What's continuing to draw new residents? (San Diego, Victorville: insurance, big house, buy)

[Hemlock140]

I lived there my first 40 years and loved it right up until the day I left.

It's one of the few places that has a complete variety of features within one state, mountains, rivers, lakes, ocean, skiing, surfing, desert, woods.
And gems like Yosemite and Tahoe.

For all that you have to be on the coast, and the advantage CA has over Wa and OR is that it's further south with milder winters, and summer lasting two months longer. There's no equivalent on the east coast.

I have found over the years that newcomers to CA have no clue until it's too late that the cost of living is so much higher than where they came from. That's much of the problem, people that move there, get in over their heads and become a burden on the state.

[Charles]

Didn't we just read something a couple years or so ago that net migration is OUT of California and not IN to California and California's population increase is due to homegrown births? Maybe it's changed, maybe not.

"During the last fiscal year, 135,173 more people moved out of California than moved in from other states."

from

Moving Out Of California | A state in the rearview mirror - Los Angeles Times

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Charles

Didn't we just read something a couple years or so ago that net migration is OUT of California and not IN to California and California's population increase is due to homegrown births? Maybe it's changed, maybe not.

"During the last fiscal year, 135,173 more people moved out of California than moved in from other states."

from

Moving Out Of California | A state in the rear view mirror - Los Angeles Times

While "happiness" was thought, by some, to be California in the rear view mirror. It really wasn't. It was poignant for us and somewhat distressing. We could have afforded to stay in retirement but shifting to a lower cost of living state seemed a better alternative that would enhance our quality of life; and it has.

CA was the state of our births and the birthplace of six of our, combined, seven children. It was also the state of our youths and always engenders fond memories and a longing for the California we knew before it was broke, filled with sprawl, over-burdened by immigrants, especially those of the illegal persuasion, ridiculously politically correct, crime-filled and burdened by a laughable governance creating high taxes and a broken infrastructure.

Still-in-all, were we to win a lottery (I understand that requires buying tickets, though) we might consider un-expatriating ourselves and taking up residence on the central coast (Monterey Bay area) to be closer to most of our children and grandchildren.

It's probably not going to happen so in the alternative, we remember the good times, rejoice in the memories and experience of the simpler ones and make the best of where we are which we decidedly enjoy and value. In fact, some elements of it do take us back.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

were we to win a lottery (I understand that requires buying tickets, though) we might consider un-expatriating ourselves and taking up residence on the central coast (Monterey Bay area) to be closer to most of our children and grandchildren.

Lottery or no lottery, you'll be back in CA by 2015, maybe not in spendy Monterey or the Central Coast, but more likely a bungalow or rancher or townhome or retirement village in a mid sized town that doesn't cost that much more than your current home in MO. Why? Because you want to come back (admit it), your kids and grandkids are here, and as a retiree, you don't need to live in or near an expensive job center like LA or the Bay Area.

That's the blueprint. 2015.

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by Charles

Lottery or no lottery, you'll be back in CA by 2015, maybe not in spendy Monterey or the Central Coast, but more likely a bungalow or rancher or townhome or retirement village in a mid sized town that doesn't cost that much more than your current home in MO. Why? Because you want to come back (admit it), your kids and grandkids are here, and as a retiree, you don't need to live in or near an expensive job center like LA or the Bay Area.

That's the blueprint. 2015.

He'll be back in Bakersfield.

Just pulling your leg, Curmegdeon.

[bentstrider]

Seems like the coasts are always the number one on peoples lists for why they like it here.
I've been to the beach and often stayed near it for whatever reasons throughout my life and thought "meh".
And then I think the biggest thing that made me want to consider leaving was driving rigs through Wyoming and meeting some shooting enthusiasts out there.
After getting a taste of an SKS assault rifle, I was thoroughly dragged over to the dark-side so-to-speak.

Anywho, it's always nice to try out different areas of the country and see how you like them.
After I drove OTR for a little over a year and experienced all 48 states for at least weeks at a time, I've found that I'm always going to be a desert-rat.

The coastline gives me this eerie feeling that I'm at the end of something and thick, green forests make me feel trapped in.

In a desert, I like the fact that you could see hundreds of miles in any direction.
That and there are plenty of ghost-towns, mines, and other abandonments protected by desolate desert conditions that they barely see the footprints of hikers, let alone urban-destruction artists aka., vandals

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Charles

Lottery or no lottery, you'll be back in CA by 2015, maybe not in spendy Monterey or the Central Coast, but more likely a bungalow or rancher or townhome or retirement village in a mid sized town that doesn't cost that much more than your current home in MO. Why? Because you want to come back (admit it), your kids and grandkids are here, and as a retiree, you don't need to live in or near an expensive job center like LA or the Bay Area.

That's the blueprint. 2015.

LOL! Hold that thought. I also have children and grandchildren in Ohio and that's a whole lot closer and less expensive.

Nah! Unless I had a sudden and wholly unexpected, massive increase in assets, returning to CA is out of the question. But with them, I'd at least be back as a snowbird.

Originally Posted by TimC2462

He'll be back in Bakersfield.

Just pulling your leg, Curmegdeon.

Actually, I was thinking Weed Patch!

[Bob's Burgers]

foreign born people are buying most of the homes in Orange County according to the 2010 census.

[jeffredo]

Almost all the growth in California in the past two decades has been from foreign immigration (both kinds) and their children. Of non-Hispanic whites and blacks there has been a fairly sizable out-migration. Even foreign immigration is starting to slow as those groups are becoming more inclined to go to other states/regions (especially the Midwest and South) that they wouldn't have considered years ago.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by jeffredo

Almost all the growth in California in the past two decades has been from foreign immigration (both kinds) and their children. Of non-Hispanic whites and blacks there has been a fairly sizable out-migration. Even foreign immigration is starting to slow as those groups are becoming more inclined to go to other states/regions (especially the Midwest and South) that they wouldn't have considered years ago.

Pity!