A tech worker who left Texas for Tennessee has revealed why he wishes he had moved sooner.
Jim Ward, 61, spent two decades traveling the Lone Star State, occupying four different homes in Houston and Dallas.
Speak with Business insiderWard said he and his wife Donita “finally escaped to Tennessee” in 2022.
“Over the years, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with Texas,” Ward explains.
The 61-year-old, who works in cybersecurity, admitted that Dallas-Fort Worth was a networking paradise for technology workers.
Jim Ward, 61, and his wife Donita “escaped” to Tennessee after spending 20 years in Texas
Ward claimed that his quality of life had improved dramatically since moving to Knoxville
“Just about every major enterprise in the U.S. has a presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – all with their own internal technology needs,” he said.
Nevertheless, Texas has seen an exodus of tech workers in recent years, especially from the capital, Austin.
Google leased Block 185, a sail-shaped skyscraper on the banks of the Colorado River, in 2019.
The company was set to move sometime this year, but the timeline is in jeopardy amid sweeping layoffs.
Automaker Tesla opened its ‘Giga Texas’ factory east of Austin in April 2022, but now plans to lay off 2,688 employees beginning of June.
Companies like Apple and Tesla were offered packages worth tens of millions of dollars in property and payroll tax refunds as incentives from the city. But that might not be enough to make them stay.
After moving the head office From the Bay Area to Austin, enterprise software and services company Oracle has plans to move.
The cybersecurity worker said he grew tired of the extreme heat and unpredictable weather
He acknowledged that the Lone Star State’s biggest appeal is its lack of income taxes, although this is more than offset by some of the highest property taxes in the country.
Ward also acknowledged that the Lone Star State’s biggest appeal is its lack of income taxes, “although that is more than offset by property taxes.”
Texas has some of the highest property tax bills in the country because they are critical to funding public services such as police, firefighters and public schools.
The Tax Foundation, a Washington DC-based think tank, arranged the state’s property taxes were the sixth highest in the United States last year.
Besides costs, one of Ward’s biggest complaints concerns weather and climate.
“It gets quite hot in the summer, and there are also heavy ice and hail showers all year round,” he said.
‘Sometimes this can result in periods of extended power outages, both in the summer and winter months.’
The weather in Texas is only expected to become more extreme report from Texas A&M University.
The report, released in April, drew on data from 1900 to 2023 to predict trends through 2036. It found a ‘significant increase’ in the likelihood of droughts, bushfires, risks of urban flooding and high temperatures.
Ward praised Knoxville for its vibrant downtown, which draws strong comparisons to Dallas-Fort Worth’s “lack of natural beauty” and “enjoyable outdoor activities”
Ward also noted “a lack of natural beauty” and “enjoyable outdoor activities.” He and his wife are avid hikers, as evidenced by photos shared on social media.
“In terms of geography, the terrain in the Dallas area is mostly flat with few trees,” Ward explains.
‘As a result, outdoor activities are limited and there are few opportunities for hiking and camping.’
The only thing that makes the oppressive heat worse is the lack of foliage and minimal shade.
‘Even activities like running are affected by the brutal heat. I always had to go early in the morning or later at night,” Ward said.
The 61-year-old concluded that his quality of life has improved dramatically since moving to Tennessee.
“I never really enjoyed downtown Houston or Dallas. But in Knoxville, we go downtown almost every weekend — there’s a lot you can do without leaving the city,” he said.
“While there are some things I miss about Texas, like the abundance of air travel and the restaurant scene, I wish we had moved to Tennessee a little sooner.”
