Lone Star State of Mind
It's official: There is no pride like Texas pride
We Texans take special pride in our state. Whether bragging about how much bigger everything is, the plentiful job opportunities or the superiority of Tex-Mex, Texans love to boast that the Lone Star State is the best.
As if we needed more proof, there are two new polls that confirm there is no pride like Texas pride.
Gallup asked more than 600 residents in each of the 50 states to rate whether or not their state was a good place to live. Residents ranked their state as the best, one of the best or the worst place to call home.
Texas edged out Montana and Alaska in number of residents who responded that, without a doubt, the Lone Star State is the single best place to live.
The states with the happiest residents are Montana and Alaska; 77 percent of respondents in both responded positively. Following those are Utah (70 percent) and Wyoming (69 percent).
Texas rounds out the top five, with 68 percent of residents claiming that the state is a good place to live. But overall happiness aside, it’s the way in which Texans responded that interested Gallup’s researchers.
Texas edged out Montana and Alaska in number of residents who responded that, without a doubt, the Lone Star State is the single best place to live in the country.
Gallup chalks up the boastful responses to Texas’ high standard of living, trust in state government and less negative feelings about state taxes. Gallup also compares Texas to high-ranking states like Alaska and Hawaii (which came in just behind Texas at No. 6), which “have distinct histories, geographies, natural resources and environmental features that may contribute to residents’ personal enjoyment and pride in their locale.”
Because we love the state so much, we are also staying put. This according to another Gallup poll, which posed this question to citizens of all 50 states: “If you had the opportunity, would you like to move to another state, or would you rather remain in your current state?”
While people would love to flee Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland, few Texans (24 percent) would choose to live elsewhere. That’s the sixth-lowest percentage in the nation.
