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I moved from California to Texas but only stayed 4 months. Texas isn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed. (www.businessinsider.com)

submitted 2 months ago by AnActOfCreation to c/[email protected]

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Kellee Speakman, a conservative elementary school teacher, moved from California to Texas in 2022 but returned after four and a half months due to Texas's political obsession and unexpected living costs.
Speakman found Texas to be not much cheaper than California, with high property taxes, expensive services, and lower wages, which contributed to her dissatisfaction.
She returned to California, appreciating its lifestyle, public lands, and better teacher benefits, realizing that her idea of freedom involved peace and everyday adventures rather than political rhetoric.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If I'm not mistaken, the thing that contributes to our instability is also what caused Texas to be at the front of renewables (for a while). What I've been told is that Texas' power grid is pretty loosely regulated, which was why renewables took off here; it was really easy for anyone to start their own power company so small companies were able to spring up and contribute solar, wind, etc.

This was great and fine so long as we weren't getting extreme, once-in-100-year weather every year. Thanks big oil and climate change. Anyway, now we need regulation to make power companies start planning for things they previously only needed to plan for every 100 years.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Texas

Regulation

Good fucking luck.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Renewables took off in Texas because it's

Vast
Flat
Hot
Windy

It's pretty much heaven for solar and wind, both of which have no qualms building out in the middle of nowhere.

I wonder if anyone's going to attempt tide generators with our freshly roided up storm seasons. The whole East Coast has barrier islands that are all about to sink, so we won't even have to go down far to anchor them.

Windmills are taking off now in Wyoming, and I can't believe it took them this long, loaded down freighters get blown over hourly every fucking day in Wyoming. They built their freeways with massive shoulders just to wreck on. Windmill farms are all down central and Eastern Washington, central and eastern Oregon and California. I can't speak much to the Midwest but you can't drive 5miles thru Iowa without seeing 100windmills. In between houses and shit. I like the spirit but goddamn, Iowa needs to chill.

Solar is huge all along the sun belt. Shit I'm off-grid in Washington and I do it off 2500w of panels and 375ah of batteries. It's not as good as having a tap to grand coulee but I don't have an electric bill and that does more than just dry my tears, it actually makes happy.