We Moved From California to Texas; We Make Quite a bit 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 mother and father however misses California’s meals.

This as-told-to essay relies 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 dimension and readability.

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

San Bernardino should not be just about pretty much as good on account of it was. Many factors, like homelessness and gang practice, appear to have gotten worse at the moment.

Tomi: There have been factors we most popular about California. I had household solely about an hour away. I cherished being contained in the snow or on the seashore every time I wished.

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 presumably Utah, however we weren’t excessive about it.

A fireplace lastly pushed us to go away

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

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

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

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

Gerardo: Now we have two children, Anthony, who’s 3, and Charlie, who’s 1. We grabbed them each and ran open air.

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

The fireside destroyed about half of our dwelling, plus there was smoke damage all over the place.

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

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

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

We wished to restart our lives someplace

Tomi: A wide range of days later, our landlord instructed us they wished to terminate the lease on account of they won’t estimate how extended the repairs would take and could not put us in a single totally different place contained in the meantime. We had been homeless and realized that we wished to start out one different time.

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

We figured if we wished to start out over completely, we is more likely to be elevated off beginning in Texas.

Gerardo: My brother has lived in San Antonio for about 10 years. We purchased proper right here out to go to quite 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 sort of 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 quite a few properties, however the wait took endlessly. We determined to utilize for an condominium and bought accepted the following day. We stayed in a resort for 3 weeks till we acquired accepted for the condominium.

Along with lease being cheaper, gasoline is cheap, which is nice for us on account of we now have fairly huge cars.

Gerardo: Automotive registration is, too.

Tomi: Groceries, nonetheless, seem to be in regards to the an an identical.

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 huge 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 pliability to discover a related job in Texas, however as shortly as I acquired correct proper right here, it was tougher than I assumed. The proper-paying towing job I am going to uncover was for barely higher than $15 an hour.

For now, I have been holding off on getting a job to observe the kids since we do not know many individuals correct proper right here in Texas who may babysit.

The state has exceeded our expectations

Tomi: We merely fell in love with Texas. It is loads greener than we anticipated. We thought it might presumably 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 nice. My accomplice has some PTSD from the hearth, and it is good that it is 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 changing into alternative

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

There was unimaginable Hawaiian barbecue in California. Since we moved, I’ve under no circumstances 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 mother and father. Everyone seems to be so form.

Gerardo: Our objective is to remain in Texas long-term, however we wish to change to Amarillo, Texas, lastly. It snows there additional usually, 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 a vast plus already.