What No One Tells You About Moving from California to Texas (Why We Moved Back)

When we made the decision to leave California for Texas, it wasn't because we were trying to escape some fast-paced California city for wide-open land.

That's actually not our story at all.

We came from Tulare, a small agricultural town in California's Central Valley where farms, acreage, livestock, and hot summers are completely normal. We already knew and loved that kind of life.

So when we talk about falling in love with Texas, it wasn't because we'd never seen a barn before. It was something about the particular place we found there.

And funny enough, our story with that place started before we ever seriously considered moving.

The Texas Neighborhood I Never Thought We'd Actually Live In

About a year before we moved, my husband and I visited the area of Texas that would eventually become our home.

I remember driving through one particular subdivision and being completely taken by it. The houses were incredible. The properties were beautiful. Everything about the neighborhood felt special.

I actually pulled out my phone and took a video, telling my husband:

"Oh my gosh, this is the dream."

At the time, it was just that — a dream.

I wasn't filming it because we were house hunting, and I certainly didn't think I'd be sitting there a year later knowing one of those homes was ours.

Looking back now, that little video feels almost surreal.

Why We Moved From California to Texas

There wasn't one dramatic reason we packed everything up and moved halfway across the country.

There were practical reasons. There were things about Texas that appealed to us. We were excited about experiencing somewhere new.

But there was also something I couldn't really explain at the time.

I felt like we were supposed to go.

It wasn't simply that I'd found a beautiful house online. I had this incredibly strong urge to move, and deep down, I felt like God was telling me to take the leap even though I couldn't have told you what was waiting for us on the other side of it.

So we listened.

That's something I think about a lot now because, knowing everything that happened once we got there, I sometimes wonder if Texas was never really about a house at all.

We Fell in Love With a Very Particular Kind of Texas Life

The area we chose wasn't appealing to us because it was the complete opposite of where we'd come from.

In some ways, it actually felt familiar.

We already understood small-town life. We were accustomed to agriculture and land. We knew what triple-digit summer days felt like.

What was different was the subdivision itself.

These were beautiful homes sitting on large lots with room between neighbors and a completely different feel from anything we'd personally experienced before.

We eventually bought a roughly 3,500-square-foot home on nearly four acres. We had a barn, our neighbors had horses, and the house itself was gorgeous.

There were so many moments when I'd look around and think back to that video I'd taken a year earlier:

This actually became our life.

We Wanted to Know What Life Somewhere Else Could Look Like

I also think there was a part of us that simply needed to go.

When you've lived in one area for a long time, it's easy to assume you already know what you want because you've never had anything else to compare it to.

Moving across the country gave us perspective we couldn't have gotten from visiting. You learn very quickly that every place has things you love, things you don't, and things you didn't even know mattered to you until they're gone.

It made us look differently at home, family, community, space, and the kind of everyday life we actually wanted.

More Space Was Wonderful — But It Taught Us Something Too

We genuinely loved our home and property.

Nearly four acres sounds dreamy because, in a lot of ways, it was. But one thing living there taught us is that just because you can have more doesn't necessarily mean you need more.

A 3,500-square-foot home means 3,500 square feet to furnish, clean, heat, cool, repair, and maintain. Four acres means four acres that need attention. A barn is wonderful — and a barn also needs maintenance.

There was always something.

None of that makes the lifestyle bad. For the right person, it absolutely is the dream.

It simply helped us figure out which parts of that dream actually mattered to us.

Is Texas Really Cheaper Than California?

This is probably one of the things I have the strongest opinion about after actually living in both states:

I would never move somewhere simply because someone told me it was cheaper.

People love comparing individual numbers.

Our California vehicle registration this year was around $800, while registering our vehicles in Texas was dramatically less expensive for us.

That sounds like a huge Texas win.

But then there are toll roads.

If we'd been regularly commuting into Houston — roughly 45 minutes from where we lived — we could easily have spent around $25 a week or more in tolls depending on the route and frequency.

One expense disappears. Another takes its place.

And that's what I mean when I say so much of it comes out in the wash.

The Costs Nobody Includes in a "California vs. Texas" Calculator

There is another part of moving away that I almost never see included in cost-of-living comparisons:

What does it cost to live somewhere where you don't have your people?

That isn't an easy number to put into a calculator.

When you live near family and longtime friends, you may have a parent, sibling, friend, or neighbor who can help when life happens.

Move across the country where you don't know anyone and suddenly many of those little favors become services you have to pay for.

Need someone to watch the dog? You need a dog sitter.

Need someone to watch the kids for an appointment — or because something unexpected happens? You need a babysitter.

Your car has to go into the shop and you need a ride home? Call an Uber.

Need help with something at the house that a parent, sibling, friend, or neighbor might normally lend a hand with? You may be hiring someone.

And the list goes on.

None of those things individually determines whether one state is more affordable than another. But they are absolutely part of the real cost of uprooting your life and starting somewhere without a support system.

Then there's the most obvious expense of all: moving itself.

Moving an entire household across multiple states isn't free. Depending on how you do it, there are movers or trucks, fuel, hotels, travel, deposits, setting up a new home, replacing things that don't make the move, and dozens of smaller expenses you don't necessarily anticipate beforehand.

That's why our experience with the whole "Texas is so much cheaper than California" conversation is pretty simple:

Everything is relative.

Maybe your house costs less. Maybe one fee costs less. Maybe another expense costs more.

Your exact city, home, commute, insurance, lifestyle, family situation, and support system matter far more than a blanket comparison between two enormous states.

For us, Texas didn't suddenly make life dramatically cheaper.

And that wasn't why we went.

I would choose where I want my family to build a life first — and then determine whether we can comfortably afford the life we want there.

Not the other way around.

The Part of Our Texas Story That Means the Most

There is one part of this story that matters more to me than the house, the land, the cost of living, the weather, or any of the reasons we eventually decided to leave.

Texas brought us both of our babies.

My husband and I had been married for ten years without having children.

We had spent years hoping and trying to grow our family. Eventually, we reached a place where we decided to stop trying to control what our future was supposed to look like and give it completely to God.

If babies weren't part of His plan for us, we would be okay.

We were healthy. We were blessed. We had built a beautiful life. And most importantly, we had each other.

There was a peace that came with finally surrendering something we had wanted for so long.

And then God surprised us.

About a year and a half after moving to Texas, we found out I was pregnant.

After ten years of marriage and years of wondering whether becoming parents would ever be part of our story, suddenly there were two little lines telling us everything was about to change.

We were going to have a son.

Our miracle baby.

When he arrived, we couldn't believe we actually got to be his parents.

And we truly thought he might be our one miracle.

One baby after all those years. How could we possibly ask for anything more?

Apparently, God had other plans.

Nine months after our son was born, we found out I was pregnant again.

This time, with our baby girl.

Our second miracle.

And by then, another huge change was already underway.

We had already made the decision to move back to California, and our move was set for just two months later.

Once again, everything seemed to be falling into place in a way we never could have orchestrated ourselves.

When it was finally time to leave Texas, we decided to make the journey home part of the adventure. I shared our road trip from Texas to California, including the route we took and where we stopped, stayed, and ate along the way.

Sometimes I look back at that overwhelming feeling I had years earlier — that inexplicable urge telling me we needed to move to Texas — and I wonder:

Was this why?

Was Texas never supposed to be our forever home?

Was it simply the place God needed us to be for this chapter?

I don't pretend to know every reason God leads us where He does.

But I do know this:

We followed that pull to Texas as a family of two. And eventually, Texas sent us home as a family of four.

Our daughter may not have been born there, but her story began there.

Both of our babies began in a place we never expected to call home, during a chapter of our lives we never could have written for ourselves.

So when someone asks whether I regret moving to Texas, my answer could never be anything other than no.

Texas gave us many things.

But nothing compares to the two little lives that will forever make that chapter sacred to us.

Why We Ultimately Moved Back to California

The interesting part of our story is that there wasn't one terrible experience that made us leave Texas.

We genuinely loved so much about our life there.

Moving home was less about running away from Texas and more about realizing what mattered most to us.

Family, Plain and Simple

This became the biggest factor.

No matter how beautiful our house was or how much land surrounded it, neither could replace being close to the people we loved.

We missed birthdays, casual get-togethers, Sunday dinners, and the kind of spontaneous visits that don't seem particularly important until you can't have them anymore.

Once we had our son, those little things began to feel much bigger.

We Wanted Our Kids to Grow Up Around Their People

Having a baby completely changed the way we looked at distance.

We wanted our children to grow up alongside their cousins and our close friends' children. We wanted grandparents and family to be part of ordinary life, not only holidays and planned visits.

Because the relationships that shape childhood aren't only built during big occasions.

They're built during random afternoons, birthday parties, dinners, sleepovers, quick visits, and all of the completely ordinary moments that eventually become childhood memories.

That became something we weren't willing to trade for more square footage.

The Texas Heat Was No Joke

We knew Texas was hot.

And coming from Tulare, California, we were certainly no strangers to hot summers.

But Texas heat was different for us.

It wasn't simply the number on the thermometer. It was the humidity and the long stretches of heat that changed how much we actually wanted to be outside.

That surprised us because we'd come from a hot part of California ourselves.

Especially once we had a little one, there were periods when we were indoors far more than we'd imagined we'd be when dreaming about life on acreage.

Now we're back in California, but our life here looks very different from the California we left. We live near the beach, about two hours from our hometown, where the climate is significantly cooler.

So even our experience of "California weather" today isn't the same California weather we grew up with.

Four Acres Sounds Romantic Until You Own Four Acres

I say this with so much love because I truly loved our property.

There is something incredibly peaceful about looking outside and seeing open land. We had the barn. Our neighbors had horses. There was room to breathe.

But land comes with responsibility.

There is always something to mow, maintain, repair, clean up, check on, or plan for.

And when you combine several acres with a 3,500-square-foot house, you quickly realize you're not simply buying more property.

You're buying the responsibility of caring for it.

For some people, that's exactly the dream.

Living it helped us realize that we wanted something simpler.

The Things I Still Miss About Texas

I think this part of the story is important too.

Because moving back doesn't erase everything we loved about living there.

I miss our house.

I miss the space sometimes. I miss looking outside and seeing horses. I miss the slower feeling of certain days. I miss pieces of the life we built there.

And I'll always be grateful that we were brave enough to go.

Texas gave us perspective I don't think we ever would have gained if we'd stayed comfortably inside the life we'd always known.

It taught us that we didn't need as much space as we thought we did. It taught us what we valued in a community. It taught us how much being close to our family mattered.

And, more than anything, it gave us the greatest gifts of our lives.

I can miss Texas and still know moving home was right.

Both things can be true.

Would I Recommend Moving From California to Texas?

I would never give someone a blanket yes or no.

Your family isn't our family. Your priorities might be completely different.

But if you're considering making the same move, these are the questions I'd ask yourself:

• Are you moving toward something you genuinely want, or mostly trying to get away from something you don't?

• Have you looked at your complete financial picture rather than comparing home prices alone?

• How important is proximity to family and longtime friends?

• Do you genuinely want the responsibility that comes with a larger home or acreage?

• Have you spent meaningful time in the specific part of Texas you're considering during the hottest part of the year?

• What kind of community are you hoping to find?

• And what does your ideal ordinary Tuesday look like?

That last question may be the most important.

It's easy to fall in love with acreage, a beautiful house, a lower listing price, or the idea of starting over somewhere new.

But most of your life isn't made up of holidays and perfect Saturdays.

It's ordinary Tuesdays.

Think about where and how you want to live those.

So... Was Moving From California to Texas Worth It?

Absolutely.

Not because Texas became our forever home.

Because that chapter gave our family things we never could have anticipated when we packed those boxes.

It gave us space and perspective. It pushed us outside our comfort zone. It taught us what home really meant to us.

And it brought us our babies.

We learned that you can genuinely love a place and still decide it isn't where you're supposed to stay forever.

We learned that changing your mind doesn't mean your original decision was a mistake.

And we learned that sometimes you don't understand why God is leading you somewhere until much later.

Maybe we were supposed to live in Texas forever.

Maybe we weren't.

I don't know every piece of God's plan.

But when I look at the two little people who came into our lives because of the chapter that unfolded there, I'm reminded that His plans were so much bigger than anything we could have made for ourselves.

The Takeaway

If you're considering moving from California to Texas, I hope our story doesn't convince you to move.

And I hope it doesn't convince you not to.

I hope it reminds you that no place is perfect.

Every state, city, home, and lifestyle comes with trade-offs.

Sometimes you can make every spreadsheet, compare every expense, tour every neighborhood, and create the most thoughtful plan possible — and life will still unfold in ways you never anticipated.

For us, the question eventually stopped being:

Where is better?

And became:

Where do we feel most at home?

For this season of our lives, home is where our people are.

But I'll always have a piece of my heart in Texas.

Because that's where our family grew from two to four.

Frequently Asked Questions About Moving From California to Texas

Do you regret moving from California to Texas?

Not at all. Texas became an incredibly important chapter in our family's story. We loved our home, our property, and many parts of the life we built there. Most importantly, both of our babies became part of our story while we lived in Texas.

Moving back to California doesn't make moving to Texas a mistake. We can be grateful for that chapter while also knowing it was time for our family to come home.

Why did you move from California to Texas?

There wasn't one single reason. We were excited to experience life somewhere new, fell in love with the particular Texas community where we eventually bought our home, and felt drawn toward making the move.

On a deeper level, I also had a very strong feeling that God was leading us there, even though I couldn't explain why at the time.

Why did you move back to California from Texas?

Family became the biggest reason.

After having our son, being far away from grandparents, cousins, longtime friends, and our support system felt very different. We wanted our children to grow up with their people woven into their everyday lives rather than only seeing them during planned visits and holidays.

When it was finally time to come home, we turned the move itself into a road trip. You can read our full Texas-to-California road trip itinerary here, including where we stopped, stayed, and ate along the way.

Is Texas cheaper than California?

Our experience was much more nuanced than simply saying Texas is cheaper.

Certain expenses were considerably lower for us, while others took their place. Your housing, commute, insurance, location, lifestyle, and access to a support system can all affect what life actually costs.

I wouldn't make a move between the two states based on one expense or a general cost-of-living comparison. For us, so much of it came out in the wash.

What surprised you most about living in Texas?

One of the biggest surprises was how much our priorities changed once we actually lived there.

Having a beautiful home and acreage was wonderful, but it also came with maintenance and responsibility. Having our son also made us realize how much we valued living near family and the people who had known us for years.

Was the Texas heat worse than California?

We came from Tulare in California's Central Valley, so we were already very familiar with hot summers.

For us, the Texas heat still felt different, particularly because of the humidity and long stretches of weather that affected how much time we wanted to spend outdoors.

Texas is enormous, though, so someone's experience can vary considerably depending on where they live.

Where do you live in California now?

Our California life looks very different today from the California we originally left.

We now live on California's Central Coast, about two hours from our hometown, where we're close to the beach and the weather is significantly cooler.

It's one of the things I love about California — you can drive a couple of hours and feel like you're somewhere completely different.

If you're visiting our little corner of California, I have guides to both Paso Robles and Morro Bay with some of my favorite places to eat, stay, and explore.

Would you recommend moving from California to Texas?

I wouldn't give someone a blanket yes or no.

Both states can offer wonderful lifestyles, and the right answer depends on your family, finances, community, career, and priorities.

I'd spend meaningful time in the specific Texas community you're considering and think less about which state is "better" and more about what you want your ordinary everyday life to look like.

A Note From Amanda

Looking back, our Texas chapter feels completely different to me now than it did while we were living it.

At the time, I knew I felt called to go. I just didn't know why.

Maybe I'll never know every reason.

But I know that we arrived in Texas after ten years of marriage as a family of two, having finally placed our hopes for children completely in God's hands.

And we left with our son in our arms and our daughter already on the way.

How could I ever regret that chapter?

Texas gave us a beautiful home, wide-open land, neighbors' horses outside our windows, a slower season of life, and memories I'll always treasure.

But more than anything, Texas is where God grew our family.

It reminds me that sometimes a place doesn't have to be your forever home to have a forever purpose in your story.

Sometimes God asks you to go before He tells you why.

And sometimes it's only when you look backward that you begin to see how beautifully the pieces were being put together all along.

We thought we were moving to Texas for a different life.

God had something so much bigger waiting for us there.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Made with love for the people you love.