Courtesy of Ty Joerger
- Ty Joerger, 25, and about a dozen of his friends moved from Texas to Seattle recently.
- Joerger was fleeing mass shootings, intolerance of LGBTQ+ communities, and intense weather.
- "Texas has a lot to fix and resolve before I would even encourage anyone to move or live there," he said.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Texas native Ty Joerger, a 25-year-old multimedia producer, who moved to Seattle in July. The essay, which also incorporates quotes from emails between Joerger and BI, has been edited for length and clarity.
I was a lifelong Texan.
I was born in Houston, lived in San Antonio as a child, and grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After living in the Lone Star State for my entire life, I moved away from Texas in July — all the way to Seattle, Washington.