Texas
I'm moving to America's fastest-growing city. I get why it's so popular, but I hope it keeps the small-town Texas charm.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michelle Clifford, a 33-year-old sales manager from California who is moving to Celina, Texas, in July. Celina’s population surged 26.6% from July 2022 to July 2023, making it the fastest-growing city in the US. The population as of 2023 is 43,317. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m from Orange County. In high school, my best friend moved to Austin. I would visit her all the time, and I fell in love with Texas. I loved the people, their hospitality, and the state’s lakes.
When I was a senior, I applied to only Texas colleges. I got into TCU — Texas Christian University — and attended for four years. I made a bunch of lifelong friends, who later even became my bridesmaids.
Back then, everyone, including me, thought I would stay after graduation — because I was a die-hard Texan.
But during my senior year of college, I fell in love with my husband, who was attending college in the Bay Area. He’s a California boy through and through. So after graduating, I moved back to Southern California.
After college, we lived in San Diego for five years, and then, in 2018, moved to San Francisco where we lived until 2020. During that time, we got engaged, married, and had our first daughter. We then moved to Oceanside, California, and I became pregnant with my second daughter.
Over time, our priorities changed. We wanted to slow down and buy a house, but it wasn’t realistic for us in California.
There were a lot of things that I liked about Texas, and my job also had an office in Frisco.
My husband and I were like, “Why not give this a go?”
In Texas, rent is cheaper and we can experience country living
We moved to Prosper, a town north of Dallas, in February. Prosper has been booming, with many Californians moving there.
I read that in 2009, the population was around 10,000 and now it’s about 40,000.
Right now, we’re renting a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that sits on a third of an acre of land for $2,650 per month.
In Oceanside, we were renting a two-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow built in the 1960s for $3,300. I was working remotely, so I had to convert my office into a nursery for my baby daughter. It made our living space feel very crowded.
Courtesy of Michelle Clifford
In July, we are moving into a 2,400-square-foot home in Celina that sits on an acre of land that we purchased for around $600,000.
Celina is about an hour’s drive from Dallas and is very rural; everywhere you look, there are longhorn cattle.
We were drawn to Celina because we have friends from California who moved here and college friends who are natives. It felt like the ideal place to settle down and establish roots.
More importantly, it was about doing something completely different. We’ve experienced city life and wanted to embrace country living and own some land.
Courtesy of Michelle Clifford.
Our home is located near the only post office in Celina, close to its downtown square, on a small street at the end of a cul-de-sac. Our next-door neighbors have eight cows that are always right next to our fence — it’s hilarious. We also just installed a chicken coop.
It wasn’t as difficult to buy a home in Texas as it would have been in California
I’ve heard crazy stories about buying homes, so I didn’t have high expectations when it came to buying a home ourselves.
In California, my friends often lost bidding wars for homes to buyers willing to offer up to $150,000 above the asking price, often in cash.
But finding a home in Celina was the easiest process. It was like all the stars aligned.
Once we found our home, we contacted our landlord in Prosper, who was also originally from California and had become a real-estate agent, to help us make an offer.
The sellers accepted our offer the same day we put it in, and we entered escrow and closed within 15 days.
Courtesy of Michelle Clifford
If we stayed in California, we knew that buying a home would likely require moving far east to be near the ocean, or settling for a lifetime of renting or living in a small townhouse without a backyard. We’re outdoor people, so it would feel like we were getting robbed.
I’m not usually an emotional person, but in the last month, I swear, I cried all the time — I just never thought it was going to happen.
I’ve been renting or moving almost every single year since I was 18. To finally have something that’s mine is the most amazing feeling.
Knowing that in Celina I’ll have space for my daughters to run around is the biggest blessing. I keep imagining them playing at the end of a cul-de-sac just like I did when I was growing up.
I’m just so grateful. It feels like it was all meant to be.
Our money goes further in Texas
We absolutely could not afford a home similar to ours in a Dallas neighborhood or even back in California.
I have really good friends who live in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas, and those home prices are right up there with San Diego.
Buying a home wasn’t possible in the Bay Area, especially with what we wanted within our budget of $700,000.
I had a good job, but spending so much on rent made it difficult to save for a down payment. We also had many friends and were busy with weddings, travel, and bachelorette parties.
I feel like a lot of the city’s natives will roll their eyes at me calling Celina affordable. It’s a double-edged sword with Californians coming in and raising prices.
But for me, it made our dream come true to be able to buy a home.
Celina is growing fast, but it still feels cozy
Celina is actually a big town radius-wise, but it has a small, cozy vibe.
Everyone says hi to everyone, and I feel like we all know one another. It’s hard to describe, but it feels almost like you’re going back in time.
I’m honored to consider myself a Celina resident and am grateful to be welcomed.
Courtesy of Michelle Clifford
The city and people of Celina have done a good job of preserving their culture, with many small businesses and almost no fast-food chains.
But I do know it’s one of the fastest-growing towns in America.
My husband and I are really good friends with a land broker in Celina, so we are aware of how up-and-coming it is.
There are many residential homes and apartment complexes being built, along with a bunch of commercial businesses.
Though it might be hypocritical for me to say — especially as someone who is contributing to its growth by moving here —it’s kind of bittersweet.
While I find its growth really cool and exciting, I also feel kind of protective over it.
I hope Celina doesn’t lose that quaint feel that drew me here in the first place.
A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a 1-year-old medical patient along with seven others crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least two people, officials said.
Emergency officials rescued four people and were searching for two that were inside the aircraft, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, according to the Navy. It was not immediately clear which ones were missing and which had been killed.
Two of the people aboard were members from the Michou and Mau Foundation, which is a nonprofit that provides aid to Mexican children who have suffered severe burns.
The crash took place Monday near the base of a causeway near Galveston, along the Texas coast about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
Mexico’s Navy said in a statement that the plane was helping with a medical mission and had an “accident.” It promised to investigate the cause of the crash.
The Navy is helping local authorities with the search and rescue operation, it said in a post on the social media platform X.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have arrived at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on X.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
“The incident remains under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook, adding that the public should avoid the area so emergency responders can work safely.
Galveston is an island that is a popular beach destination.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. However, the area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility. The foggy conditions are expected to persist through Tuesday morning.
As the holiday season continues, at CBS News Texas, we are once again proud to honor those making a difference in our community.
As part of CBS News Texas’ third annual 11 Days of Giving campaign, supported by Tom Thumb Albertsons, $1,000 is awarded each day to a local nonprofit making a meaningful impact.
Today, we’re introduced to 4-Legged Helpers, a non-profit helping local animal shelters keep animals safe, fed, and prevent them from being euthanized all over the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
One of those animals is Bosco.
“He’s a big old goofball,” said Carlos Renovato.
Bosco is also looking for a home. Renovato is the animal control officer in Wilmer, and he said it’s a struggle to provide for the animals he’s tasked with caring for.
“Our budget’s not enough for the resources; if an emergency comes along, they don’t have the ability to go to the vet or the funds to feed them. So, it comes down to euthanizing the dogs,” said Renovato.
Luckily, for Renovato and Bosco, they know Heather Marks and Leanne Hayden.
“We donate, we help him with food, toys, treats, things like that, if there’s anything he needs, we’ll just let him know and make sure he gets it,” said Marks.
The two founded 4-Legged Helpers.
“The animals just need help,” said Marks.
They estimate it costs around $700 per animal to get them adoption-ready.
“That’s a lot, but it’s worth it. Because they wouldn’t see tomorrow if we didn’t step in,” said Marks.
That’s why 4-Legged Helpers was selected to receive a $1,000 donation. The money will keep goofballs like Bosco happy and healthy.
“We are their voice, and if we weren’t here to fight for them, no one would be,” said Marks.
As the offseason of college football approaches, coaches across the country are leaving their current programs for new ones. One of these coaches is Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who has left the Wolverines for the Mizzou Tigers. With his departure, Michigan will look to a new coach to assume Lindsey’s duties in the upcoming Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Taking over play-calling duties for Michigan will likely be Wolverines tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Steve Casula.
Steve Casula Takes Over As Offensive Coordinator
According to ESPN, Lindsey signed a three-year deal with the Tigers to take over as the team’s offensive coordinator. After spending only a single season with the Wolverines, he left in the aftermath of the recent Sherrone Moore scandal, which led to the firing of the former Michigan head coach.
Casula is in his second season with the Wolverines as an assistant coach, but previously worked with Michigan from 2019 to 2021 as an offensive analyst. Nearly eclipsing 20 years of coaching experience, this will not be Casula’s first time taking on a team’s offensive playcalling.
Casula previously held stints as the offensive coordinator at Davenport, Ferris State and, most recently, UMASS. While with Massachusetts, the Minutemen offense averaged 22.5 points per game, 163.5 rushing yards per game, 181.8 passing yards per game and 345.2 total yards per game.
Now he takes on perhaps his toughest challenge yet as an offensive playcaller, taking on the Texas Longhorns in the Citrus Bowl.
Texas has undergone some coaching changes as well, on the opposite side of the ball, recently firing defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and hiring Will Muschamp in his stead.
While the Texas defense didn’t perform to expectations this season and has had various players opt out of the Citrus Bowl, they still boast some of the best young talent in the nation. Defensive players set not to play in the Longhorns’ upcoming contest include linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., safety Michael Taaffe, defensive lineman Ethan Burke, cornerback Malik Muhammad and linebacker Trey Moore.
This will mean the Longhorns will get an early look at perhaps some of the players that will be the core of next season’s defense. Some young names like Jonah Williams and Bo Barnes likely be given a chance to play significant minutes, and will hope to put a stop to Casula and the Michigan offense.
With the turmoil that Michigan has undergone over the past few weeks, perhaps Casula can bring some stability to the offense after Lindsey’s exit.
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