I moved from California to Texas but only stayed 4 months. Texas isn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.

Courtesy of Kellee Speakman

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kellee Speakman, a 50-year-old elementary school teacher who moved from Temecula, California, to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in March 2022. She and her family only stayed in the Lone Star State for four-and-a-half months before moving back to Temecula.