Will 2009/2010 Weather Events Drive More People South?
This winter has been pretty rough on people in many parts of the country. Central and South Texas have been blessed with enough rain to bust the drought, but many areas, especially in the northeast and midwest have been pounded with heavy snow and are now seeing flooding. The flow of moisture that helped Texas was a result of El Nino pushing a lot of moisture our way and dropping the jet stream farther south.
I have 2 cousins and an aunt in the Phillidelphia area. They got pounded twice with very heavy snow storms. They were without power for a long time and lived in one room by the fireplace. And then just a few days ago they had rain and high wind. This resulted in power lines coming down when trees fell.
I see in the news that the high wind and rain have caused damage in other parts of New England as well. A significant problem caused by the 2009/2010 winter weather in the northeaset was that cities didn't have enough money budgeted for snow removal. Many are strapped for cash as it is. So what will they do, raise taxes? Many cities in the northeast are already taxing residents to death.
So what are people to do? My answer is to consider moving south and Austin would be a find choice. San Antonio would be another good choice. Houston is OK, but the humidity is terrrible and the city is always at risk for hurricanes. Austin and San Antonio are far enough south so snow and ice are not usually a big problem. The cities are also far enough from the coast so hurricanes don't have the impact they do in coastal areas.
Aside from weather, the cost of living in Texas is generally lower than many cities in the northeast. We also have the Central Texas Hill Country, which is very scenic and there is much to do here.
What about other states besides Texas? Florida is at risk for hurricanes. So are parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Those states also don't many cities nearly as cool as Austin. If you look west to Arizona and New Mexico, these might be good choices for some, but if they grow tremendously I am wondering where they will get water.
Back to Texas, specifically Central Texas, this should be an area people thinking of leaving the snowbeelt should look at, even if just for winter retreats.