If you can afford to leave Texas, you generally do. My hometown in North Texas is (I believe) the largest town in the country without mass transit. Quality of life there takes a bit of a hit. But instead of not taxing people for a service they're not offering, they tax people and then give it to corporate or real estate interests. So... it's expensive and low quality of life.

Everyone I graduated high school with has moved on to cheaper places (Oklahoma or Arkansas or nearby smaller towns) or places with a higher quality of life (California or New York or nearby cities like Dallas or Austin.)

A couple of people I graduated from high school with had their homes condemned so the state could seize the real estate and sell it to Jerry Jones or George Bush for sports stadia. So the idea that Texas is some sort of libertarian utopia is a bit of a myth.

I still love visiting, and my childhood memories of canoeing along the Brazos are cherished. Most everyone I've met in Texas is a decent human being.

But damn... what a shit show. High property taxes, bad politics, substandard infrastructure, public schools that are plummeting in national ratings, mediocre health care (except Houston, maybe). It's great if your primary concern is a cheap house and inexpensive low-quality food.

But like I said above... if you can afford to move, you do.