Despite the higher cost of living, the family plans to return to California as soon as possible. This text is based on a conversation with Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez (63), who moved with her husband and daughter from California to El Paso, Texas in 2022 and is now planning to return. The statement has been condensed and edited for clarity.
I grew up in El Paso, but then went to college in Sacramento and lived there for 47 years.
A few years ago I started missing my old place. I wanted to return to El Paso, be closer to family, and raise my teenage daughter in a different environment. My husband and I decided that Texas might be a good choice for her because it has high school programs that allow you to earn an associate degree before you graduate.
In December 2022, we moved from Natomas (Sacramento neighborhood) to El Paso. We purchased a brand new four bedroom, three bathroom home for $250,000. Compared to California's expensive real estate market, it seemed like an amazing deal.
The lower cost of living in Texas is indeed a big plus. Grocery shopping and eating out are noticeably cheaper, and fuel prices have dropped to as low as $2.34. per gallon (before they started going up due to the war with Iran). Another big advantage is the lack of state income tax.
However, despite these advantages, we have come to understand that living in Texas comes with many trade-offs – and in our case, they outweigh the benefits. We once thought moving to El Paso would be permanent, but now we're excited to move back to California.
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Life in Texas is not what we expected
When I told my family I was moving, they were thrilled. They kept saying, “Everything is cheaper and better here” — and they were largely right.
El Paso is a truly beautiful place with very friendly people. It is located on the border with Mexico and New Mexico, so there is a unique mix of cultures here. I wish more people knew the culture of El Paso and its amazing, authentic Mexican cuisine.
For me, coming back was easier because I grew up here, but it was much harder for my daughter and husband to get used to it. My husband worked for the state of California for 30 years, so we have very good insurance there. Treatment will be much cheaper for us there.
We know that when we return to California we will have a higher mortgage payment, but property taxes in Texas are much higher than we expected, so we accept this trade-off.
We are currently considering purchasing our oldest daughter's house in Sacramento. She has been looking for a bigger home for her family for about eight months, so our return depends on when she finds something. But we know one thing – we are coming back.
We treat this experience as a lesson. If we ever move again, I'll definitely do more research. We should have researched the area, weather, medical care and overall lifestyle better before making such a big decision.
As soon as we moved here, my daughter immediately said, “I don't like it here.” She went to school and made a few friends, but she said many people treated her like an outsider.
Very happy that we are returning to California. He is interested in molecular biology and dreams of studying at UC Davis.
Galindo-Nevarez's husband, Thomas
My husband was fed up with Texas within the first two weeks of moving. One of the biggest challenges for him was the weather.
In El Paso, summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F (about 38°C), and winters can be surprisingly harsh. Temperatures can drop as low as -8°C, which is much colder than what we are used to in California.
The wind also turned out to be a problem. We didn't do enough research before moving, especially when it came to our area. It's a nice new subdivision, but there's a lot of open space behind our house, which makes the wind even stronger. Just last week it reached speeds of 41 miles per hour and ripped the curtains off our pergola. Sandstorms are also common here, especially in spring.
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We're going back to California as soon as possible
We are a very active family and we like spending time together. In California we went to Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, Dodgers games and other baseball events. There aren't that many opportunities in El Paso, especially for a 16-year-old.
There are places to hike here, but overall the options for activities seem much more limited. More and more often I find myself missing places like San Francisco, Reno, Lake Tahoe and Monterey Bay.
The article is a translation from American edition of Business Insider.
