- The Texas housing market has cooled after a frenzy of activity during the pandemic.
- Boomtowns like Austin are seeing home prices drop, while fewer people are moving to the state.
- Some say they have soured on the Lone Star amid rising housing costs and overall costs of living.
Texas was not all what it cracked up to be, according to Peter Hoholick, a native Californian who moved to Austin in 2021 on rumors that a cheaper, more laid-back lifestyle was in store.
The move fell short of Hoholick’s expectations. The weather was “miserable,” with southern humidity and temperatures trailing into the triple-digits during the summer. The cost of living was comparable to that of California, though the pay, he felt, was lower.
The tense, conservative-leaning political climate is what broke him. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Hoholick made the decision to head back to California. His quality of life has “vastly” improved, he told Business Insider in an interview.
“I was young and dumb at this point in time,” Hoholick said of his brief stay in Texas — around 13 months. “I would never entertain the idea of moving back.”