kalvano wrote:
1) Driving - you basically have to have a car.
2) Insurance - on cars, houses, whatever...Governor Goodhair loves to suck the ass of the insurance industry, so our rates are the highest in the nation. Homeowners insurance is triple the national average, car insurance is sky-high, etc.
3) The summers - they suck. It was over 100 something like 70 days last summer. And I don't mean 101. It was up to 110, 112 some days. With humidity. The duration was unusual, but there are always 30-45 days of 100+. And it doesn't cool down at night. Last summer it rarely dropped below 80 at night, so your A/C runs constantly.
Texas is cheaper than NYC, for sure. But that's not saying much since almost every place is. For some reason, people have this idea that Texas is dirt-cheap all-around, and it's not. I'm unfamiliar with Houston, but housing is still expensive in Dallas proper, for a decent house in a decent area. These articles I read talking about big houses for $100K make me laugh. Maybe out in the boonies, but not in any major city. It's not as expensive as some other places, at least in initial cost, but they get you in other ways. And forget natural beauty, there's very little of that anywhere around. It's flat, open prairie. Four real seasons don't exist, either.
Some people love it here, some don't. It's certainly not this dirt-cheap mecca that it's made out to be. And there is plenty you miss out on. But that's always the thing...the places that are naturally pretty or desirable to live in, everyone wants to live there, and typically there is a limit to the available housing, so prices stay high. I find it funny to compare why people like living in other places, like NYC or Seattle, and they usually have this long list of reasons why the areas are awesome to them. Ask people why they like living in Dallas, and the usual answer is "it's cheap." Not exactly a glowing recommendation.
But, on the flip side of that, it is cheap. You can live really nicely on $85K a year here. Not models and bottles, but very comfortably. If you aren't in to cold winters, and are willing to trade the awful May-October for it, it rarely gets super cold here.
Hold on a minute there. Anyone who says they moved to/live in Texas simply because it's "cheap" is being unfair in my book. Sure the summers are HOT but honestly you get used to it and I'd take heat over frigid winters any day. What are you going to do when its cold? Put on a 10th layer of clothing, slip around on the ice and beg for the sun to return? Miserable. If it's hot out (and you actually have the time to be outdoors...doubtful) then make yourself a cold drink, get in the pool and relax. Way better afternoon in my opinion.
As far as the legal market goes, Big Law in Texas pays top market and add on top of that low cost of living, friendly people, great food, shopping, museums etc. in the big cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio). Not to mention Texas has some objectively pretty areas. Look up the Hill Country, looks a lot like Napa Valley. Or check out the Davis Mountain Range, looks like big sky country.
Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:44 am 
I'm in the minority, but I really do like Texas. I have talked to a lot of people from around the country and they have all these complaints about the people, culture, and how backwards the state is, but I guess I have been brainwashed to ignore it. I will be attending a Texas law school in the fall, but I still can't decide on which one.