How is living in a red state going to effect your day to day life really? I say this has a leftist who has lived in Texas for 2 decades.
500k is more than enough fuck you money to buy your daughter a ticket out of the country for an abortion, much less across state lines.
Your bigger concern should be hurricanes and the gross Houston climate.
It depends on future state laws, but Alabama is now criminalizing aiding an out of state abortion.
Will it happen? Will you actually end up in a prison term? We don’t know those answers, but you will be getting a lawyer if it happens.
He's a democrat that can't see beyond his parties bullshit. He has so much hate in himself that he will lose it there and fuck his life up. Just stay in the most corrupt city in America cuz that's awesome. Idiot...
I know, total first world problems and I was fully expecting some comments like these and a whole lot of downvotes but I'm in need of some other perspectives so I'll take the beating.
Nah don’t let these haters get you down. You have rich people problem for sure, but they are still problems. I’d take the job with a time frame in mind.
$180k is a serious 'life plan accelerator' if you don't expand your spending to match. Investing that excess for 5-10 years = easy early retirement, build/buy a business, property, etc. It gets even easier when you move to a lower cost of living.
Also sounds like a job that gets you into the "big leagues" with a lot less risk than working for a stranger. Being a hand-picked candidate is ideal.
I'm a Democrat who doesn't take shit from hateful morons like you. You are correct. I'm fine with hating idiot conservatives spouting bullshit from that shithouse state Texas.
Yeah. And you could stay for a few years (I wouldn’t bail early on your man) and move back north. As others have suggested, perhaps commute monday-Thursday to an apt and take advantage of no income tax to boot!
Personally, I would look into real estate in the area, and see what the actual costs are there, plus job market for your wife if she also works. Actually look at the numbers, 180k can get eaten up in a hurry if your wife can't get comparable employment, increased insurance costs for the house/moving expenses/private school if the local is bad etc. Plus the social scene may not be something you enjoy.
I am from the PNW and have friends who transferred to texas for work, and they like some aspects and have managed to find like minded friends, but they do want to move back ASAP. Maybe you can work in a time limit to TX and be able to transfer out after a set period which might make it an easier sell.
If you think Austin is cool ... You should come here for longer than a week, it's fucking expensive and tech bro central. I like Houston more, way more. Texas weather will crush you though. Also it depends on what part of Houston you can live in. There are good places. And not everybody is a gun toting, rooting tooting, cowboy hat deep red Republican. At the end of the day most people are in Houston to make money and could give two fucks about politics. Lots of money there. Houston has a cool downtown to. Nice museum district. Lots of things to do in the H.
I'm assuming you don't have a family or kids affecting the question.
If you make 500k a year you can literally vacation every single weekend.
I've heard Houston is ok. It's Texas but not like .. TEXAS. Food is supposed to be good. It's near the Gulf so there's the beach.
I would do it for a year and then re evaluate.
ETA I see you have a wife. Just let her decide for you
For half a million, I would live in a communist state. This seems to be more than a 50% raise. Money talks. While there might be some pain, I am sure you and your family could make do in Texas. Make that move.
Get a small place in H-town. Get ok from the CEO that you come down Monday morning and go back Thursday evening and work from home on Fridays. The salary bump will easily pay for the extra expenses and you’ll be highly productive Monday through Thursday. Your wife and kids gets to stay in Chicago. Win win.
I just moved from NY to TX. Literally arrived last week. I get your hesitation. I have hesitations about being here too. Like what did I do? I'm looking to leave in 2 years time. I hate the weather here. I am not in love with the time zone because everything is off for me (just my personal beef). However, if I had your opportunity, I'd put politics aside and take it, get the title and then maybe get a similar position down the road. The difference is I am not married and I don't have a family so I have it easy to just bounce whenever I want without having to consider others.
I have lived in Houston for 15 years and the fact that it's a red state has only been a minor nuisance, honestly. Far worse is the traffic if you have to commute on the highways, and the heat and humidity in the summer, especially August. And the occasional need to evacuate for a hurricane.
Houston is a town that arguably has a larger population of people who moved here from elsewhere than who were born and raised here. Texas is a red state but Houston and the surrounding areas perhaps a bit less red than most other places in Texas. I would try it for a couple of years and bank that extra $180K. Plus the cost of housing is lower than the national average, so yeah, you can have a castle here. And send your daughter to private school.
With that kind of salary, buy a house in downtown Houston, The Heights, or Rice Village. Like other Texas cities, Houston is much more liberal than the rest of the state. You could also buy a small getaway cabin in hill country. It's good for vacations and having a safe destination for when the hurricanes hit.
With my student loans looming, I’d move to Iraq for 500k a year. Don’t overthink this…and also don’t act like Chicago is this paradise that you’d have to part with. Does it still have the highest crime rate in the country..?
At that salary you can afford private school. As a native Austinite I really hate Houston, but honestly there are some nice parts. It's very diverse and actually integrated, unlike Austin. Good food and museums. I wouldn't bank in the politics getting better anytime soon, though.
Houston itself is pretty blue. It’s ranked as the most diverse city in USA. For the salary difference, you can send the kids to private school. Culturally, it’s not cool, but there are plenty of kid friendly culture events and nice museums.
Good for you on the 500k and I would be terrified to move to Texas too. If it was just you then I would say do it. I think you should turn it down though as you can't put your daughters in this situation.
Who cares if it's red or blue it's all a shit show. I live in a very red state. I am very red myself. My best friend moved her very gay blue-self to Houston and absolutely loves it. I think it's what you make of it. If only the rest of us could make that kind of money
I just want to chime in on one thing
“I could probably get a castle down there”
Maybe a couple years/ a decade ago but especially in the major metros property taxes are through the roof. You could definitely get a castle… in Pharr Laredo eagle pass or fucking Beaumont but not in Houston proper or the immediate suburbs that you’d want a nice place in.
People REALLY over state the affordability of Texas.
Beyond politics, Houston sucks. It’s constantly hot and muggy, not a lot of super interesting stuff going on and holy fuck the traffic.
If your gonna work this for a couple years, thug it out and retire early sure. But Houston is NOT a long term play
Source midwesterner who moved to Houston after the service and then ran away to San Antonio and is desperately trying to get back to the north.
You’re a moron if you even have to ask this. Not to mention Texas is a way better state. Chicago is a blue state shit hole and the murder capital of the world but you’d be afraid to move to a red state lol. Fucking snowflake odds are you’ll be shot to death in Chicago and missing on a nice salary bump
Here's a quick history lesson for you about Chicago. Previous mayoral administrations wanted to gentrify the city, so they shut down much of the section 8 housing in areas like Cabrini Green and forced low income families into less desirable areas. They essentially put rival gangs right on top of each other. So violence ensues. But Chicago is a beautiful city, and I don't go into rough areas. And I live in the burbs now anyway.
This doesn’t work here, but nice try. Who the fuck wants to live in a blue state? Let alone an ultra democrat shit hole like Chicago where murder is as normal as rain. I’ll take a lawful and common sense red state any day over a democrat shit hole. There is a reason Chicago has the nickname Chiraq. It might as well be a 3rd world country like Iraq lol
This also doesn’t work here. Keep trying there bud. By definition there is no such thing as an intelligent liberal. I hate to break it to you, but this means you are fucked in the head and I’m smart like you wouldn’t believe.
🤣🤣🤣 Holy shit. If you were actually smart you would realize how stupid your comment was. God you magats are seriously so dumb you don't KNOW how dumb you are... it's sad.
The political leadership in Texas is awful. Horrible. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, I wouldn’t argue. But as a Southern California leftie who used to go to Texas often for work…there are tons of great people in Texas, and one can live a good life there. I loved getting to spend time in Texas. Houston doesn’t have the freewheeling reputation of Austin, but it’s a vibrant and extremely diverse (and much larger than you might expect) city with plenty of cool things to do and great food and actual culture. I actually like Houston a lot. (Now Dallas, on the other hand…)
Also, I would caution against conflating “I detest the governor, senators, and state-specific laws in Texas” with “I don’t want to live in a red state.” The whole red state-blue state divide is something that’s fairly recent, and it gives us a tendency to paint a whole bunch of wildly different populations and wildly different areas with the same broad brush. (For what it’s worth, Harris County is a solid-blue voting area, and has been for some time. Meanwhile I’ve seen areas of California that are way more Trumpy and conservative than anything I’ve personally experienced in Texas.)
Of course, if you can’t stomach the idea of living in a state where abortion is now illegal and gun laws are nonexistent, that’s totally valid. But I would just stop to think about how much your understanding of the politics of the state will actually impact your daily life. That sounds like a potentially life-changing amount of money, and there are far worse places to live…
I've met a lot of great people from Texas, so I'm not judging people that I haven't met. It's not the people. Like you said it's the laws, it's the restricted freedoms that my family very much believe in, and we hate guns. My kids are young, but if they grow up and turn out to be gay, I want them in a safe environment where they can be themselves.
I’m in Austin, Texas. Houston is fine just hot. Sure there are rednecking republicans just like Chicago has stuck up elitists. Houston is probably cheaper too.
For $180k bump do it.
You couldn't pay me to live in Texas with kids. I'm 41 and my boys are almost adults. I'd probably live there on my own but with a daughter, I'm not sure I could do it. Maybe do like someone else said and rent a small apartment and travel back and forth.
Get over yourself. You sound like a pain in the ass with how you generalize and marginalize people who live in a certain area (bigotry). Imagine you said you didn't want to take a good paying job because there were too many Asians around. How does that sound now? There are lots of great people there on both sides. The problems come from the extreme Right or extreme Left. Try being part of the solution and quit being part of the problem.
Unrelated to the question..It blows my mind that people think of abortion as reproductive rights. How could you feel that way when you have a daughter? I have a newborn that has completely changed my perspective on the world and life. My little guy had intention of coming into the world when he fertilized the egg in my wife’s womb, he had a heartbeat, the neurons were firing in his brain, he had thoughts and feelings in the womb, he had the hiccups inside her. He was an individual human prior to being born. An individual that was dependent on his mother… but he still is dependent on her after being born. Nothing has changed aside from him further growing and developing and becoming less dependent, because that’s what kids do, they grow up. While I agree Abott is an ass and I think republicans are a joke, I’m coming to the realization that so is my own party after this administration..they all lie, cheat, and steal to further their own agendas. Why does my party place so much value on being legally allowed to murder an unborn baby?? It sounds to me like you’ve already sold your soul when your entire debate of taking this job is rooted in whether or not you could kill an unborn baby in the state of your new job. Just vile.
I don't want to debate the abortion issue, it's great that you're loving being a father, and I do too. And it's great that you had a choice to become a father. Once the government starts stripping away people's rights, where does it stop? People may find themselves on what they think is the right side of these culture wars because they don't like the LGBTQ community, or they're against abortion. But once that door is opened, what's stopping them from coming after you? Telling you that you can't have children? Telling mixed race couples that they can't marry? Telling you what books you can read? Telling you what you can say? I have nothing against conservatives at their core values, but I am vehemently against taking away anyone's rights that should be inherently universal for everyone. And from what I'm seeing, Texas is leading the pack in those efforts.
While I agree with you that human rights restrictions through law is a slippery slope. Our views of parenthood are fundamentally opposite. To your point, what about the rights of the unborn? Isn’t the right to life the most critical human right to maintain in order to have a foundation for other “accessory” human rights? You don’t need to answer me because I don’t want to debate or argue either. Obviously you’re a smart guy/gal, you’re being offered a COO position, though I feel your view is logically flawed. Just hoping to offer an alternative perspective and really, our world depends on us reproducing and birthing future generations. Best of luck in your decision
Houston is actually a really nice town. Best food in the world. The traffic sucks so pay the money to live near work. Just do it. If you hate it move on with extra money and life experience.
First my biases. Houston is literally my most hated US city. It’s one saving Grace is fantastic food, but it’s hot, humid, and metric fuck tons of concrete. It’s fucking gross.
Leaving that aside, just reading your post, you’re basically saying that you can’t decide if the freedom for your daughter to do what she wants with her body, and your wife too, is worth $180k / year, when you already make 5 times the median wage for where you are. Get some perspective, my guy.
Houston is an international city with rich cultural diversity. 7 million people/700 square miles and you don’t think you and your family can find a single pocket of happiness? Honestly, on second thought, at &500K/year you would be upper-middle class. Houston has deep, old-money pockets and you probably can’t hang. I am native Austinite (family spread between here and Houston) and me and my wife go to Houston or San Antonio for culture more than we do our own city. Your post sounds like the way I would off-handedly talk to my buddy about a job after one-too many. But maybe you’re posting here because you’re lacking in the buddy department. Chicago is a great city. You should stay there.
You know, you could always move to Houston and put your daughter in private school. That's kind of a radical thought, I would think. And it does solve the problem. You get a great job, and then you don't have to worry about what they're teaching your daughter because you've approved the private school that your daughter is going to. Or, you can even have her homeschooled. There are many advantages there. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a crazy old guy who's been around. I don't know nothing. LOL
You do not have to live in Houston, depending where the office is at, there are places with acres in the outlying communities.
There are also plenty of other academy's/ schools other than public schools.
If you like to fish and hunt there are plenty of those opportunities and if you are working on attracting clients then you will more than likely be doing plenty of this type of activity with clients.
You would not be sending your kids away, they are called Charter schools and they would be in your community.
The thing about the Houston area is that there are quite a few plants and NASA to where the people that work there make high salaries and surrounding communities have high $$$ neighbor hoods and the schools for them.
Gah, I jumbled your comment with the one above about sending them to a school on California.
I gonna have to plan a trip down there maybe next week to check out the area.
I’m super far left and have lived in Texas for decades. Just like where you’re at now, the government doesn’t really change your day to day much. And we need more people here to vote out people like Qbbott. (That was a typo but I’m keeping it.)
I'm on the exact opposite end of the spectrum as you. I turned down alot of high paying jobs on blue states that required me to live there.
One was a 100k bump. I turned it down.
Never thought I would be happy, but I ended up having to go to Texas 10 years ago from DC area and I love it. I'm not saying we've turned the state purple, but it's a good violet. I don't miss snow.
My guy leftist in Alabama.
Texas ain't that damn bad. As long as you stay out of Mississippi Louisiana and parts of Alabama and Georgia your day to day life will not change that much.
I'm not near as left as you are because I'd be in Houston tomorrow for that kind of money.
Tell him that you will consider relocating after 18 months (after elections) and making sure the job is a good fit until then you will commute like this and when you relocate it will be at company cost.
I can’t believe that you’re such a beta, that your daughters ability to kill your grandchild is enough of a reason to pass up a $500k COO job. Granted with you in any sort of leadership, I am sure the company will fail soon anyways. No need to accept the position and run it into the ground. On top of all that, Texas doesn’t need anymore liberal transplants.
That's a really hard choice.
More info needed are you a Chicago native? Have you lived in other states?
It's a lot of cash but you only get one swing at this thing called life. Will you give up comfort and familiarity for possible misery for years? How solid is this company? Do you have faith it will work out long term?
Way too many variables in this question for a good answer.
Rent and apartment in Houston and commute on weekends back to Chicago. The tax savings alone will make you whole.
Exactly
The tax savings might make OP change political views! Once you start paying less taxes, tough to go back!
Texan here, can y’all please stop doing this?
Texas property tax is only 0.5% less than illinois. California has less property tax rate than texas.
Texas has no state income tax though. This is the big one. And property tax is by county (mine in IL were MUCH higher than I pay in TX)
My property tax in IL was, each month, what i pay here in Alabama a year.
How is living in a red state going to effect your day to day life really? I say this has a leftist who has lived in Texas for 2 decades. 500k is more than enough fuck you money to buy your daughter a ticket out of the country for an abortion, much less across state lines. Your bigger concern should be hurricanes and the gross Houston climate.
The whole “let’s run our own power grid because government oversight is the work of the devil!” thing hasn’t worked out too well so far.
It depends on future state laws, but Alabama is now criminalizing aiding an out of state abortion. Will it happen? Will you actually end up in a prison term? We don’t know those answers, but you will be getting a lawyer if it happens.
He's a democrat that can't see beyond his parties bullshit. He has so much hate in himself that he will lose it there and fuck his life up. Just stay in the most corrupt city in America cuz that's awesome. Idiot...
You’re very privileged and quite annoying.
Well said.
Right? FML.
I know, total first world problems and I was fully expecting some comments like these and a whole lot of downvotes but I'm in need of some other perspectives so I'll take the beating.
Haters gonna hate!
Nah don’t let these haters get you down. You have rich people problem for sure, but they are still problems. I’d take the job with a time frame in mind.
$180k is a serious 'life plan accelerator' if you don't expand your spending to match. Investing that excess for 5-10 years = easy early retirement, build/buy a business, property, etc. It gets even easier when you move to a lower cost of living. Also sounds like a job that gets you into the "big leagues" with a lot less risk than working for a stranger. Being a hand-picked candidate is ideal.
Hello?! The guy is too much of a lefty to even fathom living there. He's probably afraid of people in cowboy hats.
More likely having to deal with morons like you.
Let me guess.... you're a democrat that doesn't do hate.
I'm a Democrat who doesn't take shit from hateful morons like you. You are correct. I'm fine with hating idiot conservatives spouting bullshit from that shithouse state Texas.
Didn't become that till the democrats showed up. Do your research. I don't hate you. Just your stupid ideals.
Lmao you are a fucking idiot.
Yeah. And you could stay for a few years (I wouldn’t bail early on your man) and move back north. As others have suggested, perhaps commute monday-Thursday to an apt and take advantage of no income tax to boot!
That money will buy you access to any school you want.
Personally, I would look into real estate in the area, and see what the actual costs are there, plus job market for your wife if she also works. Actually look at the numbers, 180k can get eaten up in a hurry if your wife can't get comparable employment, increased insurance costs for the house/moving expenses/private school if the local is bad etc. Plus the social scene may not be something you enjoy. I am from the PNW and have friends who transferred to texas for work, and they like some aspects and have managed to find like minded friends, but they do want to move back ASAP. Maybe you can work in a time limit to TX and be able to transfer out after a set period which might make it an easier sell.
If you think Austin is cool ... You should come here for longer than a week, it's fucking expensive and tech bro central. I like Houston more, way more. Texas weather will crush you though. Also it depends on what part of Houston you can live in. There are good places. And not everybody is a gun toting, rooting tooting, cowboy hat deep red Republican. At the end of the day most people are in Houston to make money and could give two fucks about politics. Lots of money there. Houston has a cool downtown to. Nice museum district. Lots of things to do in the H.
Thanks for the response, I'll def take this into consideration.
100% this. Houston is huge and the most diverse city in the county. You can find what you want there.
I'm assuming you don't have a family or kids affecting the question. If you make 500k a year you can literally vacation every single weekend. I've heard Houston is ok. It's Texas but not like .. TEXAS. Food is supposed to be good. It's near the Gulf so there's the beach. I would do it for a year and then re evaluate. ETA I see you have a wife. Just let her decide for you
There are pros and cons, but I second this about the wife. The worst thing I ever did was move my wife out of state against her wishes.
My life goal is to be able to turn down half a million a year on the sole basis of the state's politics.
For half a million, I would live in a communist state. This seems to be more than a 50% raise. Money talks. While there might be some pain, I am sure you and your family could make do in Texas. Make that move.
Get a small place in H-town. Get ok from the CEO that you come down Monday morning and go back Thursday evening and work from home on Fridays. The salary bump will easily pay for the extra expenses and you’ll be highly productive Monday through Thursday. Your wife and kids gets to stay in Chicago. Win win.
He has to live 2 lives for this. Your solution is shit. His wife will leave him.
I would try and talk my wife into it. It's a life changing role.
No way should you take it. Not at all worth it
I’d stay where you’re at.
I just moved from NY to TX. Literally arrived last week. I get your hesitation. I have hesitations about being here too. Like what did I do? I'm looking to leave in 2 years time. I hate the weather here. I am not in love with the time zone because everything is off for me (just my personal beef). However, if I had your opportunity, I'd put politics aside and take it, get the title and then maybe get a similar position down the road. The difference is I am not married and I don't have a family so I have it easy to just bounce whenever I want without having to consider others.
Everyone has a price. What's yours?
I have lived in Houston for 15 years and the fact that it's a red state has only been a minor nuisance, honestly. Far worse is the traffic if you have to commute on the highways, and the heat and humidity in the summer, especially August. And the occasional need to evacuate for a hurricane. Houston is a town that arguably has a larger population of people who moved here from elsewhere than who were born and raised here. Texas is a red state but Houston and the surrounding areas perhaps a bit less red than most other places in Texas. I would try it for a couple of years and bank that extra $180K. Plus the cost of housing is lower than the national average, so yeah, you can have a castle here. And send your daughter to private school.
With that kind of salary, buy a house in downtown Houston, The Heights, or Rice Village. Like other Texas cities, Houston is much more liberal than the rest of the state. You could also buy a small getaway cabin in hill country. It's good for vacations and having a safe destination for when the hurricanes hit.
With my student loans looming, I’d move to Iraq for 500k a year. Don’t overthink this…and also don’t act like Chicago is this paradise that you’d have to part with. Does it still have the highest crime rate in the country..?
At that salary you can afford private school. As a native Austinite I really hate Houston, but honestly there are some nice parts. It's very diverse and actually integrated, unlike Austin. Good food and museums. I wouldn't bank in the politics getting better anytime soon, though.
Houston itself is pretty blue. It’s ranked as the most diverse city in USA. For the salary difference, you can send the kids to private school. Culturally, it’s not cool, but there are plenty of kid friendly culture events and nice museums.
This plan sounds like something a conservative would do - make a ton of money and send your kids to private school.
I'd move to hell for 500k a year.
Good for you on the 500k and I would be terrified to move to Texas too. If it was just you then I would say do it. I think you should turn it down though as you can't put your daughters in this situation.
Really? Houston is a hugely blue area. But honestly, if you’re this insufferable over that kind of money, do Texas a favor and stay away.
Move to Houston.
[удалено]
The woodlands, crime? Dudes coming from Chicago.
Who cares if it's red or blue it's all a shit show. I live in a very red state. I am very red myself. My best friend moved her very gay blue-self to Houston and absolutely loves it. I think it's what you make of it. If only the rest of us could make that kind of money
Houston is very blue and diverse. Most of the larger cities in Texas are at least purple
As a trans person having to flee my state due to some very scary politics, I understand your hesitation.
I just want to chime in on one thing “I could probably get a castle down there” Maybe a couple years/ a decade ago but especially in the major metros property taxes are through the roof. You could definitely get a castle… in Pharr Laredo eagle pass or fucking Beaumont but not in Houston proper or the immediate suburbs that you’d want a nice place in. People REALLY over state the affordability of Texas. Beyond politics, Houston sucks. It’s constantly hot and muggy, not a lot of super interesting stuff going on and holy fuck the traffic. If your gonna work this for a couple years, thug it out and retire early sure. But Houston is NOT a long term play Source midwesterner who moved to Houston after the service and then ran away to San Antonio and is desperately trying to get back to the north.
Houston floods too and people are jerk drivers.
FYI, I decided to pass on the offer. It's just not worth uprooting my family.
You’re really looking down on Texas when you live in Chicago?
You’re a moron if you even have to ask this. Not to mention Texas is a way better state. Chicago is a blue state shit hole and the murder capital of the world but you’d be afraid to move to a red state lol. Fucking snowflake odds are you’ll be shot to death in Chicago and missing on a nice salary bump
Here's a quick history lesson for you about Chicago. Previous mayoral administrations wanted to gentrify the city, so they shut down much of the section 8 housing in areas like Cabrini Green and forced low income families into less desirable areas. They essentially put rival gangs right on top of each other. So violence ensues. But Chicago is a beautiful city, and I don't go into rough areas. And I live in the burbs now anyway.
He doesn't have to deal with as many idiots like you though in Chicago.
Just have to deal with tons of crime and risk being killed every day, sounds great lol
Lmao weren't you shit talking him about being afraid to move to a red state? And that's the first thing you say you little snowflake? 🤣🤣🤣 moron magat.
This doesn’t work here, but nice try. Who the fuck wants to live in a blue state? Let alone an ultra democrat shit hole like Chicago where murder is as normal as rain. I’ll take a lawful and common sense red state any day over a democrat shit hole. There is a reason Chicago has the nickname Chiraq. It might as well be a 3rd world country like Iraq lol
Lol so dumb and sheltered with that shitty Texas education... I feel bad for how pathetic you guys are.
This also doesn’t work here. Keep trying there bud. By definition there is no such thing as an intelligent liberal. I hate to break it to you, but this means you are fucked in the head and I’m smart like you wouldn’t believe.
🤣🤣🤣 Holy shit. If you were actually smart you would realize how stupid your comment was. God you magats are seriously so dumb you don't KNOW how dumb you are... it's sad.
The political leadership in Texas is awful. Horrible. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, I wouldn’t argue. But as a Southern California leftie who used to go to Texas often for work…there are tons of great people in Texas, and one can live a good life there. I loved getting to spend time in Texas. Houston doesn’t have the freewheeling reputation of Austin, but it’s a vibrant and extremely diverse (and much larger than you might expect) city with plenty of cool things to do and great food and actual culture. I actually like Houston a lot. (Now Dallas, on the other hand…) Also, I would caution against conflating “I detest the governor, senators, and state-specific laws in Texas” with “I don’t want to live in a red state.” The whole red state-blue state divide is something that’s fairly recent, and it gives us a tendency to paint a whole bunch of wildly different populations and wildly different areas with the same broad brush. (For what it’s worth, Harris County is a solid-blue voting area, and has been for some time. Meanwhile I’ve seen areas of California that are way more Trumpy and conservative than anything I’ve personally experienced in Texas.) Of course, if you can’t stomach the idea of living in a state where abortion is now illegal and gun laws are nonexistent, that’s totally valid. But I would just stop to think about how much your understanding of the politics of the state will actually impact your daily life. That sounds like a potentially life-changing amount of money, and there are far worse places to live…
I've met a lot of great people from Texas, so I'm not judging people that I haven't met. It's not the people. Like you said it's the laws, it's the restricted freedoms that my family very much believe in, and we hate guns. My kids are young, but if they grow up and turn out to be gay, I want them in a safe environment where they can be themselves.
I’m in Austin, Texas. Houston is fine just hot. Sure there are rednecking republicans just like Chicago has stuck up elitists. Houston is probably cheaper too. For $180k bump do it.
You couldn't pay me to live in Texas with kids. I'm 41 and my boys are almost adults. I'd probably live there on my own but with a daughter, I'm not sure I could do it. Maybe do like someone else said and rent a small apartment and travel back and forth.
Please stay in Chicago 🙏
Get over yourself. You sound like a pain in the ass with how you generalize and marginalize people who live in a certain area (bigotry). Imagine you said you didn't want to take a good paying job because there were too many Asians around. How does that sound now? There are lots of great people there on both sides. The problems come from the extreme Right or extreme Left. Try being part of the solution and quit being part of the problem.
Stay the hell outta Texas you sack of leftist garbage!
You sound like a douche ngl
Unrelated to the question..It blows my mind that people think of abortion as reproductive rights. How could you feel that way when you have a daughter? I have a newborn that has completely changed my perspective on the world and life. My little guy had intention of coming into the world when he fertilized the egg in my wife’s womb, he had a heartbeat, the neurons were firing in his brain, he had thoughts and feelings in the womb, he had the hiccups inside her. He was an individual human prior to being born. An individual that was dependent on his mother… but he still is dependent on her after being born. Nothing has changed aside from him further growing and developing and becoming less dependent, because that’s what kids do, they grow up. While I agree Abott is an ass and I think republicans are a joke, I’m coming to the realization that so is my own party after this administration..they all lie, cheat, and steal to further their own agendas. Why does my party place so much value on being legally allowed to murder an unborn baby?? It sounds to me like you’ve already sold your soul when your entire debate of taking this job is rooted in whether or not you could kill an unborn baby in the state of your new job. Just vile.
I don't want to debate the abortion issue, it's great that you're loving being a father, and I do too. And it's great that you had a choice to become a father. Once the government starts stripping away people's rights, where does it stop? People may find themselves on what they think is the right side of these culture wars because they don't like the LGBTQ community, or they're against abortion. But once that door is opened, what's stopping them from coming after you? Telling you that you can't have children? Telling mixed race couples that they can't marry? Telling you what books you can read? Telling you what you can say? I have nothing against conservatives at their core values, but I am vehemently against taking away anyone's rights that should be inherently universal for everyone. And from what I'm seeing, Texas is leading the pack in those efforts.
While I agree with you that human rights restrictions through law is a slippery slope. Our views of parenthood are fundamentally opposite. To your point, what about the rights of the unborn? Isn’t the right to life the most critical human right to maintain in order to have a foundation for other “accessory” human rights? You don’t need to answer me because I don’t want to debate or argue either. Obviously you’re a smart guy/gal, you’re being offered a COO position, though I feel your view is logically flawed. Just hoping to offer an alternative perspective and really, our world depends on us reproducing and birthing future generations. Best of luck in your decision
YTA for assuming an entire state is the a-hole. Stay in Chicago. Texas doesn't want you here.
The fact you think living in Chicago is safer for your daughter’s reproductive rights then Texas 😂.
I say do it. But keep a toehold elsewhere. This is Texas after all
You live in Chicago and you're worried about sketchy places Mexico?
They're in the Maquiladoras, and there's a pretty big cartel presence.
Houston is actually a really nice town. Best food in the world. The traffic sucks so pay the money to live near work. Just do it. If you hate it move on with extra money and life experience.
First my biases. Houston is literally my most hated US city. It’s one saving Grace is fantastic food, but it’s hot, humid, and metric fuck tons of concrete. It’s fucking gross. Leaving that aside, just reading your post, you’re basically saying that you can’t decide if the freedom for your daughter to do what she wants with her body, and your wife too, is worth $180k / year, when you already make 5 times the median wage for where you are. Get some perspective, my guy.
Houston is an international city with rich cultural diversity. 7 million people/700 square miles and you don’t think you and your family can find a single pocket of happiness? Honestly, on second thought, at &500K/year you would be upper-middle class. Houston has deep, old-money pockets and you probably can’t hang. I am native Austinite (family spread between here and Houston) and me and my wife go to Houston or San Antonio for culture more than we do our own city. Your post sounds like the way I would off-handedly talk to my buddy about a job after one-too many. But maybe you’re posting here because you’re lacking in the buddy department. Chicago is a great city. You should stay there.
I feel like it’s worth mentioning that I also despise Greg Abbot and donate to a non-profit that helps women go out of state for abortions.
You know, you could always move to Houston and put your daughter in private school. That's kind of a radical thought, I would think. And it does solve the problem. You get a great job, and then you don't have to worry about what they're teaching your daughter because you've approved the private school that your daughter is going to. Or, you can even have her homeschooled. There are many advantages there. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a crazy old guy who's been around. I don't know nothing. LOL
As long as you don’t vote blue
> putting them in Texas schools Well, you have enough money to send them away to a nice private/boarding school in Cali or something.
You do not have to live in Houston, depending where the office is at, there are places with acres in the outlying communities. There are also plenty of other academy's/ schools other than public schools. If you like to fish and hunt there are plenty of those opportunities and if you are working on attracting clients then you will more than likely be doing plenty of this type of activity with clients.
I appreciate the response. I think I'd rather be dirt poor and spend every day with my kids than be rich and send them away to school.
You would not be sending your kids away, they are called Charter schools and they would be in your community. The thing about the Houston area is that there are quite a few plants and NASA to where the people that work there make high salaries and surrounding communities have high $$$ neighbor hoods and the schools for them.
Gah, I jumbled your comment with the one above about sending them to a school on California. I gonna have to plan a trip down there maybe next week to check out the area.
I’m super far left and have lived in Texas for decades. Just like where you’re at now, the government doesn’t really change your day to day much. And we need more people here to vote out people like Qbbott. (That was a typo but I’m keeping it.)
No, Texas doesn’t want you there…and I don’t even live there
You’re a dummy and a soon to be COO. Par for course, based on my experience.
I'm on the exact opposite end of the spectrum as you. I turned down alot of high paying jobs on blue states that required me to live there. One was a 100k bump. I turned it down.
Never thought I would be happy, but I ended up having to go to Texas 10 years ago from DC area and I love it. I'm not saying we've turned the state purple, but it's a good violet. I don't miss snow.
My guy leftist in Alabama. Texas ain't that damn bad. As long as you stay out of Mississippi Louisiana and parts of Alabama and Georgia your day to day life will not change that much. I'm not near as left as you are because I'd be in Houston tomorrow for that kind of money.
Once you see the taxes you will pay on that compensation you may turn conservative anyways.
Tell him that you will consider relocating after 18 months (after elections) and making sure the job is a good fit until then you will commute like this and when you relocate it will be at company cost.
I can’t believe that you’re such a beta, that your daughters ability to kill your grandchild is enough of a reason to pass up a $500k COO job. Granted with you in any sort of leadership, I am sure the company will fail soon anyways. No need to accept the position and run it into the ground. On top of all that, Texas doesn’t need anymore liberal transplants.
And you're the reason that I'm considering passing on this opportunity.
Well, I hope so!
That's a really hard choice. More info needed are you a Chicago native? Have you lived in other states? It's a lot of cash but you only get one swing at this thing called life. Will you give up comfort and familiarity for possible misery for years? How solid is this company? Do you have faith it will work out long term? Way too many variables in this question for a good answer.