- Gerardo and Tomi Ruiz moved from San Bernardino, California, to San Antonio, Texas, in September.
- They moved with their two youthful sons after a close-by fire destroyed their rented dwelling.
- The couple loves Texas for its cheaper value of dwelling and the dad and mom however misses California’s meals.
This as-told-to essay is determined by a dialog with Gerardo Ruiz, 29, and Tomi Ruiz, 26, native Californians who moved from San Bernardino, California, to San Antonio in 2024. The next has been edited for measurement and readability.
Gerardo: My accomplice, Tomi, and I are from San Bernardino, California. We met at a celebration in 2019 and married final April.
San Bernardino should not be just about nearly as good on account of it was. Many factors, like homelessness and gang practice, appear to have gotten worse lately.
Tomi: There have been factors we most popular about California. I had household solely about an hour away. I cherished being contained in the snow or on the seashore every time I wished.
We had been speaking about leaving California for some time on account of the worth of dwelling was dramatically rising. We had talked about Texas, Arizona, or most likely Utah, however we weren’t excessive about it.
A fire lastly pushed us to go away
Courtesy of Gerardo and Tomi Ruiz
Tomi: In September, the Line Fireside broke out in Highland, California, subsequent to my grandparents’ dwelling.
We had been renting a home on the opposite facet of metropolis. The Line Fireside wasn’t straight threatening our dwelling at first, however our neighbor’s dwelling caught fire. They talked about it began from an ember from the Line Fireside.
It was terrifying. We had been asleep, and immediately, my husband woke as so much as what appeared like a vast explosion. I felt him pushing me and yelling.
After I sat up, I noticed flames coming by our mattress room window, not even six toes away.
Gerardo: We’ve two youngsters, Anthony, who’s 3, and Charlie, who’s 1. We grabbed them each and ran open air.
Tomi: We each ran out in our underwear on account of we did not have time to get garments.
The hearth destroyed about half of our dwelling, plus there was smoke damage in all places.
Gerardo: We misplaced almost every little think about our mattress room and the consuming home.
Tomi: We had been merely in shock. We sat open air staring on the home for a very very very long time.
Gerardo: The Pink Cross gave us some cash for a resort.
We wished to restart our lives someplace
Tomi: Loads of days later, our landlord instructed us they wished to terminate the lease on account of they may not estimate how extended the repairs would take and could not put us in a single totally different place contained in the meantime. We had been homeless and realized that we might have favored to start out one different time.
We talked about staying in California, however beginning a mannequin new lease contained in the state is costly with a deposit, the primary month’s lease, and all the prices.
We figured if we might have favored to start out over fully, we could also be bigger off beginning in Texas.
Gerardo: My brother has lived in San Antonio for about 10 years. We acquired proper right here out to go to loads of years as soon as extra and simply fell in love with town.
Tomi: We packed up what we had left, my husband took out his 401(okay), and we drove to Texas.
Texas is a lot extra low-cost
Gerardo: Our first impression of Texas was how low-cost the lease is. We paid about $2,350 in San Bernardino for a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom condo. We’re now in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom place in San Antonio and pay $1,250.
Tomi: We first utilized for loads of homes, however the wait took endlessly. We determined to utilize for an condo and acquired licensed the subsequent day. We stayed in a resort for 3 weeks till we acquired licensed for the condo.
Along with lease being cheaper, gasoline is cheaper, which is good for us on account of we now have fairly huge autos.
Gerardo: Automotive registration is, too.
Tomi: Groceries, nevertheless, appear to be regarding the equal.
Whereas the worth of dwelling is extra low-cost correct proper right here, the pay is decrease.
I am a licensed phlebotomist, and in California, I used to be making about $25 an hour. Correct proper right here in Texas, I acquired some affords starting from $16 to $20 an hour, and I accepted one. I am making lower than I used to be in California, however with the cash we’re saving, it is not too huge a distinction.
Gerardo: I am a tow truck driver. I labored two driving jobs in California, making $21 an hour and $24 an hour.
I anticipated to have the pliability to discover a related job in Texas, however as shortly as I acquired correct proper right here, it was extra sturdy than I assumed. The perfect-paying towing job I might uncover was for barely bigger than $15 an hour.
For now, I have been holding off on getting a job to have a look at the children since we don’t know many individuals correct proper right here in Texas who may babysit.
The state has exceeded our expectations
Tomi: We merely fell in love with Texas. It is so much greener than we anticipated. We thought it might very properly be all desert and cowboys, however San Antonio has many good parks and playgrounds. It feels very family-oriented.
Gerardo: The atmosphere out correct proper right here is good. My accomplice has some PTSD from the fireplace, and it is good that it’s not as dry.
Tomi: You undoubtedly truly actually really feel the Texas warmth, although. It was nonetheless so scorching on Halloween. We’re used to a breeze in October.
It furthermore snowed since we have been correct proper right here, which is rare for San Antonio. We love the snow.
There have been some challenges, however we made the changing into alternative
Gerardo: The toughest adjustment has been the meals. Even the McDonald’s correct proper right here tastes completely fully totally different. Texas road tacos aren’t like California road tacos in the least.
There was unimaginable Hawaiian barbecue in California. Since we moved, I’ve certainly not been capable of finding related meals.
Tomi: Texas has been so good to us. I felt like I used to be dwelling instantly. I truly actually really feel like I’ve related to the dad and mom. All people seems to be so kind.
Gerardo: Our purpose is to remain in Texas long-term, however we need to swap to Amarillo, Texas, lastly. It snows there extra usually, and we love the chilly.
Tomi: I am so glad we moved. It was scary as quickly as we determined to do it, however we had nothing to lose and made it work.
Gerardo: The current fires in Los Angeles had been horrible, and we’re praying for everybody concerned.
The reassurance of not having to emphasize about wildfires correct proper right here like we did in California has been a vast plus already.