Who has tried moving to another state (Fresno: housing, rent)

[MtnSurfer]

I moved to Colorado with my family after living in S. Cal. all our lives. We love it here and it has so much more to offer than where we were.

I agree 100% with cynwldkat, life is an adventure so go out and live it. Take risks and try new areas after doing research and visiting them. I was born at the beach and am an ocean lover at heart. But I *really* am enjoying the Rocky Mountains with my wife and three children right now. So we have no regrets in making a move from the overcrowded, over polluted and way over priced place we left in S. Cal.

Now with that said, I told my wife that some day I may want to live near a coast again. So who knows, we may want to move to the PNW. But that will just be another chapter in the adventure of our lives which makes things fun.

I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will *never* want to live in S. Cal. again even though that is where we are from originally. And we lived in the nicer parts near the coast. It has just changed too much for the worst for us. It is a quality of life issue and everyone has different measurements of what that means for them. If it is affordable housing, open land, greenery, lower crowds, less polution, traffic, etc... then S. Cal. is not high on the list.

The one thing we have learned is no place is perfect. Every place is a trade off with it own set pf pros/cons. But the pros can far outweigh the cons if they are things you are looking for.

Lastly, it seems like a lot of people are simply fearful yet stuck in ruts in places where the quality of life has been on the decline for quite some time. If financially possible, why not just try something different. S. Cal. is obviously over crowded and continuing to get more so. Remember also that Cal. is a 'Huge' state. How about trying some areas up north in the wine country or the Sierra foothills. Those areas are totally different than LA, OC, San Diego. It is really like a different state up there. If you haven't visited the the N. Cal coast or High Sierras I highly recommend it. Even areas North of Sac. are very nice like Grass Valley with open land and less crowds.

All I'm saying is expand your wings a little bit and see what the rest of the state and country have to offer. Life is short. Why live in fear and always wondering "what if I had only ..."

[Charles]

I have to agree with Derek (MtnSurfer),

who has to agree with cynwldkat,

who has to agree with CBaillo

who probably agrees with canibeyou

who sees things similarly as AAPoolServiceLV

who agrees with MAP2008

For a lot of people California, as diverse and as high fidelity as it is, cannot provide a middle class standard of living, with jobs, with decent schools, and without horrible traffic.

[Syanae]

We moved from CA to MA. We live in one of the nicest suburbs in western MA, 15-20 min from BOston. We own a perfect, nice, large wonderful home. In theory all perfect. And yet, I hate it, and I count the days till I can come back to CA, which luckily for us it is very soon.
And trust me, we did a TON of research, but nothing can compare to living in it to realize what you don't like and what you miss.
Leaving CA made us realize we really appreciate the weather a lot more than we thought. Because you basically are forced to stay indoors most of the times. I have a toddler. And yes I bundle him up and try to make it fun for him. He literally hates the cold and snow. Taking to a beach or to a park and he is the happiest kid.
I rather be hiking, biking, swimming or simply walking outside rather than shoveling snow. IT is not one day or one month it is pretty much 6 months of the year that you are indoors.... ack!
Also the people, hmm.... I don't want to sound mean, but they are pretty rude around here. Don't know if it is a weather effect, but they like to keep to themselves and unless you are new englander you are not welcome in the club.In CA we had a really nice group of friends, very nice honest people, not fake at all, even if around here they blame the californians from being fake, from my experience it has been the absolute opposite.

I so miss CA, and yes it is VERY expensive, well, there is a reason for that, right?
I would just caution anybody moving to the east coast to think twice.

[MtnSurfer]

Syanae,

Interesting experience and comments overall. I think this thread represents a good cross section of various Californians who moved to different places looking for different things. Some will return and some will not.

I am just curious where you moved from in Ca. and where you will move back to? And have you considered other parts of the State as well?

I agree with you that California is crowded for a reason. Unfortunately it is that continued 'crowding' that brings a whole host of other negatives (higher crime, pollution, traffic, high cost of living, etc...) that many natives just don't want to live with any longer.

And for some the upside will still make those negatives worth it. So I am not saying that anyone has to agree with my perspective. All I am saying is that there are other good or better options if you are looking for things that these other areas can provide.

But of course as I mentioned before, no place at least on this earth is Perfect. However there 'are' a lot of fun and beautiful places to visit and live.

BTW, I would never want to live on the East Coast either. Too cold. Nice place to visit though especially in the Fall.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by cynwldkat

I have to agree here....we are also among those that have moved from CA. We moved last year and I too was scared but excited also. I was born and raised my whole life in CA. We just got tired of working so hard for so little. Also we wanted to retire and it would have been difficult to do so in CA. There are so many wonderful places but as was said here, do your research first. If possible go and vacation areas of interest. We have not had any problems with our move and are very happy with our decision even though I left my family and friends in CA. and miss them terribly I wouldn't move back now. Life is an adventure...make it an adventure!!

I agree! Leaving California was the best financial move I ever made. There was no way i could retire in San Luis Obispo and have enough money to do anything except "exsist". Here in Tennessee I have a beautiful home on a lake full of fish and can afford to travel with my wonderful wife every year. Do i miss the beach? yes. But that doesnt mean I would ever move back. I have a nice home, 18 acres of trees on a lake. My property taxes last year were $ 2,100! Try that in california!

[stevorilla]

Anyone move out of state to a warm/hot coastal climate? Like to know how that went for Californians? Or anyone move to a NPW coastal region?

[donnam]

Our family left San Diego in 2006 for Boise Idaho. We've found it a difficult adjustment and YES, we did our research before we moved. You don't really know a place until you live there.

We don't regret the experience and knowledge the relocation brought us; however, we are moving back to San Diego at the end of this month. We've realized that we really belong in California.

Before people bash us for not staying in Boise, let me say that it's a fine town, it's just not for us. People tend to keep to themselves here and it's difficult to break the ice with the locals. Other than housing, the cost of living is not much lower than California (there's 6% sales tax on everything in Idaho, and I do mean everything). And I've just found it difficult to be a stranger in a strange land for the past couple of years. I'm tired of trying to fit into a culture where Californians are considered the bad guys. I'm proud to be from California and very happy to be going back home.

[nmguy]

Four years ago, I retired and moved from Palo Alto to Central New Mexico.

Except for friends and favorite sports teams, I don't miss much about California, even though I lived there for 35 years.

For me, California is expensive, expansive, and insensitive. Folks in New Mexico are friendlier, the pace of life slower, and the cost of living considerably lower.

I like the views, the culture, and the weather.

You could probably call me a happy camper.

[CBaillo]

We moved to Newfield, NY, a small town 7 miles outside of Ithaca (where Cornell Univ is). We came pursuing the wine industry, b//c we want to open our own winery one day. 20-35 acres in CA was a pipe dream running into the millions. Here on the Seneca Lake wine trail we can get 20-35 acres at around 200k or under.

We also left CA for many other reason i.e. cost of living, overcrowding, lack of sense of community, materialistic mentality. We were looking to move out for years, but just so happened to settle on NY, b/c it crossed paths with our dream to run our own winery. So I grabbed an apprentice job at a winery, and my wife snagged a job at Cornell. Life couldn't be better. We make roughly half of what we did in CA, but we are MUCH MORe comfortable, if you can wrap your head around that.

We have always been cold climate people though, so the snow doesn't affect us. We used to go to he mountains all the time during CA's "winter", and I'm an avid snowboarder. We love balance in our climate. Winter SHOULD be cold, and snowy, and I'll take 6 mos of winter over just constant brutal heat almost all year round. Also, I'll take 6 mos. of winter, because I know when it's over I have 6 months of just UTTERLY GORGEOUS summer and fall. It's just stunning with all the greenery, and green mountains (as opposed to CA brown landscape), and the beautiful lakes and, dont get me started on how perfect this place looks in the Fall. It's drop dead gorgeous...It almost makes you believe in a higher power if you don't already.

Also people are a lot more slowed down here, and just enjoy their lives. It's not centered around the biggest house, or cars, or paychecks..that's not important. People tend to be nicer, and more honest, and down to earth. And the sense of community if you live outside of the main towns is just unheard of for us. People help JUST FOR THE SAKE OF HELPING :P

Who says you have to be indoors all winter? To us that would be such a shame, to move to someplace so beautiful and not enjoy it, regardless of weather. I hunt, both bow and gun (it's a big culture out here, because it saves you TONS of money during the winter on meat), and teach my daughter the love for the outdoors as well, so regardless of weather (save for a major blizzard or something), on any given weekend you can find my daughter and I exploring trails, or even simply just following a stream. Children adjust to weather, just like adults do, they just take longer.

[macon_painter]

I've struggled with my decision to move back to CA.
It's been 6 years.
I've moved to 2 other states in that time. CO and Oregon.

Honestly, I can't see myself not living in CA for the rest of my life. It suits me. The climate, the beauty, the sense of celebration with good food and wine, smart people. But I worry about returning having been spoiled by livable cities. I don't have any illusions about my return. Only that it's necessary for my soul. I gave it a good run...now I'm humbled to the fact that I'm simply a CA person...