Those looking for new jobs and new lives are giving cities like Dallas a serious look over
It’s not called the “Great Resignation” for nothing. Millions of Americans are reassessing their work-life situation post-Covid-19, and the labor shortage currently being experienced in many places is in no small part due to this reassessment. After spending nearly two years cooped up or working from home, a lot of light bulbs have been turned on in a lot of brains. Some folks are asking if or why they should ever go back to an ‘old-fashioned’ job. Other people are getting existential: seeing their lives – perhaps for the first time – as a series of fragile “candle in the wind” moments. Looking at life with new eyes can make an okay-but-not-loved job in an okay-but-not-loved city intolerable. For some, it’s about family as they come to understand that their loved ones are what’s truly important. Others have decided – justly or unjustly – that their boss is a tyrant and that life’s too short for daily drudgery under the lash of a despot. –Viva liberty! Okay, people do get carried away… but you get the point. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of Americans are looking for new jobs, new cities, new opportunities, and new lives.
A press release from Prodigy News cites statistics from the Texas Relocation Report of 2021 that indicate more than 500,000 people moved into the Lone Star state in 2019 (the most recent year stats are available from). Perhaps the most famous of these new Texans will soon be Elon Musk who has vowed to quit California. People are looking for jobs in Dallas, property in Houston, a community they fit into in Austin, or the wide-open spaces and warmer climes found in many other parts of the state. It’s been seven years in a row now that Texas has seen a half a million-plus inflow of residents, and like Elon Musk, most of the new Texans are from California (with Florida exiles number two on the list). Some 687,000 Californians have reportedly moved to Texas over the last decade. Now stereotypes run deep and for many, Texas has a reputation as a conservative place inhabited by rednecks and cowboys. But the truth of the matter is that in 2021, the state of Texas is diverse, young, and most importantly, a place with loads of job openings. Dallas, in particular, is attracting people due to higher wages. In Dallas, annual wages can hit US$67,500 – which is significantly higher than the national average.
What’s more, Texas is downright cheap in comparison to San Francisco or New York. Even if you don’t take those two cities notorious for being ridiculously expensive into account, you’ll find major cities in Texas offer a great deal of bang for your buck. Folks from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Illinois, Georgia, New Mexico, and Arizona are some of the other top states from which people are moving out of and into Texas. Obviously, the state is huge size-wise, so there’s plenty of land if that’s what you’re looking for, and that land is, of course, significantly cheaper than almost anywhere. Value, jobs, diversity, and a live-and-let-live ethos are just some of the gravitational forces pulling people toward the only U.S. state that was once an independent republic. And as Elon Musk has explained, the business of getting permits to get stuff done is a whole lot simpler in Texas, where regulations (and taxes) have never exactly been popular. There are plenty of other locations in America to consider for a new beginning, and some are also choosing to relocate overseas. There’s been positive news on places such as Greensboro, North Carolina, for example. But it’s not that hard to explain why so many people are picking Texas.
It’s important to remember that stereotypes are always gross exaggerations. Sure, Texas has its special history and culture. There are certainly parts of the massive state that aren’t “melting pots.” They still have plenty of cowboys and cowgirls… but those who think of the state as monolithic are highly mistaken. Diversity in Texas is abundant. Here’s a bit of proof: 145 languages are spoken in the city of Houston! Texas has consistently ranked second after California for “most diverse state” in the nation. Many don’t think of Texas as a thriving home for Asian American communities, but again, they’re wrong. Some 4.5% of Texas is Asian American – a group that makes up about 5.7% of the U.S. population. There are at least 1.2 million Asian Americans in Texas, the third-highest number after New York and California. There’s a lot to think about when considering a relocation for a new life, but if you haven’t given the state much thought before, you’d be wise to put Texas on your consideration list.