Arizona or Texas is a better place to live?

Q. For a teacher which state may offer more? Which state has a lower living expense? I love teaching but finances are a reality that cannot be forgotten.

Which State? Why?

A. Both are affordable... it really depends on what you like. If you like dry heat and dessert then Arizona is way better and nicer than the Texas dessert (we found El Paso to be one of the least friendly, and most run-down, places we've ever visited). If you don't mind humidity and thunderstorms, and you dig greenery then the Texas Hill Country (Austin & San Antonio) all the way to East Texas (Houston area) has lots of forest, streams, lakes, etc. Both offer affordable housing... I personally prefer Texas because the people (at least in the hill Country and the Houston suburbs) are generally warm... and I don't really like the dessert. One draw back to Texas though is crazy-high property taxes (typically run around 2.7-3%, but can get as high as 4% by the time you're done adding them all up in a newer "bedroom" community)... and unless you're bringing in a giant income the absence of state income tax in Texas will not off-set this tremendously high property tax... I ran the numbers as we are considering the move from So. Cal. to Texas and our overall tax burden would actually go up... on the positive side we could still afford a nice, new home in a nice area despite the high taxes. One big potential plus for you as a teacher in Texas is that it seems that they take a lot of pride in their public schools (generally beautiful campuses)... we have several friends from Texas who say the public schools there are quite good. One big cultural change (at least from So. Cal.) is that it is my understanding that public education in Texas is considered a privilege (and not a right)... so parents understand that if their kid does something bad enough to get expelled it will be their burden to find a school that is willing to take their kid... I would imagine this would make keeping order in the classroom a little easier for a teacher. Best of luck!

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