The thread for Texans unhappy with the governance of the state who have moved on to greener (bluer?) pastures elsewhere, or those who are considering it. Feel free to post when, why, how its worked out, surprises, things you miss, questions of those who have left, etc... I'll start.
We moved from Cedar Park to the mountains of Colorado in 2017. We did so after an unsuccessful 2 year fight with Leander ISD to get two of our kids special ed services. We thought we were just dealing with an obstinate school district, but came to find out it was a state-wide problem due to the TEA effectively imposing a cap on the ratio of students in a school that could receive special ed services at half the national average. When we became aware of that, we decided Texas was not where we wanted to raise our family.
I talked to my job about being able to work remote, they said yes. So we started looking, but settled on Colorado because A) we had vacationed here often and loved it, B) it was more progressive in general and C) the school district we would be in agreed to exactly what our doctors said our kids needed as far as services without any argument whatsoever.
It has been a great move, and our kids are doing well with their education vs struggling. I generally agree with how the state is being run. Laws are already in place to protect abortion rights, etc... I miss friends, family, greasy tex-mex, bar-b-q and fishing the flats near Port Aransas. You can get good Mexican food here, but its more of a Santa Fe style. There is a Rudy's in Colorado Springs to scratch the BBQ itch. Even though I miss the ocean fishing, there is plenty of fishing and other recreational opportunities up here in the high country. I still work for an Austin-based company, so I get to travel back once a quarter or so and hit up all my old haunts at that time. Friends and family aren't really replaceable, but when you live in the mountains of CO, you will get plenty of visitors from "back home."
Recreational marijuana is awesome.
A surprising thing about Colorado -- it is a blue state, but the poor (non-resort) rural areas are just as red as they would be in Texas. The people there feel like they are living under the tyranny of politicians in Denver that just care about the I25 corridor. They may be more pissed off than Texans about liberals and democrats, because the state is generally under their influence. I know a few who have left for Texas and South Dakota in a migration not unlike my own but for obviously different reasons. @mchookem, @PenelopeWitherspoon, @Neonmoon, others?