Power Decisions
After signing my 26-page lease a two weeks ago, I called my new apartment building to figure out what else I needed to do.
Leasing Agent: “Great! You’re all set up. Now you just need to show us that you have $100,000 in personal liability insurance and pick a power company.”
Me: “Pick a power company?”
Leasing Agent: “Yep. In Texas you get to choose your energy company. Go to PowerToChoose.org and pick a power company of your choosing.”
Of course I think this is absurd – how can more than one energy company even deliver power to a building? In Minnesota, there’s only one power company per building (usually Xcel).
Edit: So according to this site, there’s a power provider and a utility company that delivers the power. In Minnesota, these are the same company, whereas in Texas the utility is still responsible for delivering the energy, but isn’t the sole source of that energy. I find this fascinating.
So I log onto PowerToChoose.org to find that I have 270 different plans to choose from! The plans have varying fees, contract term rates, and pricing tiers.
This is overwhelming.
I think I need another cocktail…
Nickels & Dimes
Texans must value the freedom to choose – my new “luxury” building comes with washer and dryer hookups, but I have to provide my own machines.
Luckily there’s a rental service that will lease them to me for $32/month – again, another thing that’s unheard of in nicer Minnesota apartment buildings.
I also have to pay for water and garbage separately.
These peak-a-boo charges seem endless.
Hopefully I don’t have to contract with a trash company too.
The Long Minnesota Goodbye
I leave for Dallas in under a month.
Everything is cleared with my apartment building and they already leased my unit to one of my neighbors who has a studio.
The transition process at work was far easier than choosing a power plan – I basically just needed to get a headset to conduct teleconferences and sign a few forms promising not to steal my laptop if I ever get fired.
My last month is unexpectedly packed with an aggressive learning schedule – I’m earning Google and Hubspot certifications, and gearing up for the PMP (Project Management Professional Certification).
After the PMP, I’ll start studying for the Texas Bar.
…yes, I’m finally being an adult and taking the bar.
Hell hath frozen over.
Come Hither
I’ve also set my Tinder and Scruff apps to Dallas to see what the guys are like there.
My predominant takeaway is that here are way more educated gay minorities in Dallas than the Twin Cities.
Dating as a minority is consistently awful in Minnesota, and it looks like things will be far better in Texas. I’m not going to be an anomaly anymore!
I’m excited and so ready!
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