Why the California Exodus May Spell Bad News for Texas

While it is true, Texas receives many benefits from so many California companies and people moving to the state; it also comes with many problems. Many experts, especially those on the conservative spectrum, believe that if too many people move from California to Texas, we will make the same problems that have plagued California for years. This article will go into what these perceived problems are. We will also go over the fear many conservatives have of Texas flipping blue in the coming years.

The Feared Problems of California 

If you were to ask anyone on Texas’s streets what their biggest fear was from the drastic increase in population, they would tell you the cost of living increase. When companies move into a new city, it suddenly makes that city a desirable place to live. This desirability causes the housing and apartment market to boom. However, as time goes on and homes are harder to come by, the prices begin to creep up. Soon, you will have a significant portion of a cities population being priced out of their homes and forced to move to the suburbs where the cost of living is much cheaper. According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, cities like Austin and Dallas are already experiencing higher living costs due to housing shortages. The study claims that Dallas and Austin are two of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, and city housing cannot keep up with the growing demand.  

These housing shortages look relatively similar to a situation playing out in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Based on current data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, both San Francisco and Silicon Valley are the two most expensive cities in the United States, with houses going for almost double the national average. With this in mind, many Texans fear that soon Texas will be too expensive to find affordable housing for those not in the tech industry.  

The next fear has nothing to do with economics. It is no secret that Texas is a strong conservative state. In fact, the last time the state of Texas voted for a democratic president was in 1976. However, as more people continue to pour over from California, Texas is getting a little bluer with each passing day. Derek Thompson, a staff writer for The Atlantic, wrote in-depth on Texas’s changing political landscape. Mr. Thompson noted, “The next SoCal family that U-Hauls into North Texas isn’t just some nice couple with different taste in barbecue; instead, they’re potentially the demographic straw that breaks the GOP’s back.” Only time will tell if the GOP will lose Texas as a conservative stronghold. 

Tomorrow we will wrap up our discussion on Texas becoming the next Silicon Valley.