CULTURE

Texas is apparently one of the worst states to live in, according to a new study

July 20th, 2021

It's good to be humbled sometimes.

According to a study from CNBC, Texas is the second-worst U.S. state to live in, falling only behind Arizona. Ouch.

CNBC looked at the quality of life in each state for the study.

"For all its strength as a place to do business, Texas keeps trying to outdo itself when it comes to laws and policies that are seen as exclusionary," CNBC's Scott Cohn writes. "It is one of the only states with no public accommodation law to protect against discrimination."

Cohn also notes Texas' weaknesses in inclusiveness, health, voting rights and public health funding.

Maybe they have a point. Besides all those terrible things we deal with that CNBC pointed out, Texas has some other very important points against it.

1. Any major highway in Texas. They're all terrible.
2. Hurricanes. Plus, floating fire ant colonies during floods.
3. Dallas.

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4. Multiple days of 100+ degree heat. I've suffered more than a few seatbelt buckle burns in my day.
5. We really should have more Waffle Houses.
6. Hellish animals that might not kill us but are still terrifying.
7. An ailing power grid apparently always on the verge of collapse.
8. It takes hours to get out of here. This place is almost too big.
9. Our beaches aren't great. Some are pretty decent. Some just have a lot of seaweed, dead jellyfish and seagulls hell-bent on snatching your sandy bag of Hot Cheetos.

There are plenty of not-great things about Texas. But we also have brisket, Willie Nelson, the country's most diverse city, armadillos, kolaches, bluebonnets, Simone Biles, NASA, beautiful landscapes, H-E-B, Beyoncé and lots of good and decent people on top of all the other countless things that still make this a pretty good place to live.

At this rate, anything good outside of Texas is probably going to migrate here anyway.

Curated By

Maya Gupta
Investigative Journalist | Grassroots Movement Organizer | Economy Consultant/Speaker
Maya Gupta writes from the fault lines of a world that refuses to stay quiet. Focused on the collisions between culture, power, and accountability, her work cuts past polished narratives to expose what’s really moving beneath the surface. From the rise of creator-driven influence to athlete activism and grassroots resistance, she tracks the momentum shaping a generation unwilling to wait its turn. Her reporting doesn’t cater to comfort, it confronts it, challenging institutions that lean on legacy instead of legitimacy. With a voice rooted in urgency and a lens tuned to those often ignored, Maya delivers coverage that reflects the stakes as they are, not as they’re packaged. This is journalism that doesn’t just observe change, it stands in the middle of it, documenting the push, the backlash, and the undeniable shift underway.

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