My friend thought that he would hate Frisco/Plano (Dallas) as well…. But he’s been there a few times and now he likes it. He can buy a brand new house for $189k or a new townhouse for $156k. I imagine that he’ll get a condo because living large is not his style.
He’ll make 20% more money than in SD. He still loves SD but unless he can find another equally good job, then he’s gone.
He plans to take the money he saves on housing to take frequent vacations all over. Dallas is an airline hub so there’re plenty of cheap tickets to many destinations.
Also, there’s no state income tax in TX.
Don’t get me wrong, I love SD and I would never move to TX myself… but my situation is different from his. I can imagine many middle class families moving out of California to other states.