California Woman Moves To Texas For Freedom, Returns Citing High Costs And Political Exhaustion

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41. I'm not fond of Houston because of its heat, humidity, and traffic.

California has so little humidity compared with Texas and a coastal city like Houston especially, and it is very hot in summer. Even in the hill country of Austin, we’ve had summers with triple-digit heat for over 90 days. Houston also gets bashed by hurricanes every few years.

Houston does have some wonderful cultural attractions, and if you’re used to the snarls of LA traffic, you might not find Houston’s traffic daunting. There are some lovely communities north of Houston, and prices are probably better than in California. One thing to be aware of in Texas is that while we have no state income tax, property taxes and sales taxes are high. The state is not particularly generous with public education, preferring to put the burden on property owners and the predictable result is that wealthy areas have great schools while poor ones do not. Middle class tend to be okay.

Also, depending on the community, some areas around Houston, as in most cities in Texas, are rabidly MAGA, and their schools have become targets of people like Moms for Liberty. Here’s an article describing what has been happening in some schools.

I don’t know how much the politics of a community would influence your decision, but it’s there. I remember in early 2017 doing the Women’s March in Austin that several men with assault weapons were along the route trying to intimidate marchers, even in Democratic Austin. That attitude has not gone away. In my neighborhood in northwest Austin, I do not discuss politics with my neighbors because they are mostly right-wing Republicans.

All that said, I’ve lived in Austin for 20 years and enjoyed it, though the heat, the traffic, and the politics are making it less enjoyable. Before moving, I would spend at least some part of August in Houston to see if you like it. That tends to be the hottest, most humid month. You might also google neighborhoods you think you might be interested in and see if there has been political controversy in their schools that would concern you. And, of course, compare property taxes for different neighborhoods. They can be a big surprise. When I moved to Texas years ago from a New England state, the property taxes on the house in Texas were considerably higher than on my higher value property in New England—a big shock.

Best of luck, and let me know if I can provide any into to help.

Edited to post the article I mentioned above.
https://www.texasobserver.org/school-board-pacs-consultants-right-wing/