Some two decades on, my parents have accomplished so much. They’ve sent me and my brother to college, launched their own appliance-repair business, and even constructed their dream home — all in DFW.

Given the success they’ve attained in Texas, it’s no wonder to me that the state continues to draw the interest of so many people. Between 2021 and 2022, Texas gained 670,000 new residents, according to Census Bureau data — the second-most of any state, behind only Florida. Recent transplants to Texas have shared with Business Insider in interviews that their moves were motivated by more affordable home and rent prices, political freedom, a slower pace of life, and more.

As a Texan, it’s unsurprising that these factors have lured hundreds of thousands of people to the state over the past few years. What intrigues me even more is where, exactly, transplants are pursuing the American dream in Texas and how that’s changed since my family touched down on its soil.

Rather than relocating to the largest cities in the state, newcomers and long-time residents are increasingly opting for places viewed as secondary cities or suburbs — areas like New Braunfels, nestled in the heart of the Texas hill country between San Antonio and Austin, and Katy, situated 30 minutes west of Houston.

Census data that compares Texas’ city populations between 2020 and mid-2022 estimates reveals that smaller spots, including New Braunfels and Katy, saw their populations surge. Meanwhile, major metropolises like Austin, Houston, and Dallas witnessed minimal growth — and sometimes even net population declines.

I set out to figure out why.

Larger Texas cities are losing appeal for some

Many friends and I had aspirations of moving from our small college town to Dallas or Austin — cities that, back then, appeared larger than life to us.

However, years post-graduation, many who ventured to these large cities have either returned to their smaller hometowns or established roots in the suburbs surrounding those dense metropolises.

They’re looking for affordability and a more joyful way of life — ingredients that can be harder to find in bigger Texas cities.

Take Austin, for example. A surge in new residents driven by a blossoming Big Tech scene and an upswing in remote work nationwide has reshaped its essence. Once known for its laid-back atmosphere and a plethora of mom-and-pop shops, some people now believe the city features too many cookie-cutter buildings, upscale restaurants, and traffic jams that diminish its “small-town” charm. The arrival of transplants with higher incomes has also elevated housing costs, pricing out locals and dissuading prospective homebuyers who once had aspirations of owning in the city.

Each month, the home-listings site Redfin analyzes the number of people in cities across the US who browse for properties within their own city compared to those who house-hunt outside of where they already live. Redfin sees the comparison as an indicator of whether more people are looking to stay or leave a city.

Austin? For the first time on record, Redfin reported in October, it has more people dreaming of a move out.

Homebuyers are drawn to Texas’ smaller cities

The cultural and economic shifts observed in Austin are playing out in large cities all over Texas.

As a result, many homebuyers are seeking out more affordable and down-to-earth secondary cities such as Katy and New Braunfels. Both areas are among the fastest-growing cities in the US, according to census data.

The concept of the American Dream has historically regarded owning a home as a crucial milestone. Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with several homebuyers who said that they had a greater chance of pursuing the homeownership element of the (very pricey) American Dream in Texas — and in secondary cities in particular.

In October, I interviewed Keyana Darling, a 29-year-old single mother who moved to Katy earlier this year. Prior to our conversation, Katy — a city west of Houston known for, among other things, great schools — wasn’t really on my radar. It had only caught my attention after hearing it mentioned in Drake’s 2020 pop hit “Desire.”

Darling told me that before moving to Katy, she lived in a high-rise rental apartment in downtown Houston that cost $2,900 a month. Then she became concerned about her family’s safety.

“There were apartment and car break-ins, and the homelessness situation was just crazy,” she said. “I felt like I couldn’t walk my dog outside.”

After visiting a friend in Katy, she felt motivated to move to the city herself, believing that its relatively cheaper real estate offered her a better chance at homeownership than Houston.

“My friend was younger than me, so I thought if she could buy a home there, I could, too,” she said.

Darling was right. In August, she purchased a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home for $324,000.

She told me that moving to Katy not only gave her a chance to build generational wealth for her children, but also provide them with neighbors who feel like family.

“Katy is very diverse, and I actually love it,” Darling said. “Being a Black single mother, the fact that I have so many different neighbors who all come from different backgrounds and races and are genuinely good people is huge.”

Just this week, I caught up with California native Janelle Crossan, a 44-year-old single mother who also opted for smaller-town life in Texas. She chose New Braunfels, a town between Austin and San Antonio best known for its German heritage and the iconic Schlitterbahn Waterpark.

“I realized that a lot of the things that I wanted to get away from in California might also just be big-city things, so I decided to try something new,” she said. “I just want my whole life to be different. I put my brakes down in New Braunfels, and I absolutely love it here.”

Crossan, a divorcée who struggled to make ends meet in the California town of Mesa, was also seeking an affordable place to buy a home and a “cute and nice place to raise kids.” After moving to New Braunfels in 2020, Crossan went on to purchase her first home for $240,000.

“I paid $1,750 for rent in a crappy little apartment in California,” Crossan told Business Insider’s Erin Snodgrass earlier this year. “Now, three years later, my whole payment, including mortgage and property taxes, is $1,800 a month for my three-bedroom house.”

Reviewing all of the evidence, I had my answer.

Glimmers of possibility and opportunity, the same American Dream my parents sought, are now drawing movers to smaller spots, where movers believe that lower costs of living and close-knit communities are more attainable.

Diving into the census data with the help of BI’s economic data editor Andy Kiersz, I saw that the Texas towns and cities with the most population growth are indeed outside big cities. Populations more than doubled in Josephine, Caddo Mills, and Celina, all outside my family’s home of DFW. In Liberty Hill, outside Austin. And in Fulshear, outside Houston.

It’s unsurprising to me that so many Americans are chasing the American dream in Texas. Despite challenges like higher property taxes, divisive politics, and an antiquated energy grid, the state remains a desirable place to live.

Perhaps what’s more interesting, at least to me, is the rise of what could be called Texas’ underdog cities. It highlights just how much things have changed since my parents arrived in Texas to realize their own dreams more than two decades ago.