We Left California for Texas. It Wasn’t Value It, so We’re Shifting Again.

This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez, 63, who moved from California to El Paso, Texas, along with her husband and daughter in 2022 and now plans to transfer again to California. The dialog has been edited for size and readability.

I grew up in El Paso, however I ended up going to school in Sacramento and dwelling there for 47 years.

A few years in the past, I began feeling homesick. I needed to maneuver again to El Paso, be nearer to my household, and lift my teenage daughter in a distinct setting. My husband and I each thought Texas might be a superb match for her as a result of it has highschool applications that enable college students to earn their affiliate diploma earlier than graduating.

In December 2022, we moved from Natomas, a neighborhood in Sacramento, to El Paso. We purchased a brand-new four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence for $250,000. Compared with California’s costly housing market, it felt like an unbelievable discount.

Texas’s decrease price of dwelling has been nice. Groceries and eating out are noticeably cheaper, and gasoline costs had been as little as $2.34 per gallon earlier than they began rising due to the Iran conflict. The lack of state revenue tax can also be big.

But whereas we have loved these benefits, we have come to comprehend there are loads of trade-offs to dwelling in Texas — and for us, they outweigh most of the advantages. We as soon as thought dwelling in El Paso can be a everlasting relocation, however now we’re fortunately making our manner again to California.

Life in Texas is not what we thought it might be

When I informed my household I used to be transferring to El Paso, they had been excited. They stored telling us, “Everything is so much cheaper and better here,” and so they had been proper — for essentially the most half.

El Paso actually is a lovely place with very form individuals. It sits alongside the border, close to Mexico and New Mexico, so there is a distinctive mix of cultures. I want extra individuals knew about El Paso’s tradition and its unbelievable, genuine Mexican meals.

DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

I used to be used to dwelling in El Paso as a result of I grew up right here, but it surely has been a lot more durable for my daughter and husband to regulate.

When we first moved right here, my daughter instantly mentioned, “I don’t like it.” She began faculty and made a few pals, however she mentioned lots of people handled her like an outsider.

She’s very completely happy we’re going again to California. She’s occupied with pursuing a level in molecular biology and is hoping to get into UC Davis.

Courtesy of Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez

My husband was over Texas throughout the first two weeks of us transferring right here. One of the largest changes for him has been the climate.

In El Paso, summers recurrently get above 100 levels, and the winters can be surprisingly harsh. Temperatures can dip to 18 levels, which is far colder than what we’re used to in California.

The wind in El Paso has additionally been difficult. We did not do sufficient analysis earlier than transferring, particularly in regards to the neighborhood the place we purchased our residence. It’s a pleasant, brand-new neighborhood, however there’s loads of open land behind us, so the wind feels even stronger. Just final week, winds reached 41 mph, tearing the curtains off our pergola. Dust storms are additionally widespread, particularly within the spring.

We’re transferring again to California as quickly as doable

We are very sports-oriented and attempt to do loads of actions as a household. In California, we might go to Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, Dodger video games, and different baseball video games. But in El Paso, there simply is not as a lot to do, particularly for a 16-year-old.

There are locations to hike, however general, it the actions right here really feel way more restricted. I discover myself wanting ahead to visiting locations like San Francisco, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Monterey Bay once more.

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My husband labored for the State of California for 30 years, so now we have glorious insurance coverage in California. My medical therapies shall be much more inexpensive for us there.

We know we’re in all probability going to have the next mortgage once we transfer again to California, however the property taxes in Texas are a lot increased than we anticipated, so we’re snug with that trade-off.

Right now, we’re wanting into shopping for my oldest daughter’s residence in Sacramento. She has been searching for a much bigger residence for her household for about eight months, so our timing relies on when she finds one thing. But we all know we’re going again.

We name this complete expertise a studying lesson. If we ever transfer once more, I’ll positively do extra analysis. We ought to have seemed extra carefully on the neighborhood, the climate, the medical advantages, and the general way of life earlier than making such an enormous choice.

Did you progress to a brand new state, solely to comprehend it wasn’t the precise match? We wish to hear from you. Email reporter Alcynna Lloyd at alloyd@businessinsider.com to share your story.