For those wanting to move out of California, or for those that already have (Sunnyvale: relocating)

[Muscle Car Mama]

I was born and raised in so cal, and I moved to Washinton 13 years ago. I've lived in Silverdale, Port Orchard, Tacoma, and Everett. I can say that the winters here SUCK! I have seasonal affective disorder and this overcast crap really doesn't help me much. Not to mention the winter days are shorter here than in cali and it doesn't really "rain" here often - it mostly drizzles all the time. Summers are beautiful, but not long enough. Eastern WA gets VERY hot in the summer by the way, and lots of snow in the winter. Traffic in the puget sound is a mess, housing costs in Seattle are almost as expensive as LA. If you love the outdoors, it's a nice place to be. Olympic National Park is one of the few temperate rain forests in the world and the volcanoes are beautiful. Be warned that the possiblity for a catastrophic earthquake is much greater here than in cali - subduction earthquakes are much more devestating than strike-slip faults. There is a nice culture diversity in Seattle and the city is one of the prettiest I've seen yet. It is just like every other place and has it's ups and downs. As for me - I'm moving back to Cali, nothern cali to be exact - I've had enough of Washington for my lifetime!!!

[skitow]

I was born and raised in Spokane WA, so I know what you're taking about. I left for CA when I was 20. There is no way I'll ever move back with all that snow. I don't think that people in Tacoma and seattle realize that those two cities are built on top of MT. Rainers last eruption. The pyroclastic flow.(not sure how to spell that). The so called experts are saying there is a lot of activity in MT. Rainer as we speak. They are guessing that Tacoma may be buried by the next eruption, and also Seattle. It's done it before, and it's coming again. THAT scares the hell out me. I'll stay with the earthquakes, thankyou.
P.S. What kind of muscle car do you drive, if any. I HAD a 88 Trans Am GTA in showroom condition. It got t-boned and totaled two years ago. I still miss it! My only true muscle car was a 70 dodge charger. That thing would fly. Those days are long gone. Hope you find what your looking for when you come back to CA. The prices of housing have gotten out of control. Best to you, skitow

[Mumof3]

Well, my husband and I came to CA legally from the United Kingdom ( my husband got a job in Sillicon Valley that the company had been trying to fill for 3 years) in August 2001. It was a dream for us to be here especially from dreary England where it rains constantly and good jobs only go to those who are privately educated!! We lived in the Bay Area, (Santa Clara, Sunnyvale) first and were therefore of course, stunned by the ridiculously high house prices in relation to my husbands' salary. So not being able to afford even a modest house in a half decent school district started to really annoy me and so my husband got a job transfer to Roseville in Placer County. We stayed there just over 3 years. This place is great for families - I did find the people hard to get to know however and I did have some run-ins with people that tried to preach to me about all sorts of things which beared no relation to life in California in the 21st century but other than that it was ok - I did have my daughter enrolled in a Montessori Charter school which became an issue because most of the teachers there had no clue what the Montessori philosophy was or how to implement it effectively but never mind they weren't being paid enough to care anyway....so We left because my husband got another job with a different company this time...and We came to Southern CA where the house prices are ludicrous for any area here not just half decent ones...We ended up in West Lancaster..(northern LA County) and of course now having lived here for a year WE WANT OUT...specifically we are thinking of Minnesota which would be another job transfer... and We can't wait!!! I don't even care about the cold weather...I'm from England and have lived most of my life with inclement weather!!!! Minnesota seems to be top in nearly everything - education, health etc and as some of you are aware CA is nearly at the bottom for education in this Nation. So, I've had my slice of Californian life and I wouldn't change that for anything as most of my family have never lived abroad even but I've had enough and want pastures new!!!! If anyone thinks that I'm a mad Brit then let me know what you think!! - it would be interesting to get someone elses perspective on this matter of relocating....

[renngrrl]

Minnesota is a good choice. I almost relocated there myself in 99'. My husband is from Chicago though and he doesn't want to have deal with that much snow again or I'd be thinking about the Twin Cities area for us.

[Muscle Car Mama]

Originally Posted by skitow

I was born and raised in Spokane WA, so I know what you're taking about. I left for CA when I was 20. There is no way I'll ever move back with all that snow. I don't think that people in Tacoma and seattle realize that those two cities are built on top of MT. Rainers last eruption. The pyroclastic flow.(not sure how to spell that). The so called experts are saying there is a lot of activity in MT. Rainer as we speak. They are guessing that Tacoma may be buried by the next eruption, and also Seattle. It's done it before, and it's coming again. THAT scares the hell out me. I'll stay with the earthquakes, thankyou.
P.S. What kind of muscle car do you drive, if any. I HAD a 88 Trans Am GTA in showroom condition. It got t-boned and totaled two years ago. I still miss it! My only true muscle car was a 70 dodge charger. That thing would fly. Those days are long gone. Hope you find what your looking for when you come back to CA. The prices of housing have gotten out of control. Best to you, skitow

Yeah, the pyroclastic flow from Mt Rainer will be BAD - one reason I want to get out of here so bad is becuase I went to the UW and got a degree in geological sciences and I must tell you, ignorance is bliss!!! The towns of Orting, Sumner, Puyallup and Tacoma are going to be the hardest hit. Seattle and the eastside will get it too. Some speculate that there may even be a tsunami in Lake Washington!!! Although I think that may be a bit of a stretch, but who knows. We really can't predict volcanic eruptions and their possible flow, except by looking at previous flows. Anyway, enough geology

Sorry to hear about the loss of your GTA!! Cars really do become a part of you (if you're a car person anyway!!!) We've got a few cars - 10 to be exact. We've got a 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler 429 CJ 4 speed only 1631 made in 1970 and this one is one of one with options; 1968 Ford Galaxie XL that is in pristine unrestored condition - we are the second owners, 390 4V c-6 auto with (get this) a dealer special order tranny cooler, trainer hitch, and beefy brakes (Same size as our F-150); two 1970 Ford Fairlane 500 project cars; 1978 Chevy Camaro z-28 munci 4 speed project; 1978 Ford F-150 4x4; 1978 Ford Mustang 11 with a 5.0 V8; my kid hauler - 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee; my first car I ever had, a 1988 Acura Legend; and my husbands commuter car a 1995 Geo Prism. I'm sad to say that I doubt we will be able to take them all the CA. But that is the price for moving where you want to be. I love Chargers - I grew up watching the dukes of hazzard and have always wanted a '69 Charger, but with the recent movie they made, they just are too darn expensive! Heck, I could buy a '69 mustang and make a 429 clone for the price of a charger!

I've been investivating north of the bay area (Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties) and they seem to have some decent areas without soooo much of the cost that So Cal and SF and the east bay has. Plus it has farm land which I love to be around. I just hope that we can find good jobs there.

Thanks Skitow - nice chatting with ya!

[bkeast]

Originally Posted by SandyCo

I'm checking into eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I can't tolerate really hot summers (115 in Phoenix, for example), intense humidity (anything east of the Rocky Mtns), or cloud cover for most of the winter (Seattle). Climate is key in my search!

SandyCo, Since my husband and I looked into Wyoming quite a bit about a year back (and even went there to check it out), I thought I'd tell you a little about what we found out, in hope of maybe helping you a bit. Well, what appealed to us about WY was the open prarie and the low population count (the least populated state in the US). What we found once we started delving into it (mainly Cheyenne) is that the weather is extremely cold in the winter, oftentimes snowing you in for weeks. Also, there are tornadoes in this part of the state, as well as some of the worst hailstorms in the country. And there's a great amount of regular wind, kicking up tons of dirt and dust from the prarie.

When we went to check it out (we stayed in Cheyenne), we found it to be kind of run down and old looking. I've seen a lot of cities/towns that are old, but still look nice; this town just looked old and tired. Most of the people we met looked much the same way, and everyone seems to smoke there. Also, besides a couple museums and train attractions, there isn't anything to do in that town; and I mean anything.

I also spent quite a bit of time looking through comments left by residents on a city poll that was taken, and most people seem to have more complaints about their town than positive things to say. Their biggest complaints were snow not being properly shoveled, the city being boring and out of date, and wages being too low to support them. Also, we drove back to California through the whole bottom portion of the state and were highly unimpressed with the landscape. It basically looks exactly like the drive out from here to Las vegas, taking the 15. Nothing but patches of shrubs, dead grass, and cows.

And now I really do understand why it's so unpopulated, because we literally only saw a few scattered houses the whole time. After visiting and doing research, we decided it wasn't the right place for us. I hope this may help you in making a good decision on where to move. Good luck to you.

[ateliercollection]

Does anyone have any info or hear any views/opinions about Chesleigh Development in Wake Forest or about builder MACK builders? Construction quality and customer service anything ... please help relocating soon ! thanks so much - I just love Raleigh area ~ people are just sweet as pie ! Can't wait to get there ~

[skitow]

Originally Posted by Muscle Car Mama

Yeah, the pyroclastic flow from Mt Rainer will be BAD - one reason I want to get out of here so bad is becuase I went to the UW and got a degree in geological sciences and I must tell you, ignorance is bliss!!! The towns of Orting, Sumner, Puyallup and Tacoma are going to be the hardest hit. Seattle and the eastside will get it too. Some speculate that there may even be a tsunami in Lake Washington!!! Although I think that may be a bit of a stretch, but who knows. We really can't predict volcanic eruptions and their possible flow, except by looking at previous flows. Anyway, enough geology

Sorry to hear about the loss of your GTA!! Cars really do become a part of you (if you're a car person anyway!!!) We've got a few cars - 10 to be exact. We've got a 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler 429 CJ 4 speed only 1631 made in 1970 and this one is one of one with options; 1968 Ford Galaxie XL that is in pristine unrestored condition - we are the second owners, 390 4V c-6 auto with (get this) a dealer special order tranny cooler, trainer hitch, and beefy brakes (Same size as our F-150); two 1970 Ford Fairlane 500 project cars; 1978 Chevy Camaro z-28 munci 4 speed project; 1978 Ford F-150 4x4; 1978 Ford Mustang 11 with a 5.0 V8; my kid hauler - 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee; my first car I ever had, a 1988 Acura Legend; and my husbands commuter car a 1995 Geo Prism. I'm sad to say that I doubt we will be able to take them all the CA. But that is the price for moving where you want to be. I love Chargers - I grew up watching the dukes of hazzard and have always wanted a '69 Charger, but with the recent movie they made, they just are too darn expensive! Heck, I could buy a '69 mustang and make a 429 clone for the price of a charger!

I've been investivating north of the bay area (Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties) and they seem to have some decent areas without soooo much of the cost that So Cal and SF and the east bay has. Plus it has farm land which I love to be around. I just hope that we can find good jobs there.

Thanks Skitow - nice chatting with ya!

Hi again. You don't have a muscle car, you have a HERD. They sound like primo machines. I'd hate to part with them. Again, welcome back to sunny CA!!

[VC dreamer]

How come no one wants to move to Utah??? I know...I know...I didn't want to move here either, but I had no choice. But, it has been good for us. What I can't figure out since I've been here though....why are there so many open jobs here??? I know a lot of big businesses have their corporate headquarters out here....Novell...Amex...Discover...1-800-contacts-Advanta, and I know the wages offered are as good as California...McDonalds pays $10.00 an hour...so why are they having such a hard time getting people to fill the positions??
The scenery is beautiful, the cities are diverse. it has 4 seasons...houses are cheap...taxes are low, insurance is cheaper...they drive out here like they do in Ca (lol)....c'mon people....move to Utah....and if you have a Submarnia franchise, PLEASE bring it!!!!

[Dedalus]

I just went back to where I came from - New York.

After living in the Bay Area for some years, real winter is a major readjustment. I recall seeing people wearing expedition down parkas, like people use for scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro, whenever it went below 50 F.