What is your breaking point for moving out of California? (Los Angeles: clubhouse, live)

[T.Winter2001]

Our neighbors are leaving for AZ next month.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

In your other post you mention OK reminding you of the San Fernando Valley, in order to have a valley you have to have mountains. Which you do not have.

You also mention wind in the IE, that's kind of ironic from someone who lives where you currently live.

Have spent time in both the oil country of both TX and OK, friendly people but the wind and the dust are awful, and the lack of scenery downright depressing. You have flat land, but unlike the east you lack the trees and greenery that you would find in places like NC or PA. The only trees you see are the ones planted, most of the land is flat and without trees.

I went to college on what was known as the High Plains of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, very similar to where you live. It was windy most of the time.

You're also in tornado country.

Yes it nice to have house in an area you can afford, but unless you're content to confine yourself to your house and your yard, and have no interest in having access to culture, sporting events, education, etc., it can get downright monotonous and even depressing for most people.

It's not mountains, is the spaces between things and the small stores. Of course we have Walmart, but then everyone has. But the valley was full of trees and areas with nothing built on them, and I'd walk home from Jr. High there weren't minimalls everywhere. But mostly its all the trees and space. My grandmother lived around the corner from No. Hollowood Park and we'd go walk past houses built about when mine was (1930).

As far as wind in the IE, I lived in the santa ana wind tunnel. There is always wind. I didn't notice it but friends from LA would visit and would complain about the usual 20 mile an hour gusts and I'd laugh and tell them it wasn't wind until it was blowing off the dead palm frons. I still call the gusty momements here santa anas.

The thing is, when you drive to Stillwater, the whole way there is open space with grasses and trees growing, maybe a building here or there to indicate under the trees someone lives there. Scenery does not have to be spectacular to be beautiful and peaceful. I'd much rather have land and trees and green over yet more houses, strip malls and traffic. Most of the streets connecting towns here, including here to Stillwater, are two lane roads, not stressfully over burdened freeways.

As for tornados, there are those wall to wall news coverage including warnings and exactly where any storm is. Funny thing is we had more quakes here this year than California. And the only quake that ever damaged my house was the one that messed up the door jam here. But fire danger, drought, wind, heat, and even dust are shared. Traffic, noise, crowding and the like are not.

And its all about what you want. I lived next to a bus line and could go where ever I wanted and never did. Too many wall to wall people and rushing and noise. There is a university in Stillwater a half hour away, and I hate sports. The best trips I've had were when a friend and I just drove towards Arkansas and made an unplanned loop into it while looking for the archeological mounds on the border. If if we hadn't found and toured it it would have been a great trip.

Just because a place does not have these supposedly important things does not mean that its 'bad' since not everyone cares.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by Fran66

No, no -- I agree with you -- what I meant was: If we really think moving to another place is going to make us happy -- when we're not at all happy where we presently are -- it's not going to happen. Not after the honeymoon, with the new place, is over. I know I'm going to like living in CA (again) much better than I like living in NM. But I'm not miserable here either. If I couldn't afford to move back -- if I had to live out the rest of my life here -- I would be just fine.

I think it depends on what really motivates you. I myself could not wait to leave. I knew quite specifically what I didn't like about Riverside and wanted to get away from. I had wanted to move for some time. Where was less material than the new place having some things, and lacking others.

The new place is not perfect, but I didn't expect that, nor did I expect to like everything. But I feel ever so much more relaxed with the lack of rushing, crowds, noise, smog and the too many people. I'd still never go back to where I came from.

If you don't like where you are but don't know why, and don't know what your looking for, then your playing spin the bottle. And if you expect perfection and everything to be just like you want and no compromise to deal with you you made sure you won't.

[3rdGen SFan]

A lot of times I consider leaving at least the SF bay area, because a lot of people here these days are douches, but there are still a few people here who keep me hanging onto living in my hometown (city). However, if I do actually ever leave, I'd want to get a loan to fix up my house to legally rent it out, if possible, (needs at least a furnace for heat), and buy another house (or even a shack) to live elsewhere where the majority of the population isn't so rude and selfishly inconsiderate.

Canada looks good to me, but I wonder if it would be possible to live there and be a landlord here in the US at the same time?

[T.Winter2001]

Canada sounds great and NO crazy, bored, lets-give-away-all-our-money-to-squirrels liberals.

BC is awesome or so my SO says so! No, I am not LGBT.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by nightbird47

I think it depends on what really motivates you. I myself could not wait to leave. I knew quite specifically what I didn't like about Riverside and wanted to get away from. I had wanted to move for some time. Where was less material than the new place having some things, and lacking others.

The new place is not perfect, but I didn't expect that, nor did I expect to like everything. But I feel ever so much more relaxed with the lack of rushing, crowds, noise, smog and the too many people. I'd still never go back to where I came from.

If you don't like where you are but don't know why, and don't know what your looking for, then your playing spin the bottle. And if you expect perfection and everything to be just like you want and no compromise to deal with you you made sure you won't.

I think this and your previous post encapsulate the moving syndrome. When you know what you want and you go for it you're not just moving away from a place, you're also moving to a place that suits you better.

A better fit is tantamount to a permanent vacation. Having left Sacramento (I also lived in the IE in the late 70s and early 80s) for many of the reasons you seem to have left Riverside, now when I wake up and look out the window, instead of seeing cement, crowds and traffic or a neighbor's house six feet away, everything is verdant, I'm looking out over a large lake and I may be greeted by cardinals, blue birds, tufted titmice, rabbits, squirrels, an occasional red fox or two, etc. It's peaceful, calming and a joy to the senses.

Like you, I call the wind gusts and straight-lines Santa Anas. I grew up with them in Orange County. And tornadoes? I know the thought of them strikes terror into the hearts of the uninitiated out of towners but an NOAA weather radio works wonders as do the local news stations.

Is life anywhere really perfection? Some places come close but there is always a wart or two. For us they're extremely tiny where we landed and like you, there's no going back.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by nightbird47

But the valley was full of trees and areas with nothing built on them,

But mostly its all the trees and space.

The thing is, when you drive to Stillwater, the whole way there is open space with grasses and trees growing, maybe a building here or there to indicate under the trees someone lives there. Scenery does not have to be spectacular to be beautiful and peaceful. I'd much rather have land and trees and green over yet more houses, strip malls and traffic. Most of the streets connecting towns here, including here to Stillwater, are two lane roads, not stressfully over burdened.

You've just describe the way 90% of the landscape of California remains.

But I'm glad you are happy in Oklahoma. I agree beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is great beauty to the plains and fields.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I think this and your previous post encapsulate the moving syndrome. When you know what you want and you go for it you're not just moving away from a place, you're also moving to a place that suits you better.

Is life anywhere really perfection? Some places come close but there is always a wart or two. For us they're extremely tiny where we landed and like you, there's no going back.

You got it! (I tried to give you some rep -- but I guess I've overdone it lately LOLOLOLOL -- I just can't remember doing it yesterday or the day before! LOLOLOLOL Yes, Curmudgeon, we are getting old -- but I'm still young enough that I still love getting old. Not too sure where you are in the getting-older game. )

[Drivingmenuts32]

We just need to find a job and we're out of here. Air quality, unfriendlyness, judgmentalness, COL, heat (we're in the CV), crime, etc. I grew up here and I'm getting very tired of it.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Fran66

You got it! (I tried to give you some rep -- but I guess I've overdone it lately LOLOLOLOL -- I just can't remember doing it yesterday or the day before! LOLOLOLOL Yes, Curmudgeon, we are getting old -- but I'm still young enough that I still love getting old. Not too sure where you are in the getting-older game. )

Oh, I'm in the game alright. At least my body thinks so when it comes to getting older. A year and a half ago I had some pretty major neurosurgery as my spinal cord was pinched closed in three places in my neck and it was literally dying. What recovery will occur - major nerve regrowth - is a slow and often painful process and the chances for full recovery are about nil. It's partially for this reason I love where we live. I can no longer tromp through the woods, hike, climb, etc. so since I can't go to nature but by car I'm fortunate that nature comes to me at home.

Adding to that, my wife has severe back issues and neuropathy which render her primarily housebound and I'm her principal caregiver - a fulltime job in itself. All-in-all it's become like the blind leading the blind. Thank goodness I can still drive and get around with a cane so I can shop for us. It also helps that I'm a very good cook and enjoy it. I just have to do things somewhat incrementally. It could be worse!