If Not California, Where?

[coyoteskye]

on the coast or in the mountains .... high elevation ... 6000 or above.
the "where" is the quandary.

[CaliYork]

Hawaii is beautiful but waayyyyyy too isolated for me.

[cheekymamie]

I'm a lifelong Southern California native, I'm getting closer to 29 and married with 3 great kids. We live in Long Beach (the nice part near Cal State and super close to the beach) in a 1953 ranch house that still in a down market is in the $510-520k range! I'm happy because that means I still have some equity for a downpayment on the next home, but that will most likely be in another state.

California is beautiful for its geography, natural wonders up North, the ocean, and of course the weather. If you earn $200k+ per year, you can afford to live in the nicer towns like Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Pacific Palisades, etc. That income would probablly get you a $1 million fixer upper in those neighborhhods. Our income is about $120k/year (before taxes) and even with a decent mortgage, we're living paycheck to paycheck.

I won't even go into how crappy the schools are even in the best of districts, but my hubby and I are not happy with the direction this state is taking and the future is looking bleaker by the minute.

I don't think weather wise California can be matched (at least in the southern part), but really the fabulous weather is only on the coast. On a hot day in the valleys or deserts, it feels just like living in Arizona.

Our current picks for relo:

1. Texas- DFW metro or Austin
2. North Carolina- Raleigh-Cary area
3. Oregon-Portland if the job market was better
4. If money was no object- London or anywhere on the Meditteranean (Marbella, Monaco, Greek Isles, etc.)

[Clarks]

Before you go east, visit in summer. Eastern humidity and heat must be experienced to be believed.