A native Texan-turned-Californian recaps the famous rivalry between two of the proudest places on Earth.
T
he Beatles versus the Rolling Stones. Coca-Cola versus Pepsi. Burritos versus tacos. California versus Texas. Some rivalries never seem to die in the court of public opinion.
The California versus Texas debate is especially rife with a combination of state pride, personal and political affiliations, weather and food preferences, plus a healthy sprinkling of arrogance for good measure.
Full disclosure: I am a native Texan who spent decades in Dallas and Austin, and several years in central California and Los Angeles. In that time, I have certainly witnessed the state-on-state hate, but have managed to never let it ruin my day.
But let’s go back a minute, because if this rivalry isn’t anything, it’s new.
The Backstory: How the States Were Settled
In order to understand more about how the rivalry was born, we should begin with a brief glance at how California and Texas were founded.
Both states were home to Native American tribes—around 2,000 in California, and 50 in Texas—when the Spanish arrived in the mid-1530s. Both states came under Mexican rule after overthrowing the Spanish government during the Mexican War of Independence in 1821. Both states were popular destinations during Westward Expansion due to their strategic geographic benefits and valuable natural resources. After winning the Mexican-American War, California was admitted to the U.S. as the “slave-free” 31st state in 1850—though the distinction wasn’t entirely accurate—two years after The Gold Rush began and an estimated 300,000 people flocked to find, and create, their own fortunes.
Recommended Fodor’s Video
Meanwhile, settlers from Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and France flocked to Texas for its vast open lands, primarily to raise and sell cattle and take advantage of the trading ports along the Gulf of Mexico. After Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, it became the Republic of Texas until it was admitted to the U.S. as the “slave-holding” 28th state in 1845, a distinction that was entirely accurate.
The primary differences emerged first as a matter of pride and accomplishment—California with its diverse and flourishing cosmopolitan society, and Texas with its hard-fought independence—and now overflow into cultural, and oftentimes personal, identities. Despite these differences, both populations are amongst the most loyal and proud to call themselves Californians and Texans.
The Current Story: Politics, Pistols, and the Art of Peacing Out
Kenneth P. Miller, author of Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America, compares the states to “close siblings that became rivals.” While the comparison is a fair one, nowadays the relationship is more akin to a rich hippie uncle and their rebellious, old-school nephew.
If you want to live in California, you are, by default, agreeing to more regulations, a higher cost of living, state taxes, and protections that put employees and tenants in the position of power as opposed to employers and landlords. California represents diversity and opportunity, rewarding those who are bold enough to live amongst the chaos, and $18 glasses of wine, with protections that were created, however effective or not, for their own benefit and that of the greater societal good.
If you want to live in Texas, I hope you’re ready to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, buddy. To be independent is to be a Texan; this is not to be confused with being an Independent, which is most assuredly not. In exchange for fewer regulations, a lower cost of living, zero state taxes, and a free market approach, you’ll be rewarded with an unofficial license to run things mostly how you please. Texas represents tradition and a “what’s mine is mine” mindset, and rewards those who work diligently to keep the things they’ve theoretically earned, however true or not.
Each state, of course, has its fair share of standouts when it comes to political affiliations. Ask registered voters in Berkeley how they feel about those in Newport Beach, or registered voters in Temple how they feel about those in Austin, and in addition to an eyeroll and a sigh, you’re likely to get a small-scale yet effective preview of the respective stereotypes that continue to define the California versus Texas political debate.
Californians think Texans are too conservative, religious, attached to their guns, stubborn, and blindly supportive of politicians who actively fight against the very things that would make their lives safer and easier. Texans think Californians are too entitled, generous to people who don’t deserve their help, money-hungry, arrogant, and optimistically in support of people who are ruining the same places they’ve worked hard to build.
So why are Californians flocking to Texas in numbers that result in an astonishing amount of sales for the person who invented the “Don’t California my Texas” bumper stickers and T-shirts? After all, as of 2021, Texas ranks #1 in the country for “stickiness,” with 82% of native Texans still living in the state.
My best guess is the breakfast tacos and queso, which can increase daily happiness levels by up to 36%. I kid. My next best guess is that after years of hearing your neighbor’s loud phone conversations through thin apartment walls, working far too many hours to afford far too few of your bills, and witnessing a takeover of the state by tech bros, the perceived attractiveness of living in a larger household that shares zero walls with another household, in a state that values personal privacy, plus the existence of both breakfast tacos and queso, is enough to convince a lot of people to drive their energy-efficient vehicle through the desert to a place where the grass is unlikely to be literally any greener, but at least the concept of it is.
As reported by the Austin American Statesman in 2022, more Californians moved to Texas and vice versa than anywhere else in the United States. So for as much Uncle Hella and Nephew Y’all may disagree on the fundamentals, sometimes it’s nice to swap spots just to say you can.
On the flip side, for Texans who are exhausted by the incessant talk of secession, the Tinder dates who exercise their open carry rights to your friend’s backyard barbecues, and whose family gatherings have become a detailed recap of Fox News buzzwords, the possibility of living in a state that doesn’t cringe at the existence of your pronouns in exchange for slightly more of your money is worth the investment in your long and short-term sanity.
The End: Does the Rivalry Even Exist?
Like it or not, California and Texas are some of the most iconic places in the world, and are responsible for a huge portion of the country’s identity. From Beyoncé and Willie Nelson to Hollywood Boulevard and The Golden Gate Bridge, the rivalry often quiets to a simmer when it comes to international relations, but boils over from a national pride perspective.
My suggestion? Adopt a Eurovision-like method of madness and send each state’s chosen delegates to face off in an annual competition of song, dance, food, and politics. Just don’t invite Florida.