My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (crime, attorney)

[CADRMNDANES]

Have you spent any time in Texas? I lived 7 years in SA Texas. It's not easy and many folks have came back after moving there. I have been there since moving and I'm glad I don't live there anymore. It's a different way of life. HOT, HUMID, BUGS, SNAKES and Church! Everyone thinks you should belong to their church. If you don't then they will pray for you and think you're going you know where. LOL

[CADRMNDANES]

BTW, I have been looking at Oregon, WA, and Wisc. I like cold weather. I'm sick of the heat. Check out Idaho. If you need a warm state, check out AZ & NV.

[JENJEN3565]

:

Originally Posted by Gal On The Move

Fellow Californians,

Just wanted to hear from those of you in my situation.

My husband and I are considering leaving magnificant California. Though we love it to death, we don't know if it's smart to stay. We live in Sac, which I consider to be California's greatest deal (financially speaking). We want to buy a home but we haven't seen anything we could be happy with for less then $300G's.

We've been thinking about moving to San Anotonio because you can get a great house for much less then $300G's. We've also heard it's a great place to raise the family we want to start.

But, I'm so in love with California!! Has anyone had this debate with themselves, and if so what did you decide? Move and have more financial security, a great home, a nice car without the yearly super high registration cost? Or, stay and do well, live in a smaller home, enjoy Cali's beauty?

I think we are leaning more towards moving. Especially since we have no family here. But it hurts!

Conflicted people please share!

Thanks

Absolutley. We live up by Chico CA and are already researching other states to move to within about 1 1/2. I was born and raised in CA. For me, staying in CA is not even an option any longer. I own a home here and cannot wait to sale it. I looked at real estate in our surrounding areas and was sickened that some little po dunk shack on about 1/2 an acre was listed at $450,000!!!! CA has it's head up it's %@! big time and it just kills me inside that real estate agents are still posting homes for 2005 prices only to have them "reduced" in a matter of months. Why anyone would want to stay in CA is beyond me. I have a huge family here and know what you mean, but to me, it's quality of life that's most important and CA no longer has it for me.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by Victor912

I have made the decision to leave CA and am moving to NE Arkansas. I am am Executive Assistant to a President & CEO and make a fairly good salary, even for CA. However, that doesn't mean my quality of life is as good as I think it can be. My reasons are pretty much the same and those already posted.

1. I want to retire early (I'm 57) and enjoy what is left of my life after working since Jr. High (my mom was a single parent and there were 4 of us) I started working in the school cafeteria to ensure a hot lunch every day) to this day.

If I stay in CA, even with a decent pension and SS benefits, I will never be able to retire and live comfortably because the cost of living is too high.

2. I want to live in a slower less stressfull environment, where people are judged more by their values honesty and character than what they own or drive.

I honestly believe I will be happier with less stuff and more time to stop and smell the magnolias or whatever , or SLOWLy take in a beautiful sunrise/sunset or maybe a deer darting across my back yard. No more daily 2 hour commutes.

3. I want to be able to live comfortably without spending a fortune on the day to day basics. Goods and services are too expensive here.

I may have to eat more fiber (beans, corn, cabbage, rice etc. etc.) and less meat or order a favorite or two online rather than driving to the mall... but I'll be one relaxed, rested, happy camper

4. The condition of our infrastructure is deteriorating fast and repair/upgrades and maintenance aren't keeping up. Ultimately means higher taxes etc. etc.

Thats only a small sample of my reasoning.... but I think you get the picture.

Mind you... I have done a lot of research in determining the best place for me. Everyone who considers a move like this must (in my humble opinion) do the same. But I am happy with my decision and looking forward to my final exodus from the golden state! Because in my opinion it's quite tarnished right now and I don't see it getting any better.

Good luck with your decision!

I can totally relate to everything you've said. I couldn't have said it better. My wife and I will be retiring outside of California as well. Our goal is to purchase retirement property in Tennessee. Best wishes in your retirement!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Victor912

I have made the decision to leave CA and am moving to NE Arkansas. I am am Executive Assistant to a President & CEO and make a fairly good salary, even for CA. However, that doesn't mean my quality of life is as good as I think it can be. My reasons are pretty much the same and those already posted.

1. I want to retire early (I'm 57) and enjoy what is left of my life after working since Jr. High (my mom was a single parent and there were 4 of us) I started working in the school cafeteria to ensure a hot lunch every day) to this day.

If I stay in CA, even with a decent pension and SS benefits, I will never be able to retire and live comfortably because the cost of living is too high.

2. I want to live in a slower less stressfull environment, where people are judged more by their values honesty and character than what they own or drive.

I honestly believe I will be happier with less stuff and more time to stop and smell the magnolias or whatever , or SLOWLy take in a beautiful sunrise/sunset or maybe a deer darting across my back yard. No more daily 2 hour commutes.

3. I want to be able to live comfortably without spending a fortune on the day to day basics. Goods and services are too expensive here.

I may have to eat more fiber (beans, corn, cabbage, rice etc. etc.) and less meat or order a favorite or two online rather than driving to the mall... but I'll be one relaxed, rested, happy camper

4. The condition of our infrastructure is deteriorating fast and repair/upgrades and maintenance aren't keeping up. Ultimately means higher taxes etc. etc.

Thats only a small sample of my reasoning.... but I think you get the picture.

Mind you... I have done a lot of research in determining the best place for me. Everyone who considers a move like this must (in my humble opinion) do the same. But I am happy with my decision and looking forward to my final exodus from the golden state! Because in my opinion it's quite tarnished right now and I don't see it getting any better.

Good luck with your decision!

We did the same thing for mostly the same reasons. I'm 46 now living near Colorado Springs from near perfect Thousand Oaks, CA. California is truly a beautiful place and 50 years ago it was the best place to be. People who like LA seem to be young, ambitious, not concerned with schools (probably no kids), working their way up the corporate ladder, have strong ties to an LA-only business, love the singles beach scene, or are "in" already with real estate. For them I can understand their reasons. However, Some of the justifications for moving to LA border on delusion. No one EVER says "Yeah, Los Angeles is a great place to raise a family."
As for the original post, with the exception of leaving our elderly parents (MAJOR guilt trip) and not being able to swim outdoors 365, there is absolutely no reason for us to want to live back in California. Colorado itself is stunningly beautiful. Look at the positive to negative ratio of posts on the Colorado (COS & Denver) forums and then on the California (LA, OC) forums.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/color...see-yours.html

https://www.city-data.com/forum/color...see-yours.html

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Charles

No one EVER says "Yeah, Los Angeles is a great place to raise a family."

Someone actually did say that in the LA forum a while ago. Its amazing the thinks people will talk themselves into to justify living somewhere.

[natt]

I'm from Hawaii originally and my family moved to California almost 30 years ago...because Hawaii was getting too expensive! Priced out of the real estate market, higher cost of living, overcrowding, rising crime, decreasing quality of schools...just like California, now. (It's why you'll find half the native Hawaiian population now living in Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada...they can no longer afford to live in their own homeland.)

My parents bought a home in Contra Costa County for $64K in 1979, and sold it 15 years later for about $150K, which we all thought was great. But as I was typing this, I looked on Zillow and see that it's now valued at $492K!!! A 35-year old, 4bd ranch style home with a small yard! Only one of my siblings owns a home in California now, the rest of us rent apartments, but I doubt any of us could afford to buy back the old family home, even if we wanted to. (There was a building boom in the '90s and it's seriously overcrowded, now.)

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Someone actually did say that in the LA forum a while ago. Its amazing the thinks people will talk themselves into to justify living somewhere.

Since this is a thread dedicated to those who wish to leave, I would normally not comment on postings. However, this comment is a little unfair to folks who like living here and raising a family. They aren't talking themselves into it, perhaps they truly enjoy it and find it a great option. Many would agree that it is a great place to live and to grow up.

[MotleyCrew]

We moved two years ago from Chico to Arizona. It was difficult, I have lived my life in only CA. I loved the N. Coast and miss being able to drive over to Napa. CA was getting to tax heavy on businesses and we could see that the future bond issues would fall on our backs as soon as we retired. We love AZ and found a beautiful new home in a resort like community called Vistancia for less than 1/2 of what we would have paid in Chico. Property taxes are reasonable and the other taxes as well. We looked in TX and the property taxes are HUGE. So what you pay for a cheap home they will make up for it in taxes. We are just a short airplane trip to San Diego and Disneyland so life is good here.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Since this is a thread dedicated to those who wish to leave, I would normally not comment on postings. However, this comment is a little unfair to folks who like living here and raising a family. They aren't talking themselves into it, perhaps they truly enjoy it and find it a great option. Many would agree that it is a great place to live and to grow up.

So what makes LA such a great place to raise a family? Is it the beautiful, spacious, safe, affordable housing? The wonderful public schools? The efficient transportation system? The clean, well maintained streets? The illegal alien, drug dealer, and hooker free parks?