Life Update: 6 Months After Moving Back to Texas from California

Hello! I’m trying to get back to writing one blog every Sunday. If you’re new to the blog, welcome! If you have read my blog before, then welcome back! I recently realized that my family and I have been in Texas about six months since we moved back from Northern California. The time really flew by because of how busy our young daughter keeps us. I wanted to take the time to reflect on our move back to Texas and what we missed about living in the state.

We Are Finally Able to Buy a House

This was something that would have been IMPOSSIBLE in the San Francisco Bay Area. We already knew we could never buy a house there but that we wanted to in the future. I was fine with renting and the flexibility that it gave us to be able to move around for new job opportunities. But, when we were both able to work remotely full time and had our daughter, we felt that it was the right time to buy a house. Having our own house was important to us emotionally and to have one place for our daughter to grow up in.

We No Longer Have to Pay Sky High State Taxes

I used to dread looking at my pay stubs when I lived in California. It didn’t matter how much I made, so much of it got ate up by taxes. Ouch. It stung very hard and was a constant reminder to my husband and I that we needed to move away from California when we could. We used the job networks to start our careers in tech in California. Once we were fully remote we no longer needed to be there in person so we moved back to Texas.

We Wanted to Give Our Daughter a Better Quality of Life

To us, it felt as though we couldn’t give our daughter a great quality of life in California. We were making good money but it never seemed like it was enough. A $250,000 per year household doesn’t even feel middle class in Northern California. We wanted to be able to afford quality childcare and a safe home in a good school district. I never wanted her to grow up feeling that mommy and daddy were stressed about money. In order for that to happen, we had to move away to build generational wealth for her.

Southern Hospitality is Appreciated

This point is controversial for some. But, I hated how cold and unwelcoming Northern California felt. For the first few months, I remember smiling, nodding my head or saying hello to people that I walked by. I never got any response in return. I almost never got any eye contact. When we moved back to Texas I enjoyed feeling human again. People nodded, said hello or good morning if I walked or jogged past them. I felt like part of my community and felt automatically welcomed. That’s something that is immensely important to me. I love southern hospitality and will never take it for granted again.

In conclusion….

Have you recently moved to another city or state? Has it made your life easier or lowered your living expenses? If so, I’d love to hear more from you.

If you’re new to the world of debt payoff, investing, and financial independence, I’d recommend checking out my Early Retirement Resources Toolkit. 🙂