After college, I moved from New York to Texas because the South is cheaper. It was the only way to afford my postgrad life.
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I entered a volatile job market in 2023, but thankfully I found a job.
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I was living in New York with an extremely high cost of living, making staying here untenable.
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Moving to Texas, where the cost of living is much lower, allowed me to be successful.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree computer Science In 2023, a software company offered me an exciting job paying $60,000 a year.
Capture? I had to move away from home.
I had grown up Long Island I worked this way my whole life, but the company didn’t have an office within commuting distance of my parents’ home. Moving felt scary. Moving across country? Even more.
But I felt like I had no choice because tough job market and due to rising costs in New York, I packed up and moved to Texas.
The East Coast was nearly impossible to afford
I did the math. Average rent of an apartment in most countries East Coast states $2,000 to $3,000 per month.
On average over the course of a year this would be $30,000. This was half of my annual income, without taking other expenses into account.
New York State income taxes There’s also a high federal tax to boot. Already with back-of-the-napkin math, I figured out I’d be left with less than half of my annual salary before factoring in food, insurance premiums, utilities, and rainy day savings.
After all this, there would be almost nothing left. student loan repaymentsand eventually I couldn’t save money to buy a house.
Texas was a much cheaper option
While researching options, I learned that the company had an office in San Antonio. I was amazed by what I found while exploring this foreign city.
Even in such a big city San Antoniorent averages $1,000 to $1,500 per month. Texas also has no state income tax.
If I lived with the same job in Texas, I could spend and save significantly more of my annual income.
I decided to move across the country to Texas
Although the numbers were promising, I had never been to southern Virginia until I moved. I had no idea what San Antonio was like and I had no family or friends there for support.
I found my apartment remotely in this new, foreign city. I scanned Google Maps. I made a list of ideally located apartments and read their tenants’ reviews. To avoid being misled, I focused on those with two to four stars.
As part of my research I looked crime statistics. I was happy to see that it was very low. I then reduced my commute to five minutes.
I’m financially comfortable in Texas
After I moved, I paid about $1,250 a month for a 700-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with an in-house washer and dryer, a shared gym, and a pool.
