You may have some advantage in the northeast at schools that do not draw a lot from Texas. SUNY-Binghamton and UMass-Amherst often give merit to get applicants down to in-state cost levels. Delaware and South Carolina have large OOS populations and will offer merit aid to good students, and their prices are reasonable. NC State is reasonably priced, but merit is unlikely.
If you are interested in smaller schools, Penn and Ohio are littered with private colleges that probably do not draw a lot of Texas interest. That may help merit aid offers.