Flora Batts, a 65-year-old Texas native, is relocating to Pennsylvania this month. In an essay, Batts said that she has had it with the state’s ever-increasing cost of living, scorching weather, and disharmonious politics.
Flora Batts is a retired Medicaid program coordinator, has lived in Austin for most her life, calling it her home of 60 years plus. This does not include the time she had relocated with her husband, who works in the military.
Speaking about her ancestry, she told us that she had family buried from Odem to Amarillo. However, she and her husband are leaving the state for Pennsylvania in May.
Speaking on the relocation, she said that they have found their new home and will complete their purchase on the 17th of this month. Five days after the purchase, the movers are scheduled to assist them in relocating 1,500 miles north.
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She acknowledged that it was not an easy decision, nor was it taken in reaction to recent happenings. She likened it to a marriage that was already failing over time.
Firstly was Austin’s standard of living drastically declining and how the increased expenses has made buying of a home near impossible.
Additionally, majority of her favorite eateries are no longer in operation, mostly being replaced with overpriced fast food or fusion restaurants. The traffic jams was another reason, bringing her to her memories of Houston in the 1970s. She alo spoke about how much she hated the heat.
In 1963, she and her family moved to Austin. At the time, the home her parents bought was thought to be the most remote part of North Austin. She was raised in the city in a more prosperous era.
Reminiscing about her childhood, she said she and her brother used to sail and go crawdaddie fishing back when there were wide fields. It was really similar to being in the country.
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She described growing up in Austin during the 1970s as an amazing period where everything was possible. There was enough in the city to let them get into trouble and still remain safe. She would host parties and bonfires, as my house was 20 minutes from a lake.
However, it is not something she sees as much now. Technology has completely altered everything since Michael Dell opened the door for everyone. Austin’s cost of living rose with the introduction of income from tech money.
Six years ago, she and her husband sold the 2,400-square-foot, 40-year-old house we had purchased in 2001 for $197,000, and it was subsequently resold for $550,000.
They initially considered Colorado, but COVID changed their mind. Tech firms invested large sums of money in the state. they were priced out of a home market that they had considered to be accessible.
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We ultimately settled on Pennsylvania because it is my husband’s home state and where his family currently resides. They purchased a two-thirds-acre, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Erie. This almost century-old home has undergone extensive renovations and additions in a peaceful neighborhood that’s 15 minutes from Lake Erie.
My life will have a different quality. My spouse recently become a retired man. We’ll spend more time together in this tranquil area as opposed to Austin, which is crowded and noisy.
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