Could you elaborate on why you think it's entirely a choice? You seem to be implying that the choice to be (or not be) car dependent in Texas and the choice to be (or not be) car dependent in a state like Pennsylvania (for example) are equivalent.
I mean it's a choice in terms of transportation planning at the state/regional/local levels, obviously for individuals it's not really much of a choice.
Individuals would have the choice if their state government made the choice to make public transportation a priority over the less efficient, more damaging, "everyone should just gas up every day" model of industry.
Alas, that choice is not on the table, because the very powerful Texas energy monopolies would never allow public transportation to become a thing, nor would they allow cities to be designed to be anything less than a haven for car users.
There is no Amtrak route between Dallas and Houston. I wish there was, as I would've taken it on several occasions (even if it were slow), but there isn't.
FWIW, I've been doing LA <--> SF many times a year for over a decade and I haven't taken Amtrak _once_. Every time I've checked, it's been a 12+ hour trip due to a long stop in Santa Barbara. It's not functionally an option to travel between LA and SF when you can pay pretty much the same amt and fly in a quarter of the time door to door.
Yeah, SF-LA is slow, though that's also a lot longer route to begin with. LA-SF via the coast (which is what Amtrak does) is 420 miles, and goes through some mountainous terrain with a lot of curves. Houston-Dallas is only 240 miles and flat. There used to be train service on the route that took about 6 hours, but it was discontinued in the 1970s.
One place in California where I do find Amtrak convenient is San Diego to LA. It's a 3-hour trip by train, which is roughly what it takes to drive on average, and a lot less frustrating (driving can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours depending on traffic).
Yes, and Los Angeles and San Francisco are five hours apart. Most people don't drive those on a regular basis though, as I'm sure is the case for Texas.
Coastal Texas is hotter during the day and at night than the Congo in June, July, August, and September. You will die without air conditioning. Easy to get heat stroke just walking down the side walk for 15 minutes.
