you're smart; but so many people are moving there that places like california are losing congressional seats due to census numbers shifting towards texas.
Have fun with your gun psychos, failing power grid, and hour of driving everywhere you go. I'm sure some vague sense of "freedom" makes it all infinitely worth it.
We do have our problems, but Texas is in the bottom half of states for gun ownership rate. I'm not sure what the hour driving comment is about - is that supposed to be a traffic or distance jab? Are you legally not allowed to cross city or state lines?
Well you're certainly contradicting my experience. And yes in Texas everything is far apart and yes the traffic is pretty bad in the cities I've visited
"The only "people" moving to Texas are tax mules and corpo scumbags"
Or in my brother's case, following an ex wife who decided to marry someone from Texas and move there with the kids. Sometimes moving is cheaper and less complicated than legal battles with a parent you still have to work with for another 10 years.
The clock is ticking though. As soon as the youngest graduates high school they're getting the hell out of there.
TBH, seeing how other people lived and were happy was one of the biggest proofs that I was in something that couldn't live up to its promises. When you promise that your way is the best way, yet other people aren't just happy but thriving, it kind of tends to make the claims ring hollow.
It took many years for me, though, for all the pieces to finally click that it was just bullshit. There's no amazing advice I can offer except to be an authentic person and maybe challenge their notions from time to time (if you have a friendly relationship). People who find their way out usually do it on their own, and it can be a jarring and lonely experience; keeping in mind that it was something done to them as much as it was something they did can help navigate how to support someone in that spot.
There's thankfully lots of great resources available to catch them, too, like "Recovering from Religion" and the "Secular Therapy Project," as well as online support communities.