Is moving states an overreaction?
I live in Texas, specifically around 45 minutes east of Austin. Red county, not Austin's blue. Most of my neighbors are dicks. I own a home, a 5 acre farm with a 2600 square foot house that I bought in 2018 for 200k and is now worth double that. I'm a 100% disabled veteran and get zero property taxes as a result. I'm legally male and have my name changed, I did all that in 2022 thankfully.
I'm 32 and single, but my best friend lives with me and she would come with me.
I can't decide whether moving to Colorado is an overreaction or not. The financial aspect will be tough- I don't want a smaller home, and I can't have less than 3 acres. I will be paying more in mortgage there because it's a more expensive state. Plus, I only get 50% off the first 200k for property taxes, unlike Texas 100% off. So I will also have property taxes. I can afford it, but I won't have as much "fun money" per month.
I have to move over 2 dozen animals, my dog kennel, and a LOT of farm supplies and equipment. It's cheaper for me to move everything than it is for me to sell and re-buy it all. It's gonna be expensive and a lot of work.
Financially, moving is a relatively stupid idea but doable.
Socially, I would MUCH prefer living in Colorado. I'm a mountain biker and skiier, I absolutely love the outdoors and if I lived in CO I would buy a snowmobile and a ATV and would almost never be inside. I've struggled dating because I'm into masculine gay/bi men, and Austin tends towards more fem. There's definitely my type of guy there, but very few of them want to come out to the country. I think friends and dating wise, CO has more of my type of people.
CO also has a lot of good veteran benefits, not quite as good as TX but still good. I've done events with the veteran community there and I really like the people.
Greg Abbott here in Texas hates trans people. Multiple things have been out out in the last 2 weeks that have me very nervous. I'm really worried about my safety. My neighbors are getting increasingly aggressive, I have 4 voicemails in the last 2 weeks threatening me. Police don't do shit. I wa legally female when I purchased, and people here are nosey. They l know I'm trans. For a long time, being a veteran protected me. It doesn't seem to be protecting me anymore.
If everything goes to hell federally, will living in a blue state help me? Can the state ignore the federal regulations? Am I still screwed anyways since my medical care is federal (VA)? Should I sit tight and wait it out? Or should I just start preparing to sell and get out of here ASAP (likely June or July at earliest, assuming I sell quickly)?
I've always loved Colorado and wanted to live there. I'm only 32 and a big part of me wants to do this just because I want to live there. Everything going to shit may just be my excuse to go. But I'm comfortable in my home, have good finances here with a lot of monthly leeway for fun stuff, and my mortgage is fantastically low because I bought in a great time.
So the big deciding factor is the danger factor. Is it potentially getting dangerous enough for me to leave? Is there a limit to how much danger I would be in when I've legally changed everything?
What would you do?
Edit: I'm planning to be within 45-60 minutes of Denver, on the west side, so I'm closer to biking and skiing. There's land there for 50-150k. Most likely, I would buy a barndo or manufactured home or get a new build. I need to figure out the animal laws, but it looks like Colorado as a whole has dog kennel licensing, which usually trumps individual county laws. I have a license for my kennel in Texas, so I'm already prepped for inspections and such. Zoning laws will matter more, dictating fencing and such.