In CA, I only had to use the AC/Heat system only a handful of days in a handful of months. In TX, there may be only one month where my AC/Heater does not kick on. Thus, my energy bill is 2 - 4x more expensive in TX. For a property that costs $200k less than one in CA, my property tax bill in TX is 4x more expensive even with the property tax relief. My car insurance also went up in TX for the same car, and my homeowner's insurance is higher in TX for the same size property. My income dropped significantly after moving to TX, but having no state income tax is great. The price of gasoline in TX is great. Being a retired homeowner and trying to live off a low income in TX, I find the high property tax and the high AC/Heating bill to be challenging. If you make a decent income in TX, you can take advantage of the no state income tax. If you are renting, you may not feel the property tax burden which was rising faster than rents. The reason I moved to TX was to enjoy the intangibles - lifestyle, people, culture. I enjoy living in TX and even knowing now that cost of living is higher than expected, I would make the move again.
![Cost of Living in Houston Texas [2023] - Is Houston Still Affordable??](/img/n.gif)
I can never leave TX because of HEB (and Central Market). There is just nothing else like it in any other state.
In CA, I only had to use the AC/Heat system only a handful of days in a handful of months. In TX, there may be only one month where my AC/Heater does not kick on. Thus, my energy bill is 2 - 4x more expensive in TX. For a property that costs $200k less than one in CA, my property tax bill in TX is 4x more expensive even with the property tax relief. My car insurance also went up in TX for the same car, and my homeowner's insurance is higher in TX for the same size property.
My income dropped significantly after moving to TX, but having no state income tax is great. The price of gasoline in TX is great.
Being a retired homeowner and trying to live off a low income in TX, I find the high property tax and the high AC/Heating bill to be challenging. If you make a decent income in TX, you can take advantage of the no state income tax. If you are renting, you may not feel the property tax burden which was rising faster than rents.
The reason I moved to TX was to enjoy the intangibles - lifestyle, people, culture. I enjoy living in TX and even knowing now that cost of living is higher than expected, I would make the move again.
Is Austin’s population growing
It has grown a lot and looks like it is going to grow a lot more. The metro area has grown by about 200,000 people in the last 3 years
gas cheap, healthcare expensive. living the austin life.