Why many California exes are moving to Texas

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 8. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Why many California exes are moving to Texas
• Biden support is down sharply among California voters
• Where to find flying saucer doughnut dumplings in L.A.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper
  

Many California exes are moving to Texas

They say everything is bigger in Texas. That also includes the share of newcomers relocating to the Lone Star State by way of California.

My colleague Terry Castleman analyzed U.S. census data, which showed that “more than 100,000 Californians moved to Texas last year, compared with around 40,000 who made the opposite move.”

A few other states where about 50,000 or more California residents moved last year: Arizona, Washington and Florida. Although more Californians moved to Texas than vice versa, more Texans moved to California last year than did residents of any other state.

For some ex-Californians Terry spoke with, the Golden State has lost its luster. Recent Lone Star State arrivals cited a more reasonable cost of living — especially the availability of affordable housing — but also fewer concerns about crime and traffic.

“Between July 2020 and July 2022, Texas’ housing stock grew by almost 5% — the third-biggest gain of any state,” Terry reported this week. “California’s housing stock increased by just 1.6% during the span.”

But as what some call the “Texodus” continues and the state’s population grows, some say its challenges are beginning to take a California-esque shape.

Mechele Dickerson, a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin and an expert on the housing crisis, told Terry that some blame Californians for driving up housing prices, pushing some longtime residents out of cities such as Austin and into now-booming suburbs. That trend is also contributing to homelessness, she noted.

“We used to laugh at those people in L.A.” because of their long commutes, Dickerson said, “and now that’s what we’re seeing” as people move farther from city centers in search of affordability.

Politics also play a key role for many with more conservative stances on issues including abortion, gun control, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.

Terry spoke with Marie Bailey, who moved with her husband from El Segundo to the Dallas-Fort Worth area back in 2017.

At her husband’s former workplace in L.A., she said he “wouldn’t even talk about his politics because he was afraid of losing his job.”

“Nowhere is perfect,” Bailey told Terry, “but we fit in a lot better here.”

You can read more from Terry on the “Texodus” in his subscriber exclusive story.

Today’s top stories

A UC Berkeley-L.A. Times poll shows approval of President Biden has dropped among key voter groups. In solidly Democratic California, he still tops Donald Trump.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Politics

• Biden support is down sharply among California voters for the first time in the presidency, a new poll shows.
• Who’s in tonight’s Republican presidential debate? When does it start? And how can you watch it?

Courts and crime

• The Supreme Court sounds wary of extending gun rights to domestic abusers.
• A key lawyer in the sprawling corruption scandal at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the city attorney’s office got a 33-month prison sentence.
• China is widely accepted to be the world’s worst purveyor of illegally caught seafood. But the human rights abuses taking place on its ships have attracted less notice and so remain rampant.

Labor

• The end of the actors’ strike seemed within reach. Why is a SAG-AFTRA deal taking so long?
• L.A. County physicians are weighing a possible strike over what union officials argue are inadequate benefits that have hampered employee retention and led to alarming levels of vacancies.

Healthcare

• California imports doctors from Mexico to fill gaping holes in farmworker healthcare.
• Bay Area reinstates COVID mask orders in healthcare settings. Will L.A. follow?

More big stories

• The 2023 CMA Awards are back in Nashville tonight. How to watch the ceremony.
• First, dry Santa Ana winds and a fire weather watch. Then get ready for rain.
• A massive fire burned the historic north blimp hangar in Tustin, an Orange County landmark that dates back to World War II.
• It’s been five years since California’s deadliest wildfire. Can we stop it from happening again?
• The Brentwood tenant who did not pay rent for her luxury Airbnb rental for 570 days has moved out. She said she had a right to stay.
  

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

• LZ Granderson: America’s tragic war on LGBTQ+ people extends its collateral damage.
• Sammy Roth: Trump is lying about California and clean energy again.
• Robin Abcarian: House Speaker Johnson is a MAGA acolyte, as expected. But he’s also a little weird.
• Editorial: L.A.’s ‘mansion tax’ is a lifeline to ease homelessness, but it remains in limbo.
• Dylan Hernández: James Harden experiment could create a Big Four headache for Clippers.
• Helene Elliott: How Allisen Corpuz flourished in her second year on LPGA Tour.
• Column: Spanish doesn’t define Latinidad. So what does that mean for Brazilians?

Today’s great reads

(The Ocean Outlaw Project; Photo illustration by Nicole Vas / Los Angeles Times)

They catch squid for the world’s table. But deckhands on Chinese ships pay a deadly price. As the world’s fish stocks decline and fleets stay at sea longer, workers aboard some deepwater Chinese squid ships face difficult living conditions that can lead to a fatal disease.

Other great reads

• How UCLA is trying to break the myth of the Latino monolith.
• How a Chinese restaurant in Detroit taught a queer L.A. writer everything he knows.
• ‘Radical’ opens at No. 5 at the U.S. box office, boosted by major Latino cities. The fact-based drama stars Eugenio Derbez as an innovative teacher helping poor kids reach their potential.
  

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

The Boynton Pass Vortex in Sedona, Ariz.

(Adam Riding / For The Times)

Going out

• 🪨 Why so many flock to Sedona’s vortexes — and what to really expect when you get there.
• 🎭 John Douglas Thompson and Alfred Molina’s clash of titans transcends dated ‘Inherit the Wind’ — now on stage at Pasadena Playhouse.
• 🥟 Flying saucer doughnut dumplings do exist. Use the 101 Best Restaurants to find them.
• 🚗 Things to do on the ultimate weekend trip to Santa Barbara.

Staying in

• 📖 Love affairs, the diva thing and that nose: Takeaways from Barbra Streisand’s huge memoir.
• 📺 Improv’s 60th anniversary Netflix special spotlights the brick walls and belly laughs of America’s comedy club.
• 📕 Californian author Ed Park’s wildly ambitious novel of alt-history Korea.
• 🥣 Here are five of our favorite fall soup recipes.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

The Smithsonian Institution Shelter at the Mount Whitney summit — the highest peak in the Continental U.S.

(Lee Friedersdorf)

Today’s great photo is from Lee Friedersdorf of Costa Mesa: Mount Whitney summit. Lee writes: “Mount Whitney! Highest peak in the Continental U.S. A must do hike for any avid California hiker. Thousands hike it annually.”

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.