The billionaire was telling Rogan, who has his own well-documented history of saying weird and dumb things, a charming, relatable anecdote about how he’s thinking of moving out of the country. According to Thiel, America has "a lot of problems," and the fact that Thiel has to pay his taxes like the rest of us is one of them.
Former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel says Dallas has an inferiority complex on Joe Rogans podcastIn the interview, Thiel lists the American cities that don’t meet his standards. Seattle has bad weather. Las Vegas sucks for reasons he doesn’t even get into. And, apparently, there isn’t a decent city in the entire great state of Texas.
byu/filthyMrClean inDallas
“I’m not that big a fan of Austin, Dallas or Houston,” Thiel tells Rogan. “Houston is just sort of an oil town which is good if you’re in that business but otherwise not. Dallas has sort of an inferiority complex to LA or New York. Not the healthiest attitude. Austin’s a government town and a college town and a wannabe hipster San Francisco town.”
It’s the God-given right of people who live in Texas to roast other Texas cities, and we exercise those rights frequently. But even on days when our anti-Austin and Houston sentiments are at their strongest, we wouldn’t say what Thiel said about them because it’s just not true. Both cities are music and arts hubs and Houston is a leader in the medical industry.
Maybe it’s harder to see things that way when the only people you talk to in Austin and Houston are the other billionaires who don't engage with the culture like regular folks do, but assure Thiel that it's the truth.
As for the notion that Dallas has an inferiority complex next to New York and LA, that needs to be addressed in two parts. First of all, the average Dallas resident spends zero hours a day thinking about New York at all. The people who want to be there, move there.
It is true that many Dallas residents won’t stop talking about how LA is better, but there’s one factor Thiel didn’t seem to consider. These residents are California transplants who either moved here because their tech job transferred them or are mad that Texas isn’t the tax haven they heard it was and they’re still on the hook for their property taxes.
These residents are statistical outliers and shouldn’t have been counted. Again, we have to assume the inferiority complex Thiel speaks of mostly applies to his billionaire friends.
Dallasites and other offended locals took to X to give their take on Thiel’s remarks.
Dont tell em. Keep the gems for the locals
— urfriendvincent (@urfriendvincent) August 17, 2024
@peterthiel Dallas having a inferiority complex to NY or LA is the easiest and most short term problem to fix on list. Dallas is the next NY. Be a part of it.
— JPHAi (@REAL_JPHAI) August 17, 2024
Stay in Cali. We don't want you.
— EvilCorpInvestments (@EvilCorpInvest) August 16, 2024
Thank you on behalf of all of Texas, for not moving here, Peter Thiel…@peterthiel @joerogan https://t.co/pVsIKNhxeM
— Tracey Schulz (@TraceySchulz) August 18, 2024
Dallas has many problems…but inferiority complex ain’t one of em 😂
— Amy Nixon (@texasrunnerDFW) August 17, 2024
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