The reason is "the rising cost of living, low funding, and lack of diversity".
I have three kids, two girls.
I will never take them to a place like Texas. It is anathema to my core values as a person and as a parent.
I'm shocked that a place like Texas became a draw for tech companies at all.
The values exposed by our state government officials are often at odds with Texans generally - its particularly true for Urban Texans - but even with rural Texans there is a sizable disconnect (see the latest battle about school vouchers).
Don't get me wrong, a great many Texans believe in a certain 'good fences make good neighbors' kind of conservatism - even urban ones who are pretty socially liberal believe some flavor of this - its the overriding cultural value of the state.
The reasons government does not well reflect average Texans is because of some complex political factors - identity politics, single issue voters (abortion and guns) anti-partisanship, low voter turnout, and no citizens ballot initiatives. A majority of Texans are pro-weed legalization, pro-medicare expansion, and pro-choice.
In fact because of low voter turnout and anti-partisanship - the political destiny of the state is largely determined by the 10-12% of voters who show up to vote in the Republican primary - which unfortunately for us are the most extreme ~10% of the voter base. If 80% of Texans voted in every election, the state would be much more purple ideologically and politically - because thats the reality on the ground.
Will this change? I think so, I think when it does it'll change relatively rapidly - I just dont know when it's going to change.
And to the point the op made about not wanting to bring his girls here, what the majority believe is irrelevant as the laws are made by the small cabal of religious right-wing authoritarians.
Source: I live in austin
What does it mean? (Im not from US)
Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Court-Approved Abortion https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/us/texas-abortion-court-k...
That's the concern.
https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-ban-supreme-court-...
Better not get into that mess to begin with, if possible.
As long as there are options then we can all be happy. I guess.
Oppressing others is really not about options. It's one thing to live your life according to your own beliefs and principles, but it's an entirely different thing to feel entitled to selectively impose them onto everyone around you.
That's not entirely accurate. Broadcom, VMware's new owner, is shuttering offices all over the country to consolidate with their existing office portfolio.
Texas has problems, but this isn't journalism.
I'm not sure which article you read, but the one linked to in this discussion mentions:
* VMWare laying off 577 employees in Austin,
* startup founders, like Techstars Managing Director Amos Schwartzfarb, announcing their decisions to leave Austin,
* Meta dropping plans to move to Austin,
* Google freezing plans to move to Austin, in spite of already paying rent.
* TikTok not establishing plans to move to Austin in spite of already leasing office space,
* Don Ward, the CEO of Laundris, announced he would be relocating his company to Tulsa,
* Cart announced it was moving its headquarters out of Austin back to Houston, after spending little over 2 years.
The article is solid journalism. It's a summary of individual news pieces which is tied together by observations from leaders of established companies over their decisions and economic forecasts.
> The summers are brutal — 2023’s was the hottest on record with 78 days of triple-digit temperatures. The startup scene, some argue, is lackluster. And funding — especially for midsize companies — can be hard to come by. A perceived lack of diversity is also an issue.
Edit: ignore this! I didn't read the original TechCrunch article closely enough, it is mentioned later in the article as corrected in a following comment
https://www.citizen.org/news/austin-tx-100-degree-days-final...
They wouln't say it if it wasn't false;)
What can you say, compared to most other places in the USA?
Looks like Houston is still the most diverse city in the US by many criteria:
https://www.governing.com/community/houston-is-the-nations-m...
The weather's usually hotter and far more humid than Austin, but still comfortable most of the year without air-conditioning for well-acclimated residents.
Others need not apply.
Better for taxes if you are ultra-rich, but otherwise you will be commuting 1.5 hours into an office in Miami, if you want to live in house that you can afford, with nearby public school where your kid will not be bullied.
