Texas

Texas is a southern state known for its conservative politics. It is not as free as New Hampshire.

Taxes

Texas has a 6.25% sales tax, and this applies to online purchases as well. Counties can apply an additional 2% sales tax, meaning that many parts of the state experience an 8.25% sales tax on all purchases. This is in stark contrast to New Hampshire, which has no sales taxes.

Like New Hampshire, Texas does not have a general income tax.

Politics

The cities dominate politics in Texas. Due to mass immigration from California, Texas has been headed in a blue direction for decades.

Policing

Texas is known for fairly strict law enforcement. The culture is very much "Back the Blue", with Texas being a large battlefield for the Drug War.

Booze

Beer and wine can be sold from 7:00 AM until midnight Monday through Friday, from 7:00 AM until 1:00 AM on Saturday, and from 10am until midnight on Sunday.

Liquor sales are more stringently regulated. Liquor sales are prohibited 1) on Sundays, 2) on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day (and when Christmas and New Year's fall on a Sunday, the prohibition is carried over to the following Monday), and 3) before 10AM and after 9PM on any other day. This is in contrast to New Hampshire, where liquor stores have dedicated rest-stops on major highways and are open on Sundays.

Weather

Texas is incredibly flat and incredibly hot. Temperatures above 100°F are incredibly common in the summer, with droughts and tornadoes in the central and western part of the state, and with hurricanes in the east.

Size

Due to the sheer size of Texas, intrastate travel is a major factor for anyone seeking to enjoy the state's various natural attractions. According to Google Maps, a one-way trip from the centrally located city of Austin to the nearest decent beach (Corpus Christi) is just under 3.5 hours with minimal traffic. For those preferring a more vertical landscape, the drive from Austin to Texas' best mountainous region in Big Bend National Park is nearly 7 hours. In contrast, a drive from the western New Hampshire city of Keene to the coastal city of Portsmouth is approximately 2 hours with minimal traffic; from the southern New Hampshire city of Nashua, a drive into the state's beautiful northern mountain range takes less than 2 hours.

For those preferring urban adventures, the two closest metro areas in Texas are Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, which are approximately 3.5 hours apart. Google Maps reports that a trip from New Hampshire's northern-most large town of Rochester to the heart of downtown Boston takes just under 90 minutes.