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Comment by bgentry | Hacker News Reader

I moved to Austin in November after 10 years in the Bay Area and a lifetime in different parts of California. Not a chance we will move back, certainly not for decades.

The most refreshing part of the change is that people are genuinely nicer and more friendly around here than anywhere I lived in California (OC, SD, SF, Berkeley, Stockton for college). I really didn’t expect that, which I think was probably due to crude stereotypes Californians like to spread about Texas. Ultimately I think the grind of just trying to live a decent life in the crowded/expensive parts of CA takes its toll on the populace.

The weather takes some adjusting, but not more than it took to adjust to the Bay Area fogginess for this SoCal native. Most of the year it’s beautiful out here.

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> I really didn’t expect that, which I think was probably due to crude stereotypes Californians like to spread about Texas.

Portland likes to spread crude stereotypes about Californians just the same. When I visited San Diego I was truly surprised at how nice everyone was. Outside of Hawaii, it was the nicest encounter I'd had with large groups of people ever.

Some of the folks I encountered in Sacramento, SF, and San Jose definitely lived up to their alleged reputation though... they were not so nice.

Outside of places that have serious economic/societal issues, generalizing cities as being "nice" or not is absurd. It all depends on the crowd you're around and/or which part of town you are in. Especially annoying is when someone compares the slow-paced, affluent suburb they move to with a high-paced, downtown area they left.

> The weather takes some adjusting, but not more than it took to adjust to the Bay Area fogginess for this SoCal native. Most of the year it’s beautiful out here.

4 months a year above 90F, 7 months above 80F. I'm glad it works for you, but that's some adjusting indeed; people don't set their thermostats to 80F or 90F for a reason, and it's not just cost.

Regarding Bay Area fogginess, did you mean SF / Pacific coast fogginess? Most of the Bay Area seems to be fog-free. I don't remember the last time I saw fog in San Mateo.

I've been to Austin. I felt trapped in a flat plane of existence in Texas. I need mountains to escape to on my time off. But as a native Californian, I hope a lot of people move out to Texas. Several million would be a good start.

Did you spend any time in the hill country on the south/west parts of town? They have a very different feel than the flat parts.

I've been there. It's nice but it's not "the mountains" in the sense of Santa Cruz much less the Sierras. I'm pretty sure I'd feel a lack of recreation opportunities to my liking in the Austin area.

Yes, they're nice but it's like comparing skiing in New England with skiing in the Rockies or Sierras.

I didn’t say they were comparable to the Sierra Nevada or coastal ranges, was merely trying to understand your “trapped in a flat plane of existence” line.

If we want to go for some real good skiing, Utah or Colorado are short flights and will likely have much better & more consistent snow than CA has for the past decade :)

Having grown up around hill country Texas, it absolutely in no way compares to real mountains :) Only thing I miss about Texas is lower housing prices, but even those are high in desired areas in big cities.

I could fly anywhere, but there's something really nice about driving to the mountains for the weekend

The Sierra are fine if you live in CA, but I would take the VT/NH backcountry every time given a choice. The Rockies are a different story.

Dont worry, most of California is moving to Texas, so Texas will be just like California in no time, long before "decades", so you will not need to move back California is coming to you

Honestly I hear as many complaints living in Washington of WA natives criticizing people from Texas moving to Washington and how they're going to ruin XYZ. That was a poorly worded sentence but hopefully you get my meaning

A double-edge sword, right there it is.

The data I've seen contradicts your assertion https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bay-area-exodus-that-wasnt-...

Well that is a pay-walled site, and I refuse to support any "mainstream" media at this point so I will not be buying a subscription to view your link

but he headline seem to be talking SanFran, but I can not know for sure

However actual statewide data, based on US Census totals, shows that over all CA is one of only a few states that have a net Population LOSS over the last 10 years, so much so they are losing a congressional seat.

I will link to some non-paywall sites for you, like proper Netiquette dictates

[1] https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/05/07/...

[2] https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/californias-population-f...

[3] https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/california/californi...

> over all CA is one of only a few states that have a net Population LOSS over the last 10 years

This is simply wrong.

Your links all clearly indicate CA had a population loss for the first time ever in the year 2020. Not for the entire decade. CA lost a seat because growth slowed, not went negative.

Edit: Population, Census, April 1, 2020 39,538,223 Population, Census, April 1, 2010 37,253,956 via https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA

> based on US Census totals, shows that over all CA is one of only a few states that have a net Population LOSS over the last 10 years

Not only did it not lose population, its not even one of the five slowest-growing states.

“The five states with the slowest population growth, all under 2.5%, were: Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania.”

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/2020-census-d...

Concur, I was ahead of the curve and fled San Francisco and California in 2018 for Nashville, TN and don’t anticipate ever moving back even though my immediate family is still in Cali. I don’t want to give California a cent of my tax dollars ever again.

I absolutely love Nashville and Tennessee and even bought a house at the height of Covid. The people and southern hospitality are amazing (though I am seeing a lot of California plates lately around which frankly is making me nervous). Nashville is a such a beautiful city, opportunity is unlimited, amazing night life, food, culture, and of course music. Southern is way more my style and speed.

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