• Protein smoothies that are both beautiful and functional are popping up everywhere.
• They're a sign of how fitness has had a luxury rebrand.
• I enjoyed Soho House's protein smoothies, which cost $12 each and contain protein powder, fruit, and supplements.

I was perched at the gym bar of a Soho House branch in London, looking at a perfect row of plastic cups full to the brim with a pastel-colored, silky liquid, when it struck me how much protein shakes have changed in recent years.

Long gone are the days of gulping down a lumpy, makeshift concoction of water and protein powder in an ugly plastic shaker after a workout. Today, there's a new class of glossy protein shakes that are infinitely tastier and chicer: reflecting fitness' luxury rebrand in recent years.

With wispy swirls and a cloud-like texture, the designer protein smoothies at Soho House looked like zoomed-in snippets of an Impressionist painter's take on a Mediterranean sunset. Whether they would taste as good remained to be seen.

Served in a sleek Soho-House branded cup and each named after a branch of the members club (The Berlin, Warehouse, Shoreditch), they're part of a menu that launched in February. It includes five protein smoothies and one electrolyte drink intended to help gym-goers prepare for or recover from training.

They're $12 (£9) a pop and available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.

The smoothies feature different blends of either whey or plant-based protein powder with fruits, plant milk, supplements like creatine, and buzzy "superfoods" including chia seeds and matcha.

Expensive smoothies with functional add-ons are not new. Jamba Juice sells plenty of $9 smoothies, and Joe and The Juice's protein shakes, which launched in June 2024, go for $14.50. Although not a fitness drink, the viral $20 Hailey Bieber Strawberry Skin Glaze smoothie, a collaboration between the cult LA organic grocery store Erewhon and the Rhode skincare founder, mainstreamed the idea of the exorbitantly expensive smoothie.

Soho House is just the latest luxury brand to launch a range of elite protein smoothies for its wellness-crazed clientele. Both Barry's Bootcamp and Equinox have similar offerings. They all prove just how fashionable fitness has become, while their stylish appearance helps them double up as a gold star for participation in the world of luxury wellness.

Just holding one made me feel like an LA influencer.

Here's how I ranked Soho House's protein smoothies, from most to least favorite.

The Shoreditch

Ingredients: Cherries, strawberries, goji, chia seeds, whey or plant-based vanilla protein, kefir, coconut milk

Nutrition: 26g protein, 64g carbs, 3g fiber, 42 miligrams salt, 356 calories

The Shoreditch was hands down the most beautiful of the smoothies, and certainly looked like its designer took cues from Hailey Bieber's Erewhon collab.

It tasted very sweet and creamy, but the kefir (a fermented yogurt drink that contains gut-friendly microbes) gave it an added layer of tang, which I enjoyed. The protein powder was virtually undetectable too. I might have got a little sick of the sweetness by the end if I had drunk the whole thing, but it was definitely one of my favorites.

I personally wouldn't want to drink this every day because it's quite intense, but if I did a heavy workout or a long run, I would happily tuck into one of these.

The Warehouse

Ingredients: Pineapple, mango, goji, turmeric, ginger, vanilla protein, cayenne pepper, chia seeds, kefir, and coconut milk

Nutrients: 26g protein, 28g carbs, 3g fiber, 43mg salt, 375 calories

The Warehouse tasted like the protein shake equivalent of a spicy Margherita. It had a tropical fruit base from pineapple and mango and a layer of spice from turmeric and cayenne pepper, which mellowed it out.

The kick took me by surprise and elevated the overall flavor. I would definitely order this again.

The Berlin

Ingredients: Cacao, banana, dates, sunflower seed butter, cacao nibs, vanilla protein, and oat milk. A coffee shot for £1 extra.

Nutrition: 30g protein, 18.6g carbs, 11g fiber, 136mg salt, 401 calories

Berlin tasted like a thick chocolate milkshake. I hate the taste of protein powder, so I was pleasantly surprised that I could barely notice it. I'm also not a fan of bananas (sorry), which can make smoothies a bit of a minefield for me. But all the flavors in this blended nicely into an overwhelmingly chocolatey flavor.

Again, I wouldn't be buying this every time I went to the gym, but it was a delicious treat that I might enjoy after achieving a fitness goal.

The Beach House

Ingredients: Berries, banana, sunflower seed butter, blue spirulina, chia seeds, dates, vanilla protein, kefir, coconut milk

Nutrients: 26g protein, 77g carbs, 5g fiber, 34mg salt, 444 calories

I was told that The Beach House is the No. 1 best seller of all the smoothies, so I had high expectations. It was tasty, but definitely not my favorite.

For me, there was nothing distinguishing about The Beach House. There were no ingredients in it that any of the other smoothies didn't have, so I feel it lacked identity.

It tasted like a slightly muted version of the Shoreditch, which is no bad thing if you're looking for something more low-key.

The Farmhouse

Ingredients: Mango, banana, celery, vanilla protein, goji, green spirulina, matcha, and pea milk

Nutrients: 30g protein, 26g carbs, 7g fiber, 167mg salt, 299 calories

The Farmhouse, as the name suggests, had an earthy flavor. It tasted less exciting than the others, kind of like a green juice, but still pleasant.

For me, a big part of the appeal of a fancy protein smoothie is that drinking it should be fun, so I'd be more inclined to go for one of the fruitier options.But this would be a good choice if you were having these regularly, as it's high in protein and has less sugar and fewer calories than the other shakes.

House Water

Ingredients: Coconut water, creatine, cucumber, lemon, ginger

Nutrition: 0g protein, 1g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g salt, 128 calories

The House Water is an electrolyte drink, not a protein shake. It's cheaper than the shakes, costing £5 ($6.80). It's a nice option if you want something lighter to give you a little boost before a workout class or after a training session, and a tasty way to take your creatine, a workout supplement that research links to muscle gains and weight loss.

If you like coconut water, you'll love it, but I personally don't.

Overall, the smoothies were tasty and cheaper than other similar products on the market.

Is $12 a lot for a drink that comes in a plastic cup? Certainly. But given it can help you achieve nutrition goals so conveniently while looking and tasting good, I say they're worth it if you have the money.

• Zohran Mamdani has pledged to freeze rent for some apartments in New York City if elected mayor.
• The move aims to aid low-income New Yorkers amid rising housing costs.
• But critics argue it may hinder building maintenance and new housing construction.

If one slogan defined Zohran Mamdani's successful campaign to be New York City's Democratic nominee for mayor, it might be his call to freeze the rent.

The pledge — plastered across T-shirts, tote bags, and campaign mailers across the city — has drawn some of the most energetic support and opposition to Mamdani's campaign.

It's not unusual for a New York City mayor to support temporarily pausing rent increases on the city's nearly one million rent-stabilized units, which make up about half of all rental apartments and house more than 2 million people. But Mamdani has gone a step further, promising to replace the members of the Rent Guidelines Board with individuals committed to freezing rents every year of his term.

Tenant advocates say that a rent freeze would provide crucial relief to low-income New Yorkers — especially families of color, seniors, and Gen Z renters — in one of the most expensive cities in the country. But landlords say rent freezes would starve many buildings of crucial income needed to maintain and repair stabilized apartments, while some housing economists say depressing rents could discourage much-needed housing construction.

Here's what's really going on with Mamdani's rent freeze, and what it would mean for the city.

How New York renters are actually doing

Mamdani's rent freeze pledge comes as the city's renters are struggling. About a quarter of all city households that don't live in public housing or use a housing voucher are severely rent-burdened, meaning they spend at least half of their income on housing. The typical tenant household earns about $70,000 a year, but citywide median rent hit almost $3,700 a month — or over $44,000 a year — in late 2024.

Rent-stabilized apartments make up the biggest share of the city's affordable housing. The median rent in a stabilized apartment was is about $1,500 in 2023 according to the city's latest data — about $141 less than the total median of $1,614 for all rental units.

Black, Latino and low-income residents are overrepresented as tenants in rent-stabilized apartments and thus could especially benefit from a freeze.

The rising cost of living is making it hard for New Yorkers to stay in the city. "The median income for a rent-stabilized household is $60,000 a year. Any rent hike could push them out of the city," Mamdani said in a campaign video.

For now, rents will keep rising. Less than a week after Mamdani's primary win, the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board voted on Monday to raise rents for one-year leases in stabilized units by 3%, and by 4.5% on two-year leases.

The board raised rents by a total of 9% during the first three years of Mayor Eric Adams' term. That's up from Adams' predecessor, Mayor Bill De Blasio, who oversaw three rent freezes during his eight years in office and a 6% increase in stabilized rents overall.

One of the Rent Guidelines Board members who voted in favor of the rent increase, Alex Armlovich, called it "a nuanced compromise" between competing testimonies from landlords and tenants.

The pros and cons of a rent freeze

Critics of rent freezes point to a few major issues. They argue that rent increases are needed to allow landlords to keep up with their costs, including building repairs and maintenance.

Proponents of freezing rents argue landlords can tap other resources to fill the gap in revenue. Sam Stein, a housing policy analyst with the Community Service Society — a nonprofit focused on aiding low-income New Yorkers, said that city-run targeted programs designed to aid landlords who can't cover the costs are better-suited to address the problem rather than raising rents for all stabilized units.

Mamdani and other rent freeze advocates argue that many landlords of stabilized units are doing fine. Indeed, a report by the Rent Guidelines Board found that these landlords' average income, after subtracting expenses and adjusting for inflation, was up 8% between 2022 and 2023.

But that number doesn't give a full financial picture, as landlords could have mortgages and other debts, and it's an average across a very diverse array of buildings.

Buildings with rent-stabilized apartments range from brand-new, high-end complexes with sky-high market rents and a small number of stabilized units, to 100% rent-stabilized buildings that have had controlled rents for 70 years. That diversity makes it especially tricky to fit a citywide rent increase to all those units.

"We have both the newest, healthiest, most expensive rental buildings in the city and the most distressed, low-rent buildings in the city all under one system, and we're supposed to pick one number," Armlovich said.

Addressing the housing shortage

Fundamentally, New York's affordability problem is caused by a shortage of homes. Recently, apartment vacancy rates hit a more than 50-year low of 1.4%.

Some housing economists worry that freezing rents on stabilized units could discourage housing construction, further depressing the supply of homes and hurting affordability. They point to real estate developers who accept tax incentives on new and converted buildings that include a certain amount of rent-stabilized units. Some argue builders would be less likely to take advantage of these programs if the stabilized units brought in less revenue under a rent freeze.

Armlovich said that several rent freezes under a future administration would likely only have a modest impact on housing construction broadly. But he worries that an environment of frozen rents could scare off some developers and financiers.

"It's just like old conservative, middle-aged bankers being like, 'Oh my god, you want to underwrite a construction loan under socialism?'" Armlovich said.

Mamdani has also floated other pro-building housing policies. The candidate has proposed building 200,000 subsidized affordable homes and doubling the city Housing Authority's funding for preserving existing affordable housing, while he's expressed some interest in loosening land-use regulations to spur new construction.

What renters and landlords think about a rent freeze

While Mamdani's win was something of an upset, lifelong New Yorker John Leyva said it was a reflection of renters' desire to see a mayoral candidate promising to tackle affordability issues head-on. Leyva has been organizing tenants in Brooklyn who he said have been squeezed with rents for the past decade.

"I was paying $400 a month for a two-bedroom when I first got here," said the 54 year-old, who's lived in his rent-stabilized apartment for the past 30 years. At the time, he was able to afford college, a car, and rent on a minimum-wage job. "Tenants now have two and three jobs just to try to pay what they can now."

Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, said that renters' and landlords' interests don't need to be opposed in solving New York City's affordability crisis, but that a rent freeze isn't the solution.

"When it comes to affordability, the only proven way to reduce the rent is increase the supply," Burgos said. With the volume of new housing that New York desperately needs, Burgos said Mamdani will have to work with developers and the private sector to meet that demand if he wins this fall.

Property taxes in New York City are the "single largest expense in operating their housing," Burgos said. Without raising rents, landlords are facing a "dire" situation.

But Leyva said it's not as simple as supply and demand. It takes time to build new, permanently subsidized housing, and the private sector isn't sufficiently incentivized to do so, he argued, adding that renters need immediate relief.

"Lobby for less taxes if that's what's the problem," Leyva said of landlords who feel squeezed by operating costs. "But the tenants can't give more."

• Julie Wilburn moved from Maryland to Morocco for a better quality of life.
• She has lived there for 13 years and now runs a small school.
• Similar to the US microschool movement, Wilburn found a need for more personalized learning in the region.

Julie Wilburn, 53, never anticipated that, over a decade after moving from Maryland to Morocco, she would be running her own school.

That's now her reality.

"I started with four kids out of my own house, and then I just started building a little school, and now it's been 13 years and I have this school that now has 60 to 65 students," Wilburn told Business Insider.

Wilburn said she worked at small religious schools in Maryland, and when she met her husband, who is from Morocco, she decided she wanted a change.

They moved to Morocco, and Wilburn found a teaching job. When the school shut down, she decided to start her own microschool, a model that typically has fewer than 20 students and focuses on personalized learning.

American Group International, Wilburn's school in Agadir, teaches students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and they come from diverse backgrounds, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and France.

"A lot of people are moving out of the first-world countries, and actually, the quality of life is better here," Wilburn said, adding that one thing she likes about Morocco is the availability of fresh food.

Plus, the couple thought the US was getting too expensive. She referred to her electric bill: she said that in America, she was paying around $400 a month for electricity, and her bill in Morocco is just $25.

Wilburn is one of many Americans who have left the US in search of a cheaper and better life. Her current role as a school leader is also representative of a growing movement in the US in which parents are seeking out alternative forms of education, like microschools, to best suit their children's needs.

While her school is now larger than the typical microschool, Wilburn said the structure has been instrumental to helping students in the region succeed.

"Our school's like family. They go home with their classmates, they have birthday parties together," Wilburn said. "It makes our school different than the bigger schools."

'Born out of a need'

BI previously spoke to microschool leaders and advocates in the US who vouched for the alternative learning style. Critics, on the other hand, worry that minimal regulation over microschools could diminish their accountability.

Mary Jo Fairhead, who runs a microschool in South Dakota, said that after working in a traditional public school for years, she saw a growing shift among parents who wanted more personalized educations for their kids, especially coming out of the pandemic.

"If a child's struggling and they need something more personalized, we find it for them," Fairhead said. "Or if they're excelling and they need something that's going to challenge them more, we find that for them."

Wilburn saw that same need for a different style of education in Morocco.

"Our school was born out of a need: a need for inclusive education, small class sizes, and alternative pathways for students with diverse learning profiles, special needs, or families seeking a more holistic, flexible, and international approach to learning," she said.

Wilburn obtained accreditation certificates for her school from two US-based agencies, and she said she is working to get regional accreditation to help expand her learning initiatives to other cities. She also partners with programs in the UK to provide English examinations and teacher training exams.

While educational standards and regulations differ by region, some education analysts have expressed concerns with minimal oversight over microschooling in the US. Paige Shoemaker DeMio, a senior analyst for K-12 education policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, previously told BI that most states do not have legal definitions for what constitutes a microschool, paving the way for potential misuse of funds and inability to track students' progress.

Ensuring success after students graduate is a priority, Wilburn said. Her school's curriculum includes bilingual English and Arabic instruction, and if her students want to go to college, she helps find them scholarships and placements.

"I had one boy, he came back here from Saudi Arabia. I took whatever he could give me to help him get through school," Wilburn said. "And now this year he graduated with a British diploma with his BA, and he's going to go back to Saudi Arabia and work with his friend to help them run a school there."

Have you moved from the US to a location abroad? How have you found the different education systems? Share your thoughts with this reporter at [email protected].

• One of the best ways to enjoy a cruise is to stay on the ship while it's docked at least once.
• Ships are often pretty empty on port days, so spas offer deals, and lounge chairs are easy to snag.
• On port days, I love enjoying the ship's amenities at a slow, laid-back pace without crowds.

One of the most exciting parts of a cruise is when the ship docks at its next destination. As passengers rush off the boat to explore the stop, though, I sometimes prefer to stay put.

This may sound odd, but many experienced cruisers like myself know one of the best ways to make the most of this type of vacation is to stay back on the ship during at least one port day.

Skipping a stop may not be for everyone, but it's an especially great option if you're visiting a place you've already seen or one you're not very eager to explore.

In most cases, the shops and casinos will be closed while in port, but there are several benefits to staying on the ship while it's docked.

Skipping port allows me to sleep in and enjoy the day at a relaxed pace

Itineraries with several ports often require travelers to wake up early if they want to make a timed excursion or have enough hours to enjoy the port before the ship leaves.

However, when I skip the port, I don't need to set an alarm or rush to the buffet to grab an early breakfast.

Instead, I like to enjoy a slow morning with my husband, ordering room service to our cabin or visiting a sit-down breakfast venue instead of the buffet.

Snagging reservations to sit-down spots is much easier, and even if we stop at the buffet, we rarely have to wait in line since most cruisers are already on land by then.

In addition to having a slow start to the day, I've also found that port days are the best time to relax by the pool in peace.

On our last cruise, did my husband and I take turns running to the pool deck at 7 a.m. to reserve lounge chairs (even though you're not supposed to)?

Did we often plan to relax in an onboard hot tub only to change our minds when we realized it was too crowded? And have I attempted to read my book poolside only to be bothered by crowds of loud children? Yes, yes, and yes.

These things don't happen on port days. Now, we know that staying on the ship while thousands of people disembark can be the surefire way to reach these sundeck goals, on our own schedule.

A port day is a good time to seek out onboard deals and book hard-to-snag reservations

If you're not getting off the ship, head to the spa.

It can be tricky to snag appointments on sea days because everyone has the same idea to book a massage or a facial while the ship is sailing and there's nowhere to go.

On port days, you have a better shot at getting your desire time slot and, even better, you might get a discount. Many cruise lines offer port-day spa specials.

I've had great experiences enjoying discounted massages, pedicures, and facials on port days at a discount on both Celebrity and Norwegian ships

Be sure to check your ship's daily program or call the spa directly — the staff is usually happy to answer questions.

By staying on the ship, I have more time to enjoy its many amenities

My husband and I use port days as a chance to enjoy the ship's amenities and the upgrades we paid for even more.

For example, many ships have great gyms that can be very popular on sea days. They're often less crowded on port days, which are the perfect time to exercise on your own schedule and not have to wait to use your preferred equipment.

On a recent sailing, I paid extra to access the Norwegian Cruise Line Vibe Beach Club — a private pool deck with hot tubs, a dedicated bar, upgraded loungers, and comfy sunbeds.

I went almost every day of my cruise, but it was especially exclusive-feeling on a port day because there were fewer people. I took a nap, read my book, and sipped frozen cocktails in total peace.

After all, there's nothing like avoiding crowds.

• My husband and I have been together for 13 years, but we never stopped taking solo trips.
• I travel alone at least two or three times a year, and it makes our relationship even stronger.
• Solo travel lets us explore our own interests, and also helps me appreciate my husband even more.

Earlier this year, I took a train to Oceanside, one of my favorite places in Southern California — but I did so without my husband.

This was one of the many solo trips I've taken since we got married six years ago. These days, I typically travel alone at least two or three times a year.

Don't get me wrong: I love being around my husband, and I always prefer to take trips with him whenever possible. However, solo travel has become an integral part of staying connected to myself.

For us, taking solo trips while married isn't about escaping each other. It's about investing in our individual growth — and, by extension, our relationship.

Here are a few ways it's made us stronger as a couple.

Time away gives us some much-needed space

Both my husband and I have worked from home for the majority of our marriage, meaning we're almost constantly together. We also live in a two-bedroom apartment, so there's limited space to retreat.

Going on regular solo trips allows us to break out of the familiarity (and occasional annoyances) of constant proximity.

As someone who has struggled with codependency in the past, creating space in our togetherness reinforces my sense of autonomy — which, ironically, makes me feel more present in our relationship, not less.

We have more to talk about once I'm back

Although my husband and I have been married for over six years, we've been together for 13 years, or a third of our lives.

We know practically everything about each other, and our conversations can often start to feel mundane as a result.

It's not that I don't enjoy those everyday chats about how cute our cat is (very cute), what to have for dinner (often chili), or what we want to watch on Netflix — but solo travel gives us new stories, perspectives, and sometimes even new interests to discuss.

Solo travel helps us enjoy our individual hobbies

My husband and I have a lot of shared interests, but we have individual passions, too. While I took up "grandma" hobbies like cross-stitching and gardening during the pandemic, he became obsessed with baseball.

A couple of years ago, my husband planned a solo trip where he went to a baseball game every day. Although we've gone to plenty of games together, going to that many would have been too much for me.

By taking his own trip, he didn't need to worry about whether I was getting antsy or not having a good time — he could fully immerse himself in the experience.

These types of trips let us both lean into what excites us individually, which makes talking about it later even more fun.

Recharging helps the way I show up in our relationship

As introverts, my husband and I both need alone time to feel refreshed.

Although we find ways to snag bits of quiet peace at home — a nap here, a meditation there — oftentimes, a change of scenery can give us both that much-needed sense of feeling recharged.

Traveling alone, especially when nature is involved, lets me take a breather and move at my own pace. I always find that I come back more present, patient, and open — all the things that help me show up as a better partner.

It makes me appreciate my partner and our marriage even more

Maybe it's my love of Jane Austen novels talking, but there is something to that classic idea that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

By the end of a solo trip, I always miss my husband intensely and can't wait to be back in his arms.

On a recent trip I took to Florida, we made sure to talk every day, sharing funny stories or just how we were feeling. Sometimes those conversations even veered off into flirty or sexy territory, which definitely helped build anticipation for when we were reunited.

Even more meaningful, though, is that the distance often helps me appreciate him in a deeper way. When I get back, all the little things I love — the way he makes me laugh, the comfort of his presence, even how he loads the dishwasher — are highlighted in a new way.

Ultimately, although it seems counterintuitive, traveling alone reminds me how lucky I am to have someone I can't wait to come home to.

• Din Tai Fung is keeping machines out of the kitchen for now.
• The chain's chiefs say making their iconic pork dumplings, with their precise 18 folds, is delicate work.
• A machine making them would mean "sacrificing heavily on the quality," CEO Aaron Yang told BI.

Din Tai Fung thinks robots aren't good enough to make their iconic pork soup dumplings.

The Taiwanese chain's North America CEO, Aaron Yang, said Din Tai Fung's xiao long baos, which are known for being pleated at the top with exactly 18 folds, are "very, very delicate." Yang, 33, leads the company alongside his brother, Albert Yang, 32.

And they make a lot of them — Din Tai Fung sells an average of 10,000 handmade xiao long baos every day at each of its North American outlets, the chain told BI. It has over 173 outlets in 13 countries, including the US, Canada, and the UK.

"The way we make the skins, they're paper thin yet strong enough to hold the soup inside," said Yang.

"We are just very uncompromising about quality," he said. "We've seen machines make soup dumplings, and you're definitely sacrificing heavily on the quality."

Yang said their compromise with automation in the kitchen was to deploy it in areas where "it doesn't affect quality," like having a little robot helping the staff run to deliver orders.

"In New York, our kitchen is pretty far away from the takeout area. So we actually have a little robot that runs back and forth delivering the finished takeout bags from the kitchen to the front," he said.

Before the robot was deployed, one person walked back and forth in the restaurant throughout the day.

The human touch

Din Tai Fung's take on automation is in line with that of other chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack, which have both largely kept machines out of the kitchen for the time being.

"We still believe the best way to Chipotle is down the line with a team member, highly customized, great variety, big, beautiful burritos and bowls down the line," Chipotle's CEO, Scott Boatwright, said on an episode of Yahoo Finance's "Opening Bid" podcast that aired in December.

Boatwright added that human interaction is "a core equity of the Chipotle brand."

Chipotle di, tap a robot called"Autocado" in July 2023 to cut, core, and peel avocados, reducing the amount of time needed for the task by half.

Shake Shack's CEO, Danny Meyer, said in a December episode of "Opening Bid" that he did not plan to increase automation in his chain.

"I think when it comes to making the product, there's something about the human touch, smashing that burger, seasoning the burger, flipping the burger, knowing exactly when it is time to come off, where not any two burgers at Shake Shack taste exactly the same," Meyer said.

Starbucks is taking a similar approach, leaving the crafting of drinks to their baristas but rolling out an AI tool that helps baristas remember drink recipes.

• Extreme flooding in Central Texas leaves at least 24 dead, and girls missing from a camp.
• The flooding hit Kerr County, Texas, causing widespread damage and multiple fatalities.
• Authorities urge residents to shelter in place and avoid travel near water bodies.

On what should have been a festive Fourth of July, disaster struck in Central Texas.

Extreme flooding left at least 24 dead in Kerr County, and between 23 to 25 children missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp along the Guadalupe River.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a press conference on Friday night that there were 24 confirmed fatalities in Kerr County resulting from the torrential rains that hit in the morning. One person was confirmed dead in Kendall County, but Sheriff Leitha said it was unclear if it was related.

As many as 12 inches of rain have fallen in the county over the course of the day, with additional rainfall anticipated this evening, local station ABC 7 reported Friday afternoon.

Kerr County and neighboring Kendall County remain under a Flash Flood Warning until Saturday.

As rain continues to fall, a desperate search is underway for those who may have been swept away by the floodwaters.

"There's still several people unaccounted for," Leitha added.

Camp Mystic, located in Hunt, Texas, has around 750 campers; at least 20 girls were unaccounted for on Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

"That does not mean they've been lost," Patrick said on Friday afternoon at a press conference. "They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We're praying for all those missing to be found alive."

Patrick said during the afternoon press conference that the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.

During the Friday night news conference, which was live-streamed on Facebook, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called upon God and the community.

"It needs God, but also needs a robust response by the state and local governments, and by people who live in these communities impacted," he said. "We had a meeting with officials at the state and local level, and there is extraordinary collaboration to make sure that we are going to address everybody's concern as quickly as we possibly can."

Camp Mystic welcomes girls once they've completed second grade. In the Guadalupe River camp group, girls can enroll in one of three sessions, each lasting either two or four weeks. The sessions run from May 30 to August 10, with dates divided across the summer.

On Facebook, parents and community members have circulated flyers with contact numbers, urging the public to help locate the missing children.

An 8-year-old from Dallas is among the missing. Her mother told WFAA News on Friday evening that she was traveling to reach the camp.

Kerr County has an estimated population of 53,900 in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. The county sits in the Hill Country region of Central Texas, including cities like San Antonio and Austin. Beyond the Guadalupe River, the region is home to several others, including the Colorado, Concho, and Blanco Rivers.

The Kerr County Sheriff's Department said on Facebook that it was responding to a "catastrophic flooding event."

"Our Office is working with a wide variety of local and state agencies to respond to calls and rescues," the department wrote on Facebook.

"The entire county is an extremely active scene. Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel. Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground."

With the county focused on locating the missing, several local cities have canceled Independence Day events.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• Lance Koster was ready for a career change and believed Texas was the best place to make it happen.
• In 2024, he and his family left Salt Lake City for a small Texas town, where he found nearby work.
• While the Kosters admit they miss living in Utah, they say they're happier than ever in Texas.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lance Koster, a 61-year-old Pilot instructor, and his wife, Michelle, who moved to Justin, Texas, in 2024.

Justin is a small town about 40 minutes north of Fort Worth. According to recent Census data, its population is 6,197.

The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

Lance: In my career as a pilot, my family and I moved around the country a lot. In 2010, we ended up in Salt Lake City and lived there for 14 years.

We loved Salt Lake City. Its landscape was amazing, especially the mountains. We were always skiing, biking, or camping. And while we didn't have much family there, we made a lot of friends.

However, we needed to make a change. The job was getting a little difficult, and my traveling was starting to increase. I was spending a lot of time away from home.

My wife and I are getting a little older, and I was ready to slow down — I wanted to be home at night and not on the road. I thought it was best to take a position training up-and-coming pilots, which would give me a more stable schedule.

Throughout my career, when I was training, my family and I spent some time in Texas. There are a couple of large jet training facilities in the state, so I knew there would be opportunities for me to become a pilot instructor.

My family and I have also always been intrigued by Texas. Every time we've visited, it's been a pleasant experience. When it was finally time for us to make a change, it was the most logical destination.

We moved to a small North Texas town

Lance: In June 2024, I got a job as a pilot instructor at a company located at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In September, we bought a home in Justin, just north of Fort Worth.

It's a small town, but it's growing quickly.

A lot of the people who live in Justin have lived and worked here their whole lives, so it's actually a little uncomfortable for them that it's growing at such a rapid pace. Still, we've had nothing but pleasant experiences.

Our home in Justin is 3,500 square feet and has five bedrooms and three bathrooms — enough space for my wife, me, and our two teenage sons. We live in a new neighborhood developed by homebuilder KB Homes.

We really like our neighborhood. It has both larger and smaller homes, which was perfect for us.

My wife's mother was living with us in Salt Lake City, and when we moved to Texas, we wanted to find a home with a mother-in-law suite, but we weren't having much luck.

So, we decided to buy a larger home that would fit the four of us, and a smaller home for my mother-in-law, also in the same neighborhood. She now lives about a quarter mile from us and is fully independent.

There are pros and cons to living in Texas

Lance: Salt Lake Valley, where Salt Lake City sits, has a population of almost 2 million people, so even though we lived in a suburban area, it still felt pretty busy. Life is a lot slower in Justin.

The town has a little downtown, with a small grocery store and a couple of restaurants. We have to drive about 15 or 20 minutes toward Fort Worth to do most of our shopping at places like Costco or Walmart.

Our younger son likes living in Justin. He works at the grocery store, which is about half a mile from our house. However, it's taken our older son a little more time to adjust.

The biggest change we've noticed since moving is the culture — it's a lot different. Justin is a lot more diverse. Utah has a large Mormon population, and when you're not part of that, it doesn't always feel like you're included.

The weather is a lot different in Texas, too. Salt Lake City was a lot cooler, and while it does get warm in the Summer, it's nowhere close to how hot it gets in Justin.

We started building a pool in December and finished it a couple of months ago, so we have our own little oasis in the backyard to beat the heat.

Michelle: Another big difference in Texas is that you do not have to pay income tax. But the property taxes are high. Our house in Salt Lake City was 1,000 square feet larger than our home in Justin, but our property taxes here are three times the amount.

Everything here is also so spread out compared to what we were used to. We lived at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley and it would take us 25 minutes to get downtown. If we go to Dallas from Justin — almost 40 miles away — it can take us anywhere from an hour to two.

We're happier than ever

Michelle: We do miss our friends in Salt Lake City — we made some very good, lifelong friends — but we don't plan on moving back. They all come out to visit us, and we see them when we go back.

Our son misses the mountains in Utah, especially in the south. We had really nice views everywhere, and based on the mountains, you could always tell if you were facing north, south, east, or west. Everything about it was beautiful.

That said, we've accepted our new home, and the locals have accepted us, too. We've already started making friends. We've even hosted parties at our house on cool nights, and it's been great.

It's hard for us to quantify, but we all agree, we enjoy it here more.