Have you been to either state?
I haven’t.
I’m 100% certain that both states have fantastic aspects to them - I can list some : preferable weather, diverse communities (I know that both states are large and areas within them are varied), financial considerations, people I’ve spoken to have mentioned the genuine « southern hospitality » they encountered... since I live in a very wealthy village, I’m probably of the few who hasn’t been to Florida. Most people here visit once a year (or opt for resorts on Caribbean islands). My children have been twice.
Before Covid, I went to NYC once a year. Usually for a weekend as it’s less than 2h from the airport. I love it. I usually choose Europe instead of the USA for my longer trip.
Having said that, I am from a northern area. The oppressive heat, even in shoulder season, would be a lot to take. And, to respect the opinions of others, I’ll just say that for philosophical reasons, I don’t think I’d be a fit there. We should avoid politics on the football forum. I know that Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio are different cities and that rural areas differ perhaps even more. But I’d find that part of the experience too much as well...
To contrast, I live in a village of less than 2000 people where we’ve never had a (documented) murder since its founding in the 1650s. I know no one who is unemployed, in fact people from other communities come here to do the work we don’t want to do. Here, I’m in the lower 15% financially and I still live in great comfort. It’s not a perfect community, but I can’t imagine moving to an area with so many guns.
In closing : I went overboard to show my preferences just to offer a different point of view from the posters insisting « it would be crazy to go to NYC instead of TX, FL, and others » because sometimes I feel posters here don’t realize that outside of their communities - some parts of the world are seen from a variety of angles.