Relocating..weighing pro's & con's

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Marin County is awesome, it is a bit to liberal for us, but a wonderful place to live, but San Diego is less expensive. It is great as well. Of course Coronado is to die for, but way out of our price range.
Nita

Coronado is out of our price range too, but it is a great place to visit. The same thing apples to Suasalito and Tiburon. So if we end up moving to Marin, my guess is that we will have to go a little further up the highway (possibly Santa Rosa or Petaluma). Those areas are still within proximity of things and alot more within our price range - though still not cheap.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Central Illinois 1

Coronado is out of our price range too, but it is a great place to visit. The same thing apples to Suasalito and Tiburon. So if we end up moving to Marin, my guess is that we will have to go a little further up the highway (possibly Santa Rosa or Petaluma). Those areas are still within proximity of things and alot more within our price range - though still not cheap.

Is Novato out of your price range? I ask cause we lived there for many years, and still visit periodically. We really loved it. Yes, Petaluma and Santa Rosa are nice places to live if you do not need to go to SFO on a daily basis.

Nita

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Central Illinois 1

I agree that the NE is alot more high revved and impersonal atmosphere. As a midwesterner, I have always been impressed with the laid back CA attitudes. My wife and i stayed on the Sunset Strip a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Among other places, We went to the Saddle Ranch, the Whiskey, Viper Room, and the Rainbow Bar and Grill. We met great people in all of these places (including the people who worked there). Everyone made us feel at home and we're looking forward to going back. This NEVER happened when we've been to places in the NE or in Chicago for that matter. We've had similar great experiences in CA when we went to SF several times and down to Coronado Island too. California is a beautiful state. But the people are what makes it the best state in the US! There is a certain cultural vibe there that's unique. Traffic, pollution, and all, we hope to be able to move there in about 7 years. The big choice will be whether to live in SoCal or up in the Marin Co. area. Obviously, the big obstacle is the cost of housing. So that's what we're trying to figure out now.

It's true, California people are pretty accepting of people from other places. As you note, however, the cost of housing here is prohibitive, and Californians seem to like putting restrictions on building new housing for so-called 'environmental' reasons, which is often just an excuse for NIMBY-ism.

A lot of middle income people here get frustrated. You really have to earn an income well above the average to really enjoy life here in the coastal cities. That's especially true if you have kids.

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Is Novato out of your price range? I ask cause we lived there for many years, and still visit periodically. We really loved it. Yes, Petaluma and Santa Rosa are nice places to live if you do not need to go to SFO on a daily basis.

Nita

I had a friend who lived in Novato and he and his family really liked it. I will definitely check this out too and try to get a handle on the housing market there. Thanks!

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

It's true, California people are pretty accepting of people from other places. As you note, however, the cost of housing here is prohibitive, and Californians seem to like putting restrictions on building new housing for so-called 'environmental' reasons, which is often just an excuse for NIMBY-ism.

A lot of middle income people here get frustrated. You really have to earn an income well above the average to really enjoy life here in the coastal cities. That's especially true if you have kids.

One of the reasons we are waiting a few years is because we have a 10 year old at home yet and need all the room that we can get. The big trade-off for us will be whether to live farther away from the coast and buy a house (probably in the range of 1500 s.f.) or to get into a more desirable location closer to things and buy a small condo (maybe 1000 s.f.). Once the 10 year old leaves home for college, we should be in a position to do that too.

We spend time in CA a few times a year and I usually check out the housing prices and, you are right, that is frustrating because for what a very small house or condo would cost in places like Marin and some of the areas that we really like around LA or SD ($500 - 800 K from what I can tell), we could build probably a 4000 s.f. home here in Illinois and still have money left over to put in a nice pool. We struggle with this all of the time. But, in the end, I think that we'll take the plunge and move to CA because we really love it.

[Sanctuary_now]

Coyoteskye - you were definitely "keyed in" and I greatly appreciate the information - was very helpful, thank you for taking the time..