VIt couldn’t be any clearer. “Don’t move to Texas,” read a giant billboard that appeared overnight at the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Barham Boulevard in Los Angeles a few months ago. The image of a rather sinister figure in sunglasses and a hoodie lent emphasis to the call to stay away from the Lone Star State.
The allusion to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in the small Texas town of Uvalde last spring, in which 19 children and two teachers were fatally injured, also had a deterrent effect. “The miracle of Texas died in Uvalde,” the sign read. Who put up the disturbing billboard in Los Angeles remains a mystery. The message, however, is unmistakable: Californians are no longer welcome in Texas.
In recent years, more people have left the Golden State than have moved from other American states. The Los Angeles Times newspaper calculated that between spring 2020 and summer 2022 alone, more than 500,000 Californians left their state. The most popular new places to live include Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Florida. Texas is at the top of the list of Californians willing to emigrate.
Too expensive, too much crime, natural disasters
The two states have a lot in common. Not only are they among the most populous in the United States, they are also among the largest. Both offer a mild, warm climate and plenty of space. Why are so many of the almost 40 million Californians still drawn to the east? Think tanks cite expensive housing, the high cost of living, taxes, crime, homelessness and natural disasters such as wildfires, droughts and earthquakes as motivations.
A study by the Los Angeles Times cited high housing prices in California as the main cause of the exodus, followed by long commutes, crime and air pollution. The corona pandemic, which has enabled many to work from home and no longer be tied to a company’s headquarters, apparently reinforced the trend. As of summer 2021 through summer 2022, one in two Californian expats came from Los Angeles County, which is home to nearly 250,000 companies in industries such as aviation, entertainment and information technology.
From yoga and vegan diets to gun freaks and steak eaters
The conservative satirical website “The Babylon Bee” shows in an entertaining way that worlds often collide when moving from liberal California to predominantly traditional Texas. In the series “Californians Move to Texas” she sends the couple Steve and Timpani – he black with the pronouns he/him, she white with the pronouns she/her – from the land of yoga, Democrats and vegan diets to Texas gun freaks, steak eaters and Baptists with cowboy hats and a penchant for the Republican Party. The staged culture shock is not that far-fetched.
