Orange County, CA vs Collin County, TX (San Diego, San Francisco: income, to live)

[SueSouth]

I lived in Anaheim Hills and in Dallas.
I'd take Texas again in a heartbeat.

Cali is ridiculously expensive.

But...where do I live now? Florida, of course!

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

The best alternative to the proverbial "California" is Northern California.

We spent 30 years in Fullerton, OC, CA 92833 and I'm forever grateful for the great climate and plenty of job opportunities. I left the place a month after retirement and moved to the "Northstate".

500 miles north from Orange County our climate is different, more rain, average summer temps 5-10 F* higher and winter temps 10-15 F* lower. Even so, our climate is still better than 90% of the rest of our country.

Our utilities went from avg. $ 90 a month to $ 250 a month. Our homeowners went from $ 500 a year to $ 2,300 a year due to the wildfire risk here.

We sold our Fullerton townhouse in 2015 for $ 380/ square foot. Bought a house here in Paradise a month later at $ 144/square foot. Currently homes sell on the average for $ 235/square foot - I have no idea what is the average in the OC this time and I don't care. Here most of the homes are on a third of an acre or larger.

Our quality of life - well, how can I explain - imagine trading in a 19-year-old Yugo for a new Cadillac Escalade. Obviously insurance and upkeep are more expensive, but I wouldn't go back. The natural beauty of the land, the hills and canyons, the creeks, the trees (yes, even after our devastating fire we still have more trees per square mile) the quiet, the peace, the lack of traffic, lack of sirens, helicopters, the lack of ghetto people, to me it's worth paying a higher price up here.

Jobs are harder to get, albeit right now with the after-fire construction boom in Butte County if you have a pulse and can hold a hammer you get hired.

For retiring it sounds great, except for the fires. I would unlikely to be moving there, as I love the beaches in Southern California.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by SueSouth

I lived in Anaheim Hills and in Dallas. I'd take Texas again in a heartbeat. Cali is ridiculously expensive. But...where do I live now? Florida, of course!

If you call it "Cali" you clearly were not a Californian.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

If you call it "Cali" you clearly were not a Californian.

I dont think he said he was from there.

I do find that some Californians use the term "Cali" when they arent in California. Though it was uncommon to hear them (us) use it while in California.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Justabystander

OC any day of the week over TX. Just the fact that they have elected Ted Cruz as their senator is enough for me, honestly. His hypocrisy makes me ill.

Nixon's hypocrisy makes me ill. The War on Drugs was his legacy and it was really part of the Southern Strategy by playing the race card.

Considered O.C. due to the suburban density, but the crazy GOP anti-mask protest last year and the recent KKK protest in Huntington Beach turned me off. I did not pay that much to leave Texas for a more expensive version of the same thing!

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

And Beto got more votes from native Texans than Cruz did

Another case of Americans diluting Texan votes! Why are they even allowed to vote?

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

I dont think he said he was from there.

I do find that some Californians use the term "Cali" when they arent in California. Though it was uncommon to hear them (us) use it while in California.

I'm a native Californian and never use "Cali". That's a city in Colombia. But perhaps, the younger folks in CA use that more often.

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by SueSouth

I lived in Anaheim Hills and in Dallas.
I'd take Texas again in a heartbeat.

Cali is ridiculously expensive.

But...where do I live now? Florida, of course!

HAHAHAHA! I had a good laugh...

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

HAHAHAHA! I had a good laugh...

Hope she enjoys living there.


There is a reason they refer to FL as Flori-duh.

[mgforshort]

I spent 2 years in Sarasota, Florida, and it is my 2nd favorite after our current Paradise. If I could bear the humidity in my old age, and deal with the hurricanes, I'd love to move there again.

To put in in perspective, I'd prefer Sarasota over Budapest, Munich, Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County, Rome, Barcelona by at least 100%.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

To put in in perspective, I'd prefer Sarasota over Budapest, Munich, Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County, Rome, Barcelona by at least 100%.

There isn't a single city in FL I'd choose over living on the coast in So Cal. I love Boca Raton, Palm Beach, even Winter Park (in small doses), but they pale in comparison to the quality of life on the So Cal coast.