Why Americans Are Moving from California to Texas

Anyone who lives in the lone star state has heard the saying everything is bigger in Texas by size. It is the largest state in the contiguous US. Its population is also getting bigger and the quality of life is so much higher here. In Austin almost two years ago stay-at-home dad Alex Backus relocated to the Texas state capital of Austin from California’s bay area for his teenage daughter. Most of the kids that are in the bay area and they graduate kind of need to leave the bay area. It's so expensive and is kind of figured in Austin. it was a shot that she might actually choose to try to stay in Austin to go to college and start her life.

Backus is a living example of why there is a long rivalry between Texas and California. They are the most populous states in the continental United States. They both have a sort of a nation-state identity, unlike any other state. Texas has won the popularity contest recently according to the US Census Bureau and the impact will be felt in Washington for the first time in the state's history. California a democratic bastion lost one US congressional seat because its population shrank slightly. Republican-leaving Texas the biggest winner of all 50 states gained two seats. The main reason is when home prices in California go up more people move to Texas.

Outmigration from expensive states like California and New York has picked up during the pandemic. The states that saw the most out-migration last year are also the states that saw the most out-migration in 2019. It just was an accelerated path of outmigration. One famous Californian who has moved to Texas during the pandemic is Eldon Musk the co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX the home of Tesla's cyber truck production and SpaceX's Spaceport is in Texas. Tech companies Oracle and Hewlett-Packard as well as the commercial real estate firm Cyber have all relocated their headquarters to Texas known for its business-friendly environment.

But that doesn't mean that there's a mass exodus of businesses from California. Increasingly companies are looking to diversify their talent base and it makes sense for these companies to look elsewhere to continue to expand their access to talent. Foreign investors have also noticed Texas.  Austin relocation expert job Hammond says that I’ve worked with investors from Malaysia and Nepal and Shanghai and Beijing and Germany in Italy and even Mexico City. Texas may be cheaper and provide a better social life but its summers are also a lot hotter compared with northern California's milder climate rich with outdoor activities. He still has his home there. It's rented out there and he is questioning whether he should keep it because he might want to go back.