Texas - the Land of Plenty.... of Work and Waistlines

My 2 month stay on the Gulf Coast of Texas reminded me that it is indeed one of the fastest growing and Work abundant areas of the country.

If you wanna work and make money, in most cases more money than you can make anywhere else on an income vs cost of living basis, this is the place to be.

Contractors are descending on this area like flies to honey.... like buzzards to road kill... and like....

A Poor Man to a Pot of Gold.

As far as I'm concerned, it is likely the best place for employment in the United States.

But with all that work comes the results of all that work.... Long hours, Stress, Poor Diet, No Exercise....

And all that results in an expanding waistline and poor health.

Couple that with a climate, culture and terrain that is not conducive to outdoor activities and exercise and you have the Best and Worst of the Texas Gulf Coast.

It was amazing and shocking to me to see how many people were more than 40 - 50 lbs overweight or morbidly obese.

Hey - I'm not sitting in judgment or criticizing or trying to write a negative post.... I'm just juxtaposing the Opportunity against the Balance of Consequences of that Opportunity.

It's one of the reasons I made the decision to move away from the area.

While I am deeply appreciative and thankful for the employment I have had in the Brazosport area of Texas, I also realize that, at this point in my life, balance is critical.

Basically I value my Health as much as the Money.

So I seek a balance between the two.

It's difficult to not get sucked in to the Frenetic and Hypertensive Get it Done at Any Cost mentality of the Industry work there. The work is challenging and intellectually and financially rewarding but frankly, it is very difficult to maintain any sort of Physical, Mental and Emotional Balance when you're working 50, 60 or more hours per week in a High Stress environment.

As a kind heart close to my heart once said after I listed many of the reasons I was moving away from the Texas Gulf Coast,

"Well if you don't like Texas, then you should just get the Hell out of here and don't come back".

Family visits and short term work assignments notwithstanding.....

That's my Plan.