We Moved From California to Texas; We Make Lots a lot much less however Love the Life-style

• Gerardo and Tomi Ruiz moved from San Bernardino, California, to San Antonio, Texas, in September.
• They moved with their two youthful sons after a close-by hearth destroyed their rented dwelling.
• The couple loves Texas for its cheaper worth of dwelling and the fogeys however misses California’s meals.

This as-told-to essay will depend on a dialog with Gerardo Ruiz, 29, and Tomi Ruiz, 26, native Californians who moved from San Bernardino, California, to San Antonio in 2024. The following has been edited for measurement and readability.

Gerardo: My associate, Tomi, and I are from San Bernardino, California. We met at a celebration in 2019 and married remaining April.

San Bernardino simply is not almost pretty much as good on account of it was. Many factors, like homelessness and gang practice, appear to have gotten worse not too long ago.

Tomi: There have been factors we hottest about California. I had household solely about an hour away. I cherished being all through the snow or on the seashore every time I needed.

We had been speaking about leaving California for some time on account of the worth of dwelling was dramatically rising. We had talked about Texas, Arizona, or in all probability Utah, however we weren’t excessive about it.

A fireplace lastly pushed us to go away

Tomi: In September, the Line Hearth broke out in Highland, California, subsequent to my grandparents’ residence.

We had been renting a home on the choice side of metropolis. The Line Hearth wasn’t straight threatening our residence at first, however our neighbor’s dwelling caught hearth. They talked about it began from an ember from the Line Hearth.

It was terrifying. We had been asleep, and immediately, my husband woke as quite a bit as what appeared like an infinite explosion. I felt him pushing me and yelling.

After I sat up, I seen flames coming by our mattress room window, not even six toes away.

Gerardo: We have now two children, Anthony, who’s 3, and Charlie, who’s 1. We grabbed them each and ran exterior.

Tomi: We each ran out in our underwear on account of we did not have time to get garments.

The hearth destroyed about half of our residence, plus there was smoke damage in all places.

Gerardo: We misplaced nearly every little think about our mattress room and the consuming space.

Tomi: We had been merely in shock. We sat exterior staring on the home for a extremely very very long time.

Gerardo: The Pink Cross gave us some cash for a resort.

We needed to restart our lives someplace

Tomi: Numerous days later, our landlord instructed us they needed to terminate the lease on account of they might not estimate how extended the repairs would take and could not put us in a single completely different place all through the meantime. We had been homeless and realized that we might have appreciated to begin one different time.

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We talked about staying in California, however beginning a mannequin new lease all through the state is dear with a deposit, the primary month’s lease, and all the prices.

We figured if we might have appreciated to begin over completely, we is probably larger off beginning in Texas.

Gerardo: My brother has lived in San Antonio for about 10 years. We acquired proper right here out to go to fairly just a few years as soon as extra and simply fell in love with the town.

Tomi: We packed up what we had left, my husband took out his 401(okay), and we drove to Texas.

Texas is moderately quite a bit additional low cost

Gerardo: Our first impression of Texas was how low-cost the lease is. We paid about $2,350 in San Bernardino for a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom condominium. We’re now in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom place in San Antonio and pay $1,250.

Tomi: We first utilized for fairly just a few properties, however the wait took endlessly. We determined to utilize for an condominium and purchased licensed the following day. We stayed in a resort for 3 weeks till we acquired licensed for the condominium.

Along with lease being cheaper, fuel is cheap, which is good for us on account of we now have fairly large cars.

Gerardo: Automotive registration is, too.

Tomi: Groceries, nonetheless, appear to be regarding the equal.

Whereas the worth of dwelling is additional low cost correct proper right here, the pay is decrease.

I am a licensed phlebotomist, and in California, I used to be making about $25 an hour. Correct proper right here in Texas, I acquired some affords starting from $16 to $20 an hour, and I accepted one. I am making lower than I used to be in California, however with the cash we’re saving, it is not too large a distinction.

Gerardo: I am a tow truck driver. I labored two driving jobs in California, making $21 an hour and $24 an hour.

I anticipated to have the ability to discover a related job in Texas, however as rapidly as I acquired correct proper right here, it was extra sturdy than I assumed. The proper-paying towing job I am going to uncover was for barely bigger than $15 an hour.

For now, I have been holding off on getting a job to take a look at the kids since we don’t know many individuals correct proper right here in Texas who might babysit.

The state has exceeded our expectations

Tomi: We merely fell in love with Texas. It is quite a bit greener than we anticipated. We thought it could very effectively be all desert and cowboys, however San Antonio has many good parks and playgrounds. It feels very family-oriented.

Gerardo: The ambiance out correct proper right here is good. My associate has some PTSD from the hearth, and it is good that it’s not as dry.

Tomi: You undoubtedly really actually really feel the Texas warmth, although. It was nonetheless so scorching on Halloween. We’re used to a breeze in October.

It furthermore snowed since we have been correct proper right here, which is unusual for San Antonio. We love the snow.

There have been some challenges, however we made the turning into selection

Gerardo: The toughest adjustment has been the meals. Even the McDonald’s correct proper right here tastes totally completely completely different. Texas road tacos aren’t like California road tacos in the slightest degree.

There was unimaginable Hawaiian barbecue in California. Since we moved, I’ve not at all been capable of finding related meals.

Tomi: Texas has been so good to us. I felt like I used to be dwelling instantly. I really actually really feel like I’ve related to the fogeys. Everyone seems to be so kind.

Gerardo: Our purpose is to remain in Texas long-term, however we wish to change to Amarillo, Texas, lastly. It snows there additional typically, and we love the chilly.

Tomi: I am so glad we moved. It was scary as quickly as we determined to do it, however we had nothing to lose and made it work.

Gerardo: The current fires in Los Angeles had been horrible, and we’re praying for everybody concerned.

The reassurance of not having to emphasize about wildfires correct proper right here like we did in California has been an infinite plus already.