Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity

> Texas is a gerrymandered purple state, not a red state

Man, I just don't get this at all. Sure, there may be some democratic areas in the large cities, but they pretty much have zero say in the local state governance. Look at the recent walk outs and leaving the state only to return to have the legislation they were protesting pass with nothing they could do. There is no democratic power. Even those large cities that lean left have attempted to buck the system by passing local regulations that the state then sues them to prevent those liberal policies from taking place. As an example, Dallas passed decriminalization for marijuana, but the governor said no via law suits. This idea of Texas being purple just comes across as farcical and out of touch. I say this as someone that grew up in Dallas, lived in LA, and now lives back in Dallas. You sound just like someone from Austin.

I know plenty of women that are very unhappy with the state for not dissimilar reasons as the GP with friends that have moved out of state specifically for the government's apparent disdain for women.

I lived in Austin for a decade, and I think this is off base.

Yes, Austin is not like rural Texas. But also, the state legislature is in Austin and loves nothing more than voting down or making illegal any progressive measure Austin tries to take. While I was there, we voted pretty overwhelmingly for a solid plan to add some trains, but the state leg then made the method of funding illegal. Same on the plastic bag ban. Same on regulating uber and lyft.

And, much more critically, same on abortion and other issues that directly impact people’s fundamental rights. Not sure if Garza is still DA, but his power to selectively enforce state law is limited, and people can still be denied lifesaving care because of regressive state laws, or prosecuted for having a suspicious miscarriage. Any kind of care for trans people is similarly handicapped.

The state politics also mean that public nature access is not great. The few nice places in the vicinity of Austin are usually overcrowded, and there are far fewer state or national parks compared to other large states.

I am glad to have moved out, and I would never move back while the state politics remain what they are.

Also “reasonable weather most of the year” is a stretch. Reasonable if you love summer, I guess, but six months of brutal heat is not fun.

Texas policy is actively hostile to women and the poor (healthcare, labor protections, etc). You’re probably fine if of means, and not a woman of reproductive age. Everyone else is existing in Texas as an economic human factory farm.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/20...

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/13/10-states-worst-quality-of-l...

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-miscar...

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-maternal-mortality-...

https://www.propublica.org/series/life-of-the-mother

> Every single urban area in Texas is now heavily aligned with the Democratic party, and the vast majority of those areas are affordable places to build a life and build wealth.

How much does that matter with the state legislature firmly in Republican control? The legislature isn't shy about making state laws to stop cities when the cities try to do Democrat things locally.

Gay Texan here leaving the country next year. Maybe culturally in the cities you have a point, but the gerrymandered state government still very much affects you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Senate_Bill_12

Thanks to SB12, it would be illegal for a teacher to answer when a student in my kids’ class asks why they have 2 dads. They would also be unable to join a support club like the Gay Straight Alliance which was (barely) tolerated when I grew up here in the 00s. This isn’t even mentioning performative BS like teachers having to hang the 10 commandments in schools, or the rabid anti-trans laws affecting adult treatment and identity documents. Discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity is also banned in higher education, as well.

This isn’t even covering the abortion ban or other issues. A friend’s sister almost died of an ectopic pregnancy because she couldn’t find a doctor to help terminate. She wanted the child, but nature had other plans.

I love Texas and agree with a lot of the positive points you raised. I wish I didn’t have to abandon my family and friends having lived here for over a decade as an adult and having grown up here, but I can’t raise my kids here.

All this is true, but the abortion restrictions are state-wide and a real issue while also remaining a symbolic turn-off for women from blue states. The bigger issue is the influence of Christianity on the legal system, which approaches third world levels for such a rich state.

I know that if I lived somewhere urban it would feel welcoming. I know there's a large LGBT community there already. I know that there's gay clubs and stuff like Texas Furry Fiesta.

But the urban areas aren't passing the state laws. The state of Texas has laws that ban teachers from talking about LGBT topics or about LGBT folks in school. If I were to find a partner and I wanted to adopt, in Texas I have no protections against discrimination. A child placing agency can exclude me on religious grounds.

Trans folks face all that and more. They ban transgender folks from using school facilities. They ban trans folks from using public restrooms. They do that thing where they define gender as being exactly equal to biological sex. The "panic" defense is allowed in murder cases. I'm not trans personally, but they're part of my community and they're slowly having their existence criminalized.

Again: there are many parts of Texas that are great. The legal landscape is hostile to LGBT folks.

I've lived in Texas. It is exactly as bad as people say, and I will never move back. Regardless of how nice Austin is, there is only so much I can tolerate an actively hostile state government to my existence.

Just to add to your Texas comment: there are a few larger states that have distinct hubs where people think so differently, that they might as well be living in different states. People who haven't lived in these states don't really have a good feel for how different the internal cultures can be.

California: we know how SoCal is culturally worlds apart from Norcal, and both are worlds apart from inland California.

North Carolina: culturally Charlotte ≠ Research Triangle ≠ Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point. There is no single NC culture.

Florida: the stereotypes exist, but I've visited different metros in Florida and they couldn't be more different. South Florida (Miami) is very Latin while the panhandle (Tallahassee, Pensacola) couldn't be less Latin -- it's mostly southern culture. Orlando, Tampa are also way different.

Florida in fact shouldn't be governable -- every part of the state has different interests. Yet it somehow works.

Purple, eh? Guess the blue ones weren't around when the various abortion issues were voted on. The OB/GYN population must not like the sun.

Is it this state people are talking about? This isn't my center of anything.

"Racist clauses in property deeds can’t be enforced, but still exist. A Texas bill would make it easier to remove them."

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/17/texas-property-deeds...

"Racist Clauses Are Common In Local Zoning Documents. Several Texas Bills Would Make It Easier To Change That." https://www.kut.org/texas/2021-05-14/racist-clauses-are-comm...

The real reason companies are moving to Texas (the casual racism is just a bonus)? Court shopping for their arbitration clauses. If you sue/have an arbitration dispute with a Texas based company they have strategically located their headquarters in the areas with the most 'court shopped' judges that will rule for the corps.

And even worse than establishing corporate headquarters as a form of court shopping, creations of corporate courts. https://www.commondreams.org/news/texas-business-courts

And the new Texas hotness? Why yes, private courts. https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/private-judges-...

Refuse to do business with Texas corporations. They are un-American and take away so many of your rights when you do business with companies based there.

No, the reason not to live there is that I don't have the save civil rights as in other states. My life is, on a fundamental level, worth measurably less in Texas than that of a brainless fetus. I can't get lifesaving healthcare if I accidentally get pregnant. If you're totally cool living where around 50% of the population aren't legally your equal, you may not have done your homework on how this always turns out.

Honestly it may be 50-50 purple in population, but the policies are what affect people the most. I’m not even worried about Democrat vs Republican, as I’m not associated to either party, and both have their share of crazy.

There are a number of laws in Texas that make it a non-option for many of us.

I don't know why you're being junked, you said nothing that any Texas resident wouldn't agree with. Shit, we have two of the largest airlines in the world that as an industry have always been incredibly welcoming to the LGBT community.

The only thing that sucks about Texas is the property taxes, other than that it is a very welcoming state with great infra and comfortable standard of living.

That's funny because I lived in California for years and nobody even mentioned Texas, while Texans can't seem to do anything but tell everyone they think of California.

I live in Texas (Austin). The biggest downside day-to-day is the weather in summer. The politics are also a valid concern.

That said, it’s not some dystopian hellscape. Day-to-day it’s not that different than any other place.

Also the cost of living is a lot less than the big tech centers (Bay Area and Seattle). A similar house to mine with a similar commute in a similar quality school district is 4x the price in the Bay Area. I can give my family a better life here.