Ten Reasons to Not Live in Texas
BuzzFeed really wants you to live in Texas, because the queso rocks.
no…really….in Texas the queso is better than sex…apparantly:
1. Queso. To be honest, the existence of queso is reason enough to live in Texas,
and, being Texas - still better than sex is number 2 on the list:
2. Blue Bell ice cream for days.
and 3? you betcha - moar food! :
3. Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits from Whataburger. AKA your new favorite thing to eat that is actually terrible for your heart, but is so good for your soul.
The reason everything is bigger in Texas, is because, they apparently eat in place of great sex. It’s not just sex either, taxes, - yep, Texas likes food better than taxes, but I’ll get to that later.
To be fair, it is not just food which buzzfeed lauds the Lone Star State for:
36. The men are true gentlemen.
Indeed…
Over 24% of the families in Texas do not have fathers present in the home.
Over 18% of the babies born in Texas are born out of wedlock.
Over 38% of teen births in Texas are out of wedlock.
Hmm… and in real terms - that puts Texas exactly where?
1. New Mexico - 93/1,000
2. Mississippi - 90/1,000
Third. Worst. I promise you, however, the gents are really really nice in Texas.
The ten states with the highest rate of females murdered by males were, as of 2010, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, Hawaii, Arizona, Georgia. In 2009, for homicides in which the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 93% of female victims were murdered by a male they knew, 63% of them in the context of an intimate relationship.
Dating violence has become a problem among young Texans. According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, more than 27% of young people have been victims of physical dating violence. However, if these figures included emotional and verbal abuse the percentage of those effected would rise to almost 50%.
Ok Ok, I know, it is not fair to dismiss a state on how it treats women comparative to its peers, lets go further down Buzzfeed’s list:
34. Southern hospitality.
I am sure Texas is a really hospitable place - I really am….however… maybe to be fair - this is only to a certain type of Texan:
Bias Motivation
In 2011, the largest percentage of hate crime reports were racial in nature. The second most commonly reported bias motivation was sexual orientation, the third most common bias motivation was ethnicity/national origin, the fourth most common form of hate crime was religious and the fifth was disability.
If you are a lesbian Hindu Lithuanian with a palsy, maybe Vermont would be better…
42. The feeling of living in a place people are proud to call home.
44. NO STATE INCOME TAX.
The Commonwealth Fund ranks the Texas healthcare system the third worst in the nation. Texas ranks close to last in access to healthcare, quality of care, avoidable hospital spending, and equity among various groups. Causes of the state’s poor rankings include politics, a high poverty rate, and the highest rate of illegal immigration in the nation. In May 2006, Texas initiated the program “code red” in response to the report that the state had 25.1 percent of the population without health insurance, the largest proportion in the nation. Texas also has controversial non-economic damages caps for medical malpractice lawsuits, set at $250,000, in an attempt to “curb rising malpractice premiums, and control escalating healthcare costs”.
The Trust for America’s Health ranked Texas 15th highest in adult obesity, with 27.2 percent of the state’s population measured as obese. The 2008 Men’s Health obesity survey ranked four Texas cities among the top 25 fattest cities in America; Houston ranked 6th, Dallas 7th, El Paso 8th, and Arlington 14th. Texas had only one city, Austin, ranked 21st, in the top 25 among the “fittest cities” in America. The same survey has evaluated the state’s obesity initiatives favorably with a “B+”.The state is ranked forty-second in the percentage of residents who engage in regular exercise.
Top 10 Least Walkable U.S. Cities
1. Jacksonville
2. Nashville
3. Charlotte
4. Indianapolis
5. Oklahoma City
6. Memphis
7. Kansas City
8. Fort Worth
9. El Paso
10. Mesa
Greenhouse gases
Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the U.S. The state emits nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680 billion kg) of carbon dioxide annually. As an independent nation, Texas would rank as the world’s seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Causes of the state’s vast greenhouse gas emissions include the state’s large number of coal power plants and the state’s refining and manufacturing industries. In 2010, there were 2,553 “emission events” which poured 44.6 million pounds of contaminants into the Texas sky.
When the black smoke pours out of the Texan oil refinery across the road in yet another unplanned discharge, Erma Lee Ellas has just one way to try to keep the cloud of chemicals from reaching her asthmatic lungs: “I close the door.”
Port Arthur, Texas has some of the dirtiest air in the United States. Some people like to say it’s the smell of money. For residents like 78-year-old Ellas, it brings sickness and pain.
Criminal law
Texas has a reputation of harsh criminal punishment for criminal offenses. It is one of the 32 states that practice capital punishment, and since the US Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976, 40% of all US executions have taken place in Texas. As of 2008, Texas had the 4th highest incarceration rate in the US. Texas also has strong self defense laws, allowing citizens to use lethal force to defend themselves, their families, or their property
As of 2010, Texas had a gross state product (GSP) of $1.207 trillion, the second highest in the U.S. Its GSP is comparable to the GDP of India or Canada, which are the world’s 12th- and 11th-largest economies, respectively. Texas’ economy is the fourth-largest of any country subdivision globally, behind England (as part of the UK), California, and Tokyo Prefecture. Its Per Capita personal income in 2009 was $36,484, ranking 29th in the nation.
In 2010, there were 346,000 millionaires in Texas, constituting the second-largest population of millionaires in the nation.
Nationally, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, home to the second shopping mall in the United States, has the most shopping malls per capita of any American metropolitan area.
Texas ranked 29th in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Report Card on American Education. Texas students ranked higher than average in mathematics, but lower in reading.
Between 2006-2007, Texas spent $7,275 per pupil ranking it below the national average of $9,389.
The pupil/teacher ratio was 14.9, below the national average of 15.3.
Texas paid instructors $41,744, below the national average of $46,593.
Hey, don’t let all that get you down :
100. Living in the state with the most state pride.
101. And finally, knowing for a fact that everything is actually bigger and better in Texas!
Bon Appetit….