Entrepreneurship is a wonderful thing. Paul Chabot moved from CA to TX and loved it, so he's set up a company to help conservatives move from blue to red states. CNSNews reports his firm, Conservative Move, will help you make the transition, including job search before you commit.
He is touting an area northeast of Dallas in which the DrsC spent a year living some 13 years ago. We were actually in the adjacent county (Hunt) but for certain district purposes also considered to be in Collin county.
It is nice country, semi-rural, plenty conservative, and the weather isn't so different from interior Northern California, except for tornados. On the other hand, there are no earthquakes and houses are much cheaper to buy. Did I mention Texas has no state income tax whatsoever? Add that to the lower home prices and your salary will go far.
I would caution those considering moving about two things, first while Texans are some of the friendliest people on the planet, they tend to only become friends with members of their church. I make here a distinction here between geniality and willingness to take the next step and become a friend, someone who'd invite your family over for a meal.
Secondly, but relatedly, the concept of separation of church and state never quite made it to Texas. Government officials at all levels below federal tend to let their faith expand into their official roles.
We saw a state university president offer Grace before a meal that was an official part of the university's business, held on university property. Not a perfunctory Grace either, but one thought out and made relevant to the event at which it was offered, and done in "the Lord Jesus Christ's name," not in the name of some anonymous God.
Expect religion to be accomodated in the public schools, even prayer. Expect to hear people talk about their faith and how they want to invest additional time and energy therein. As a non-church-goer, expect to remain an outsider, albeit one treated kindly.
We did not leave TX because we disliked it. We already owned homes in two other states and never intended to stay longer than a year or two, as we'd come out of retirement to go work there "just to experience TX."
We did miss mountains. Talk about flat, when people in the Dallas area wisecrack there are no mountains between there and the North Pole, they're pretty much correct if you head due north. The Rockies are a couple of days' drive away to the northwest. If we moved back to TX - a possibility - we'd opt for the rolling hill country outside of San Antonio, much more scenic (less flat).
