Hello, Y’all! The Good (and Less Expensive!) Lone Star Life

By David Tubman / New Braunfels, Texas

I’m what Texans refer to as a “California Transplant.”

Judy and I met, then later married, in 1981 in Southern California. We had four children by 1991 and moved north to Napa, California. Fast forward to 2018, and we had transitioned into empty nesters with all four kids living in other states and none of our 13 grandchildren nearby. All of their families had lived in Texas at some point due to the military, so we had visited the  Lone Star State numerous times.

In 2018, as I approached retirement age, I realized I needed a more affordable place to live. Texas was at the top of my list. The absence of a state income tax certainly helped with the decision. For Judy, the move from California would be a huge change. She’s a  California native and lifelong resident. I used family as my best argument to counter Judy’s strong objection to leaving California and all of her friends. I pointed out that none of our kids would be coming back to California; on the other hand, we had two of them in Texas at the time, as well as five of our grandkids, so that we could see them all the time. By June of that year, we had made the move.

We landed in New Braunfels, which at the time was the second-fastest growing town in the U.S., according to the latest census. It felt like a small German community, with bratwurst festivals, rivers running right through town, and Canyon Lake just down the road. We sold our home in Napa and bought a one-acre place with a shop for my sign business, outright, thanks to California’s crazy home prices. (Yep—I’m one of those Californians Texans like to grumble about.)

Seven years later, and I’ve adjusted pretty well, though it took me three years before I worked up the courage to slip a “y’all” into a sentence. Now, when people ask where I’m from, I say “California,” but I quickly add, “I’m originally from Detroit,” to soften the blow.

What struck me first about Texas was the people.

Having grown up in the South (we lived in Miami, Savannah and Hilton Head during the 1950s), I recall a certain hospitality, and I see it here. Folks wave instead of honking. When I flip on my blinker to change lanes, they actually let me in instead of speeding up to box me out. That rarely happens while driving in California traffic. However, the local joke phrase is “Well, bless your heart!” which sounds sweet but is really an insult disguised as a blessing. Instead of seeing cowboy boots and jeans everywhere I go, I see that almost every man has on a baseball cap, shorts, and either flip-flops or tennis shoes.

The cost of living, which was our main reason for moving, has been the most significant advantage. Our property taxes are less than half what we paid in Napa, utilities run about $300 a month, and there’s no state income tax. To further benefit seniors, Texans will be voting in November on completely eliminating the property tax for seniors. That’s a big deal when you’re retired and watching your pennies.

My friend and neighbor James in his Texas garb and flip-flops, with his 1958 “Starts Every Time” tractor

I met my neighbor, James Arledge, a few months ago when I put a post up on our neighborhood blog, asking if anyone knew how to fix a broken riding mower belt. James lives about a mile away and showed up at my door, ready to help. We tinkered, figured it out, and ever since then, we’ve been swapping stories over coffee.

James is retired and in his mid-60s. He was born and raised in East Texas near the Louisiana border. His family’s roots go back generations in the marshlands around Beaumont and Port Arthur. After high school, he worked on tugboats like his stepdad and later took up welding. He eventually worked in commercial construction.

When people think of Texas, says James, “People always imagine cowboys, with cowboy boots, kicking rocks and the desert. But in East Texas, we’d get 60 inches of rain a year. It was green and tropical.” He recently retired and moved to New Braunfels to be near his kids, and he really likes the rivers and the rolling hills. (It’s referred to as ‘Hill Country.’)

I noticed the mounted buck on the wall of his shop and asked if he hunted. “Too much work,” he shrugged. “I’d rather just buy my meat at the store.” However, he has two boats parked next to the shop and enjoys fishing for bass.

When I ask James what he likes most about Texas, he doesn’t hesitate: “The people. Texans have a certain pride in being Texan. But it’s also diverse with Mexicans, Blacks, Cajuns, and plain old country folk. Some resent the newcomers, especially from California, but that’s just because land prices shot up.” The hardest part for him? The weather—scorching summers, and in East Texas, hurricanes. He remembers the devastation of Katrina and Harvey and said you can still see high-water marks along the Gulf.

Not everyone loves Texas, though. Take Barry Perlmutter, a fellow classmate from the Oak Park High School Class of 1969. He now lives in California but used to live in Texas in Amarillo and Fort Worth, back in the 1980s. Barry remembers the friendly people, a Dairy Queen on every corner, and a family-friendly vibe. There were numerous family-centered activities, and with three kids, that’s where his focus was placed. He wasn’t all that politically minded then. Texas had an economic downturn, and he moved to California in 1983. Since then, the nation’s political tensions set in, and politics are the very reason he would never move back to Texas. California suits him just fine, he told me.

Luckenbach, immortalized in a No, 1 country song by that name by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, famously claims a population of 3 residents. (In fact, there are upwards of 25.) We were last there two years ago, and enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, Shiner Boch beer and free live country music.

In my experience, Texas is unique–you either love it, or you can’t wait to leave. I find that politically left-leaning individuals tend to prefer big cities, while right-leaning individuals head to smaller, rural communities. You’ve got the humid Gulf Coast, the arid deserts of West Texas, the endless plains up in the panhandle, and the rolling rivers of Hill Country. You’ve got German towns and booming suburbs, cowboys and tech workers, red politics and blue cities. But the people are generous and hospitable.

After seven years of living here, I’m still not sure I qualify as a true Texan. I seek them out so I can learn more about its Old West history, its distinctiveness. Texans love to talk about the Great State of Texas. Maybe it will take another seven or more years, but I do know this: Texas has a way of pulling you in. Who can say they are against Texas BBQ, tacos, the Texas two-step, and river rafting on your weekend? Politics aside, it’s a sense of freedom well worth the occasional 100-degree heat in the summer.

Welcome to Texas! Y’all come visit!

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David Tubman, a former Michigander (Detroit and Oak Park), moved to the West Coast in 1976 and is now living in New Braunfels, Texas. His newfound passions are writing and podcasting. To date, David has self-published two nonfiction books about Detroit’s infamous cold case: Jimmy Hoffa Is Missing–The Gap (2020) and Jimmy Hoffa Is Missing–Beyond The Gap (September 2025). He is a respected independent researcher in the disappearance of Hoffa. David now hosts two social media sites: “JHIMTG” and “Poly-Ticks & Faith.” The other passion has led David to begin a podcast called “Poly-Ticks & Faith.” He feels there is overwhelming stress associated with our national political culture, and he wants to help by talking people down from the ledge. Topics he has covered include “When Did Science Become Politics?” and “Who Are The Real Jews?”