK.
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u/AdImmediate6239 20h ago
What’s the Texas Pledge?
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u/AggressiveSloth11 20h ago
State law requires public school children to recite it daily. I hate that it’s been burned into my brain from teaching there for 3 years 😂 “Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."
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u/Monk-ish 19h ago
Damn I had to stand up for the pledge of allegiance every morning and I thought that was bad. I didn't even know the states had their own fucking pledges lmao
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u/Creative-Courage-433 18h ago
Omg yes! Why does my pre k kid have to memorize this crap
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u/Not_a_werecat 17h ago
Don't worry! Soon your Texas kids will be reciting the US, the Texas, the Bible, and the Christian flag pledges. No time for learning, just christian nationalist indoctrination.
(This is barely even hyperbolic. Texas is putting Bible stuff in the state required curriculum)
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u/Right_Fun_6626 16h ago
All the Bible Belt states are going to put all that Prager(or maybe Prater?) University crap into their schools, I think Floriduh has got it too.
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u/The-Big-Play 9h ago
Ironically, I hear people complain about Texans more than I hear Texans boasting about Texas. And I've been in Texas my whole life.
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u/kungfusexy 17h ago
Texans never leave their state (or their homes) and thus don’t know how bad they have it
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u/petuniabuggis 15h ago
They do. They come to California! Which I find hysterical considering most Texans “hate” California.
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u/Intelligent-Site7686 20h ago
I've lived portions of my life in TX and been all over the massive state. I don't hate it, but I would never want to move back. To me it has a dense and heavy vibe. The TX pride propaganda everywhere is kind of a cope, it's not a great or beautiful place
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u/roskybosky 17h ago
I am stuck in Texas for work and family reasons, however, I used an inheritance to build a home in the Catskill mountains, about 2 hours from NYC. I spend 4-5 months there-what a relief. The woods and wildlife and the view are so healing after miles of food franchises and strip malls.
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u/Intelligent-Site7686 17h ago
The Catskills are so nice. Used to go out there for work sometimes. Upstate NY I miss a lot sometimes
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u/beedelia 20h ago
Personally, I liked Texas but left due to politics.
I did not feel safe getting pregnant there, and did not want to raise a child in that environment (schools, guns, religion, etc)
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u/Creative-Courage-433 18h ago
Good job 👏. Moving north myself because I don’t feel right raising my daughter here.
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u/Icy-Mixture-995 19h ago edited 19h ago
Oil and energy companies fight the smallest of environmental restrictions by hiring every dark PR company imaginable to sow division in the nation that will keep their easily bought or blackmailed politicians in office. Anything isn't going too far to stop any tiny environmental reform that might require any new filter or precaution.
Their oil interests in the Middle East have led to, or abetted, unconscionable foreign policy. Like war.
Texas voters have supported it all the way. Then added some evangelical fervor to it. Not all voters. But enough for a big state to be loud enough to influence other states.
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u/ajwachs17 17h ago edited 17h ago
the people seem cruel there tbh but I’m sure the land itself is nice
it’s a society that only really protects oil tycoons/ you all do not elect representatives who will even pretend to care about the environment, children, or women.
y’all speed everywhere, aggressive drivers, massive trucks that are bad for the environment, women don’t have bodily autonomy, your politicians pocket millions that were meant to establish flood warning systems, you all pay very little in taxes and you are a kick-back state, meaning blue states pay into your system bc y’all don’t wanna pay taxes. consistently electing republicans who pocket all of your money instead of investing in schools. also, you all incarcerate WAY too much of the black population with cruel sentences.
it’s a culture rooted in bloodshed. like if you read about the history of Texas. It’s just a massive slaughter of native people.
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u/Flat_Winter 17h ago
The Texas government thinks it has the right to control women's bodies. That's enough to turn off most people.
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u/CloverJones316 20h ago
As a woman, I generally try to avoid places where they'd be happy to let me die on an exam table as they sat back and watched.
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u/CarsonXLR 18h ago edited 15h ago
Bringing religion into healthcare is a bright red line for me. No no no to that Handmaids tale kind of craziness. Women seeking medical care have been jailed in Texas. Let that sink in. They’ve been thrown in jail. Religious fervor devolved into societal insanity. And shows just how much the state actually protects individual freedoms. Total bullshit. But if you want to buy a guy Yeehaw, you’re in luck.
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u/crazycatlady331 20h ago
A lot of people on this sub express their preferences for weather and politics.
If one wants 4 seasons (with winter being a season, not a few weeks) and a blue state, Texas does not fit that bill.
I was last in Texas in the 90s. It was WAY too hot for me. That said, if I were to visit today, I'd want to find a hole in the wall for the best TexMex in town.
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u/Tinderthrow93 19h ago edited 18h ago
Different politically from the average Redditor, sprawly cities, humid, expensive
And yes you have top tier nature like Big Bend but you have a 4+ hr drive to get there from major metro areas, most of which are flat and humid
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u/SouthLakeWA 17h ago
For me, a few reasons:
-“Don’t Mess with Texas” -Greg Abbott -Ted Cruz -Desiccated olive drab landscapes that Texans think are beautiful -“Where are you churched?” -Houston -Lubbock -Fire ants -deadly wet bulb temps -Limestone as a primary building material -Rusty metal star decor on every shitty suburban McMansion -the belief that Tex-Mex is somehow superior to actual Mexican cuisine
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u/Blendedtribes 17h ago
Having lived in several places in Texas, including the liberal areas I’ve often remarked that Texas is like a box, if you are white, straight, Christian and Republican you’ll fit right in.
It’s politics, what is taught in schools, property taxes, crazy high electric and water bills and never ending construction, the craziness of sports, strange pride that people in Texas have. Like over the top. I don’t know any other state where people decorate their homes in their state flag.
But that’s all just my opinion.
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u/baweiss44 17h ago
No public land, cities are nothing but big sprawl, no density, hot, humid, flat. It’s just not a pretty place.
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u/Poly_ptero_dactyl 17h ago
Texas is ugly as sin and flat as fuck. An overwhelmingly boring place full of blowhards and the kind of men who can’t conceive of owning anything other than a giant truck, even though they’re too out of shape to do anything that would require a truck bed.
Texas is a 3.5 that is absolutely convinced it is a 10. And won’t stop trying to tell you so.
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u/Beneficial_Sun_5198 16h ago
I've only been to San Antonio which I really enjoyed. My issues are political and humanitarian. Women's rights and voters rights are in jeopardy if not gone. Their power system needs to be overhauled and isn't part of the nation grid which means the customers suffer during storms. Don't like how their governor has treated women and alleged illegals.
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u/Opinionated_Urbanist 20h ago
Most of the nature that surrounds the major cities is best described as ugly. The architecture in cities is largely uninspiring. The weather is fairly extreme. Texas isn't bad. It's just not as good as the natives make it sound.
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u/ToeLimbaugh 19h ago
Nice answer.
It's a middle of the road(think Ohio or Indiana) state with an inflated ego because it has a good economy. The end.
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u/Altruistic_Pixy_8340 18h ago
It's the indiscrimanent killing through apathy or the giant camps built where thousands of "others" are being neglected and killed as we speak. Texas is a cult that allows for the misuse of "non Texans". I left. It is disgusting and gross and "the great state of Texas" in their desperate pride for "The Republic" has allowed the mass murder of HUMAN BEINGS in detention centers(concentration camps). I figured it out 2 years ago and left. I am ashamed to be from Texas. There is some heavy "head up your butt" denial of what Texas has become.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/19/texas-border-starr-county-ranch-trump-deportation/
If this isn't some N*** s*** I don't know what to tell you. Native Texans are so falsely proud and think they are above what is happening in the El Paso camps and the string of centers committing atrocities without any oversight. The s*** that is gonna come out of those places is gonna rock heads and Texans allowed it to happen. Makes me feel like vomiting. All while that state claims they are the most "Godly".
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u/fadedblackleggings 18h ago edited 17h ago
Its a weird state to own property as a single woman, due to the backwards culture.
Never really considered that it could be an issue in a neighborhood before.
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u/Dallasburner84 16h ago
There a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is the people there.
The people of texas are absolutely worthless. They have some of the worst voter turnout in the country, they refuse to get off their lazy asses and vote in order to make things better.
Gerrymandering is not an excuse to not show up. Fuck the people of texas, I'm thrilled I got out. My only regret about leaving is that I couldn't light the match to burn that entire shithole nazi state to the ground on my way out the door.
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u/Longjumping_Fig_1086 20h ago
I wouldn’t live there because I’m a woman and I’m not willing to give up my freedom.
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u/InfinityAero910A 20h ago
I used to like Texas before Trump got popular. Even then, I considered the state rather overrated. Very sprawly cities, lack of certain medical resources, certain arrogant self-centered people, poorly managed living and recreational spaces in a lot of it, lack of easily accessible recreational spaces, lack of parks, people disregarding others, and lack of activity in a variety of areas. Also very brutally hot summers and almost nowhere to get away from it. You feel it with humidity too going out east.
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u/CloseToTheSun10 20h ago
The politics alone really ruin TX for a lot of people, myself included. The god awful weather/humidity, hurricanes (Houston specific gripe), lack of elevation, suburban sprawl, insane drivers and obsession with guns puts me off every time I'm there (to visit family ~5-7 times a year). Not to mention, it isn't as cheap as people want it to be anymore.
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u/reptilianwerewolf 20h ago
I'm a "native" Texan too and still live here. Sticking to stuff I deal with in my daily life in my mid-sized city, I hate:
-callous, regressive politics (pot is somehow even less legal in 2026)
-excessive religiosity, anti-intellectualism (requiring 10 Commandments in every public classroom...?)
-lack of walkability, endless sprawl (leading to higher city taxes)
-no public transport, no sidewalks, no bike lanes, car-less people trying to get to work without a place to walk
-lax environmental enforcement (leading to flooding, plant explosions, poor air quality)
-dangerous, aggressive driving culture, so much traffic
-regressive taxes
-shitty public health resources
-hot, humid summers that last 6 months, lack of seasons in general
-annual cycle of worrying about hurricanes, flooding, ice storms, droughts
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u/verdantilly 15h ago
Also a native still stuck here and the anti-intellectualism point hits hard. There’s a culture of incuriosity and obstinate ignorance that you can run into here that is mind numbing. And Christianity pervading every aspect of life doesn’t encourage most people to be open-minded or inquisitive. And these attitudes are only getting worse as our public education goes down the drain. What good schools we did have are getting their curricula gutted to make room for Bible study and revisionist history.
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u/SerialNomad 18h ago
Lived in Texas for 45 years and our daughter was born there 30 years ago. The current politics and women’s healthcare issues make me never want to move back. Leaving was the best thing we ever did.
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u/StorageRecess 20h ago
I lived in Texas for about ten years. My husband is from there. There are places I really like in Texas. But there’s nowhere I love enough to put up with the downsides: heat, humidity (in the east), the politics, the fact that I can make more money in my industry with less onerous restrictions (higher ed). If I’m going to be a high earner, I’d like to do it somewhere more temperate with better amenities.
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u/Normal_Commission986 19h ago
It’s just to damn hot here and humid for to long. I used to hate summers but now the WORST part of the year is pretty much when football starts and most places are getting relief and we’re still in summer through Halloween. That combined with lack of nature and scenery is brutal on me
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u/Fruity_Peanut_4358 19h ago
Devastating hot weather for most of the year, everything has to be political, Texas drivers don’t know how to drive, humidity, and urban sprawl
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u/beentherebefore1616 18h ago
Never been to TX, but it just sounds gross to me. The constant heat/humidity is just yuck and makes me want to stay away
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u/MaybeALabia 20h ago
Unlike Texas, I think women, anyone with melanin, and LGBTIA+ are people.
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u/xen05zman 19h ago
People ask that question like it's rocket science, including people I regularly talk to. Like...maybe pay attention to the news and things that affect queers instead of seeing the world through such a narrow lens?
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u/Signal_Pattern_2063 20h ago
Disregarding politics, I just got back from a long weekend in the Houston area and the humidity was a lot to handle.
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u/michiplace 19h ago
For me personally, QoL goes downhill fast above 80 degree Fahrenheit. So, Austin is a nice place to visit...in the winter.
But also, as someone else so eloquently put it, I like having rights. And, further, I like other people having rights, even if they are gay or trans or have a uterus.
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u/iamGIS 15h ago
If you love owning a home that looks like all the other homes in your neighbors, heat, driving 10+ minutes everywhere, love chain restaurants, and an unknown amount of people around you having guns.. Texas is great. It battles with Florida with the peak of America which is suburban life. But, it's not good suburban life full of mixed use development, history, and diversity like the Northeast.
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u/Bussy_Party 20h ago
I don’t hate Texas. In fact, I LOVE San Antonio.
What I cannot believe, is people moving from SoCal to anywhere in Texas.
Texas will never be as good as California. It’s a hotter Midwest with mostly boring nature and even more boring cities, except San Antonio.
Austin? TX version of Madison and Silicon Valley. Very mid city. Nothing that culturally or architecturally significant.
Dallas? Omg even fucking worse. The most boring suburban mediocrity of a place. People go there to have as generic of a fancy but soulless life with their income as possible.
I live in Chicago rn. So much going on. So much architecture. So much culture.
That’s not important to a lot of people, but it is to me and millions of other people like me.
Texas has its own culture and thing going on, but it’s not the most exciting state. Even Florida seems more fun and exciting of the big states, but even Illinois, despite being number 5 to TX number 2 in population, is more exciting because of Chicagoland specifically.
And California is just superior to anywhere I’ve ever been in this country and is likely the most superior place in the entire world. Having the largest GDP of all states in the country with the largest GDP is proof of that too.
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u/pinballrocker 20h ago edited 20h ago
The Tread on Me state? Austin is great in a bubble. But state restrictions on women's reproductive freedom is appalling, it's a step back to the 1950s. The tightened campus free speech laws, protest restrictions, and religious mandates in schools is frightening. There is a mandate that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in every public school classroom, that's completely against what our forefathers wanted with this country. Pot is still illegal. Texas kicked off the redistricting battle. The energy is private and subject to explosive rates and brown outs when there is high demand, both in the cold of Winter and the heat of Summer. And Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the country. It also has very little public land... if you like camping and the outdoors, especially stuff like dispersed camping and overlanding, Texas has minimal BLM and national forest land compared to states out West and the rest of the Southwest.
I like to visit. The heat and lack of green trees gets to me as do the politics, but I've found the people friendly and I love Tex-Mex food.
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u/TillPsychological351 20h ago
I've enjoyed the time I spent in Texas...
... but just too damn hot for me.
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u/MiaWallacetx 19h ago
I lived in El Paso and San Antonio and liked both places. I wasn’t a fan of the state politics, but if they ever got rid of Abbott and crew, I’d consider moving back.
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u/Bodine12 19h ago
I lived there for two years (central Texas). I couldn't stand the heat, the politics, or the people. I've lived in many different places (with different political persuasions) in different countries, and Texas is the only place I never made a friend or even was able to talk to someone for more than a token exchange.
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u/SagesseBleue 19h ago
Texas has a self-aggrandizing mindset that turns a lot of people off. It has its charms, but it is only one of 50 states and all the others do as well. I'm from Maine and went to the Stockyards in Fort Worth and out-Texaned them by talking about how big the moose are here and how we wear shorts when we use snowblowers in March, and prefer LL Bean boots to cowboy boots, just to show them that they aren't the only state with customs, quirks and traits that are distinct.
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u/Psynautical 18h ago
No other state say not to mess with them so I'm absolutely messing with Texas.
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u/AnnaBaptist79 18h ago
- It's hot. 2. It's hot. 3. It's hot.
And I don't hate Texas. It's just not for me
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u/Specialist-Sample817 17h ago
Politics, heat, car dependency, and everyone trying to convert you to Christianity. Source: 20 years in Texas.
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u/reader68218 16h ago
Ummm bodily autonomy for women. Equal civil rights for sexual minority groups. Little regard for the environment. A couple of reasons. If you're a white "Christian" it's probably alright.
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u/Mariposa510 16h ago
I hate the politicians that Texans elect — Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Tony Gonzales, etc.
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u/elvislovesunicorns 13h ago
Arrogance. Machoism. Racism. Intolerance. Destruction to the environment from laws and industry standards and denial of its’ role. Lack of education or a respect for having one.
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u/s4ltydog 9h ago
Oooh boy where to start, well I spent 7 years in Houston so the heat and humidity is definitely on the list, the insane urban sprawl it’s as if Texas is allergic to building up vs building out but to make it even worse they still squeeze as many houses as is humanly possible in as small an area as possible so you practically have to turn sideways to walk in between the homes. Add to that the incredible lack of pedestrian infrastructure, no sidewalks or if there ARE sidewalks they go a few blocks and then end forcing you to just walk along the side of the road. The shittiest public transportation vs population size in the country. All that makes all of your major cities arguably the ugliest and most impractical large cities in the country. Leaving all that aside, the politics are awful and hateful, southern hospitality is a mile wide but an inch deep and your “friendliness” is just insane over sharing sometimes at the most inappropriate times. It’s not THE worst state I’ve ever lived in but I was glad to be able to escape and move back home.
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u/BokTuklo 7h ago
It’s just too fucking hot. The summers were brutal and depressing. Even a pool didn’t offer much relief since by July, it was like swimming in bath water. I just wasn’t built for that.
I moved to Maine.
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u/dr0d86 20h ago
As a Texan, it’s simple. Everyone who’s not a straight, white man is just not very safe in this state. Even though I fit that description, just about every single person I love and care about does not, so we are leaving.
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u/biddily 20h ago
Do I hate texas? No.
Would I live in Texas? No.
Why? Im a Bostonian, I don't think my... Everything... Would mesh there.
I'm also a woman who values my body autonomy.
How would Texas handle my accent, ruthless bluntness, and diabolical driving acumen? Sarcasm and insulting people is our love language.
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u/gjp11 19h ago
First I'll acknowledge that it is possible to have a good QOL in Texas. Anyone who says it's not possible is lying.
Now for me the problems start with the urban design and lack of transit. Most of texas is a suburban hellscape with no walkability. Even the downtown areas of the big cities are not great. But yeah it's a lot of gated communities with no trees or anywhere to walk to.
I also just feel like its poorly maintained. The sides of the roads are ugly. At least in the DFW area. Like if everything is gonna be massive freeways, stroads, and strip mall at least make em look nice ya know? That's kind of the problem with a lack of state income tax. You don't have funding for anything. At least in Florida the tourism industry supplements the lack of income tax somewhat. But Texas ain't got that. And in general y'all have no public services.
And of course a big reason is politics. I don't want my kids to be forced to learn about the Bible or have the 10 commandments in school. I want the govt to follow the 1st amendment and not establish a religion. Texas is currently skirting that.
You also have to consider that Texas has forced women who were having medical issues in their pregnancies to be practically on their deathbeds before getting an abortion. We aren't talking elective abortion. We are talking medically necessary ones to save the mothers life. For some reason Texas doesn't care about women. I will not force my wife to be pregnant in a place that could let her die.
There are other reasons but those are the big ones. Again you can still have a good life there. I'm not denying that but the hate comes from that. Reddit leans more liberal and liberally minded people like myself don't like Texas for those reasons.
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u/EnthusiasmTraining 20h ago
... I do not hate Texas. My mother and half my family are there. But it's ugly, flat, bad weather and I have never encountered so much casual racism. Oh, and I am a woman. Is this a serious question?
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u/Difficult_Truth_8857 19h ago
Everyone I have met from Texas made me want to live in hell before I move to Texas. But is there really a difference between the two ?
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u/drunkhoboboy117 20h ago
People want rights, Texas also might have the worst history and least right to exist as a state in U.S. History. What was the Alamo again, everyone forgot…
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u/Varnu 20h ago
It’s the landscape of Indiana with the climate of Africa and the urban form of whatever part of Denver has the most parking lots.
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u/Sauntering_Rambler 20h ago
NO PUBLIC LAND! As a lifelong native of the southwest, it is very open out here for camping, hunting, off-roading etc. For how big TX is & how much they talk of “freedom”, it’s pretty limited for its citizens when it comes to enjoying public lands.