7 Surprises After Swapping Silicon Valley for the Lone Star State

7 Surprises After Swapping Silicon Valley for the Lone Star State

Lesson: Slower Pace, Bigger Bugs—Relocating Can Reshape Your Life & Business

Four years in Austin and I finally feel qualified to dish out the “What I’ve learned since moving from CA to TX” list. Spoiler: it’s more than BBQ and cowboy hats (although both are solid perks).

Insight: Seven Eye-Openers About Texas Life

1. Life Moves Slower – People aren’t sprinting between Zoom calls. Still adjusting.
   
   
2. Friendships Are Casual, Not Calendared – No six-week wait for a “friend meeting.”
   
   
3. Homes (and Yards) Don’t Require VC Funding – You can actually afford space.
   
   
4. Seasons Exist – Sunburn in July, freeze warnings in February. Pack accordingly.
   
   
5. The Bugs Are Massive – Texas didn’t get the “everything’s bigger” memo; it wrote it.
   
   
6. Breakfast Tacos > Tex-Mex Mac-n-Burritos – Trust me, your taste buds will agree.
   
   
7. More Hard, Boring Businesses – Fewer “disrupt-the-world” pitches, more solid cash-flow plays.
   

Bottom line: Texas offers a slower pace, genuine connections, and a landscape primed for gritty, no-nonsense entrepreneurship—plus a side of salsa (breakfast taco optional).

Action Item: Consider Your Own Zip-Code Audit

1. List Your Lifestyle Priorities – Cost, community, climate, opportunity.
   
   
2. Assess Your Market Fit – Does your business (or next idea) need hustle culture or breathing room?
   
   
3. Plan a Recon Trip – Nothing beats boots-on-the-ground insight—bug spray included.
   
   

Got Texas questions?

We’re here to help you explore it (just don’t expect us to defend Tex-Mex). Where you live impacts you and your family more than almost anything else.

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Take a moment to do the audit.