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Comment by ctvo | Hacker News Reader

The desirable aspects:

0 state income tax. Low housing cost, and low cost of living in general. Culturally diverse (Asians, Hispanics), with large urban centers (Dallas, Houston, Austin).

To each their own.

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I'm selling a 3400 sqft house for $750k, just outside Austin. My property taxes are insane and I have to fight every year to not let the county reassess my home value the maximum legal amount. I've seen a black person in my neighborhood enough times to know he's a resident and there are two Indian families but the place white as hell. Crime is going up, we're nationally ranked near or at the top for DWI (except during the first half of COVID, where we traded in for spousal abuse... also drunk, probably). Every 21+ can now open carry, as long as they have a pulse and no recent violent convictions. The power grid is constantly teetering on the edge of collapse (generator sales are way up this year though, so that's cool). There are so many new subdivisions going up that we can't build enough schools fast enough to fit all the kids and the roads have slowed to a crawl. The state government seems to actively be trying to kill people, while disenfranchising minorities and stripping rights from women, while effectively turning every slack jawed bubba into a part time bounty hunter.

To each their own. Personally, I'm giving TX the finger and taking my cash elsewhere. Abbot can roll of a cliff, for all I care.

0 state income tax, but property taxes are 3% vs 1% or so in California.

Average property tax in Texas is 1.69%. It seems in my area the nice areas are around 2%. I'm not sure where you're getting 3% from.

Also, our house in TX is almost half the price of our house in CA (and much nicer), so even though the rate is double the actual tax amount is the same.

I was looking at Austin on Zillow and property taxes were really high, maybe it's just the areas I looked at.

NW Austin resident checking in. 1500 sq ft house = $7700 property taxes (2020). Yeeesh.

Socal, at least, covers the cultural diversity and large urban as specified. Gobs of people and a mixture containing both Asians and Hispanics along with other things. Fully agree on the $$ issue.

Biggest difference from socal is it's way too hot for the homeless.

I don't live in Texas currently, and don't plan on ever returning, but did live in Austin for a few years. I can see the appeal.

It's been near or above 100F s lot this summer and we're making it nearly impossible to br homeless here. Makes sense to though. When low earners are losing jobs in retail and service industries and people from CA are driving up housing prices, forcing poor people to live in tents, making this place even less hospitable is the only neighborly thing to do.

New Mexico only has 4.9% and all the rest

Better food, too. But shh.

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