How Much is Gas Where U R?

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

Consider me the fourth and my wife the fifth. I am from Silicon Valley, she from LA. We met here.

Texas has its stuff that's not so great, too, though.

Weather, I'm assuming?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

Consider me the fourth and my wife the fifth. I am from Silicon Valley, she from LA. We met here.

Texas has its stuff that's not so great, too, though.

The tap water (at least in DFW and Houston) isn't on par with the Bay Area or Orange County in California. Many roads don't have shoulders. Texas has more of some pollutants in the air, but the overall rating of the air quality in my zip code here is slightly better than both Mill Valley, CA and Incline Village, NV. One has to leave Texas to ski (snow, not water). Texas is the only state that is both a common law marriage state and a community property state. Despite the past 'Don't mess with Texas litter campaign', litter is still a problem (worse than California). In some areas there is a 'good 'ole boyness' (In a bad way). Most San Franciscans and New Yorkers could find the culture they desire in either DFW or Houston, but 'culture freaks' might be disappointed. Simultaneous midriff baring and tramp stamps. Nanny statism regarding religion (thinking textbook content)...which I can choose to ignore.

Those are negatives that came to mind off the top of my head.

Just the absence of a strong nanny state mentality (other than re religion), and the lower level of overall taxation mindset alone far outweigh, without even taking the gun laws into consideration , the negatives I listed above (IMO).

I think if more Californians could experience living in Texas (or even Nevada or Florida), they'd be upset re how much their state, county, and local governments take advantage of them on all sorts of financial issues, both directly and indirectly.

I'm a 5th Generation Bay Area native, and unless California becomes a lot like Texas or states with similar policies (which might not happen even if h*** froze over ) I will never again become a resident of California.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

Weather, I'm assuming?

I don't know about Jcp123 nor his wife, but I don't mind the humidity.

A few years ago I was in a Home Depot talking to an employee about the weather in different parts of Texas. The employee was a native Houstonian, and was working to supplement his social security. He said the women of El Paso have skin like leather, but that 'our women' (the women of Houston) have skin that is as soft as a baby's bottom .

[ern-diz]

Interesting...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

Interesting...

I guess one had to be there. The guy had a really thick local accent.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

Interesting...

If you're including post #102, I probably do have a list of negatives that might be different from most.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

If you're including post #102, I probably do have a list of negatives that might be different from most.

I was referring to both 182 and 183. It's all interesting feedback. Thanks

[Jcp123]

I'm at work...but I'm going to have to respond to all of this lol

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

I'm at work...but I'm going to have to respond to all of this lol

[nookandcrannycar]

Just got gas. $2.01 9/10 at Wal-Mart (Murphy Oil) in Tomball, TX. This APPEARS to be tied for the 3rd cheapest in the Houston metro with one station at 193 9/10 and another at 195 9/10. I added APPEAERS because Gas Buddy appears to have changed something internally re their search engine. I used to be able to do a 'Houston, TX' search and it would pull from our entire metro area. I could then erase that search parameter, leaving the field blank, hit enter, and I'd get an 'all metro' result, except with cheaper prices. Today, the 'blank out' still results in better prices, but a 'Houston, TX' search and the 'blank out' follow up both pull only 'within the city' results. The rest of the metro is excluded. I did searches for Tomball, Pasadena, Baytown, League City, Pearland, Texas City, Spring, and Katy with the same type of change to the result. I would imagine this change would apply to all Gas Buddy searches, at least in the United States.

[Jedz123]

2.63 right now in VT. I filled my Yaris last month, might need gas in a week. But I did go through a tank yesterday on the Bike... Winter is finally letting go in the North east. 40'!!!! No more money in heating fuel!

[Jcp123]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

The tap water (at least in DFW and Houston) isn't on par with the Bay Area or Orange County in California. Many roads don't have shoulders. Texas has more of some pollutants in the air, but the overall rating of the air quality in my zip code here is slightly better than both Mill Valley, CA and Incline Village, NV. One has to leave Texas to ski (snow, not water). Texas is the only state that is both a common law marriage state and a community property state. Despite the past 'Don't mess with Texas litter campaign', litter is still a problem (worse than California). In some areas there is a 'good 'ole boyness' (In a bad way). Most San Franciscans and New Yorkers could find the culture they desire in either DFW or Houston, but 'culture freaks' might be disappointed. Simultaneous midriff baring and tramp stamps. Nanny statism regarding religion (thinking textbook content)...which I can choose to ignore.

Those are negatives that came to mind off the top of my head.

Just the absence of a strong nanny state mentality (other than re religion), and the lower level of overall taxation mindset alone far outweigh, without even taking the gun laws into consideration , the negatives I listed above (IMO).

I think if more Californians could experience living in Texas (or even Nevada or Florida), they'd be upset re how much their state, county, and local governments take advantage of them on all sorts of financial issues, both directly and indirectly.

I'm a 5th Generation Bay Area native, and unless California becomes a lot like Texas or states with similar policies (which might not happen even if h*** froze over ) I will never again become a resident of California.

Re: weather...I actually am fairly used to the weather now. I spent my freshman year of college in Chico, whose climate is almost a dead ringer for the climate here. It was therefore only a slight shock. Heck, in the Bay Area, I didn't have ac in our house or in my Mustang. Here it's a must at home, but I choose not to use it when driving.

Government wise, there's some truth to the freedoms here, but even that is under the larger arc of simply trading one government for another; they'll get ya somehow. Use fees such as on telephones are higher, and unless you're old enough to qualify for a homestead exemption, your property taxes can be quite high rate wise and subject to plenty of elasticity. Vehicle wise, you are at minimum subject to a state "safety" inspection at minimum, plus an emissions check if you live in an urban county. The good-ole-boy mentality is alive and well here. If you think you can ignore the church here, you're mistaken - they are frequently involved in civic happenings. Locally, the good ol boys club snuck in a toll road where there was to be none (longish story). Liquor laws are a bit cumbersome. Not so great. But gun laws are great here, you can get pretty good fireworks too. Speed limits generally make good sense, except for the 4839293747329 school zones I see everywhere. The state sees to it that business can flourish here, and spend within their means.

Litter happens...it's the rednecks here. Most folks are polite enough not to do that. Heck, they are generally some of the most polite people you'll ever meet.

Culture flourishes here but mostly within urban areas as mentioned, plus a few kitschy places like Luckenbach and Palo Duro.

The water where I am is actually pretty decent; not like the delicious Hetch Hetchy water but really quite good. The worst water I ever had was in NY State.

[edmscan]

Gas here is about 96 cents a liter so about $4.36 a US gallon.

[Jcp123]

I feel stupid cause I gassed up yesterday for $2.299, and it went down 4-8 cents today.

Well, on second thought, I had a training class 40 mi away this morning, and was low on gas yesterday. We had freezing rain overnight, I would not have wanted to bother with a fill this morning. The price of convenience...38.8mpg last tank, this one started kinda rocky. Yesterday's commute plus a pizza run plus the run up to training and back still only put me in the mid-39mpg range. Wife's got the car now, I shudder to think...then again, it is in her name.

Oh, and as to skiing, I miss the hell out of that. We hit the slopes nearly every weekend in winter in CA. Heavenly and Northstar were our favourites. I sincerely loved Ellie's Run at Heavenly. I've lived here 10 years and gone only once. It was a week long production and something like 1000mi each way to do it in Winter Park, CO. What a great place though. Mary Jane smoked me...(sorta inside joke).

[WeeYari]

So if you waited, provided you knew the price was going to drop, you could have what? Bought a coffee maybe? Hardly a reason to feel stupid!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

Here it's a must at home, but I choose not to use it when driving.

Wow. I can't imagine not using A/C in the car here . I've only had one car that didn't have A/C. during that time I spent quite a bit of time in north of Sunol parts of the I-680 corridor. And to top that off, the color of the car...black. A car without A/C....never again.

Government wise, there's some truth to the freedoms here, but even that is under the larger arc of simply trading one government for another; they'll get ya somehow. Use fees such as on telephones are higher, and unless you're old enough to qualify for a homestead exemption, your property taxes can be quite high rate wise and subject to plenty of elasticity.

The difference to me is that you can opt out of some costs here, and that one has much more control/say/input here.

Telephone, etc fees are higher, and there is sales tax on most services here, where that doesn't exist in California.....but the services usually cost more...with the added cost being more than the tax differential.

Texas has two homestead exemptions. One is open to anyone. You must submit a pre printed form to the appraisal district 'swearing' that you do live there. There is an additional homestead exemption for Age 65+ (my next door neighbor has the same standard exemption that I do, but he also has the additional age related exemption). After moving to this area and building my house in 2008, JOOC I decided to compare The Woodlands to comparable suburbs in LA/OC and in the Bay Area.....similar properties with similar amenities, low crime, greenery, etc. I figured that a $250,000 house in The Woodlands would cost $1,250,000 in either of the areas of California. Five times as much. I'd bet the difference, percentage wise, is at least as much if not more now. My homestead exemption brings me under 3%, but I do know people who pay 3.4%. I'm aware that people in parts of Oakland, CA have SEVENTEEN DIFFERENT ADDITIONS TO THEIR PROPERTY TAX BILL (mostly parcel taxes). This brings their 1.0% base rate up to 1.7% These additions will = a lower % of the total for people who haven't been in their house very long (not as much benefit from Prop 13). So the rate in Texas might be twice as much, but the amount that is based upon might be five times as much. The standard exemption in Texas limits assessed value increases to 10% per year, whereas Prop 13 in California limits such yearly increases to 2%. The overall amount (not the rate) people pay for property taxes in Texas is often less than it would be in California......AND.....no state income tax. The 9.3% state income tax rate in California starts at a bit over 40k per year. Here in Texas you can mitigate the overall impact of a property tax by buying a less expensive property and, since most of the property tax goes to the local school district, you can go to board meetings and have direct input if you so desire.

Vehicle wise, you are at minimum subject to a state "safety" inspection at minimum, plus an emissions check if you live in an urban county.

True, but the registration fee is a very small flat amount that is based on the type of vehicle, rather than being based on a percentage of the purchase price as in California.

The good-ole-boy mentality is alive and well here. If you think you can ignore the church here, you're mistaken - they are frequently involved in civic happenings. Locally, the good ol boys club snuck in a toll road where there was to be none (longish story)

I'm agnostic. When I moved here, I expected (mostly re internet research) to be questioned all the time about church. It has only happened a few times. From my observation, the size of the area/metro might determine the extent to which this might be an issue. Others might come to different conclusions.

Liquor laws are a bit cumbersome. Not so great.

Yeah, pretty silly.

But gun laws are great here

you can get pretty good fireworks too.

Yeah, re buying your own.....but the flat terrain can sometimes make finding a place to watch planned displays a PITA .

Speed limits generally make good sense

except for the 4839293747329 school zones I see everywhere.

The state sees to it that business can flourish here, and spend within their means.

Litter happens...it's the rednecks here. Most folks are polite enough not to do that. Heck, they are generally some of the most polite people you'll ever meet.

I agree, generally some of the most truly polite people you will ever meet.

Culture flourishes here but mostly within urban areas as mentioned, plus a few kitschy places like Luckenbach and Palo Duro.

The water where I am is actually pretty decent; not like the delicious Hetch Hetchy water but really quite good. The worst water I ever had was in NY State.

I wish we had the same water quality your area does.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jcp123

I feel stupid cause I gassed up yesterday for $2.299, and it went down 4-8 cents today.

Well, on second thought, I had a training class 40 mi away this morning, and was low on gas yesterday. We had freezing rain overnight, I would not have wanted to bother with a fill this morning. The price of convenience...38.8mpg last tank, this one started kinda rocky. Yesterday's commute plus a pizza run plus the run up to training and back still only put me in the mid-39mpg range. Wife's got the car now, I shudder to think...then again, it is in her name.

Oh, and as to skiing, I miss the hell out of that. We hit the slopes nearly every weekend in winter in CA. Heavenly and Northstar were our favourites. I sincerely loved Ellie's Run at Heavenly. I've lived here 10 years and gone only once. It was a week long production and something like 1000mi each way to do it in Winter Park, CO. What a great place though. Mary Jane smoked me...(sorta inside joke).

Yeah, there's nothing like the view from the top of Ellie's, nor the top of Emigrant at Squaw. I've skied at every area/resort (including some that no longer exist, like Tannenbaum) from Dodge Ridge to Lassen, except I've never skied Northstar. I lived in Incline Village for a summer (after my freshman year in college) with some high school buddies. I also lived (for a ski season) in Mammoth Lakes. We were lucky to grow up so close to the Sierra Nevada range.

[bronsin]

$2.25 this am here in NJ and Im only getting 30 mpg what with the 10 degree temps.

Water is Great here in NJ! (comes from an aquifer)

Terrible in upstate NY. (sulpher)