Any Ex-South Florida People On Here That Moved to SoCal? (San Diego: transplants, coupons)

[high_plains_drifter]

Hi,

I'm close to getting a job offer in the San Diego area, Carlsbad to be specific. I have been out there twice in the past few months, recently came back from another interview with a 2nd company, the first one did not make me an offer I could not refuse but the 2nd company is looking to be very promising.

My wife and I lived here in the Fort Lauderdale area for over a decade, while we both love much about it, the natural areas, the beaches and warm water, some of the Carib. Culture and food, we also do not like some things about the way things are going here. Mainly it's on my plate as I cannot find much opportunity in my line of work and my wage growth went backwards since 2012 when I lost my one job in Engineering and now make less than I made 8 years ago. My wife works from home, lucky her and is flexible but I feel like the shock may hit her once we leave. Me on the other hand work in a field that just is not too in demand here.

We have both been to the area in Carlsbad and know what to expect, it will be a change but not like moving back to the Northeast or some other area in between, I keep saying that it's a nice area and desirable.

So my question is, if you lived in South Florida and moved how did you adjust? Was it hard and did you miss anything about it?

Thanks

[colorful_mess]

The comparisons aren't exact, but I moved from Central Florida to Central California 2 years ago for similar reasons. I moved because the odds of upward mobility after 15 years in FL for me were poor. Many of my highly educated friends had to move out of state to gain a foothold. Florida doesn't grow its knowledge economy. At the same time, CA seems to offer a sturdy staircase for upward mobility but its very difficult to climb. I'll never afford a home here.

You will need an adjustment period. If your wife has a strong network of friends in Ft Lauderdale, it won't be an adjustment - it will be more like mourning.

What I did to adjust/mourn was give it 2 years. My first year was hell. I missed my extended family and friend networks terribly. I hated the brown, parched feeling in CA and missed the balmy, green, rainstorm atmosphere of FL. I missed (and still miss) the Caribbean food, NEVER having to deal with smog or bad air, the gorgeous tree canopies, the waterfowl and tropical plants, the sandal-and-spaghetti-strap wardrobes, the warm water everywhere. Florida roads are better and I felt like I could always move easier around and between the cities there. Traffic in CA is atrocious and everything is far apart or awkward to drive to. I resent the COL here. CA has an inflated sense of what their housing is worth. Gangs and their ugly graffiti really know how to ruin a city scape. I still dislike many things about California and want to return to FL for early retirement.

But for now I feel like this is the right decision in my life (I'm in my early 30s) because I have many more decision points to make. I like how I can become intimate with a new state, deeply exploring an area of the USA I would have only seen via a 2 week vacation. I absolutely LOVE the camping and hiking here. The asian and mexican food is wonderful. The weather is like outdoor air conditioning - I visited FL recently and the humidity shock felt gross, moldy, and wet. I'm happy seeing new sights and I'm not bored because there is so much to explore. I would say it depends on how much adventure are you ready to take on. For now, I am willing to move on from FL for new adventures. I can always visit my old network on "vacations" to FL.

[Astral_Weeks]

Originally Posted by colorful_mess

The comparisons aren't exact, but I moved from Central Florida to Central California 2 years ago for similar reasons. I moved because the odds of upward mobility after 15 years in FL for me were poor. Many of my highly educated friends had to move out of state to gain a foothold. Florida doesn't grow its knowledge economy. At the same time, CA seems to offer a sturdy staircase for upward mobility but its very difficult to climb. I'll never afford a home here.
.

Can I ask where in central California you are living?

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by colorful_mess

The comparisons aren't exact, but I moved from Central Florida to Central California 2 years ago for similar reasons. I moved because the odds of upward mobility after 15 years in FL for me were poor. Many of my highly educated friends had to move out of state to gain a foothold. Florida doesn't grow its knowledge economy. At the same time, CA seems to offer a sturdy staircase for upward mobility but its very difficult to climb. I'll never afford a home here.

You will need an adjustment period. If your wife has a strong network of friends in Ft Lauderdale, it won't be an adjustment - it will be more like mourning.

What I did to adjust/mourn was give it 2 years. My first year was hell. I missed my extended family and friend networks terribly. I hated the brown, parched feeling in CA and missed the balmy, green, rainstorm atmosphere of FL. I missed (and still miss) the Caribbean food, NEVER having to deal with smog or bad air, the gorgeous tree canopies, the waterfowl and tropical plants, the sandal-and-spaghetti-strap wardrobes, the warm water everywhere. Florida roads are better and I felt like I could always move easier around and between the cities there. Traffic in CA is atrocious and everything is far apart or awkward to drive to. I resent the COL here. CA has an inflated sense of what their housing is worth. Gangs and their ugly graffiti really know how to ruin a city scape. I still dislike many things about California and want to return to FL for early retirement.

But for now I feel like this is the right decision in my life (I'm in my early 30s) because I have many more decision points to make. I like how I can become intimate with a new state, deeply exploring an area of the USA I would have only seen via a 2 week vacation. I absolutely LOVE the camping and hiking here. The asian and mexican food is wonderful. The weather is like outdoor air conditioning - I visited FL recently and the humidity shock felt gross, moldy, and wet. I'm happy seeing new sights and I'm not bored because there is so much to explore. I would say it depends on how much adventure are you ready to take on. For now, I am willing to move on from FL for new adventures. I can always visit my old network on "vacations" to FL.

FL roads are better? LOL. I lived in FL for a few years, from CA to FL and now thankfully back in CA.

The roads in FL have never kept up with the population growth. There are no real freeways, one of the last parkways built in FL was the Suncoast Pkwy, it is two lanes in each direction. Two lanes. It is also like many roads in FL a toll road. You drive a mile or two and time to pay another toll.

Than you have roads like US 19, a highway with traffic lights with people pulling right onto from strip mall parking lots. Scary! I saw more car crashes in FL in just a couple of years than over 15 years in CA.

While the area I was in FL had less people than where I live in CA, it took longer to run errands, Publix was this direction, Target was this direction ,CVS the other direction, there was no logic as to where things were built.

Than there was the never ending road construction. Here in CA it's done mostly at night, and it actually gets done. In FL it took over 2 years to widen one intersection, you see all this equipment and yet nothing is getting done.

And the weather..ugh. Gross is exactly what it is. A couple of months of nice weather in the winter the rest of the year miserable. Also very rude residents, mostly NE transplants but still.

CA wins hands down on weather, scenery, and people. Yes, it costs more, there are valid reasons for that.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

.

CA wins hands down on weather, scenery, and people. Yes, it costs more, there are valid reasons for that.

Really? What are they?

.

[high_plains_drifter]

Interesting views but how is the traffic in San Diego compared to Miami? I only drove north of the airport and the job is in Carlsbad, so I would live close to work and spend most of my time in North County.

My view of Miami traffic is that it's bad, really bad. Even Broward is quite bad, 595 and 95 are parking lots at rush hour that crawl.

[high_plains_drifter]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Really? What are they?

.

I already figure I'll save plenty on car & health insurance, compared to here. Also my salary is going up $35K/year. I found rentals in North County to be quite equal to here in cost if not less depending on location. Carlsbad is too expensive, so I will live further east.

After doing a study, I went into Ralphs, Vons and Sprouts out there and did some price comparisons on my smart phone to here. Food costs are a lot less. Even Trader Joe's here vs. Trader Joe's there, I saw price differences on some products.

Fuel cost is the only thing that is still not clear, depending on where I find a place to live, Temecula will cost me more $ to commute.

[Astral_Weeks]

Miami has worse traffic than San Diego.

20 North American Cities With The Worst Traffic - Business Insider

Gas prices are higher in California than in Florida. Stricter smog controls require more costly refinement processes. Lucky for you San Diego has pretty clean air (compared to other parts of the state like LA or Inland Empire).

Also, OP: Cool user name!

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Really? What are they?

.

I believe I listed them. BTW I found groceries to be more expensive in FL, the utilities were more as you had to run the A/C all the time. And my car insurance was higher in FL by several hundred dollars.

I remember asking in Publix if they had a discount card like Ralphs and Vons, no they don't. I asked about "double coupons", the cashier asked "what's a double coupon"(isn't that self explanatory)....LOL. I got sticker shock in Publix.


Not having to walk outside and wanting to turn back around and go back inside due to the oppressive humidity(8am and it's already brutal) is worth it.

I never really totally appreciated the Southern CA weather until I no longer had it. FL is disgusting about 9 months out of the year. I never spent so much time indoors trying to avoid the horrific heat and humidity, never let up even at night.

FL is by no means cheap. Parts of CA(LA, SF, and SD) have such ridiculous housing costs. Other than that things tend to even out.

[high_plains_drifter]

Originally Posted by Astral_Weeks

Miami has worse traffic than San Diego.

20 North American Cities With The Worst Traffic - Business Insider

Gas prices are higher in California than in Florida. Stricter smog controls require more costly refinement processes. Lucky for you San Diego has pretty clean air (compared to other parts of the state like LA or Inland Empire).

Also, OP: Cool user name!

Hi,

I wondered about Miami in comparison, good to see that.

I drive to Miami for work from where I live now, so I plan to be closet to Carlsbad so I think my commute will be short and gas usage will be less than here.

Thanks! I'm a fan of the Clint Eastwood film.