Texas’ history is deeply influenced by its geography, which has shaped its development and population growth. The state was ruled by six different nations, starting with Spain, followed by France, and then Mexico until 1836. Texas is divided into five major regions: East Texas, Central Texas, North Texas, South Texas, and West Texas. These regions are defined by urban centers and differing cultural norms.
Texas is the second most-populous state in the country and has five of the nation’s 15 fastest-growing cities. Population growth drives economic growth, with Texas being the second most-populous state and home to five of the nation’s 15 fastest-growing cities. The soil and climate in East Texas have made it the largest cotton producer in the U.S., and cheap labor, including African-American workers, has contributed to its success.
The region’s weather, landforms, waterways, and natural spaces have defined industries and cultures that thrived throughout history. The state’s geology tells a story of great change, with the climate and availability of water playing crucial roles in shaping its daily lives and economy today.
Texas’ coastal culture is diverse, influenced by waves of migration from the American North and West, resulting in a mix of fishing, gathering, and cultural exchange. The state’s geography also plays a significant role in its economic growth and stability.
📹 Why Texas is Becoming America’s Most Powerful State
Select video clips courtesy of Getty Images Select video clips courtesy of the AP Archive Special thanks to MapTiler …
What is the geography like in Texas?
The state of Texas is characterized by a diverse landscape, encompassing canyons, islands, valleys, and extinct volcanoes. Additionally, it boasts four prominent landforms: hills, mountains, plains, and plateaus. The latter are particularly prevalent along the Gulf Coast, Panhandle, North, South, and West Texas.
What impact did geography have on the people?
The geographical environment exerts a profound influence on cultural development, conflict, and urban settlement. The availability of fresh water and fertile soil has been a crucial factor in the emergence and evolution of human civilizations, as these resources have shaped the formation of geographical culture.
What life is like in Texas?
Texas is a rapidly growing state with a variety of cities, warmer climates, and job opportunities. It is a great place to start a new life or start a family. Dallas is on track to become the 3rd largest metro in the country, and other cities are also expanding. Go Store It offers convenient, customer-oriented self storage solutions, with over 10 locations in Texas and near popular areas like Dallas, Houston, and Plano.
Texas is home to some of the best and most affordable cities in the U. S., offering something for everyone. The most popular cities to live in Texas include Dallas, Houston, and Plano. Moving to Texas is a great decision to jump-start your life and enjoy the best of the Lone Star State.
What geographic factors have the greatest impact on Texas political culture?
Texas, a state in the southern United States, has been heavily influenced by its proximity to Mexico and its situation in the Great Plains. Originally a northern province of Spanish Mexico, Texas gained independence in 1821 and encouraged immigration from the adjacent United States. However, this policy backfired in 1836 when a “Texian” American army defeated a Mexican army, leading to economic and political disadvantages for Mexican-Americans.
From the revolution of 1836 to the end of the Civil War in 1865, Texas experienced significant immigration from other Southern states. Southern white farmers brought their slaves and the economic, political, and social institutions of slavery with them. Texas was defeated in the war and occupied by Union troops during Reconstruction, which lasted until 1874. This historical experience had a dominating influence over Texas society and institutions for over a century after the war’s end.
What is the environment like in Texas?
Texas experiences long summers with clear skies and warm temperatures, with the rainy season occurring in spring (March-May) and early fall (September-October). Rainy periods last 1-2 days and are short and intense. Texas’s winters are mild, with temperatures varying by an average of 20 degrees from the northernmost and southernmost points. The southern tip, known as the Rio Grande Valley, typically experiences temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s in the winter. Texas’s crop charts show planting and harvesting periods and density maps for various crops. The state’s climate is influenced by its size and climate.
How does geography affect life?
Physical geography is the study of natural features and phenomena on the planet’s surface, including vegetation, climate, water cycle, and land formations. It determines human lifestyles and adapts to available food and climate patterns. Land formation is the physical shape of an area and is influenced by plate tectonics, which are the movements of crustal plates on the Earth’s surface. Plate movements can disrupt water availability, disrupt land formations, and cause displacement of animals hunted by humans for food. As humans have migrated across the planet, they have had to adapt to changing conditions. This has led to the displacement of animals and forced people to move to other areas for survival.
How is geography used in everyday life?
Geometry students utilize spatial analysis for urban planning, risk zone planning, and interpreting relationships between places. These skills are useful in everyday life, such as reading maps, using satnavs, and choosing work routes. Benefits include understanding spatial data, spatial distribution, and analysis through technology, enhancing observation skills, and acquiring cartographic and data visualization skills.
How does geography impact Texas?
The soil and climate of East Texas, the availability of inexpensive labor from African-American slaves and Mexican migrant workers, and the flooding of the Rio Grande all contributed to the region becoming the largest cotton producer in the United States.
What is Texas culture influenced by?
Texas, a state in the Southern United States, is influenced by Hispanic, African, and Anglo traditions and is larger in size and population than most European nations. It has the most farms and the highest acreage in the United States, ranking No. 1 for revenue generated from total livestock and livestock products and No. 2 for total agricultural revenue, behind California. Beef cattle production is the largest single segment of Texas agriculture, accounting for 56.
7% of annual agricultural cash receipts. Other major crops include cotton, greenhouse/nursery, broiler chickens, and dairy products. Texas leads the nation in the production of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, wool, mohair, and hay, and cotton, the number one crop grown in the state in terms of value. The state also grows significant amounts of cereal crops and produce.
How does Texas affect the economy?
Texas is a state known for its strong economy, supported by over 300 trade schools and 125 technical programs. The Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education (TRUE) program aims to invest $50 million into community colleges to train the workforce for high-demand sectors. Texas supports companies of all sizes, including Dell, ExxonMobil, Sysco, Oracle, Amazon, HPE, and Tesla. The state also has a strong business reputation, with over 100 of the largest public and private companies in the US based there.
Texas is also a top producer of wind energy and solar, and has the fourth-highest rate of new entrepreneurs. The state’s low tax rates allow businesses to invest in their workers, expand to new markets, and raise incomes. Texas’s vast infrastructure, including public roads, rail, airports, and seaports, ensures its status as a leading exporter. Overall, Texas’s economy is a testament to its commitment to a strong and resilient economy.
What was the impact of Texas joining America?
The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) originated from a disagreement over the northern border of Mexico, specifically whether it should be the Nueces River or the Rio Grande. This disagreement was a result of the annexation of Texas by the United States.
📹 Indian Woman Exposes Why Indian People Don’t Like Black People #shorts #viral #trending #remix
… here a lot of Indians don’t like black people because if you have a baby with a black eye they think how dark it will come out and …
I’ve been in Texas since 2011. The growth from just 2011 to 2023 in San Antonio TX, where I live, has been immense. There are a lot more people here now. I don’t regret the move from California to Texas, but it’s getting crowded here. Texas has improved my life and my family’s lives dramatically though. My son was born in Texas in 2016. I’ll probably never leave. I really like it here.
If Lawmakers here can get some funding into public transit between and inside the Texas triangle, it would be a truly unstoppable metropolitan area. The main issue, as well as strength, with Texan transport is the hyper-focus on the road system, which provides a lot of benefits, but also detracts from attractiveness of the cities. Houston is infamously a nightmare, and Dallas is close in second with Austin getting worse by the day; I think Texas could benefit from a better planned or more well-rounded system that allows cars/trucks, trains, and pedestrians/bikers to coexist. American cities don’t need to be copies of other international cities, it’s a different situation, but there are some lessons to be learned from places like Paris and Tokyo.
I could tell this was made by a Texan well before you mentioned it. Born and raised in Houston and lived in Austin since 2010. The growth is equally as wild and exciting as it is sad. There was a charm and quirkiness to Austin in the 80s/90s that I sorely miss, but nothing gold can stay. One other note of Texas pride: NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston playing such a significant role on a global scale.
You did a pretty good job on getting most of the facts right. A lot better than most of the articles produced on YouTube. One misconception that a lot of people have especially younger people is that fracking his new technology. I was working on fracking Cruise in the 1970s and it had already been around a long time. Perfecting horizontal drilling was the key that changed everything.
Native Texan, old and gray. Frankly we were quite happy with the smaller population numbers. Part of the charm of living here, and those of us old enough to remember Texas as it was 50-60+ years ago miss that aspect of it. I recently had to make a trip to a small town roughly 100 miles north of Austin, good grief what a madhouse of people. The rural two lane highways were jammed, everyone drives like the seat of their britches is on fire and it’s 50 miles to water.
I think you are missing 2 major industries that are key to the rapid growth of Texas, more specifically Houston. The medical and the aeronautics industries. The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest medical center in the world, attracting people from everywhere to work. Then you have NASA and the work revolving around them.
The 1st OPEC minister, Abdullah Tariki, is an alum of the University of Texas. Khalid A. Al-Falih, the OPEC minister between 2016 -2019, is an alum of Texas A&M University. The petroleum engineering programs at both universities are considered word class and are known world wide for producing talented PE grads… for obvious reasons.
I got my degree in chemical engineering in California. One of my professors said, “if you want a job in chemical engineering, move to the gulf”. Not only does Texas have the greatest energy industry in the USA, it also has the greatest chemical engineering industry. I couldn’t possibly quantify the number if chemical goods that are produced in the region. The industry is massive!
The rapid development of Texas has been astonishing, having watch it all happen growing up in a small suburb city, Irving. I watched farmlands be turned into industrial warehouses, townhouses, you name it. And currently we have the star of the city Las Colinas, an urban powerhouse that’s rapidly growing with many major businesses settling there. Currently as of recent events, Gordan Ramsey moved his American HQ to Las Colinas. What took many cities decades to achieve, Texas has done it in the shorter spans at times as highways are rapidly built (Enjoy the gore that is Texas Highways), major housing projects of mostly townhouses with no backyards (An honest tragedy there), and so much more. You can say that Texas can be crowned the Golden State, rather black gold as much of the coastal cities here are Oil Cities, with thousands of oil workers living in them.
East Austin is developing suburban density: residences are packed together, but commercial zoning is extremely restricted. As a result, people are forced to drive to shopping centers, which exacerbates the traffic problem. The tactic consolidates wealth by favoring big box stores and making commercial real estate ownership virtually impossible for local retailers and restauranteurs. It’s a reason so many local businesses operate out of food trucks and ghost kitchens. The city raises money through property tax collection, though, so zoning restrictions and subsequent wealth consolidation works in their favor. It’s a real bummer.
I grew up in the, statistically, poorest county in the state of Texas. It’s in east Texas, next to Louisiana, and you would be amazed at the difference 3 hours does from the fringes of the Houston and DFW metroplexes. In the last 25 years, the state has become more international and more business minded, but also more insular of its own state identity comparatively to America. “Make Texas a country again” is a very common saying and the state pride is unlike any other state by a mile. However, socially, Texas has a lot of concerning issues that are far too deep to get into on a comment. Great job on the article! Always nice to remember home.
We have many German settlement towns, where some of the residents still speak our own German-Texan style of German. German food, beer and music being very popular in Texas. Some of my favorite Texas towns are Fredericksburg, New Braunfuls, Schulenburg, Luckenbach, (Great song about Luckenbach by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson),Gruene, Boerne, Muenster, Weimar, New Berlin the list goes on! Tejano music wouldn’t be what it is today without German influence!
I moved to Texas a decade ago..I got recruited by Peterbilt and moved to Midland, Texas in 2013. Then opened my Diesel Shop the following year during the beginning of the fracking boom. Companies were throwing money in the Permian Basin just trying to keep up with the demand. Currently living in San Antonio and don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time. Great detailed article. Really enjoyed it, thank you. Just earned a new Subscriber 💪🏾
Those of us Native Texans aren’t as thrilled with the RAPID expansion of our state. It is getting way too crowded here. I am about an hour east of Dallas and getting anywhere within a 20-25 mile radius of Dallas is a traffic nightmare. I have lived all over the state in the last 55+ years and the Panhandle and South Plains is where I would prefer to be. Probably go back to retire to the much slower life out there.
I have a flagpole that only flies my Texas flag. We Texans can do just fine if we had to revert back to a country again. We grow and raise a variety of crops and animals…energy independent..melting pot of citizens and everything that enriches our state. We are Texans.. we flourish despite the state of our federal govt. If only the federal govt would let us handle our borders the way we wish…😢
I moved to Texas in 2019 and the amount of growth that has occurred in this short period of time is insane! Texas is a great state; however, traffic is becoming unbearable in almost every direction. They have been widening the roads, doing construction and such, but I can only imagine what Texas will look like in a few more years. I love Texas and have no plans to leave 😊.
I was born and raised in Wichita Falls, Tx and I’m about 120 miles north of DFW and our population has been booming and I love how much Texas has stayed self sufficient, I miss the small town, polite, hospitable, courteous demeanor of the people. I’ve noticed people have been so rude and hateful in grocery stores. This was not the usual way of life here. plus the traffic is horrible . Our prices have skyrocketed along with housing costs . the more we develop and in habitat, the higher our prices go .
As a texan I had no idea how incredibly rich we were seeing that many of us are living paycheck to paycheck & can barely afford rent, groceries, gas or even a home. What good is it if we can’t reap what we sow. I wanna be proud how far we’ve come but the Texas we built was not meant for us, but for the highest bidder. How sad.
One thing about Texas I’ve found fascinating is the fact everybody who wants to work can find a job🎉… Being a disabled American I have lived in six other States and have found it extremely difficult to find fulfilling employment. Since I moved to Texas in the 90s I have always been able to work and make a reasonable income. Having purchased a home and finding roots I have been very satisfied with being a resident in Texas 🎉
I spent a year in Del Rio learning how to fly. It was also a chance to be part of a culture that was embracing and warm. Many later trips to every airport and the hospitality was so awesome. I always knew that I could find a fellow Texan who would show me the town and best eats. While the population grows, I think that distinct hospitality will always live with Texans.
Even with this crazy housing rate going on, my Real estate business in Dallas has not slowed down much. I get a lot of out of state clients from California and New York I show them what they can afford here in Texas land and they always say “this could triple the price in my state”. As my Texan clients are starting to have some trouble keeping up with the prices.
I have a young cousin who went to Baylor. She met a cute man her first day there and married him after they graduated. The moved to a ranch out near Ft. Davis so he could help manage it. They had two lovely kids. When the husband turned 35, his daddy informed him of his inheritance. That ranch had been granted to his 6th great grandfather by the Republic of Texas for his service in the Texas Navy. It started as a 1 million acre grant. Various generations since have sold parts of it so that only 250,000 acres remain. At the same population density as Los Angeles, there is enough real estate in Texas to house every human on Earth.
Houston has the big 3 industries: Energy, Medical, and International Trade. People often forget that the Houston has the largest medical complex in the world, which also benefits from the cutting-edge technologies being created by the IT boom in Austin, and the energy sector in Houston. People fly in from around the world just to get treatment there. The energy sector and international trade facilitated by the Houston port are important, of course. But people really underestimate just how important the medical center is to Texas’s economy as well.
I’m out of touch with what is taught in school these days, but when I was in 7th grade in San Antonio, we had the required Texas history class as taught by a native Texan, as were most of us back then. San Antonio was more than half Mexican, descended from families who lived there since Texas was part of Mexico. I left Texas for a few years for NY state and Chicago but came back home. In those places, I never saw the state pride and welcoming homey feeling. Texas used to be like a big spread out town…everyone was so neighborly. It’s lessened over the years a little. It harder in the bigger cities to catch the Texas aesthetic. But I plan to stay here the rest of my life if I have my way.
The thing that I love most about Texas (and this is in other states as well but imo Texas is king) is that life can be extremely different based on WHERE in texas you live. Life in Beaumont vs life in amarillo is basically another country. Life in Texarkana vs El Paso likewise. Texas is basically multiple states in one. Texas is part of multiple regions of the nation. The great plains, the south, the gulf coast, the southwest. Texas encompasses all these regions. If you move from Arizona to El Paso, life wouldn’t be that much different. If you moved from Kansas, Oklahoma,Nebraska, etc to amarillo, life wouldn’t be much different. It all depends on where you come from and where you go in texas, and you can have a vastly different experience
I have an Uncle that was a 1st Marine division Sergeant on Gualad Canal, after 3 or so months of fighting he’s perusal a jungle clearing and hears machinery coming, he figured so late in the battle that it had to be American. A tank flying a big Texas flag gets close and his favorite cousin is hitching a ride! He said talking Spanish with his favorite person, they talked mostly about the fighting they’d been thru, was a great comfort. They both made it back to Texas and lived long and healthy, one in C.C., the other in Beaumont
I think maybe some of it is that we are required to take Texas history in school usually 7th grade or so. I don’t know if other states have this but I believe it gives us that historical grounding. We’re proud of our history and merging of cultures. Not proud of everything that happened but proud that it’s made us this wonderful state.
That segue into the ad at the end of the article reminded me of the incredible variety of good food you can find in Texas, and particularly in the Houston area. I didn’t realize how good I had it until I moved out of the state for a while. In Houston you can find excellent Tex-Mex, BBQ, Cajun, Asian and Middle Eastern among a lot of other traditional styles of food. A person can eat REALLY well here!
I think it will be interesting to watch population shifts in the coming decade or so. California’s climate dictates that sustainable living will be with fewer people or some rein in of agriculture industry’s suck on water. Texas and the other Sunbelt states may be growing now, but the changes in climate and annual disasters thereof will make it unlivable. (Rhodium Group study on Climate change effects across the USA.)
America as we know it is finished. All indications point to 2023 being a year of severe economic pain across the country. Put that money to work right away to make it grow. I knew I had to make an investment. I never imagined that a few thousand dollars per month would add up. However, it is. I’ve made around $600,000 since 2020.
This is not by accident. I remember back in the early 2000s commuting in my car in silicon valley hearing then Texas governor Rick Perry advertising seminars on moving CA business to Texas. This has been a vision of Texas leadership for decades and we are seeing the fruition of these efforts now and yes I now live in Texas.
Texas is over valued. BIG time. The amount of Californians that have moved here has been giving Texas an undue valuation. I live here and the quality of living in this state is shockingly low compared to other states I’ve lived in. For instance, a small house in a small town, take Lockhart TX as an example, has small homes that are in poor condition for $350K. Look at homes for sale in a thriving small town like Greenville SC as an example, which has a stronger economy, you can purchase a home in much better condition and larger for the same price. This state is far too expensive for what you get. Once considered a great state to move to get a large house for a lesser price is no longer the case. You don’t pay state income tax but they will ROB YOU on high property taxes and tolls for the roads. My energy bill is twice the amount I pay when I lived in Denver. This state isn’t what people are telling you it is. Also, the people here are dead on the inside. Try to talk to a stranger just for the sake of making conversation and see how that goes. When I make eye contact with people, I smile. When you do that here, people immediately look away. Texans are socially stunted. Can’t wait to move out.
As someone who is living in midland, the oil industry is only getting bigger. It keeps growing and growing. To go along with that, the high exports of sand from here is high. And then the unemployment rate here being one of the lowest in the country. The Permian basin is a huge economic hub for Texas.
Just northeast of Austin there is currently the first giant plant under construction by Samsung for its semiconductor production in the state. It is gargantuan in scale, totaling almost 1,200 acres, costing $25 billion to construct, and ultimately employing up to 2,000 people. And that’s the first of what may be 11 such plants by Samsung in Texas alone. Semiconductor manufacturing is extremely energy intensive, thus a no brainer locating such production in TX. Similar to how the state’s energy resources have strengthened the US and its allies, so too will its role in high tech chip manufacturing reduce America’s exposure to China and its dominion over Taiwan. Let’s go Texas! Let’s go America!
Cost of living is a huge reason. People are leaving california to other states since the cost of living there is high and unless you are well off you or very well educated and lucky you just struggle. Even with a $55,000 salary, you will not be having a good life in LA. In fact, you’re pretty much poor. So people move to Phoenix AZ, Las vegas NV and Texas for a better quality of life, even though they love california
Maybe an oversight, but a big one. Texas’s growth has largely been on the back of oil profits, but oil might have already peaked. If not, it will happen in the next 10 years. Texas does have potential for massive wind and solar energy capacity, but the Texas power grid is not connected to the rest of the country, so that potential can not be exported for profit.
I love new people coming to Texas and embracing our culture and western history! One thing people don’t realize is how many different cultures there are in both the cities and rural areas, you’re gonna have a completely different experience in Ft Worth than Austin or San Antonio, and folks living over in the Rio Grande Valley have a different culture than those over in the west Texas or the Panhandle. But all of us still love the lone star state and are proud of her ⭐️
I grew up in DFW my entire life and I had to leave for north west Arkansas. The growth has created a lot more competition. If you live in an area with a high house hold income, everything else is conversely more expensive, such as apartments, homes, etc.. I moved to northwest arkansas and make roughly 90k a year in one of the lowest cost of living states. I’m 34 and my wife gets to stay at home with our son and soon to be second son. I never would have been able to afford this opportunity in DFW. We have a brand new house built on a quarter acre lot.
Prior to moving to Texas from my birth state of Oklahoma in late 2021, I once wanted to move to California for international flights across the Pacific Ocean, but my mother wouldn’t let me do so due to my disabilities and lack of income. I also refused to move to Florida due to frequent violent crimes and hurricanes even though my mother once took residency in the state between the early 70s and the early 90s before moving to the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. I somehow managed to convince my mother to move to Galveston County in the Greater Houston area for a relaxing time at the beach near the Gulf of Mexico, my mother also promised me to travel abroad once she finally managed to sell the house in Oklahoma since Houston itself actually has its own intercontinental airport that could take me and my mother to a country as far away as India.
It wasn’t mentioned, but just on the north side of Beaumont (1901, Spindletop field) is the Big Thicket National Preserve, which is home to a unique clash of I think three different biomes of coastal plains, piney woods of east Texas, and I suppose the river swamp that is the cypress thick forests there. It is home to carnivorous pitcher plants, which is so amazing. Note that the Big Thicket is generally upstream of most of the oil infrastructure and potential spillage, but not all.
Native Texan here. Frankly, it’s depressing as hell to see how Austin has changed. We worked to keep Austin weird, not f*cking bougie. If everyone wants to move here, fine. But companies need to cut salaries to Texas cost of living. Y’all want to live somewhere inexpensive, then you get our typical salaries too. Stop paying California pay to live somewhere else. It’s messing up the economy and pricing out the natives.
The State of California should learn a lesson from Texas. Adjacent to Highway 101 in California, in southern Monterey county, just north of Camp Roberts (WW2 training camp) is the San Ardo oil field and Exxon Mobil Oil Field in a meadow with at least a couple dozen oil pumpers, most of which are inactive. I spoke with an employee of the the Exxon Mobil Oil field on site. He said the state of California government would not allow the oil field to have any work over work be performed to increase oil production. California has a tremendous potential to increase oil production but the political culture in California is anti oil and gas.
One thing that could limit future population growth in Texas is the social conservatism of the state, especially its current draconian anti-abortion laws. This could discourage people of child bearing age (the group who tend to work in the tech industries) from moving there, and may also encourage people in that demographic who are currently residing there to leave.
I thought this was going to be an unbiased and informative article about Texas and it’s now heavily diversified economy. Informative, very much so. Unbiased, in a way, yes; however, Dallas outscored Houston by a far percentage. In the second half of the presentation, whenever oil was mentioned, and the Texas Gulf Coast was the location talked about, this is the moniker used—TGC. But in almost every scenario where TGC was named, it should have been Houston and the Port of Houston. Oh, well, once again Houston is dissed. Thank goodness for the Astros taking the Division Championship away from the Texas Rangers on the last day of the season and now, finally, it looks as though the slow rebuilding of the Texans might be an accelerated rebuild; only time will tell. I have never been and never will be a Cowboy fan.
Texas is quite literally one of the only states that could become an independent country and still be relatively powerful. Their own power grid. Some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world. The most solar and wind farms of any state. The large cattle ranches in the country. Some of the most sofusticated silicone chips in the world. And more.
This makes Texas seem quite nice, but I’m concerned that you’re not telling the whole story. What are the social care structures like? Is there enough public transit for disabled people to get around? Is the state Medicaid good? The federal government says I don’t count, and more than a few people say the same. Are state benefits easy to get? A couple of the people I’ve met from Texas left me with a very negative impression.🤷
It’s kind of interesting it has all these energy from oil, solar, and wind, and yet the electricity grid breaks down whenever there is a major winter storm with millions of homes affected, which was partially caused by deregulation and decoupling from the two national electricity grids with ERCOT, with little being done to fix the underlying issue since the disastrous 2021 outage.
As a texan born and raised, Texas has gotta be the greatest state there’s such a good mix of cultures lots of hispanic black and white people, plenty of colleges tons of space and great views, you can see cities on the horizon from miles away as everything is flat, really mild laws on crazy stuff it’s great
I lived and worked for two summers in DFW and San Antonio. I was amazed by how enamored almost everyone was with their state. I would ask people like, “Why is everyone so obsessed with Texas? or why do y’all love Texas so much?” Most people didn’t really know how to answer the question and the most common reply was something like, “Well we’re the biggest!!” Every so often though someone who knew their Texas state history would begin giving me a history lesson on the state. They would always emphasize the part of their state history where Texas shortly existed as its own independent country.
One thing that has been indirectly invaluable in supporting the Ukrainian war effort is Texan energy. While Texas couldn’t do it alone, its ability to supply the lion’s share of American energy exports was crucial in the US replacing Russia. Alaska, the West Coast, & the East Coast combined could not have come close to doing the job without Texas. But, unfortunately, since the US and the West couldn’t handle all the demands themselves, we once again started relying on the Middle East. This is problematic especially because most of the Middle Eastern energy exporters are OPEC and led by Saudi Arabia (who got mad at Pres. Biden for calling them out on their human rights record). There’s Qatar, which quit OPEC, but that is conditional on not calling them out on their human rights abuses (ie: World Cup). Similar story to most other energy exporters, from Azerbaijan to Venezuela.
Property values in Texas are rapidly catching up to California, It’s 105degrees outside and you need to cut your way through the humidity, the coast is mostly muddy water, and pollen covers everything. I love it, lived here my whole adult life((so far)or maybe I’M just trapped)) California is 75 degrees all year long, cool wind and the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen I.E. the million $ view (grew up in La Jalla) .
As a kid of Indian immigrants who came to Texas during the IT boom (Think early to mid 2000’s), the amount of growth and gentrification in the last 10 years is insane. Obviously, this brings a whole new set of pros and cons lol. There are a whole lot of immigrants from everywhere moving to where I live.
Texas resident here, and although I think you will see the gap in population between California and Texas to continue to shrink, the rate is going to become much slower in the coming years. There are tons of California transplants coming into the state (especially Austin and the DFW metroplex) and home values are skyrocketing at a rate which will cause many native Texans to want to relocate. For example, my wife and I bought our first house in 2016. By 2020, our first home appreciated in value by around 26% in that time. We moved into our second home in 2020, and that house has appreciated by around 40% in less than 3 years. Our taxes caused our mortgage payment to increase by 22% in 2023 compared to 2022. Although we can get by, we are getting closer and closer to being priced out of our home. Pretty soon, it will just be more frugal to move somewhere like Alabama, Georgia, or one of the Carolinas to get a bigger house and lot for 20-30% less in price.
Reliable energy grid? You’re kidding me. Excellent article in some regards, but with no understanding of US infrastructure decay and fragility, or geopolitics, or geology, or ecology, or public health. Major blind spots and giant errors in all of them. Fracking was a bubble, very short-lived, never profitable, and the industry is now going bankrupt, with banks now refusing to loan money to this now proven money pit loser. Fracking also poisons the air and ground water, making it disastrous for public health. In other words, it’s game over for the US oil and gas industry in the very near future. Meanwhile, the financial and economic systems of North America, Europe and Japan continue to race towards collapse. Nice article, but set in a dream world. Typical youtube content. Dismal is an understatement.
I love texas always will. Permian Basin is what I call home an we are all hard working ppl we’ve more or less have figured out our field now an we are extremely efficient in what we do. I just hope everyone coming here doesn’t try to ruin the state because they miss something from they’re old states….
You cannot talk about how much Austin is going to grow, without a discussion about, the Army’s Futures Command. It was located in Austin back in 2017. The entire US combined military, with it’s Joint Domain project, has combined all of American military tech development, in to one program, and based it in Austin. If you’re going to be a player, in any future advanced technology, you have to have a presence in Austin Texas. That makes me miss the good old days in Austin. To me it’a easily the best city in Texas. When I first got here, it was a sleepy college town, with one of the best Music scenes in the world.
I moved from California to Texas back in 2016, it’s been pretty crazy seeing the difference of how many people have been coming to this state from all over the US. I worked in retail for awhile and I would get a good kick out of the fact that I’d see people with the same phone number area code that I had back in California, to then just find out that they more often then not just had moved to Texas.
I lived close to Austin for about 8 years. Had to get out out of there. So many people and so expensive. Plus the traffic and constant construction was horrid. I live out in Abilene now. About 180 miles west of DFW. Its a bit out dated here but i basically grew up out here so i feel at home. So pretty. Nothing but open land, rolling hills, and massive thunderstorms you can just watch from miles away. Sucks that im further away from the beach now but its worth it
RLL should do a article of how Michigan is pretty much in a PERFECT geographical location when you factor in every metric. Access to fresh water, arable land, climate balance (all seasons are represented, and the winters purge any potential pests or animals that can potentially carry and spread tropical diseases), no dangers like hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, drought, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, overpopulation, etc. It also has ZERO toll roads to speak of, and is a state with an international border, but you wouldn’t even know. In Texas, it’s OBVIOUS when you’re close to the border.
As a Texan, it’s frustrating the influx of everyone moving to Texas . 10-20 years ago Austin was a cool medium size town. You could go to lady bird lake all day, and 6th street at night and have fun. Now Austin is a overcrowded mess, filled with homelessness. San Antonio is slowly moving that way, with people priced out in Austin moving to the southern hill country areas. Which of course raises the prices and increases populations there. Houston has its issues, and if you keep up with news El Paso has its own boarder issues… 🤨
Great article, very informative. I live in Georgetown, TX, and I have lived all over the USA. Texas is the only place I’ve lived where they mention the state in commercials and advertising. We have a lot of pride here in Texas. We fly USA and Texas flags in the front yard. And wow, the food here is great. Thank you for the great vid.
This was a nice energy report highlighting the energy sector. But when you want to highlight Texas you must include agriculture, beef, education, aerospace NASA, world renown medical, music, sports and the American cowboy. It’s the people more than anything with their friendliness that stands out. Tradition is the best word to describe Texas. We wave or flag proudly more than any other state. With so many coming into our state, its the native Texans that stand out the most. God has blessed Texas and always will.
I’ve lived in Spring, TX (city a bit north of Houston) for around 15 years and it’s crazy how this area went from dirt roads and mom and pop shops to big shopping centers, huge freeways, and multiple new neighborhood. The new people in my neighborhoods aren’t from here either they are all coming from Louisiana, New York, and Cali. So nice to have the Texas branch out and attract people to stay here.
I’m a born and raised Texan, very proud of it too. This article was much appreciated in that I didn’t realize how important Texas is to our nation and to the world. Any collapse in the Texas economy, a collapse in the oil and gas industry would be felt in one way or another through the whole United States and around the world. Also, Texas has some of the biggest military and air bases in the US, and the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in America. Texas will more than likely take that #1 spot within the next 10 years. We will wait and see.
Here’s a fun fact for you. While Texas may be one of the best places to generate energy, we cannot export any electricity to any other state. Why? Because Texas is also notoriously anti federal government control. Our state electrical grid is completely separated from the rest of the country simply to avoid federal regulation. As long as the state is not exporting electricity, the federal government cannot force the state to comply with many of the regulations that it imposes on other states. I thought it interesting that the article mention us having one of the most stable electrical grids. I nearly snorted my drink. ERCOT has tried to tell residents every winter and summer for the last several years that it was afraid it wouldn’t be able to meet the demand for electricity and urged residents to conserve power. Even saying that the ideal AC setting is 76 degrees. In 2021 our grid failed catastrophically after a record breaking streak of below freezing days left infrastructure damaged by ice. People across the state had power outages that lasted for days in freezing weather. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the majority of homes in Texas are fully electric leaving people with no heat, no hot water, and no stove to cook on. As a state that is more often hot than cold, many homes do not have a fireplace either. People died. Our grid is not well winterized because the powers that be felt it was a waste of money since we don’t get cold like that in most parts of Texas. It’s not the first time its happened.
Interesting… I relocated to Texas over 30 years ago and didn’t know the whole history of the oil business and the switch to imported oil and and hopefully we can once again produce enough to be self sufficient and the heck with importing oil from people who hate us and want to kill us. On a side note…I would move to Texas just to eat… between BBQ, Mexican food, Cajun food, Tex-Mex…this place gets my stomach’s approval!. 🙂
I am not US Citizen but seeing a lot of YouTuber moves from California with same reasons might be one of the hints. Most YouTubers said California is unlivable for various reasons but mostly cost of living (utilities, taxes, food) or the woke culture. A lot of youtubers moving away and Texas was mentioned a lot. My guess why a lot of people moves away from California is cost of livings. My image of California is “High paying, high cost state.” Covid changes everything since “High paying” part was impossible, hence living with only “High cost” I even read that a lot of Californian said living in Mexico is cheaper while in Pandemic, with same cost they live like king/queen in Mexico City. Hence, why Texas is becoming a really OP state because internal growth and external growth especially exodus from California to Texas. I don’t know how cheap is living in Texas but a lot of my friend says if you have plan to move or studying, Texas is cheap and has good environment. I don’t know if it is real or not but $15 steak that can feed at least 2 Asian people is cheap…
If Texas politics is going to rise in influence in the U.S., God help us all. I have never seen more callous nonsense in my life. But like many economically powerful places, people are willing to look the other way to get their cut of the action. I was so happy when I moved to Austin, having admired the city for years. The dysfunction of state and local government highlighted by COVID-19 made be so happy to find a job in Denver. I will take the higher cost of living for more sanity any day.
I live in San Antonio Texas, in the last month I made 2 trips to Bloomington Illinois for family (first the birthday, then the funeral), but I can attest, where 10 years ago there were Miles of open road with only small towns and open fields as the eye could see. There is now no more than almost 2 miles of road between San Antonio and Austin/Waco that isn’t city. You literally can’t tell you ever left the city. I didn’t realize it went all the way over to the coast almost but I did notice we have a massive mega city growing between those 5 cities along my route. It’s beautiful in a way but also slightly terrifying. We need cities like this but we also need forests to produce air so we can breath. We also need lower cost of living so people can actually live on what their paid. But mega corps don’t believe people deserve to live, only to serve and die for their own wallets. It’s very depressing in a way.
Born and raised true Texan, Texas Family, Son of the Republic of Texas, and I no longer can stand Texas so I live in the historic far North Texas Territory. Last time there I shook my head while visiting Austin. Besides the homeless and Californians I realized that the city has vastly outgrown its resources similar to LA. There is not enough fresh water to support the population alone, then Desert and concrete jungle. Texas has forgotten what made us strong, our self independence. Everything now has to be shipped in to support its people.
It has quite a lot of potential, but time will tell if it can handle it’s growth. I think we’ve already seen that California couldn’t, but I don’t see any reason that Texas will fair better. They still have wealthy homeowners who don’t want dense housing or public transit so you see cities like Dallas where its nothing but parking lots which really won’t be sustainable traffic wise as we have already seen with LA. The power grid still hasn’t been properly weatherized to handle winter, with a similar problem on some of the houses. On top of that the political philosophy is one of independence which will discourage increased taxes or other things necessary to provide the cities with funding they need to build infrastructure. The only surprising thing is that homelessness is declining.
I’m not a born Texan but I’ve made the decision to die here. I just really can’t see myself anywhere else unless I get a chance to live in Japan again. Other than that, I’m settled. Now lets get this border crisis under control and we can look forward to better days with all these criminal traitors rounded up and sent to Gitmo.
I moved to California 20 years ago because I’m in animation (movies and articlegames). At the time it was pretty much the only place in the U.S. you could go to work on this stuff. When the pandemic hit a lot of the companies in my industry started to allow work-from-home and many still do, including my own. The only good thing that came out of the pandemic was it accelerated the cause of telecommuting by at least a decade. I know a lot of people who left California but were able to stay working from home, in some cases taking their big California salaries to whatever state they moved to. Good for them, they got away from high home prices and bad traffic. My wife & kids keep me here though.
This is a great article. I’m from upstate NY but moved to the DFW area then San Antonio a few years later. Texas is growing. So. Damn. Fast. San Antonio has a few buildings they are adding to their skyline right now and it continues to annex land around it including small towns. I’m now almost 15 miles from downtown SA going south and I’m still in SA. It’s impressive but it’s reflecting in its ability to manage traffic and many cities poor public transit. If Texas nails public transportation and possibly more bike/walk friendly locations this state could explode in a better and more efficient way.
Right right a reliable and cheap electricity? You are kidding right. As someone who desperately wants the heck outta Texas, I was agreeing with everything you said right up to the reliable electricity. Our electrical grid is a joke. It can’t handle cold temperatures and it is struggling to keep up with the massive heatwaves we have been experiencing.
And Texas might win again if Elon is able to shift from electrically powered car to other things that originally required oil. No wonder its often viewed as “The most American State of the Country” its the state that’s keeping the USA alive almost every century, its practically the heart pumping out oil.
I just moved to Texas from Florida last year. We love it so far. It doesn’t have the beautiful beaches like FL does but it has everything else you want. Property taxes are extremely high here, higher than some of my family that live in NJ/NY but we don’t have a state tax here. The schools are way better here than in FL so the taxes are being spent wisely.
When I traveled to Texas for work it always feels like I’m in a different country. They have there shit together very nice state, lots of money great economy especially when other states are suffering. My job allows me travel 46 week including Alaska and Hawaii and no states come close to Texas. Worst state Pennsylvania, NJ, New York. I’m sure lots of people will agree. Arm pit of America just filthy. Hopping to retire there someday. Your money goes further compare to California or Florida both very overpriced. California is now the biggest shit hole and most easiest to rob them blind.Thanks for there Governor he’s clueless. Well enjoy your self in Texas,also Wattaburger has big burgers compared to everyone else serves kid’s burger. Same price.
As a California resident (born and raised) I’ve came to the realization that we are screwed here if you move out the price is so high to ever move back we live in Northern California and you use to be able to buy a home for 250,000( decent one) now you can’t touch anything decent under 400,000 at least (2700k a month) me and my wife want to buy a home and start a family because her family is here but California makes it so hard to not live poor while doing it. I hope the rest of the states won’t turn out like this because all of us are working 50 plus hour weeks to stay poor here. The state is beautiful just have poor management and it’s sad but we are at a point of no return.
I lived within the Texas triangle and it is horrible. So many people have moved in in the past 10 years, 15 years even and it has just been a horrible experience. The outskirts and suburbs and even rural areas. 30 mi away from the cities are turning into the city. So many subdivisions with new houses that are overpriced and have HOA. The traffic is terrible because the road networks are so far behind in the cities. The weather here is horrible as well during the summer it is very hot!. Prices have gone through the roof of just about everything. I’m not saying don’t move from California because it is a lot better. However it is still becoming a horrible place to live.
Good article. Very Interesting. I’m guessing you’re from Dallas Fort Worth area. Since you really didn’t mention the Port of Houston by name and didn’t mention the Houston airports. The port of Houston is currently the second largest port in the US and at times has been #1. With it’s proximity to the refineries one could make the argument it’s the most important economic/strategic asset in Texas. Also IAH in Houston has more international destinations than DFW. Lastly Dallasites like to talk Dallas Fort Worth metro because the city alone is 1 million less than Houston. You did have a lot of article of Houston though.
Always go opposite of where the crowd goes. It is a great time to immigrate to IL, but a bad time to immigrate to TX. IL has well developed infrastructure and dirt cheap properties left behind by former dwellers. TX is getting crowded and expensive very rapidly. Florida is hell. Also, as population growth outpaces the growth of accommodations, the residents hate each other. Illinoisans are very kind partly because there have been a lot of resources and space distributed among fewer and fewer of them.
Grew up in West Texas and I can honestly say that other than maybe the DFW area, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather have grown up. Even though I live in the DFW area now I’ll always respect and be proud of where I grew up. Even it’s diversified a little bit energy will always be such a massive part of our economy out west. No matter how much certain people don’t want to use gas or oil to make our planes trains and automobiles go, it’s NEVER gonna go away and it’ll always be vital. If not us than definitely somebody else.
My wife is a Texan, my 59-year-old son is a Texan and I’m German. I was still a German citizen when my draft notice came and quickly joint the AF in 1959 and was stationed in Texas. I was transferred to North Africa and a short time in the Congo, later to Vietnam, Thailand, and a short time in Laos and back to Texas. Became a citizen shortly before my discharge after almost nine years. I even held a Top Secret clearance without being a citizen. I worked for a private company and needed a Secret clearance and I had to be a US citizen to get that. I traveled with my German passport, US military ID, and my Green card. Life is good but I still think CA is a much better looking state than Texas will ever be.
What they arent mentioning in that “Texas Triangle” is that there is a lot of empty space with no jobs that lowers that average a lot. In DFW, along with the other areas mentioned, native Texans are finding it harder and harder to live. Besides national inflation alone, the immigration to Texas has drove the housing Market and cost of living to go up, while wages barely change
I’d like to see this informative article be completed by adding a piece about Texas’s water … are any of the aquifers collapsing? Where are all the citizens getting their water from? To be comprehensive, fill us in on water sources, uses, and forecasts as to when / if water shortages may begin to appear. West Texas can be pretty dry!!
It’s interesting that you’d find oil so near to Chicxulub. I mean I guess Texas is like 700 miles or so away. I’m curious if oil can be found in the Yucatan peninsula. I would imagine that in that area there would either be no oil at all, or it would have to be much deeper in the Earth as the asteroid would have straight vaporized any plant or animal life in an enormous radius around the Yucatan.
I’m a native Georgian and we’ve been experiencing a lot of the same things as Texas. Our population and economy are both way smaller than Texas, but both have exploded over the last 15-20 years, and especially the last 10. While it’s cool to see the growth and representation as our state becomes more powerful, I also feel that Georgia is losing its identity. The explosion in population is mostly fed by transplants and most of the new companies relocated from places like California and the Northeast. Our cities and metro areas are becoming more crowded and expensive, I see more and more people with no sense of or appreciation for Southern culture, our politics are shifting rapidly, and crime has skyrocketed. If these trends continue, I’ll have no choice but to leave like so many others in recent years. Hopefully things will mellow out in the near future.