Yes. We lost to New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and (I think) some to Louisiana and Arkansas.

Six in 1973? Oh my, some of you people are such CHILDREN!!! (In age, not attitude or maturity :-) ) My oldest was born in 71, and my youngest in 74. I'll get my cane and my wheelchair, now, and waddle off into the sunset....

Well, I have to admit I didn't know that...or at least if I DID know it, I knew it in 7th Grade when I had the world's most Texas-obsessed history teacher in the world! Apparently I had since forgotten it, but a little bit of research shows you are correct! I learned something today! Thanks!

Ocean engineering? Say, wouldn't Vanua Levu be a great place to site a distant learning campus for some practical experience? I believe I covered that in my project notes.

Texas should be a lot larger than it is. It got chopped into several states when it decided to join the United States.

For those of us who must subsist on retirement income, there is no no way to avoid as our cash flow is controlled by big tech. For even the few necessities we must have which cannot be produced by our skill but purchased, we are still visible.

When I was 6 in 1973, the flooding went as high as our front step, but didn't come in.

To a chemical engineer like me, Beaumont is an historic site!

Well, Texas being so big....I grew up in NorthEast Texas/Longview, but as a young adult I worked for the East Texas Chamber of Commerce, which did cover the Beaumont and Houston areas - AND Shreveport, La (go figure).

Well, I gotta tell you. We Central Gulf Coast Texans think the Good Lord was in a bad mood when he created Beaumont/Port Arthur! There is nothing pretty there. And it is 'Hurricane Alley'.

I spent my first nine years in Beaumont and then 3 months in Houston before leaving the area I was "bawn and bred" in.

We have a few yacht clubs in the area. Nothing glitzy. My university has one of only ten ocean engineering programs in the US. I think we are ranked third in that.

ETex. Sigh. Home. Haven't lived there in 35 years. Enjoy!

hiding in plain sight means not gettng on social media, not speaking or posting things that are in any way politically incorrect, dealing quietly with like minded people on mutually agreeable terms (mostly cash), and not being extravagant and likely to be noticed.

The government would not allow it to exist. Especially a socialist one because they MUST control. No exceptions.

Saw a couple of nice sailboats for sale in Melbourne. At reasonable prices. Speaking of which, just finishing refurbing a Coronado 23. Looking forward to getting her out under sail.

Yes. I never claimed to be proficient in numbers. Give me words and I can hold my own. I believe a good offer would be about US$5M. Let's see, if my math is reasonably close, that would be about US$500 per acre. In anyone's nomenclature, that is a steal. I have land in ETx worth $2,000 per acre. That would buy me almost 80 acres there. Won't find many better deals.
As to the other caveats, the land is conveyed in fee simple other than restricted to the foreshore rights, which can be negotiated.

There is no hiding n plain sight. With the overarching ability of big tech to keep anyone under constant monitoring, as in the PRC, there is no evading.

Noted. But if you must choose between what is coming down the pike if Biden wins or something less onerous, which would you choose? Choices are going to have to be made, whether you want to or not, where you want to be.

Point taken. However, any place you go is under the sovereignty of some nation. There is no escaping it. You WILL be under someone's aegis. The choice becomes how aggressive or benign you can accommodate. Yes, there are drawbacks to this site but not as many as you would find in other places.

The Democrat socialist monsters lurk below the dividing line between Martin County and Palm Beach County about 90 minutes south of me. There are enough of them that I am also concerned. My part of Florida is a paradise, but further south is too crowded for me.

So did I, jb.
I wish that FL was safe from the Democrat socialist monsters. I'd buy a piece of land and build a dome or two. It may be better to take my limited assets farther south if the socialists take control again.

Temperature is about 86 degrees right now, drops down to about 75 in the evening. Not expensive compared to most alternatives. Overall, it's a pretty nice place. I haven't worn a jacket in many years.

Thanks. I will check it out.

You were scoping out the dome homes down here in Florida a few years ago. I enjoyed that visit.

Melbourne, FL is a great place to hide in plain sight.