Texas and California have are the biggest states of America, does the list of similarities end here or there are actually more points in common than one might see from the first sight? Most people perceive California as an embodiment of the American dream, is it really so in practice or a more moderate state like Texas may prove better in real life?
The first point to be considered is an economic situation in both states. The very economic activities of the states are very different: while California is engaged with trade, tourism, culture and IT, the economy of Texas is largely based on energy and agriculture. Unemployment rate is higher in California (it might be explained by a huge inflow of youth dreaming to build career in Hollywood or Silicon Valley). The cost of living in California is significantly higher, so are taxes and housing prices (California vs Texas."). Although average income is also higher in California, even after substracting taxes Californians have more money left ("Which Is Better: California or Texas? What the Numbers Say.").
Political stance also differs significantly, one can essentially say that California is completely pro-Democratic state and Texas is completely pro-Republican one ("California v. Texas in Fight for the Future."). Criminality rate appears to be higher in Texas than in California ("Which Is Better: California or Texas? What the Numbers Say.").
The situation in education system has nothing in common in the two states as well. California is a home for a number of well-known universities, some of them can run for being considered one of the best in the whole country. In Texas, on the contrary, education is on a low level, not only the state can’t boast with its educational establishments, but the number of Texans having bachelor’s degrees equals around a quarter of its population, while it is roughly a third for California ("California v. Texas in Fight for the Future.").
Both of the states are prevailed by young people, California median age is 35.6, which is 1.7 years more than in Texas. In both states gender distribution is almost the same, it constitutes approximately 50/50 ratio (California vs Texas.").
It is difficult to estimate health in terms of statistic, although it may be said that life expectancy is higher in California and healthcare is slightly better as well. Concerning the environment, California got a much better result than Texas in the Forbes’ ranking based on pollution and energy consumption. The climate in California is balmy, while Texas is famous for numerous tornadoes. Criminality rate appears to be higher in Texas than in California.
Regarding the culture, one may state that California is a centre of cinematography and other branches of culture, what can’t be said about Taxes. Not such important, but definitely advantageous for California is its location near the ocean.
Taking into consideration aforementioned points, if I had to choose between Texas and California, I would choose the latter. It overcame Texas in many important indicators, such as healthcare, climate, environmental condition, educational system and criminality rate. Although economic conditions are more stringent in California, I think that it doesn’t pose much disadvantage, as good specialists are always in high demand and California offers numerous possibilities to open your potential.
Works cited
"California vs Texas." - Places Comparison. Web. 01 May 2016.
"California v. Texas in Fight for the Future." The Great Debate RSS. 08 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 May 2016.
"Which Is Better: California or Texas? What the Numbers Say." KQED News. Web. 01 May 2016.
