A tech worker who left Texas for Tennessee has revealed why he wishes he had moved earlier.
Jim Ward, 61, spent two decades moving around the Lone Star State, occupying four different houses in Houston and Dallas.
Speaking to Business Insider, Ward said he and his wife Donita ‘finally escaped to Tennessee’ in 2022.
‘Over the years, I have developed a love-hate relationship with Texas,’ Ward explained.
The 61-year-old, who works in cybersecurity, conceded that Dallas-Fort Worth was a networking haven for tech employees.
‘Just about every major corporation in the US has a presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – all of them with their own internal technology needs,’ he said.
Nevertheless, Texas has seen an exodus of tech workers over the past few years, particularly from the capital city of Austin.
Google leased Block 185, a sail-shaped skyscraper on the bank of the Colorado River, in 2019.
The company was supposed to move in sometime this year, but the timeline hangs in the balance amid sweeping layoffs.
Auto manufacturer Tesla opened its ‘Giga Texas’ factory east of Austin in April 2022, but now plans to lay off 2,688 workers beginning in June.
Companies including Apple and Tesla were offered packages worth tens of millions of dollars in property and payroll tax reimbursements as an incentive from the city. However, that may not be enough to get them to stay.
After relocating its corporate headquarters from the Bay Area to Austin, business software and services company Oracle has plans to move out.
Ward also acknowledged that the Lone Star State’s biggest draw is its lack of state income tax, ‘though that is more than offset by property taxes.’
Texas has some of the highest property tax bills in the nation, as they are imperative to fund public services like police, firefighters and public schools.
The Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based thinktank, ranked the state’s property tax as the sixth highest in the United States last year.
Aside from costs, one of Ward’s biggest complaints centers on weather and climate.
‘It gets quite hot during the summer, and throughout the year there are also severe ice and hailstorms,’ he said.
‘Sometimes it can result in periods of extended power outages during both summer and winter months.’
Weather in Texas is only expected to grow more extreme, according to a report from Texas A&M University.
The report, released in April, drew on data from 1900 to 2023 to predict trends through 2036. It found a ‘significant uptick’ in the likelihood of droughts, wildfire conditions, urban flooding risks and high temperatures.
Ward also noted ‘a lack of natural beauty’ and ‘enjoyable outdoor activities.’ He and his wife are avid hikers, as evidenced by photos shared to social media.
‘As far as geography goes, in the Dallas area, the terrain is predominantly flat with few trees,’ Ward explained.
‘Consequently, outdoor activities are limited, and there are few opportunities for hiking and camping.’
Only compounding the oppressive heat is a lack of foliage and minimal shade.
‘Even activities like running are affected by the relentless heat. I always had to go early in the morning or later in the evening,’ Ward said.
The 61-year-old concluded that his quality of life has drastically improved since moving to Tennessee.
‘I never really enjoyed downtown Houston or Dallas. But in Knoxville, we go downtown almost every weekend – there’s a lot you can do without leaving the city,’ he said.
‘While there are some things about Texas I miss, like the abundance of air travel options and its restaurant scene, I do wish we had moved to Tennessee a little earlier.’