Disadvantages of Living in Texas

Most native Texans, especially native rural Texans, would never entertain the thought that there are disadvantages to living in Texas. But, inquiring minds are asking, “What are the disadvantages of living in Texas? Certainly there are disadvantages to living anywhere, even in Texas, we suppose. The main disadvantage is the scorching hot summer heat waves in July and August, and you cannot escape them in Texas. 

What Are the Disadvantages of Living in Texas?

Texans famously vacation in Colorado during the summer and have for eons, so much so that it is a “thing”. Coloradans moan and groan every summer, “Here come those loud-mouthed Texans.” Almost 148,000 Texans visited Colorado during the summer of 2020. But Texans spend a lot of dough in Colorado! It is so much cooler in the Rockies…And what does Colorado think of Texas?

Coloradans sport these decals and bumper stickers of a silhouette of Texas crossed out by a red circle/bar and “Texans, Go Home!” slogans. Former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm quoted, “If Texans did go home, it would raise the IQ of both states.” Years ago, it was another Colorado/Texas “thing” to bring home an illegal case of Coors beer too! So, Texas Outside dug around and found a few disadvantages of living in Texas. 

Is Texas Worth Moving To?

Texas has highly volatile and unstable weather patterns. She is hit with hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico, tornadoes on her prairies, and unbelievable windstorms almost everywhere in the state. Summers are brutally hot. However, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recognizes 10 natural ecoregions in Texas. You just have to drive forever to get from one to the other. But, Central Texas has the best weather ever!

Texas has no state income tax requirements, but she makes it up in property taxes, especially in highly desired school districts. This Texas Outside writer cannot remember a time in her 65 years on earth that at any given time, when the highway/freeway/toll way systems in all five Texas metropolises, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, were not perpetually under construction. Texas city traffic is a nightmare, but she has great roads!

Texas is highly successful economically. The opportunity for business growth is promoted and supported by the majority conservative political ideologies of the Texas State Legislature elected officials. Anyone of any background can find a great university, technological training, or even extremely lucrative sales careers in Texas. The sky is the limit when it comes to creating a comfortable and economically secure lifestyle in Texas. 

Is it a Good Idea to Buy a House in Texas?

We are not real estate experts at Texas Outside, so we rely on experts to guide our answers to these types of questions. Texas has always been a profitable location to invest in real estate, unless there were national or global economic downturns—like the 2007-2008 financial crises, when cheap credit and substandard lending practices fueled a housing bubble that left banks holding trillions of dollars of worthless investments in subprime mortgages.

Texas gained four million new residents between 2010 and 2020. The average home value rose over $112,000 during that timeframe. Fortunately, for Texans, Texas is home to Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical) University. It is one of the top universities in the U.S. for business, agriculture, and engineering programs and also one of the top research universities in the U.S. 

If you are seriously looking for a good real estate investment in Texas, there is no better place to start your research than at the Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center. You will find everything and anything you want to know before buying a house in Texas on its website. You may be subject to a distasteful Aggie joke when asking about Texas A&M, but Aggies (students, faculty, and alumnae of Texas A&M) are some intelligent Texas cookies!

This Texas real estate research center has the most up-to-date, comprehensive, real estate marketing trends in every county in Texas, and you can find answers to even the simplest queries, like, “Why are water rights being bought and sold?” or “Can a homeowner trim a neighbor’s tree when the limbs cross the property line?” Literally, the Texas Real Estate Research Center covers every real estate issue there is in Texas.

Are Texans Friendly?

Texas has indeed promoted a culture of natural friendliness. As a whole, Texans are extremely friendly and welcoming in that southern hospitality kind of way with a bunch of Old West kicking in. People say “Hi” and “Howdy” on the street and strike up conversations in elevators to and with people they never met before in the cities. Service oriented businesses are most welcoming. In rural Texas, it is the same, except people must respect other’s property rights. Texans will open up a big ol’ can of meanness when it comes to disrespecting property rights in the country.  

What do Texas People Say Differently?

Well… we old-school, rural, native Texans are real satisfied that Texas culture is alive and kicking and not showing any signs of slowing down into retirement. But we see our beautiful Texas cities bringing on a cultural shift, and it saddens us. The one thing that we do know, is that as long as Texas in the “Number One” beef producing state in the U.S., there will always be cowboys in Texas. That is not only attributed to Texas pride, of course, but that is the sentiment in native Texas. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently said, “I can tell you what we’ve seen in the last few years has developed a sense of pride in the state, particularly amongst our people, that rivals or exceeds the type of pride you’d see in a state like Texas. I never thought I’d see that in Florida,” What this means is that Texas has never forgotten her roots. Texas is ultra-family friendly and offers so much in terms of personal and professional growth, but you can bet your best pair of boots that native Texans do say a lot of things differently.

One thing visitors and immigrants find when they come to Texas is that native Texans are deeply patriotic. Then there are all our idiomatic idioms…Like anywhere else, the Texas culture transcends the Texas language. Ladies, expect men to open doors for you in Texas at the store and offer to carry your heavy packages. Expect men to call you, “Ma’am”. And likewise, Texas women show respect to men. This type of behavior and language cuts across all races and lifestyles in Texas, unless people are criminally inclined. 

Texas cities thrive in cultural diversity with global immigrant communities. It does not matter what part of the world that an immigrant to Texas came from. They will find someone from their culture in a Texas city. We primarily speak English, Spanish, and German in Texas. Texas culture was built on Native American and Western European cultures. The cultural adaptions these indigenous peoples and immigrants crafted together while creating today’s Texas.